Napoleon: The People's Emperor

The sweeping social reforms of Napoleon's French Empire.

Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne, by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1806)

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“What is a throne? — a bit of wood gilded and covered in velvet. I am the state.”

—Napoleon

In 1802, Napoleon was confirmed as France’s First Consul for Life. This occurred through a popular vote, known as a plebiscite. 

Under Napoleon’s military rule, France seemed to fare well. She was at peace with her neighbors. Britain signed the Treaty of Amiens, ending ten years of war. France was now the master of Western Europe, boasting of sister republics all across the Low Countries, Switzerland, and northern Italy. 

As First Consul and later Emperor, Napoleon would shift his attention within France’s borders. He would enact a series of sweeping reforms, which laid the groundwork for modern European law. 

Haiti

Turning away from Europe, Napoleon focused his attention to France’s overseas colonies. The French Revolution proclaimed the equality of all people. Based on this principle, France’s National Assembly voted to abolish slavery in 1794. The French colony of Saint-Domingue, in what is now Haiti, was ruled by a revolutionary named Toussaint L’Ouverture. 

But when Napoleon tried to reassert French control in Haiti in 1802, his troops were ravaged by disease. The expedition failed. Napoleon admitted defeat, and the Haitian declared their own independent republic in 1804. Wounded by this humiliation, Napoleon sold off his Louisiana Territory to the United States, then led by President Thomas Jefferson. 

Emperor of the French

But as resistance grew within and outside of France, Napoleon felt the only way to preserve the Revolution was to establish some basic kind of constitutional monarchy. 

In 1804, Napoleon was declared Emperor of the French. In line with French Revolutionary principles, he rejected the old Bourbon belief in the divine right of kings. His coronation took place at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris on December 2 of that year. Modeled on the crowning of Charlemagne a thousand years before, it was one of the modern era’s most carefully crafted acts of political propaganda. 

Pope Pius VII attended the coronation. With his wife Josephine from the Tuileries Palace, Napoleon traveled to the cathedral. Wearing a long satin white tunic and a mantle of crimson felt and ermine, Napoleon was crowned by the Pope with the words, “May the Emperor Live Forever.” Napoleon responded by reaffirming his commitment to preserving the French Republic, even as he accepted the role of emperor. 

For Napoleon, the connections to Charlemagne were deeply symbolic. The medieval Frankish King had once conquered Western and Central Europe, and Bonaparte aspired to do the same. 

Napoleonic Reforms

As First Consul and Emperor, Napoleon turned his attention toward France’s domestic policies. He reorganized the administration of France’s cities, and his system is still used today. In certain ceremonial ways, Bonaparte resurrected the old titles of France’s feudal aristocracy. But as a firm believer in meritocracy, he promoted a new concept of “nobility of empire,” which awarded titles for service to the state rather than nobility of birth. 

Napoleon tried to restore normalcy in France. Mass was again celebrated at Notre Dame. The police became more professionalized. He hoped to transform Paris into a splendorous capital, taking cues from ancient Rome. Some of France’s most iconic architecture, such as the Arc de Triomphe, the Rue de Rivoli, and the Place Vendome were built or renovated. The Pont des Arts became the first iron bridge to stand above the River Seine in Paris.

Even as an Emperor, Napoleon retained all the energy and restless of his younger years. His daily schedule began with an early lunch. Then, he would retire to his office for several Horus with his secretaries, dictating dozens of letters. Sometimes, he would dictate two letters to different secretaries at the same time! Napoleon took this time to think up his policies, both foreign and domestic. Dinner was served as six in the evening, but he often arrived later to due to his work. Afterward, he would return back to work. Leisure time was simply not in Napoleon’s nature. But in his few free moments, Napoleon enjoyed reading, theater, and visiting one of his mistresses. Despite his imperial status, Napoleon never lost his touch with the common man. He would occasionally disguise himself as a peasant, walking the streets of Paris. 

