THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF NAPOLEON IN THE HISTORY OF FRANCE DOMESTIC POLICY

Before Napoleon came to power in 1799, France was in political, social and in economic crisis. What was achieved during the course of the revolution disappeared during the reign of terror and during the directorate government. There was inflation, unemployment, financial and religious crisis, power struggles and chaos. When he came, he corrected the wrong in the society

1.       The concordat in 1801

This was an agreement that Napoleon signed with the Pope in 1801. Before Napoleon came to power, the revolutionary reforms such as the nationalization of church land, declaration of civil constitution of the clergy etc turned the Catholic Church into enemity with the revolutionaries. Napoleon reconciled the church land and the state as he remarked “A state without religion is like a vessel without a compass”. This agreement was important because;

·         It made the catholic to be the state religion

·         The agreement guaranteed the freedom of worship

·         The church influence of the state affairs was ended

·         According to the agreement, the clergy became civil servants who were paid and appointed by the

government. By doing this, napoleon fulfilled the aim of the revolutionaries

2.       Ownership of land and property

Free ownership of land and other property was enjoyed by the Frenchmen during the reign of Napoleon. The clergy and the nobles started claiming for their land that was taken in the course of the French revolution. Napoleon solved that problem and made peasants to retain the land and other property that they had acquired during the course of the revolution. He avoided the re-emergency of feudalism through which the nobles and clergy would have grabbed the land from the peasants. It also increased the productivity of peasants and reduced the problems of famine and starvation in France

3.       Re-organized administration

Napoleon re-organized the administration structure of France. This ended the administrative problems such as corruption, embezzlement and inefficiency. He centralized the administration created departments headed by projects, arrodisement ruled by sub prefects and communes governed by mayors. All these officers were appointed by him and therefore they were loyal, answerable to him. Local councils continued to be elected by the people and their role was to advice prefects and sub prefects. All these maintained law and order and created efficiency in services. It should be noted that napoleon system of government was adopted and used in France up to now

4.       Reforms in education

Before Napoleon, France had poor education system of very low standard but napoleon laid foundation for modern French education. He set up secondary schools, semi-military schools called Lycees run by government. In the Lycees, military science, political science and maths were emphasized to improve on the performance of the army. He also founded the university of France in 1805 (the first university) with 17 branches(faculties) distributed throughout France. University education was brought under state control and this ended the disagreement between the church and the state over education. The schools were non segregative and they produced very bright and creative students who served the nation with distinctions. This ended illiteracy in France.

5.       Commerce and industry

Napoleon transformed and improved the industrial and commercial sectors of France. Before Napoleon came to power, these two sectors were referred to as “the laughing stock of Europe”. They had completely declined due to trade restrictions, numerous taxes, corruption, lack of government support etc. Napoleon created the central bank of France in 1800 to give loans to traders and manufacturers. By 1815, there were 2000 mills employing 40,000 people. He also embarked on the policy of protectionism to protect home industries. This helped to solve the problem of unemployment in France

6.       Agricultural development

Napoleon’s regime greatly improved the agricultural sector. He resolved peace and stability which created a conducive atmosphere for agriculture. Government expenditure on agriculture was increased to boost production. He embarked on land reclamation, and drainage of swamps to increase cultivable land. Farmers’ co-operative societies were promoted with modern farming methods. This helped to increase on food production i.e. food crops like beans, potatoes, wheat etc were grown hence solving the problem of famine that used to attack France

7.       Financial reforms

Napoleon’s reforms improved on financial situation in France. Before Napoleon came to power, France experienced financial crisis and chronic inflation which was worse during the directorate government. However, Napoleon stabilized the crisis currency on gold standard system. He established the bank of France in 1800 with the task of giving loans and regulating the circulation of money in the economy. Tax collectors were to deposit tax proceeds to avoid corruption. Defeated and conquered states were forced to pay indemnity to support French economy and financed napoleon’s military campaign corrupt officials were seriously punished and this helped to fight corruption in France.

8.       Tax reforms

Taxation that had been referred to as “the cancer of the ancient regime” was reformed and made fair. People were fairly accessed according to their ability and there was no tax exemption for the nobles and clergy. In 1803, napoleon enacted the tariff law to limit export in order to safeguard the French in fact industries from competition with British goods. He reduced the burden of taxation of the Frenchmen by overtaxing the conquered states such as Italians, Germans, Belgians, etc. corruption and embezzlement of tax proceeds (revenue) were heavily punished

9.       The code napoleon

The most memorable achievement of napoleon was making of legal laws popularly known as “the code Napoleon”. Before Napoleon coming to power, France had no clear laws governing the French society. Napoleon realized the need for a unified legal system. He appointed a committee of lawyers who under his guidance came out with a clear simplified and reduced to only five;

The criminal code

The civil code

The commercial code

The military code

The penal code

The codes made Napoleon very popular and were adopted by other countries of Europe, America and Africa. This marked France as a modern state in Europe

10.   Modernized the army

Napoleon scores highest in the military sector, he modernized and perfected the French army and France had the best infantry in the whole of Europe. The army was used to maintain law and order and deal with political opponents. It was used to expand the French territories and consolidate French rule in the conquered states. More importantly, the army was given priority.

11.   The reign of terror

This was a form of a word given to men which rendered distinguished services to the state such as I the civil service, commerce, army etc. this was to recognize and encourage people to be more patriotic and nationalistic in serving their nation. This created the spirit of competition, dedication and self sacrifice for their modern land. For the success of this policy, Napoleon said “men are led by toys”. The Legion of Honor portrays Napoleon as a true child of the French revolution

12.   The new constitution

Between 1800-1810, Napoleon ruled as a constitutional ruler. He issued a new constitution and created a new executive of their consults (napoleon, Abbey Sieyes and Duccas), a parliament of 300 legislatures. The constitution clearly separated the powers of the executive, legislative and judiciary. It was made public and people were asked to vote in a referendum in favor or against it. It was eventually endorsed by the people and it became a working document for the Republic of France. The constitution also provided for human rights and freedom of worship, press, association etc. this gave him a lot of powers that enabled him to have firm control over France

13.     Career open to talent

Career open to talents was a patriotic policy that promoted the revolutionary principle of equality. Under this policy, Napoleon abolished the segregative social class that existed in France prior to 1799. Napoleon opposed the injustice of royal blood connection to determine the appointment and promotion to public office. He instead used ability and performances as a standard for one to rise to position and responsibility. This explains why his government was strong and more efficient than those of the revolutionary period.