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Flashcards on Napoleon's rise to power
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- The French Revolution
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AQA A-Level history flashcards on Napoleon's rise to power.
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a) Improved tax – more fair & efficient
o The Consulate impr tax collection – land registers were drawn up
& tax registers showing who should pay were updated.
France o Indirect taxes such as tobacco were revived & brought in a lot of
revenue.
The rise of Napoleon 1800 Bank of France – i.e. a private bank, which the Ancien Regime
lacked.
Impact of Napoleon’s financial reforms o
o
Issued paper notes, so inflation issues were less linked to Nap.
Made the gov task of raising finances easier b/c ppl had more
during his consulate trust.
Solved inflation w new currency
a) Positive [10] o Ancien regime – inflation, after 1797 – deflation.
o Franc de germinal introd, based on gold & silver coins.
b) Negative [2] o Strict control of these metals ensured a stable currency.
b)
Benefit limited – Nap repudiated the debts of the Directory.
The Consulate still depended heavily (arguably more heavily) on plunder
from occupied territories for income (like the Directory).
a)
Intro of a single Legal Code (Civil Code, Mar 1804) meant Nap had uniform
control over France.
o The gov & Nap didn’t have to worry abt diffs in laws across
France departments.
o Made legal administration easier to control.
The rise of Napoleon Liberal appearance of the legal reforms incr Nap’s pop.
o Contrast w pre-1789 (Ancien Regime)
Napoleon’s methods for consolidating o Affirmed major changes made by the rev - equality before the law
power o
& abolition of feudalism.
Incr Nap’s rep as an enlightened leader.
Legal reform Established that gov > church.
o ‘The State is the unique source of the law’
a) Effective [10] o Undermined the authority of the Church - legal rights of those who
had bought land confiscated from the Church were upheld.
b) Ineffective [2] b)
Gov’s authority over the Church was already established by the religious
reforms (Concordat 1801).
Not entirely liberal – slavery was condoned, women could not own property,
etc.
a)
Provide the state w loyal civic officers & disciplined army officials.
Create uniformity in edu.
France b)
Secondary edu – Nap’s main focus – benefitted a lot
o 1802 - replaced the convention’s ineffective system w centrally controlled
The rise of Napoleon Lycées - 45 schools staffed by instructors chosen by Nap.
o The state provided 6400 scholarships - 2400 were for the sons of solders
Impact of Napoleon’s educational & gov officials.
o Teachers taught from identical government appointed textbooks – more
reforms during his consulate uniformity = equality in edu.
Uni helped train ppl who would be of use to France.
a) Aim [2] o Imperial University opened in 1808
o Devoted to training managerial staff the country needed, esp in law,
b) Positive [7] c)
military (officers), gov, & med.
c) Negative [3] Edu for ppl in lower classes & girls was largely neglected
o Lower classes - limited to primary level which only provided a moral
education, basic literacy, & numeracy.
Girls - Nap said that ‘marriage was their Destiny’ - they did not need to be thought
to think.
a)
Most of France was Catholic, so getting Catholic support was imp.
The Concordat – negotiating began in 1800, signed 15 Jul 1801, formally
published Apr 1802.
b)
Incr Nap’s administrative power
Rise of Nap o Clergy were appointed & paid by the government & bound by oath. -
Bishops oft called ‘prefects in purple’.
Consolidation of power o Church became a tax paying body –helped gov finances.
Helped Nap impr his rep.
Religious reforms o Nap amended church catechisms in 1806 despite papal objection.
o Taught ppl to revere & obey Nap – created St Nap Day on 16th Aug.
a) Context [2] Weakened the church
a) Success [=10, =1] o Pope was forced to accept Nap’s control - attended Napoleon’s
coronation in 1804 (appearance of religious endorsement).
o Organic Articles imposed w/o Pope’s consent - incr gov control over
priests.
Tensions between the Church & State remained.
But Nap’s control over the Church did incr, partly b/c the Concordat healed
some of the entrenched divisions.
, a)
Propaganda – Nap used his 7 newspapers to spread his successes
abroad.
France o 1801 Treaty of Lunéville w Austria gave most of Italy to
France.
The rise of Napoleon Nap used medallions (a form of propaganda) to incr his support.
o Medallions = medals made from copper, silver, & gold to
Napoleon’s methods for consolidating commemorate & reward military achievements.
o V pop among the military, which helped Nap maintain his pop
power among the troops.
Control of the media
Censorship – suppressed any anti-Nap media.
Manipulated plebiscite results to make Nap’s consti seem pop.
a) Effective [8] o Consti of Yr VIII was put to a plebiscite & Nap falsified a big
majority.
b) Ineffective [1] b)
Although control of media helped imp Nap’s pop, it didn’t actually
give him any tangible control over any new areas (unlike legal &
religious reforms).
Impr efficiency & gave Nap almost complete central control (esp imp since
Nap was oft away on military campaigns).
o Prefects (introd 10 Feb 1800) were appointed by Nap. They
appointed the officials who served under them, so most
administrative officials were ultimately answerable to Nap.
o Prefects monitored public opinion & reported back to Nap so he
could quash any potential resistance.
Rise of Nap Helped Nap’s rep – prefects (appointed based on skill & merit) circulated
gov propaganda of Nap as enlightened.
Consolidation of power Benefitted the French ppl (so less discontent)
o Prefects were responsible for poor relief, food supplies, education,
Importance of Administration o
etc.
Changes in administration meant services (^) were more efficient.
[=10, =1] o Report from a prefect in Vendee – 1yr before the prefects were
introd, the region was in chaos. Now the dep was in a much better
state.
Prefects may have downplayed any problems.
The fact that the administrative changes remained in France until very
recently suggests that the changes were effective.
Many of Nap’s other reforms relied on administrative reforms as they
needed to be enforced by the prefects.
Boosted Nap’s military genius rep (linked to role as Emperor).
o The battle had been won by tricking the enemy into
attacking his right flank, then counter attacking to cut the
enemy force in ½.
o Helped counter the embarrassment of Trafalgar.
Boosted France economically – helped Nap’s strat of using the
Rise of Nap war as ‘une bonne affaire’.
Battles o Treaty of Pressburg – Austria had to pay France 40mill
Francs.
Importance of Austerlitz o Allowed Nap to pay & feed his troops, & so cont the war.
Acted as a trigger for Nap’s enemies to reform their armies
[=8, =1] along French lines - e.g. Russia retreated to rebuild its army.
o Meant that after 1807, Nap was fighting against an enemy
that used similar tactics to him.
By Austerlitz, Austria had been greatly weakened by the
surrender @ Ulm. So Austerlitz was the logical outcome of a
string of successful campaigns.
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