Economy

Napoleon inherited an economy in ruins. So he reformed France’s tax system. The new registry was based on income and land ownership. Impressed by the capitalist economies of Britain and Holland Napoleon founded a National Bank of France. French coinage became Western Europe’s standard currency for many years. Napoleon tried to wean France’s economy off of its overseas sugar and crop plantations. Nicholas Appert invented a new method to preserve food for the French Army, which became the basis of modern canning. 

Among Napoleon’s most significant reforms was to copy Britain’s industrial factories. Bonaparte had read Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, and tried to apply its advice to the French economy. Chambers of commerce were founded across France. The French government offered subsidies to businesses, and hired spies to steal Britain’s technology secrets. But while the silk industry boomed, Napoleon’s protectionist policies stifled the French economy. 

Infrastructure 

Napoleon modernized France’s infrastructure, such as roads, sewers, and hospitals. Centralized healthcare was offered from the Hotel Dieu in Paris. Investments were made in early pharmaceuticals. Bonaparte oversaw the first efforts to introduce a modern sewer system in Paris. Bonaparte also introduced France’s modern education system. Seeing its lack of popularity, Napoleon ditched the French Revolutionary calendar, and restored the Gregorian one. He formally adopted the metric system, which is still used around the world. Napoleon helped to standardize the French language and laws, wiping away regional differences. 

Law

Napoleon’s most enduring contribution was his legal reforms. Known as the Napoleonic Code, it took ancient Roman civil law as its basis. It simplified the regional differences in French law. The Code enshrined religious tolerance for all, including atheists. It separated the Church and state. Inspired by the French Revolution, it removed hereditary privileges and abolished feudalism. Equality existed for all citizens. Any French citizen could pick his own career, and purchase his own land. 

But Napoleon’s Code had some downsides, especially for women. Fathers possessed near absolute power over their families. Adultery for women could result in jail time, but the punishment for men was merely a fine. 

Catholic Church

One of Napoleon’s biggest challenges was the Catholic Church. The French Revolution was opposed to the Church, and stripped away much of its privilege and power. Some revolutionaries tried to replace Catholicism with an atheistic Cult of Reason, but it failed to catch on among the French populace. Although Napoleon had largely rejected religion, he sought a pragmatic alliance with the Papacy and the Church. 

This produced the Concordat of 1801, which was signed with Pope Pius VII. Catholicism was nominally restored as France’s religion, although it was not forced on non-Catholics. Napoleon made sure that the Catholic clergy was carefully controlled by the French state, rather than the Pope in Rome. Tens of thousands of priests were returned from exile. Parishes were reopened, and the Church was again permitted to oversee primary education of French students. 

The Louvre

Bonaparte created a National Museum. During the 1790s, he had looted artwork from places like Italy and Holland. To hold all of this art, Napoleon repurposed an old royal house. From 1803 onward, it was known as the Napoleon Museum. This would eventually morph into the Louvre. Visitors across Europe flocked to Napoleon’s Museum, where curators carefully preserved priceless works of culture. It set a precedent for other prestigious museums, such as the British Museum and the Prado in Madrid. 

Lady Queen

When Napoleon assumed the throne, his wife Josephine became Empress of the French. The two had a strained marriage. 

Napoleon’s affair with Josephine began with deep romantic passion. Over the objections of his family, the love-stricken Bonaparte married his beloved Josephine in 1796. It was an odd choice; the widow was six years older, and had two children from a previous marriage. But as the year 1797 passed, Napoleon’s love began to chill. His many amorous letters went unanswered. Suspicious, the affectionate Frenchman was horrified to learn that his wife was having an affair with a calvary lieutenant named Hippolyte Charles! 

With his fiery love rejected, Bonaparte denounced his wife. While campaigning in Egypt a year later, he began an affair of his own with Pauline Fourès, the wife of one of his junior officers. Napoleon made no efforts to disguise his affair, and Fourès often rode publicly in his carriage. Napoleon did not dissolve his marriage to Josephine, although he initially considered divorce when he first learned of her adultery with Hippolyte. 

Their relationship remained uncomfortably strained. One time in 1804, Empress Josephine caught her husband in the bedroom of her lady-in-waiting, Élisabeth de Vaudey. She was outraged, but Napoleon was even more angry with his wife. He threatened to divorce her, since she bore him no heirs. The fight was only healed after a few days, thanks to the intervention of Josephine’s daughter Hortense. 

