The Reforms of Napoleon and Their Impact on Europe

The more one studies carefully what Napoleon did during his wielding power in France and over much of Europe, the more one comes to realize that aside from being a sometimes brilliant general and military strategist, he really originated some important reforms.

“While Napoleon is often seen in terms of his military image, he was also one of history’s great administrators. Napoleon set out to make France the greatest nation in Europe. To do this, he proposed many changes and projects, ranging from a complete re-do of the nation’s legal system, including the establishment of the civil Code Napoleon, to a massive road construction project” (Markham 5).

What is also often overlooked in the long list of positive accomplishments by Napoleon was his education reforms. He even finalized a Concordat with the Pope which permitted the turnover of parochial schools in France to the State. This was truly a revolutionary move. After all, France was basically a Catholic nation. “So the state took control of the schools and strove to make them the nursery of intelligence, morality, and patriotism” (Durant 127). As a result of the state’s taking over, another law was passed which forbad any ecclesiastic to become a teacher. In other words, no more priests and nuns teaching in so-called “public” schools, including improved secondary schools. Under Napoleon, France may well have been the first country to establish different “levels” of high schools- the so-called “lycees centrales” for high-average students, and then trade schools (although they were not called that) for education in everything from mining to astronomy.

Napoleon also developed a civil code, which is still in force in France, the Code Napoleon.

The civil code introduced by Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century changed the political lives of all the states of continental Europe. Whereas previously a patchwork of customary laws based on tradition and the whim of the monarch had ruled throughout the continent, the new Code introduced the concept of a unified, logical system based on general principles of law, thereby exporting the ideas of the French Revolution beyond French borders, to enemies and allies alike” (Chapman 1).

For the first time, France- and eventually most of Europe- had a single civil code that could apply to all. The article further explains why this Napoleonic Code was so important.

“France’s need for a single, unified code of laws had been keenly felt even before the collapse of the ancien regime. Whereas southern France had inherited Roman law, northern France was ruled by a system based on Teutonic customary law. The two systems were fundamentally different. The laws differed not only from province to province but from town to town. Nor were the laws always rational. Louis XIV, the Sun King, had summed up his approach to lawmaking with his famous phrase “It is legal because I wish it.” (Chapman 2).

Whether Napoleon himself was at the basis of it or not, it was during his reign as Emperor that “the emancipation of the European Jews came first in France…he (Napoleon) invited Jewish notables from throughout France to meet in Paris to consider the problems affecting the relations of Christians and Jews” (Durant 174-5). The result was a meeting among Jews and Christians to amicably work out some differences, concerning intermarriage, business relations and a certain freedom of worship. France led the way, and eventually this accommodation among religions spread throughout Europe.

It is reported that in the ten years Napoleon ruled as Emperor of France, he actually spent time for barely three years in Paris. But “in these he remade France…He did not consider his day finished until he has read the memoranda and documents that almost daily came to him from various Departments…He was probably the best in formed ruler in history” (Durant 250).

On the military side, one of Napoleon’s accomplishments was the “downsizing” of Prussia, which had been a threat throughout central Europe. There were some other political changes made which affected adversely any pro-English sentiments in Prussia and her allies. In addition, France gained important allies in the merciless treaty forced on Austria. Now there were two kingdoms- Bavaria and Wurttemberg, which became strong French allies, as did the newly formed duchy of Baden. In other words he re-formed and reformed the political makeup of Europe.

As much as Napoleon and France wanted a decade or so of peaceful coexistence, peace was seldom a stable condition. Durant 91965) quotes Napoleon as stating “I only conquered in my own defense. Europe never ceased to war against France, against her principles, against myself” (149). It is certainly possible, according to historians, that Napoleonic France truly was on the defensive militarily. But, somehow that seemed to change with the invasion of Spain and then Napoleon’s determination to defeat Prussia, Austria and then even Russia. He even proposed and partially succeeded in what is called the Continental Blockade. Durant makes an interesting observation about the rise and fall of Napoleon and France: “He had won France as a general, and as a general he lost it” (Durant 150).

Of course, as Napoleon and his armies and influence spread throughout Europe and, eventually into the disastrous invasion of Russia, he nevertheless created not just an aura of being a “freedom fighter” (A far more modern term than one would imagine at the outset of the 19^th Century) but someone who advocated the idea that the strength of a government should not be aristocratic but more republican, even as he permitted European monarchies to continue to rule. “Napoleon was a progressive force, establishing political stability, restoring morality….modernizing….codifying law….ending or mitigating feudalism….establishing schools, beautifying cities….encouraging science…Helped by his prodding, Europe advanced half a century during the fifteen years of his rule” (Durant 776).

REFERENCES:

Chapman, Jeff: “The Napoleonic Code” History Magazine

www.history-magazine.com/codenap.html

Durant, Ariel and Durant, Will: The Age of Napoleon New York: Simon & Schuster (1965)

Markham, J. David: “The Revolution, Napoleon and Education” The International Napoleonic Society

www.napoloen-series.org/ins/markham/c_education_m.html