Napoleons Legacy to France and the World
Napoleon Bonaparte
The most frequent image of Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France and ruler at times of other large chunks of Europe, is that of a brilliant military commander with his hand stuffed in his waistcoat pocket. There’s certainly truth in that. With his success in different battles, often against forces that outnumbered his own, he has a well-deserved reputation as one of the greatest military commanders there has ever been and also one with strong views on the matter: “La guerre a été dans mes mains l’antidote de l’anarchie” (War, in my hands, has been the antidote to anarchy). His methods of war and his observations on the matter have not served not only the French military academies, but also similar institutions around the world.
Some of his other incisive remarks include: “Les hommes sont comme les chiffres, ils n’acquièrent de valeur que par leur position” (Men are like numbers, they acquire value only by their position); “N’affrontez pas trop souvent le même ennemi, vous pourriez lui enseigner votre art de la guerre” (Don’t confront the same enemy too often, you might teach him your technique of warfare); and also with the pragmatism that was so often his trademark “Avec de l’audace, on peut tout entreprendre, on ne peut pas tout faire” (With audacity, one can try anything, but one cannot accomplish everything).
Between battles, visionary legal and social reforms
Yet his legacy to France and other countries influenced by France extends far beyond his prowess on the battlefield. Perhaps the best known example is the legal reform that he carried out, with the introduction of the Napoleonic Code, or the Code Civil in French. As he said, “De nos jours, personne n’a rien conclu de grand, c’est à moi de donner l’exemple” (Nowadays, nobody has accomplished anything major, it’s up to me to set an example).
And set an example he did, with the emphasis on clearly expressed laws that are still in force in France and in Belgium, and that also provided the model for the civil law systems in Quebec Province, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, some Latin American republics, and the state of Louisiana. Napoleon predicted its lasting success and he was right: “Ma vraie gloire n’est pas d’avoir gagné quarante batailles ; Waterloo effacera le souvenir de tant de victoires ; ce que rien n’effacera, ce qui vivra éternellement, c’est mon Code Civil” (My true glory is not to have won forty battles. Waterloo will erase the memory of so many victories. What nothing will erase, what will live forever, is my Code Civil).
He went further. France owes several other lasting reforms to Napoleon, including those for higher education, taxation, road and drainage systems and the founding of the Bank of France. He opened doors to opportunities up till then denied to many outside the ruling upper class: “Je veux que le fils d’un cultivateur puisse se dire: je serai un jour cardinal, maréchal de France ou ministre” (I want a farmer’s son to be able to say to himself: one day I shall be a cardinal, a military general or a minister). He also started the Legion of Honor (La Légion d’honneur, in French) to encourage both military and civilian accomplishments. The Légion d’honneur remains the highest decoration in France today.
Napoleon’s legacy – what’s the verdict?
Was Napoleon all good? Although much of what he did had positive impact, he was criticized in France and elsewhere, not least for the 17 years of war and bloodshed, and the millions of lives lost. His answer? “Il est dans le caractère français d’exagérer, de se plaindre et de tout défigurer dès qu’on est mécontent” (it is in the character of the French to exaggerate, to complain and to distort everything as soon as they’re dissatisfied). Despite his reforms and drive for increased equality between the different social classes, he also tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress a revolt by slaves in Haiti and also imposed strict censorship as part of extensive use of propaganda to ensure his rise to power and the longevity of his regime. At times his attitude was simply disparaging: “Il faut des fêtes bruyantes aux populations, les sots aiment le bruit et la multitude c’est les sots” (populations need noisy feasting, stupid people like noise and the multitude is stupid).
However, France in particular seems to feel that the net effect of Napoleon was a good one, judging by the dozens of major streets, metro stations and monuments in Paris still named after his victories and his army marshals. His many insights and remarks concerning a wide variety of sectors also form part of his legacy. They often demonstrate his practical attitude to just about everything; as a final example, his suggestion that “Il faut toujours se réserver le droit de rire le lendemain de ses idées de la veille” (one should always maintain one’s right to laugh tomorrow about one’s ideas of yesterday).
