Napoleon's Reforms

Napoleon's Reforms

1. Financial Stability

   • Tax Reforms
     • Clear division between Ministry of Finance (oversee collection of taxes) and Treasury (dealing with government expenditure).
       • Central rather than local authorities to assess and collect direct taxations
     • Reorganization of direct and indirect tax system
       • Land tax register drawn up to make sure tax collected effectively
       • Central Excise Office (1804), collects taxes on tobacco, alcohol, gold, sliver, salt
       • Revenue increases by over 400% between 1806-1814
   • Bank of France
     • Established 1800
     • A private bank with its own shareholders, but given a range of public functions
     • Right to issue paper notes
       • Currency stabilizes
       • 1803- issues Franc
     • Long term stability – inflation down – but continuous warfare increases state expenditure from 700 million francs in 1806 to over 1000 million by 1813 – widening gap made up by forcing defeat countries to pay reparations.

2. Legal Reforms

   • Context
     • Successive revolutionary govts. try to create nationwide legal system
       • North – Customary Law – liberal acceptance of equality of person, civil marriage, divorce and equal division of property between heirs
       • South – Roman Law – emphasises male authority and the father’s rights; women’s status inferiror
         • Code Napoleon favours principles of Roman Law.
   • Napoleon’s Civil Code (1804)...
     • On the one hand, preserves the gains of revolution...
       • confirms abolition of feudalism
       • fixed legal title for purchasers of confiscated church, crown and émigré property
       • Also follow revolutionary principle of partage (equal division of estates among male heirs)
     • But...
       • A man had total authority over his wife and family – he could send an adulterous wife or a defiant child to prison
       • Lack of liberty in treatment of black people – slavery reintroduced in the French colonies
       • Workmen – subject to close police supervision through use of the livret
   • Explain why Napoleon introduced a new Civil Code (the Code Napoléon) in 1804.
     • Explain why Napoleon introduced a new Civil Code (the Code Napoléon) in 1804.

3. Education Reforms

   • Purpose...
     • provide state with supply of civilian officials and administrators and loyal, disciplined army
     • Education to bind the nation together – hence the need for the government to take direct central control over provision
     • However nor for everyone – majority attended only primary schools run by the church – secondary education was open only to the sons of the property-owning classes
   • Secondary education...
     • 45 selected, militarised lycées (established 1802) – government appointed teachers would teach common syllabus from identical textbooks
     • No room for freedom of expression: some sent children to more expensive private church school
     • Imperial University (Ministry for Education) – trained teachers and sanctioned all secondary schools; total obedience – teachers have to take an oath of loyalty and subject to petty restriction – i.e. visiting Paris without permission would mean a spell in prison

4. Religious

   • Relations with the Catholic Church
     • Conflict since 1790, but revival of Catholic public worship under Directory
       • No government hoping for public support could ignore this
     • Catholicism = monarchism. If Napoleon could win Catholic support it would strengthen his stability
     • Acknowledge power of religion as a social bond...
       • No society can exist without inequality of fortunes; and inequality of fortunes cannot exist without religion. When a man is dying of hunger beside another who is stuffing himself with food, he cannot accept this difference if there is not an authority who tells him, ‘God wishes it so’ ... It is religion alone that gives to the state a firm and durable support.
   • Why Napoleon made a Concordat with the Catholic Church in 1801?
     • Concordat would enhance Napoleon’s own glory and prestige and validate his regime
     • Concordat might reconcile oppositional nobles and priests to the regime
     • religion had been divisive since the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790) deprives the Pope of influence within France and made the Church subservient to the state. Napoleon wanted to heal old sores and win support for his regime
     • the election of Pope Pius VII in 1800 offered an opportunity for a new agreement and the French army’s success in Italy was likely to ensure favourable terms at this time
     • Napoleon may have wanted to ensure the loyalty and support of the owners of former Church lands by making a binding agreement on this issue with the Pope.
   • Terms of Concordat, July 1801...
     • Confirmation that the separation of church and state was to end
     • Confirmation that the separation of church and state was to end
     • Catholic Church was to recognise Revolution and agreed no attempt would be made to recover church lands
     • Catholic worship ‘the religion of the great majority of citizens’ to be freely exercised in France
     • Catholic worship ‘the religion of the great majority of citizens’ to be freely exercised in France