French Revolution and Napoleon Given

French Revolution and Napoleon

Given a general overview of Napoleon's leadership and the classification of his government as a military dictatorship, one can better support the idea that his rule was influenced more by Terror than by a Liberal Revolution. In its basic format, Napoleon's government was willing to sacrifice two of the elements proposed by a Liberal Revolution (Liberty and Fraternity) in favor of the third one, Equality, which was defended even after his rule transformed itself into a hereditary empire.

There are several arguments in support of this thesis. First of all, Napoleon's inspiration from the Terror rather than from the Liberal Revolution is given by the actual environmental conditions in France and Europe. Throughout Napoleon's reign as a First Consul and, later on, as Emperor, France is in a state of continuous war with one or more of the coalitions being formed on the continent. This occurs throughout his reign, except for a brief 1 year intermezzo given by the Amiens Treaty with Britain, which marks peace with this country.

With this in mind, the environmental conditions are similar to those during the Terror. It is true that the threat of invasion is no longer as imminent as during the period from 1792 to 1794, however, the threat of losing the war continues to remain in Napoleon's reign, which means that terror in a more mild form continues to be applied in France and, especially, in the conquered territories. The rhythm of the Napoleonic Terror is less alert than the Revolutionary Terror and, quite often, opponents are imprisoned rather than executed, but the limitations on individual freedoms are just as noticeable during Napoleon's reign.

The second argument in favor of the thesis is given by the internal implications of a state of continuous war with European Powers. Just as during the Revolutionary Terror and even if, except for the last years of his reign, after the Russian campaign, France is a conquering country rather than one threatened with invasion, Terror needs to be used in order to manage the country's resources most efficiently. This statement implies the fact that, in order to be able to commit the country to deliver a significantly higher volume of resources than in normal conditions, terror needs to be used. The threat of invasion during the French Revolution carried the need for terror to a significantly higher level, while during Napoleon's time, the necessity of terror was resumed to monitoring suspects, imprisoning those with influence and, only in rare cases, actual execution.

One of the relevant executions, part of Napoleon's terror, that is worth examining is the execution of the Duc d'Enghien. The execution of the member of the Bourbon family was motivated by the need to consolidate the newly established Napoleonic hereditary monarchy. As any act of terror, it was also meant to frighten away any potential individuals willing to contest the act itself, notably members of the Bourbon family who were still armed to support the right of their family to the throne. The act of terror was thus also a political act.

At the same time, one needs to mention some of Napoleon's closest collaborators to understand how closely Napoleon was influenced by Terror during his reign. One of them is Fouche, the chief of police and, during the French Revolution, one of the key instrument of applying terror throughout the country. As a Jacobin, his activity in Lyon marked one of the bloodiest campaigns of the period of terror. While his methods may have been adapted during Napoleon's reign to better fit the times, there is no doubt that some of the key elements used previously, most notably instruments aimed at ensuring a state of uncertainty and fear with the population, remained with Fouche and continued to be used.