By the time of her coronation, Josephine was already forty-one years old. Her possibility of bearing an heir became more and more remote. But Napoleon feared that he himself might be sterile. He was shocked when his mistress, Eléonore Denuelle, gave birth to his son Charles Léon in 1806. 

Third Coalition 

But the peace between Napoleon and Britain would not last. Diplomatic relations broke down over various issues. Sweden joined Britain’s cause, followed soon after by Russia. The Austrians had been utterly humiliated by Napoleon during his Italian Campaign of 1796 and 1797, as well as the Battle of Marengo in 1800. But they quickly adopted Napoleon’s tactics, modernizing their own army. Austria and Naples joined the anti-French Coalition. When Holland kept neutral, even more countries joined: Spain, Bavaria, and various German and Italian states. The Third Coalition was born. 

Grand Army

Napoleon had a few tricks up his own sleeve. He introduced further reforms into the French military. In 1804, he organized La Grande Armée (“Great Army”) as a centralized fighting force. It was formed out of the Army of the Ocean Coasts, a force of 100,000 Frenchmen preparing for the planned invasion of Britain. Its numbers expanded to nearly 200,000 troops, neatly organized into six corps. 

Napoleon’s Grand Army was unlike any other one in Europe. It articulated a clear hierarchy of command, from Napoleon himself down to his marshals, generals, and other staff. Smaller units of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of men were well-trained and rigidly organized. When the Great Army moved as a whole, units stayed within pre-arranged distances of each other. Forced marches were done to cover long distances in very short time spans. Speed and artillery were Napoleon’s secret weapons, turning the Grand Army into Europe’s most deadly fighting force. Napoleon introduced the marshalate system into France’s military, which is still used today. Its name was inspired by medieval French history. 

To Napoleon, defeating Britain became an obsession. He compared the country to Carthage, the implacable enemy of ancient Rome, and vowed to destroy it. Further taunting the Brits, the French Emperor ordered the Bayeux Tapestry be displayed at the Louvre. The famous medieval tapestry depicts the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. 

Ulm Campaign 

As Europe prepared to fight France, Napoleon rapidly marched his Grand Army to the east. The Ulm Campaign became one of military history’s brightest moments. In it, Napoleon took a new approach. Using his new tactics, the brilliant French general was able to rout his enemies within a matter of weeks. Napoleon advanced east toward Vienna. Facing almost no resistance, it was a total victory. Less than two months into the Ulm Campaign, Vienna was already in French hands. After Naples joined the Third Coalition, a second front opened up in Italy. Again, the French forces prevailed. 

Napoleon’s French forces continued their rampage across Central Europe. Known as the Battle of the Three Emperors—Francis II, Tsar Alexander, and Napoleon himself—the French faced off against their Austrian and Russian enemies at Austerlitz. It was arguably one of Napoleon’s greatest victories. 

Bonaparte had successfully vanquished Austria, turning it into nothing more than a minor power outside the Balkans. Humiliating the Austrians further, Napoleon imposed a war indemnity of forty million francs. It was wholly unprecedented, since it was Austria, and not France, which had started the war. 

Napoleon’s victorious Ulm Campaign was a death knell for the Holy Roman Empire. He reorganized the German states into the Confederation of the Rhine. To ensure their compliance, Bonaparte installed his relatives and friends to govern them. His brother Jerome was sent to Westphalia, for example. 

Master of Europe

Having won at Austerlitz, and after the Treaty of Pressburg, the Third Coalition was throughly bashed. France’s sole rivals were Britain, Prussia, and Russia. 

Now Emperor of France and King of Italy, Napoleon Bonaparte was the master of Europe. The Low Countries and western Germany were brought under French rule. Many countries, notably Spain, accepted France’s dominance as inevitable. 

As the first decade of the 1800s drew to a close, the French Empire stretched from Lisbon to Warsaw. But after 1806, Napoleon’s Empire would become the victim of its own success. 

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