During his invasion and subsequent reign of Italy Napoleon ensured many reforms took place. The social and political impacts created by him and his followers were so great that aspects of these impacts can still be seen today.
Beginning with the social impacts which he had on Italian society, Napoleon’s ideas for reform and dictatorship involved the need for armies to defeat the enemies whom he perceived he must battle against to achieve these reforms and political power. Had Napoleon’s rule consisted simply of positive social impacts the Italian people would most likely have held with Napoleon’s dictatorship with more good will than the detest that they felt for a leader who applied the meanest of taxes and the hated burden of conscription to the military of all males of military age.
In spite of the harsh impacts that resulted from Napoleonic rule there were also many benefits. Legal reforms were brought about which created a system of civil law which is an enduring legacy of the Napoleonic Code; a code which ‘clarified and made uniform the private law of France [and later Italy] and followed Roman law in being divided into three books: the law of persons, things, and modes of acquiring ownership of things’ (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Napoleonic Code online resource www.encyclopedia.com). In 1806 Napoleon introduced his civil code in Italy, followed closely by the commercial code in 1808 and finally, the slow introduction of the criminal code between 1807 and 1810 in modified form and without juries. In 1810 Napoleon insisted on the introduction of his criminal code in full and in its original form. The legislation involved in these codes affected every section of society as it was to do with the abolition of feudalism, baronial jurisdiction, primogeniture and entail. The equal division of property between spouses and the freedom from parental control once attaining their majority was also an important part of the new legislation (Gregory Napoleon’s Italy pg 131). The judiciary system was based upon the French model which meant that judges were to be paid by the State. Judges were forbidden from accepting gifts from litigants, a problem which had been encountered in previous years when the accused were put to trial. In 1806 Joseph Bonaparte’s visit to Calabria inspired him to remedy a situation which he found astonishing; there were many prisoners in crowded conditions, and who had been in the prison for a number of years awaiting trial. Joseph Bonaparte thereafter ‘instituted four commissions to try every case within three months [when it involved a] prisoner of the crown’ (Gregory, Napoleon’s Italy pg 132). Another unfortunate aspect of trials at that time which was remedied was the deception and torture which had been used to intimidate witness. This was forbidden in any future trials, an element of conduct which can still be seen in today’s legal system.
Napoleon also introduced administrative reforms which he insisted were necessary to maintain a good organisation of all his territories. It was necessary to him to be able to rely on a ‘stable system, manifest and secure, of good administration’ (Capra, L’Età 157-58). To achieve his goals Napoleon understood the necessity of having a class of Italian bureaucrats, and set out to recruit them from ‘enlightened members of the propertied classes: supporters of the concept of a secular state, centrally and efficiently run’ (Gregory, Napoleon’s Italy pg 119).
Nationalism was another social impact of Napoleon’s reign in Italy. There were a small number of Italian intellectuals, lawyers and men of letters who greeted Napoleon’s victories with passion. These men were often referred to as Jacobins, though today they would be referred to simply as patriots. The ideas to which they subscribed were ones which found triumph with the French; constitutional government, republicanism and national unity (Gregory Napoleon’s Italy pg 176). As Napoleon entered Italy in 1796 he was looked on as a liberator who taught liberalism and nationalism to the fragmented nation he invaded. However, in spite of the reforms which aided Italy in its nationalistic awareness, Napoleon’s rise as a dictator was what truly inspired the Italians to rise to a rebellion (http://www.thecorner.org/hists/assign/unif-compare.htm). To fight against the dictator who was quashing the dreams of a democratic and unified Italy brought together the Italian people in a nationalistic movement that was to aid in the complete unification of Italy in later years.
