In 1804 Napoleon had a political opponent, the Duc d’Enghien, executed in what is now Germany. This action alarmed many royalist and more importantly, other rulers around Europe. To help solidify himself as the undisputed ruler of France, Napoleon decided to go one step further than Consul for Life and had Pope Pius VII crown him Emperor of France. Pope Pius included the eagle, ancient symbol of Rome to represent the new empire. Napoleon as Emperor would have far more power than any of the Bourbon kings. Napoleon created a new class of aristocrats among his personal favorites in government and the military, and set up a lavish court that would rival that of Louis XVIII and Marie Antoinette at Versailles, thirty years earlier.
Napoleon Uses Propaganda to Maintain Power
To help increase favorable opinions with the public, Napoleon built a series of monuments to advertise his military victories, including The Arc d’ Triumph. Napoleon's victories gave a welcome sense of stability and order to France after nearly two decades of civil war. However, the national unity Napoleon managed to create would be short lived.
Napoleon Improves The Economy
The first decade of Napoleon's reign is marked by great prosperity for France. He established his own set of laws, the Napoleonic Codes. This helped straighten out the messy tangle that had become French Law since the days of the Revolution. But more importantly, Napoleon improved the everyday lives of the French people, especially the peasants, who had suffered greatly under the Bourbons. Napoleon improved transportation, rebuilding old roads as well as building new ones. He doubled the mileage of canals and enlarged commercial harbors. All of this helped foster commercial activity, providing more jobs, money, food and general stability for a majority of French people.
Napoleon Creates a Police State
It wasn’t all roses with Napoleon's new Empire. While Napoleon went off to play war with the rest of Europe, he left in charge Joseph Fouche as his minister of police. Fouche had bad reputation left over from the Reign of Terror. He established an elaborate spy system. After 1810 political suspects in France were held in prison and by 1814, 2500 such suspects were imprisoned. Napoleon also censured the press, with only a handful of government-organized papers allowed to print “inspiring” stories.
In exchange for economic stability and political security, the people of France unwittingly traded much of their personal freedom and liberty.
Sources:
Lang, Sean. European History For Dummies. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, LTD. 2006.
May, Arthur J. A History of Civilization: Second Edition. Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1964.
Mckay, Hill, Buckler. A History of World Societies: Volume II Since 1500. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1992.
