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A-Level AQA History French Revolution Chapter 22 summary
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Chapter 22: The control of the Grand EmpireThe administration of the Empire
N wanted his 'Grand Empire' to share the French experience. This meant destroying privilege, applying
Napoleonic legal codes and concentrating power in the hands of an efficient, centralising administration.
Wherever Empire was established, there followed an Imperial bureaucracy of prefects, sub-prefects, tax-
collectors, customs officers, police commissaires and gendarmes. In those territories, which became part of the
greater France (Belgium, the German territories west of the Rhine, Piedmont, the Ligurian Republic, Nice and
Savoy), départements were carved out and the administration was fully integrated into a system centred on
Paris. Elsewhere, in those territories that were not under direct French control, systems were more varied, but
the ideal mimicked France's own administration with a council of state and a prefectoral structure, these
satellite states adopted the French model of public finance, with a resurrecting of the fiscal administration, and
the introduction of budgeting and accounting
Establishing French-style administrative institution across Empire was dependent on finding suitable men
from the incorporated territories, who were this given a stake in the regime, and professional French officiers,
many of whom had gained experience in France during the years of the revolution. The Imperial administrators
varied in quality from the honest and capable to the speculating tax-collectors, corrupt customs officers and
military leaders who had been disgraced in Paris to get the out of the way; but, for the most part, Empire was
effectively run.
A gendarmerie was also set up in those parts of Europe where the French extended their rule. This reinforced
the power and authority of the central government in even the most remote parts of N's large and disparate
empire. A gendarmerie was essential not only to establish control over those opposed French rule but also for
the policing of lawless areas, such as the Apennine regions of Italy and parts of the Rhineland, which were
known to be centres of smuggling and banditry
Gendarmeries proved very effective in the directly-controlled territories, but in southern Italy and along the
north German coast (regions which were never securely part of the Empire) the concept was never well
accepted. The local people resented the imposition of a paramilitary police force, regarding it as oppressive and
unnecessary. All attempts to create a gendarmerie in Spain also failed. There, the French had to rely on the
regular army to assert control.
Despite some devolution of authority to the satellite states, French administration was highly centralised. N
insisted that rulers should report regularly and refer any major decisions to him. Documents ranging from
minutes of the Council of State meetings to copies of budgetary statements were all despatched to Paris. Even if
N did not read all of these himself, they were perused by ministers; this sometimes caused substantial delays
when authorisation was sought.
Administration in the Empire: occasionally, it proved difficult to find local man with necessary skills, but
there were plenty of opportunities for educated, middle-class officials living in the satellite states. The ending of
feudal restriction and the opportunity for promotion by talent helped to create a pool of administrators to staff
the bureaucratic state. Their positions were limited only by French insistence that more sensitive posts
(including the highest officers in finance and justice) be reserved for those of French origin. The prestigious
role of prefect was filled by capable man from a variety of states, and they were rarely appointed as
administrators in their own region. Consequently, the corps became more international as well as more
professional
The administration of areas ruled by N’s family: in the Kingdom of Westphalia, Jérôme fulfilled his brother’s
wished by establishing the Code Napoleon, abolishing feudalism and introducing religious toleration in his
territories. However, N’s older brother Joseph was much less successful in introducing reforms and establishing
an efficient administration, both in his initial posting in Naples, where he met with resistance when he tried to
introduce the Code Napoleon, and subsequently in Spain, where the French never established stable control.
Louis, in Holland, proved too independent for N also, failing to introduce conscription and allowing some self-
government. He was consequently forced to abdicate in 1810. Eugène Beauharnais proved a more reliable
viceroy in Italy. Here, feudalism disappeared, the Code Napoleon was brought in, education was extended and
the French legal system operated reasonable efficiently.
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