Napoleon As Enlightened Despot example essay topic

Enlightened despotism is when there is an absolute ruler, in some cases a tyrant, who follows the principles of the Enlightenment through reforms. Permitting religious toleration, allowing freedom of the press and speech, and expanding education are a few main guidelines to being and enlightened despot. Napoleon I is often referred to as one of the greatest enlightened despots. Although, he did not follow the ideas of the enlightenment entirely, he managed his country in a way that he maintained complete authority as well as many of the gains of the French Revolution. Yes, Napoleon did want to do a few things for himself, but he also ruled for the majority in most cases, promote government-funded education, and supported many other enlightened ideas. But, most importantly, Napoleon did what he thought would make his country stronger.

One of Napoleon's first areas of concern was in the strengthening of the French government. He created a strong centralized government and pretty much got rid of the hundreds of localized law codes that had existed during under the control of the monarchy. He also created an army of government officials. He had the entire country linked under a rational administration. He also was able to get an easy supply of taxes and soldiers under his new and improved French government. Before he could get very far, however, he had to gain public favor and shape the public opinion.

To do this he used reforms of propaganda and thus caused people to think that they were getting the better end of the deal, but were actually, subconsciously giving Napoleon their approval for his actions. Among some of the methods he used for propaganda included getting all of the printers and book sellers to swear an oath to Napoleon and all newspapers fell under state control, so Napoleon gained access to almost everything that the citizens of France were able to read. Many of the gains from the French Revolution were kept, such as equality before the law, and careers open to talent. Some anti-revolution actions that Napoleon took included repressing liberty, restoring absolutism, and ending political liberty. He believed that allowing political freedom would end with a state of anarchy. He believed that he could solve these problems by acting in favor of the people's interests as an enlightened despot.

In the field of law, Napoleon heavily borrowed from the ideas of the philosophes and kept many of the gains from the revolution. In 1804, he implemented Code Napoleon, officially know as the civil code of 1804. This code provided for a single legal system for France, equality before the law and careers open to talent. It also granted freedom of religion, abolished serfdom and secularized the state. However, on the less liberal side of the spectrum, workers were denied collective bargaining (Negotiation between workers and their employers to determine wages, hours, rules, and working conditions. ), trade unions were outlawed and a system of labor passports was instituted. His incentive for this side of the code was probably to limit political freedom.

The code also robbed the women of many of their social and legal gains accomplished during the French Revolution. Women now had to ask for the approval of a man (most likely their husband) before they could do just about anything and divorce was much harder for a woman to get. In other words, they were treated like dirt again. Education was another of Napoleon's sights. Napoleon definitely wanted to establish a state system of public education. This would mean that schools would be managed and run by the state instead of the church and the education would be paid for by the state.

This would allow him a better selection of future officials to choose from; the secular curriculum would make sure of that. Education would also teach the young obedience and authority, both were high points for Napoleon. The University of France was eventually created by Napoleon as a board of education that ensured state control of education. However, again on the non-liberal side of things, women did not require an education, they only required religion. The economy was yet another reasonably important topic for Napoleon, as the French Revolution was partly caused by poor economy. To ensure that the French economy would please the people, Napoleon made sure that careers were open to men of talent (as discussed before) and that bread prices would be low so that more people could afford it.

Also, to stimulate the economy, Napoleon aided industry through tariffs and loans and built bridges, roads, and canals to improve transportation routes. A Bank of France was also established by Napoleon later on. Now it has come to decision time, was Napoleon an enlightened despot and if he was, was he the greatest? First of all, it is important to see that although Napoleon did not follow the ideas of the enlightenment exactly, he definitely hit on some big concepts, such as equality before the law, but he also did what would benefit his country. It is important to understand that since France had just exited a revolution, it was pretty fragile; one big mistake and France might have ended up in another one. Napoleon was not only a child of both the French Revolution and the Enlightenment, he was also a very intelligent person.

His cunning and his wits led him to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest enlightened despot of all time. Works Consulted (none). "The Age of Enlightenment". 17 Dec. 2004.18 Dec. 2004. web Enlightenment Bergeron, Louis.

"France Under Napoleon: Napoleon as Enlightened Despot". 13 Dec. 2004. Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment: An Interpretation New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996 Kreis, Steven.

"Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon". The History Guide: Lectures on Modern European Intellectual History. 13 May. 2004.6 Dec. 2004. Karl, Kenneth. Cracking the AP European History Exam New York: Princeton Review Publishing, 2004: 118-120 Spielvogal, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Comprehensive volume California: Wadsworth / Thompson Learning, 2000: 517-518,572-579,917.