Napoleon's authoritarian stance was in part a reflection of his natural
way of looking at the world but was also designed to make sure his family
did nothing without consulting him. The imperial correspondence
contains dozens of missives sent out to his siblings which are often
glorified nagging. During Joseph's two years as King of Naples his
brother deluged him with advice on how to run the kingdom. The
following, from r 8o6, is typical: 'Make changes if you must, but bring the
Code into force nevertheless; it will consolidate your power and, once in
fo rce, all entails will vanish, with the result that there will be no powerful
families except fo r those whom you choose to create as your vassals. That
is why I myself have always ... gone to such lengths to see that it is
carried out.'
To ]t�rome, as King of Westphalia, Napoleon gave detailed instructions:
Do not listen to those who will tell you that your people, used as they
are to subjection, will receive your benefits gratefully. There is more
enlightenment in the kingdom of Westphalia than you will be told, and
only in the confidence and love of the population will your throne stand
firmly. What is above all desired in Germany is that you will grant to
those who do not belong to the nobility, but possess talents, an equal
claim to offices, and that all vestiges of serfdom and of barriers between
the sovereign and the lowest class of people shall be completely done
away with. The benefits of the Code Napoleon, legal procedure in open
courts, the jury, these are points by which your monarchy should be
distinguished ... your people must enjoy a liberty, an equality, a
prosperity unknown in the rest of Germany.But by r8o9 the Emperor's patience with ]t�rome was wearing thin, and
the· iron fist was increasingly evident: 'I think it is ridiculous of you to tell
me that the people of Westphalia do not agree... If the people refuse
what makes fo r their own welfare they are guilty of anarchism and the
first duty for the prince is to punish them.'
Of the myriad issues thrown up by Napoleon's Empire we may select
four as salient. Was the Empire run on homogeneous principles, as the
Emperor boasted? Did it subscribe to Revolutionary or egalitarian ideals?
Who supported it and who opposed it? Was it a pilot version of European
integration or merely a gigantic spoils system?
The most seductive of all Napoleonic myths is the one he himself
promoted: that his aim was the noble ideal of pan-European federation,
with all nations linked in peace - a project he claimed was vitiated by twin
evils: the hatred of reactionary monarchies and the envy of Britain, 'the