Chapter 18: Social change
Class distinction and titles
N had promised a society in which careers were ‘open to talents’ and where men and women could advance
themselves by the own merit. To a certain extent this was the case. General Augereau, for example, was the
son of a Parisian fruit-seller who rose to become duc de Castiglione, a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour and
Marshal of France. However, there was a limit to how much those in the lower ranks of society could advance
themselves (particularly outside of the military) and N was really only interested in civilians of education and
wealth who could serve his empire. It was the masses de granit – the ‘notables’, on whom the government and
administration of the regime relied – who did will in Imperial France.
N, perhaps because of his own military background, liked hierarchies. It gave his people something to aspire to
and it also enabled him to act the patron, conferring rewards at relatively little cost to himself and the state and
so binding the recipients to the regime and its master. Consequently, N developed a system of rewards and
honours for loyalty and effective service, both in the military and state
The Legion of Honour
In 1802, N established the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, to reward those who had served him well and
shown their loyalty. It was a military and civil award but most of those selected to receive it were chosen for
their military service; of the 32,000 awards made in the years down to 1814, only 1500 went to civilians. N
served as the grand master of his order and a council of seven ‘grand officers’ administered 15 ‘cohorts’ into
which the order was divided. There were five classes, ranging from the grand eagle (with limited membership)
to the chevalier (knight). Recipients received a small annual salary as well as a star of the order bearing the
head of N and the motto ‘Honneur et Patrie’. With the coming of the Empire, a large sash and a silver star with
an eagle were introduced for members in 1805; a still larger sash followed in 1814. N himself always wore this,
and the title conferred much prestige. From 1808, with the establishment of the Napoleonic nobility, the award
gave the holder the title of chevalier de l’Empire (Knight of the Empire) which was made hereditary after three
generations of recipients.
Women and the Legion of Honour: the honour may not have originally been intended for women, but
there was nothing to prevent this and three women are known to have received it for service with the
military: Virginie Ghesquière, who disguised herself as a male to serve in army between 1806 and 1812;
Marie-Jeanne Schelling and a nun, Sister Anne Biget
The Imperial nobility
In 1804, N accompanied his coronation as Emperor with the grant of the princely titles to members of his own
family: his brothers Joseph and Louis (1804) and Jérôme (1806); his sister Elise; his adopted son, Eugène de
Beauharnais; his uncle, Joseph Fesch (1807); and his brother-in-law and army general, Joachim Murat. In 1806
ducal titles were created for senior figures and ‘Marshals of France’. By an Imperial decree of Mach 1808, N
founded the ‘Imperial nobility’, which included counts (a title given to ministers, senators, archbishops, high-
ranking state officials and some generals), barons (given to bishops, mayors of large cities and other officials
and generals) and knights (a title more widely awarded for service). The numbers of princes increased also.
Overall, about 59% of the titles went to military men and most of the rest to civil servants to reward loyal
service among the notables. However, 22.5% of those ennobled by N were from the Ancien Regime nobility and
the award of titles thus became a prop to the policy of ralliement. The award of titles helped to ensure that the
fates of N’s supporters were closely linked to his own.
Awards of Imperial Nobility
Occupation Percentage %
Military 59
Senior state official 22
Other notable 17
Others 2
, Titles were often accompanied by gifts of estates and pensions. For example, a retiring senator could expect to
receive the title of count, a country estate and residence and an annual income of 25,000 francs. Provision was
also made for titles to become hereditary, when a recipient had a sufficiently large income. (The level of wealth
needed varied according to the dignity of the title; an annual income of 200,000 francs was needed, for
example, to maintain the title of duke). However, the new nobility was not like the old. It was only a seventh of
the size of the old nobility of 1789 and was primary linked to service
Lucien Bonaparte did not agree with the concept of nobility and abandoned his political position in the
Tribunate, to go to Rome. He only returned to support his brother in 1814, when he too was made a prince
Education
The early revolutionaries had sought to extend education, making provision for all, regardless of background.
However, regardless than removing schooling from the hands of the Church, comparatively little had been
achieved thanks to the revolutionary upheavals and pressures of war. N was thus able to claim credit for
devising a new ‘enlightened’ education system for France. Nevertheless, as with so many of his propagandist
statements, his changes were certainly not as extensive as the early idealists would have wished.
