1.
Use your own knowledge to explain how the cartoon can be
used to describe the causes of the French Revolution.
HOW DID FRANCE CHANGE UNDER NAPOLEON?
Napoleon has been remembered not only for his military victories, but
also as a ‘Great Reformer’, bringing about improvements to France and
French Society. Napoleon himself said: “I intend to keep the Revolution’s
useful changes, but not
to abandon the good institutions it mistakenly destroyed.” So, how did France change under Napoleon? And did
it change
for the better? To answer these questions, we need to look at France
before, and during
Napoleon’s rule.
CHANGES TO EDUCATION
UNDER THE KING – Only the privileged went to schools, which were
run by The Church. Pupils were taught
respect for elders and religion.
THE REVOLUTION brought some change. Revolutionaries proclaimed that
school
was for
everyone,
and
state schools were even proposed, but
none were
set
up. The Aim was to encourage
pupils to
investigate and
question.
UNDER NAPOLEON
– The education system
in
France
changed. Four
grades of school were
set up; primary, secondary, lycées (schools run on military lines) and
technical schools. Schools now stressed the importance
of
obedience and military values – although primary
education stayed almost
as it had been before 1789.
Science and maths became more important subjects
in secondary
schools. In 1814 9000 pupils were attending the 36
lycées – out
of a population of 30 million.
GOVERNING FRANCE
UNDER THE KING
– Louis had absolute power, and could not be removed. There was
no
National Assembly
(or Parliament) and there were no elections, so people
did not
have a say in who was in power in France. The
King made all the laws, and as a result, some were
very out of date
such as the Estates system, and
inequality of different groups in
society.
THE REVOLUTION brought changes. There
was no single ruler of
France, and a National Assembly was
elected
by voters (all men).
The Assembly made all the
laws, which meant
that many new laws were introduced.
UNDER NAPOLEON – More changes
were introduced.
Napoleon became Emperor of France, and could not be removed from power. There
were two
National Assemblies, with members chosen by
Napoleon from candidates elected by
the
people. All men could vote,
but after 1804,
there
were no elections.
All laws were made by the Assemblies.
The Code Napoleon, 1804
The Code stated
that:
• All people were declared equal before the law.
There were no longer any special privileges for
Nobles, Churchmen or rich
people
• Feudal
rights
were ended.
• Trial by Jury was guaranteed.
• Religious Freedom
was guaranteed.
• Parents were given powers
over their children.
• Wives were not allowed
to
sell
or
give away
property.
• A wife
could
only own property with
her husband’s consent in writing.
• Fathers were allowed to imprison their children
for
any time up to a month.
In 1804 the Napoleonic Code was introduced. It had a set of clear laws, applicable to all members of French Society. The Code was also introduced into other parts of Europe conquered by
Napoleon, like Italy, Spain and some parts of Germany.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
France under Napoleon sometimes seemed similar to France under King Louis. The Prison and Courts system
was
‘officially’ different, in that you
could no
longer
be put in prison without charge and
everyone was equal in the courts, nobles did not have special rights anymore,
but
even in
Napoleon’s rule there were restrictions. He had a secret police force, which from 1810 could arrest people without trial.
Napoleon, like King Louis, and unlike the Revolution, tried to censor and control the
newspapers, and free speech was not slowed in
France or the
French Empire.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
During the Revolution, the land owned by the Catholic Church was
sold off and any religion
was permitted (only
Catholicism was
practised in the ‘Ancient Regime’). In 1802,
Napoleon made an agreement with the Pope called the Concordat in which the Pope agreed that the Church would not get its
land back and in return,
Catholicism was
accepted as the religion of the majority. As well as this, it was agreed that Bishops were to be chosen by
Napoleon, and agreed by
the
Pope. This meant that the government now had greater
control over the Church.
FRENCH SOCIETY
Napoleon
tried to make sure that all major groups gained
from his rule.
For peasants, Napoleon made sure that they could keep their
land by eradicating
Feudalism. He restored
the
Catholic Church to its former importance through the Concordat,
and the peasants no longer had to pay tithes. For the Nobles, Napoleon offered ‘king-like’ stability. He created titles for some people,
though these new nobles had no special privileges.
Napoleon tried to reward
talented and hardworking
people by setting up
the Legion of Honour in 1802.
It is still one of the highest honours
you can receive in France today.
Some of the things said by Napoleon!
It is not what is true that counts,
but what people
think is true.
The ignorant class will no
longer exercise their
influence on making laws or on government.
In France women are considered too highly. They should
not be regarded as equal to men. In reality they
are nothing more than machines for producing children.
Public education does not suit women, as they are not called upon to live in
public marriage is their whole estimation.
ACTIVITIES
1) Go back through all the information on
the worksheets. Write down
each
underlined
word or phrase and its meaning. You night have to ask
your
teacher for help with
some, or think back to your previous work. There are 6
altogether!
2) In what ways did Napoleon
reform the education
system in France?
3) Which aspects of Napoleon’s
education system did not change?
4) In what ways were the governments of King
Louis XVI (pre-Revolution)
and
Napoleon
different?
5) In what ways were they
similar?
6) Read the Napoleonic Code.
List the points of the code which
you
think are:
a. Fair?
b. Unfair?
Give reasons for your choices.
7) How did Napoleon try to restrict
individual rights and freedoms?
8) Why do you think Napoleon
felt it was so important
to control the press?
9) How did Napoleon
try to control religion in France?
10)What was the appeal of Napoleon
to:
a. The
Peasants?
b. The Nobility?
11) Read some of the things said by Napoleon (on all
of the sheets). What do these extracts tell us about Napoleon’s
attitude towards:
a. His role as Emperor?
b. Women?
c. The Media?
d. The lower classes?
12)How did Napoleon
improve France’s cities and towns?
HOW FAR DID NAPOLEON REALLY REFORM
FRANCE?
This is an extended piece of writing, so you should plan your work in the back of
your book first. You should organise
your
answer into five sections,
which you can later
put into paragraphs. The five areas are: Education, The Government, The
Church, Rights and Freedoms and Society. To
answer the BIG question, you need to look at how far Napoleon reformed each of the sections. For example, in some
areas there had been great change, but in others, there were few differences from the time of King Louis. You can include in your answer quotes and opinions from the man himself to support your own thoughts. Once you have planned
what you are going to include in your sections,
you need to write a brief introduction to your work, and sum up your arguments
with a strong conclusion. Get you teacher to check it, put
it all together in the front of your book, and VOILA! One essay!