Moving onto the political impacts of Napoleon’s reign it is possible to talk about many different areas of political change, however the most important must be thought of as Napoleon’s idea of a whole nation, and indeed a European State. As a way of bringing this unification about Napoleon created the Kingdom of Italy on 17th March 1805, over which he presided until his forced abdication on 11th April 1814 and further exile to Elba. With his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais as Viceroy Napoleon ruled over the Kingdom of Italy which consisted of Lombardy, Venetia, the Duchy of Modena, Ancona, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and South Tyrol(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Italy_%28Napoleonic%29). This Italian Kingdom was a dependency of the French Empire, also led by Napoleon, as he had declared himself Emperor in 1804. With Napoleon’s abdication, the Vienna Congress in 1815 divided the territory amongst other European countries, which further fragmented an already split Italy. Due to the Vienna Congress’s actions three major obstacles to the unification of Italy existed: the Austrian occupation of Lombardy and Venice, the principality of Italy being under the control of the Pope, and the existence of various states which had maintained their independence throughout Napoleon’s invasion, primarily the Kingdom of Sardinia and the region of Piedmont. (http://www.arcaini.com/ITALY/ItalyHistory/ItalianUnification.htm). The rulers of these provinces did not want to abdicate their power, and therefore the unification of Italy was put back a few years, until 1870 when Rome voted for unity with Italy in October of that year and became the Capital City of the newly formed country of Italy (http://www.arcaini.com/ITALY/ItalyHistory/ItalianUnification.htm).
Another political impact of the Napoleonic era was an implementation of the Continental system by Napoleon, which was a trade blockade to stop Great Britain from trading with other European countries intended to cripple Great Britain’s economy, thereby forcing them out of the war. This blockade indirectly led to the Peninsular War of 1808-1814 which began with the revolt of the Spanish against Napoleon’s imposition of his brother Joseph as King of Spain (World Encyclopedia ‘Peninsular War’ online resource http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-PeninsularWar.html). This war brought the British over to Portugal to aid the Spanish in expelling the French, with Britain’s troops under the command of the future Duke of Wellington.
It could be argued that yet another political impact of Napoleon’s reign was the social demand for a democratic society. Napoleon’s harsh dictatorship influenced many of the intellectuals of Italy and left the society with a need for a government which was run by an elected committee rather than a single all-powerful individual.
All of Europe was impacted by the Napoleonic Wars. After over two decades of fighting France had to pay the toll of losing its hold as the most powerful, or dominant, force in Europe, which paved the way for Great Britain to emerge as one of the most powerful countries in the world. The European Monarchies found it difficult to maintain the absolutism they had held in the years before Napoleon’s invasion and so they were forced to keep some of the reforms, such as the civil code which Napoleon had enforced in countries such as France and Italy.
During his domination Napoleon had expressed the wish not only for a unified Italy but indeed a unified Europe. His removal from power set this ideal back almost 150 years, when it re-emerged after the Second World War, but it cannot be denied that this ideal was discussed openly by Napoleon, which insinuates that had he not been forced from power he might have pursued this ideal.
In conclusion, it can be seen that Napoleon affected not only the Europe of his own time, and the Italy, but also the Europe many years into the future. The original state of unrest and fragmentation which was present upon Napoleon’s invasion was addressed by him with an attempt to unify the country and bring about a number of reforms including legal, judicial and administrative reforms which affected not only the society of the early 19th Century but which affects can also still be seen in today’s society, and legal system. The Napoleonic Code has had its effect on today’s civil code, as well as the laws against treatment of criminals and the legal process due to them. Nationalism was another effect which was long-standing in Italy and which movement achieved its true goal in the unification of Italy in 1870. Napoleon’s constant warring had the long term effect of removing France as the super-power of Europe and gave Great Britain the chance to step into the void. As the new super-power of Europe Great Britain achieved a historical legacy of greatness the like of which has only been rivalled in the recent history of the United States of America, the un-rivalled dominant country of modern society and politics.
Therefore, it can be seen that in spite of the bloodshed caused by Napoleon, his forward thinking ideas affected the Italy of his own day in a long term way which brought about its unification, along with the benefits for all its inhabitants produced by the vast reformation of Italian society and politics, and which benefits are still enjoyed by society today
Bibliography
Craig Europe since 1815 Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc. 1961
Rath The Fall of Napoleonic Italy (1814) Octagon Books 1975
Gregory Napoleon’s Italy Rosemont Publishing & Printing Corp. 2001
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
World Encyclopedia
Websites
hhtp://www.napoleonguide.com/battle_ulm.htm Accessed 28th April 2007
http://www.encyclopedia.com Accessed 28th April 2007
http://www.thecorner.org/hists/assign/unif-compare.htm Accessed 28th April 2007
http://www.arcaini.com/ITALY/ItalyHistory/ItalianUnification.htm Accessed 28th April 2007
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-PeninsularWar.html Accessed 28th April 2007