In May 1802 a new law established:
An école Populaire (state primary school) in each commune, run by the local municipality and subject to
the inspection of a sous-préfet (sub-prefect)
Lycées to provide secondary education school for boys aged 10-16. There were initially 37 and
eventually 45 of these. They provided a boarding education and entrance was by on open scholarship
examination
Napoleon’s lycées: in the lycées, boys were divided between those destined for a civil career and those
destined for the military. The civil careers stream would learn languages, rhetoric and philosophy; the
military stream would study mathematics, physics, chemistry and military matters. Both civil and military
graduates would be guaranteed employment in the chosen career
N was far more interested in the establishment of the lycées than the primary schools. He was quite happy to
allow other private and Church-run schools to exist alongside his new secular state schools so long as the
virtues of obedience to the state were instilled in pupils. The organisation Les Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes (the
Brothers of the Christian School) helped developed and teach in such schools and they were generally popular.
The lycées, on the other hand, were important to N. Seeing these as the source of the Empire’s future military
and civilian personnel, he ensured that they were run with military discipline and taught a curriculum that was
‘modern’, that that it was secular and offered science. The schools appealed to those from the property-owning
classes and, in particular, from the military elite. Of the 6400 places available, 2400 went to the sons of soldiers
and civil servants’ – N’s ‘notables’. Not all scholarships were taken up, however, and it was seen that some
families actually preferred to send their sons to the slightly more relaxed atmosphere in the collèges (municipal
secondary schools) or the instituts (secondary schools that usually focused on a vocational curriculum area)
even though fees could be high and students at these had to pay an additional levy which was put towards the
lycées.
In March 1808 the Imperial University was established. The role of this body was the act as a supervisory,
rather than a teaching, institution, ensuring that all education both state and private conformed to certain
standards. The Imperial University was responsible for:
Teacher training, appointments and promotions; all staff were required to give an oath of loyalty and
obedience; they received fixed salaries and pensions but there were bonuses for those whose pupils
advanced to higher education
The setting-up of new schools
The curriculum, which was standardised for both state and private schools; this standardisation
extended down to individual lessons and various military features were demanded, including uniforms,
marching and music
School inspections and annual reports to N
Class distinction and titles
N had promised a society in which careers were ‘open to talents’ and where men and women could advance
themselves by the own merit. To a certain extent this was the case. General Augereau, for example, was the
son of a Parisian fruit-seller who rose to become duc de Castiglione, a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour and
Marshal of France. However, there was a limit to how much those in the lower ranks of society could advance
themselves (particularly outside of the military) and N was really only interested in civilians of education and
wealth who could serve his empire. It was the masses de granit – the ‘notables’, on whom the government and
administration of the regime relied – who did will in Imperial France.
N, perhaps because of his own military background, liked hierarchies. It gave his people something to aspire to
and it also enabled him to act the patron, conferring rewards at relatively little cost to himself and the state and
so binding the recipients to the regime and its master. Consequently, N developed a system of rewards and
honours for loyalty and effective service, both in the military and state
The Legion of Honour
In 1802, N established the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, to reward those who had served him well and
shown their loyalty. It was a military and civil award but most of those selected to receive it were chosen for
their military service; of the 32,000 awards made in the years down to 1814, only 1500 went to civilians. N
served as the grand master of his order and a council of seven ‘grand officers’ administered 15 ‘cohorts’ into
which the order was divided. There were five classes, ranging from the grand eagle (with limited membership)
to the chevalier (knight). Recipients received a small annual salary as well as a star of the order bearing the
head of N and the motto ‘Honneur et Patrie’. With the coming of the Empire, a large sash and a silver star with
an eagle were introduced for members in 1805; a still larger sash followed in 1814. N himself always wore this,
and the title conferred much prestige. From 1808, with the establishment of the Napoleonic nobility, the award
gave the holder the title of chevalier de l’Empire (Knight of the Empire) which was made hereditary after three
generations of recipients.
