How did the First French Empire and allies differ from the other European monarchies at that time?
Upvote:2
Well, Napoleon's empire and his satellites were born out of the French Revolution and presumably in his first years in power as First Consul, before he became emperor, he might have well retained some of the revolutionary rhetoric. (Did he actually? It'd be a good technical follow-up question).
However, once he became emperor, Napoleon didn't seem to have much use for revolutionary language or ideas. As you correctly point out, he was an absolute monarch himself and did not seek on principle to dethrone other absolute monarchs; instead he married the daughter of the Austrian Emperor. So I am a bit hard-pressed to recall examples where Napoleon or his minions claimed that "they were revolutionary forces fighting a revolutionary wars" - what did you have in mind?
Another telling example (for which, alas, I do not have a reference at the moment) is that Napoleon did not even conceive of offering Russian serfs freedom when he invaded Russian - arguably the only political move that could have allowed him to achieve victory (of course, actually winning his battles there also could have helped....).
Upvote:4
What differentiated the monarchies of France and its allies from other European monarchies was that the "monarchs" were "nouveaux riches," (nouveau empowered, actually) as opposed to "established" monarchs. As for their claims to being "revolutionary," these monarchies were "born" in the French Revolution, and paid "lip service" to "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite."
Upvote:10
There was a set of reforms introduced by Napoleon into conquered countries
The law based on Napoleonic code. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified.
The code declared presumption of innocence, competitive trial and right to an attorney.
The code prohibited secret and ex post facto laws
The courts were prohibited to refuse justice citing incompleteness of the law.
As a consequence, serfdom and slavery were abolished
Jews and other minorities were emancipated
The metric system Napoleon introduced in all conquered states the metric system which facilitated trade. The previous diverse measurement units were abolished.
The abolition of intrastate borders All borders inside a country were abolished as well as taxes for crossing such borders. This greatly expanded trade. The intrastate borders were especially common in the German States.
More post
- 📝 What is the history of the use of word dividers in Greek?
- 📝 Origin of San Francisco's water lots off Candlestick Point
- 📝 Authenticity of the Russian birch bark manuscripts
- 📝 In the 18th c., did/would China accept gold from Europe as trade payment? Why / why not?
- 📝 What does Deng Xiaoping mean by "Hide your capacities, bide your time '?
- 📝 Who is the first person in the 17th century to describe themselves as a "white" person and who invented the term "white race"?
- 📝 How much of the Jonestown money actually got given to the USSR?
- 📝 The Roman Law of the Twelve Tables on slavery
- 📝 What is the etymology of the word "slave"?
- 📝 Why did the British leave Kohima and Imphal "lightly" defended in 1944?
- 📝 WWI: British blockade of Germany (and neutrals)
- 📝 Were the heavy war reparations on Germany after World War I the main cause of its hyperinflation in 1923?
- 📝 What percentage of US population descended from immigration per immigration year?
- 📝 When was the silk route active?
- 📝 Computer business in 1969
- 📝 Did vikings really travel as far as the Middle-east?
- 📝 Was "Golden Pheasant" used pejoratively in Nazi Germany?
- 📝 In Antiquity, were Persian arrows considered superior to their Greek counterparts?
- 📝 Why did Pakistan get involved in Soviet-Afghan war from 1979 to 1989?
- 📝 To what extent did the medieval European peasantry know their extended family?
- 📝 Cost of peac**k throne vs Cost of Taj Mahal
- 📝 Where can I find what the cost of a train ticket in the USA was in 1930?
- 📝 Why were so few Luftwaffe attacks flown against the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944?
- 📝 Why was Kaliningrad placed under the Russian SFSR rather than the Lithuanian SSR?
- 📝 Why are scientific and medical training so different?
- 📝 Was any stimulant used in wars before WW2 that gave a significant advantage to soldiers?
- 📝 Why didn't Hitler decide to wait until after winning WW2 to implement the final solution?
- 📝 What was the biggest region in the Holy Roman Empire that was never Protestant, if any?
- 📝 Why did the Sykes-Picot agreement divided the middle east into more than 10 countries?
- 📝 How to validate a historical source
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How did the First French Empire and allies differ from the other European monarchies at that time?
- 📝 Were bookshops 'common' in the late 19th century, and how did they differ from modern ones?
- 📝 How did the use of tanks differ in the Pacific war from the European war?
- 📝 How and why did the progress of Army Group A differ from what the terrain in the Caucasus might suggest?
- 📝 In the early 1900s, how did US politicians treat black dignitaries from other countries?
- 📝 How and why did e.g. Chechnya differ in status from entities like Armenia?
- 📝 What did other European powers say when Portugal and Spain signed the Treaty of Tordesillas?
- 📝 How did Moldova and Romania become separate in the first place?
- 📝 What were the thoughts of the Celts, Romans and other ancient European people about the standing stones which survive from prehistoric times?
- 📝 Which European countries did not have a revolution in the aftermath of the French Revolution and why?
- 📝 How and why did Polish rule over the Ukraine "downwardly deviate" from Lithuanian rule?
- 📝 How much tax revenue did the British Empire receive from its colonies in a given year?
- 📝 Did more Jews live in Poland than any other country, prior to the Holocaust, because of how Polish laws and people regarded Jews?
- 📝 How much did the culture of Anatolian Gallic settlers differ from their kin in Gaul?
- 📝 Where and how did the allies scrounge enough food for the Soviets AND the British?
- 📝 How did the European and international left react to the Cafe War?
- 📝 How did the British Army unit size and structure in WWI change from 1915 to 1918?
- 📝 How did agricultural productivity change in Italy with the fall of the Roman Empire and through the early Middle Ages?
- 📝 During and right after the French Revolution, how did France maintain and operate such a big army all over Europe?
- 📝 What was American anti-tank doctrine during WWII on paper, and how did it differ from in practice?
- 📝 How did the design of the hull differ between an Indiaman and a frigate?
- 📝 Why did Black and Asian immigrants from the Empire not come to Britain in substantial numbers until after WW2?
- 📝 How did the French and English forces "stack up" toward the end of the Hundred Years' War?
- 📝 How did the British and French train their troops during the colonial eras?
- 📝 After the Mongol Empire fell, did China really turn away from math and physics?
- 📝 How did the Allies locate, identify and process Nazi War criminals?
- 📝 Why and how did the CIA/OSS support non-communist French trade unions after WWII?
- 📝 How and why did Aleksotas became part of the Russian Empire in 1864?
- 📝 How frequently did the KMT use telegrams to communicate; from where (roughly) and to whom?
- 📝 When and who did the Legislative Assembly banish from France during the French Revolution?
