Age of Napoleon

Recently in class, we began a new unit on Napoleon and the ways in which he impacted Europe. In order to gain background knowledge on Napoleon, we viewed a short clip that recapped important occurrences in his life, and all the places he had conquered during his rule. Things may not have ended on a high note for Napoleon, but he had a major impact on the social, economic, and political systems of Europe.

Napoleon had a major impact on the political system of France by ridding the country of monarchy, the previous system. Instead, Napoleon ruled with a meritocracy. In a meritocracy, members of society are given power based on their abilities, and power is not based on birth circumstances. Some, such as J.T. Headley, are impressed with the way Napoleon ruled over his people. In his book, Napoleon and His Marshals, Headley states that, “by opening the field to talent and genius, however low their birth, he was infinitely superior to all the sovereigns who endeavored to crush him”. However, others, such as Madame de Stael, believed that his system was to “encroach daily upon France’s liberty and Europe’s independence”. In addition to impacting just France, Napoleon was able to conquer many countries throughout Europe, with Britain being the only country outside of his grasp.

Napoleon had a positive impact on the French economy. When he came into power, there were many people living in poverty, and outside of royalty, there were not many who were financially successful. Under Napoleon, birth circumstances were no longer important, improving the chances of the common civilians to succeed. Some, such as Marshal Michel Ney (one of Napoleon’s soldiers), greatly benefitted from the meritocracy. In addition to this, Napoleon also encouraged new industry, kept prices under control and saw to the construction of new roads and canals. In the rest of Europe, Napoleon was not as economically positive. He often looted the countries that he conquered. Specifically, precious pieces of art, in addition to lots of money, were stolen from Italy.

Napleon Bonaparte, Gemälde Von David, 1812,
Lithografie Von Louis Kramp Ca.1825. Digital image. 
Wikimedia Commons. N.p., 17 Feb. 2008. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

Whether or not Napoleon had a positive impact on the social circumstances of France would change from person to person. People like Madame de Stael were angered by Napoleon, because they lost the power that they had received under King Louis XVI. Her impression of Napoleon was that he “persuade(s) men by force and by cunning, and he considers all else to be stupidity or folly”. Others, like Marshal Michel Ney, described Napoleon as “our sovereign”, and said, “Liberty triumphs in the end, and Napoleon our august emperor, comes to confirm it”. By establishing meritocracy, Napoleon gave power to some that had not had it before, but by doing this, he took power away from others. Power was not the only thing that commoners gained. Napoleon also gave citizens more rights to property and greater access to education. Across Europe, Napoleon changed social dynamics by conquering other countries and putting them under France’s rule.

In my opinion, most of what Napoleon did was justifiable, as he did not rule as a dictator, and after he conquered a country, he gave it some independence. However, I am not sure that Napoleon had to stretch his reign as far as he did. By conquering so much of Europe, there may have been too much power in one person’s hands. If there had someone other than Napoleon in charge, things could have gone horribly wrong, possibly resulting in the fall of many European nations that still exist today. Some of Napoleon’s actions were undeniably wrong, such as his looting and artwork theft. Anyhow, Napoleon was an able ruler who did a commendable job with all that he was responsible for.