Women and the Legion of Honour: the honour may not have originally been intended for women, but
there was nothing to prevent this and three women are known to have received it for service with the
military: Virginie Ghesquière, who disguised herself as a male to serve in army between 1806 and 1812;
Marie-Jeanne Schelling and a nun, Sister Anne Biget
The Imperial nobility
In 1804, N accompanied his coronation as Emperor with the grant of the princely titles to members of his own
family: his brothers Joseph and Louis (1804) and Jérôme (1806); his sister Elise; his adopted son, Eugène de
Beauharnais; his uncle, Joseph Fesch (1807); and his brother-in-law and army general, Joachim Murat. In 1806
ducal titles were created for senior figures and ‘Marshals of France’. By an Imperial decree of Mach 1808, N
founded the ‘Imperial nobility’, which included counts (a title given to ministers, senators, archbishops, high-
ranking state officials and some generals), barons (given to bishops, mayors of large cities and other officials
and generals) and knights (a title more widely awarded for service). The numbers of princes increased also.
Overall, about 59% of the titles went to military men and most of the rest to civil servants to reward loyal
service among the notables. However, 22.5% of those ennobled by N were from the Ancien Regime nobility and
the award of titles thus became a prop to the policy of ralliement. The award of titles helped to ensure that the
fates of N’s supporters were closely linked to his own.
Awards of Imperial Nobility
Occupation Percentage %
Military 59
Senior state official 22
Other notable 17
Others 2
, Titles were often accompanied by gifts of estates and pensions. For example, a retiring senator could expect to
receive the title of count, a country estate and residence and an annual income of 25,000 francs. Provision was
also made for titles to become hereditary, when a recipient had a sufficiently large income. (The level of wealth
needed varied according to the dignity of the title; an annual income of 200,000 francs was needed, for
example, to maintain the title of duke). However, the new nobility was not like the old. It was only a seventh of
the size of the old nobility of 1789 and was primary linked to service
Lucien Bonaparte did not agree with the concept of nobility and abandoned his political position in the
Tribunate, to go to Rome. He only returned to support his brother in 1814, when he too was made a prince
Education
The early revolutionaries had sought to extend education, making provision for all, regardless of background.
However, regardless than removing schooling from the hands of the Church, comparatively little had been
achieved thanks to the revolutionary upheavals and pressures of war. N was thus able to claim credit for
devising a new ‘enlightened’ education system for France. Nevertheless, as with so many of his propagandist
statements, his changes were certainly not as extensive as the early idealists would have wished.
In May 1802 a new law established:
An école Populaire (state primary school) in each commune, run by the local municipality and subject to
the inspection of a sous-préfet (sub-prefect)
Lycées to provide secondary education school for boys aged 10-16. There were initially 37 and
eventually 45 of these. They provided a boarding education and entrance was by on open scholarship
examination
Napoleon’s lycées: in the lycées, boys were divided between those destined for a civil career and those
destined for the military. The civil careers stream would learn languages, rhetoric and philosophy; the
military stream would study mathematics, physics, chemistry and military matters. Both civil and military
graduates would be guaranteed employment in the chosen career
N was far more interested in the establishment of the lycées than the primary schools. He was quite happy to
allow other private and Church-run schools to exist alongside his new secular state schools so long as the
virtues of obedience to the state were instilled in pupils. The organisation Les Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes (the
Brothers of the Christian School) helped developed and teach in such schools and they were generally popular.
The lycées, on the other hand, were important to N. Seeing these as the source of the Empire’s future military
and civilian personnel, he ensured that they were run with military discipline and taught a curriculum that was
‘modern’, that that it was secular and offered science. The schools appealed to those from the property-owning
classes and, in particular, from the military elite. Of the 6400 places available, 2400 went to the sons of soldiers
and civil servants’ – N’s ‘notables’. Not all scholarships were taken up, however, and it was seen that some
families actually preferred to send their sons to the slightly more relaxed atmosphere in the collèges (municipal
secondary schools) or the instituts (secondary schools that usually focused on a vocational curriculum area)
even though fees could be high and students at these had to pay an additional levy which was put towards the
lycées.
In March 1808 the Imperial University was established. The role of this body was the act as a supervisory,
rather than a teaching, institution, ensuring that all education both state and private conformed to certain
standards. The Imperial University was responsible for:
Teacher training, appointments and promotions; all staff were required to give an oath of loyalty and
obedience; they received fixed salaries and pensions but there were bonuses for those whose pupils
advanced to higher education
The setting-up of new schools
The curriculum, which was standardised for both state and private schools; this standardisation
extended down to individual lessons and various military features were demanded, including uniforms,
marching and music
School inspections and annual reports to N
