Conclusion: The Napoleonic Empire in the Age of Revolutions: The Contrast of Two National Representations

Abstract

Strangely enough, the revolution of 1789–91 was to be revived with the creation of the First Empire. This revival is rarely noted and relatively unknown. 1 Yet the social pact that Napoleon concluded with the French people on 2 December 1804 indeed suggests that the Empire was going to be a constitutional monarchy, founded on a written constitution and a social pact. The latter was meant to maintain the liberties of the French and to protect the rights of the constitutional bodies. It was only under these conditions that the Senate and the Corps Législatif had agreed to proclaim Napoleon Emperor of the French. Discussions about this decision started in April 1804 and ended one month later. Meanwhile, the Tribunate and the Senate discussed the changes they wanted to bring about in the French government. For some of their members, the issue was to re-establish the government on a constitutional basis and to put an end to what they called the Consulate's dictatorship. All agreed, however, that something had to change and those changes were to be inspired by the first revolutionary reforms. Before explaining in detail what it was about, I want to argue that the First Empire retained more revolutionary achievements than is normally assumed—also by the present author—but in a very special way. 2 To be sure, only a detailed study of the political, juridical and cultural institutions can prove the soundness of this argument and allow us to see how and why it happened. Evidence may have been given by Napoleon himself when in St. Helena, he said that his Civil Code would endure. This conviction could apply to other great imperial accomplishments, such as architecture and civil engineering. 3 Napoleon was very proud of these civil achievements and was aware of their value for post-revolutionary France. Tackling this problem will enable me to invalidate theories that see the First Empire simply as a military state. 4 My argument is that it is far more complicated.