How did the First French Empire and allies differ from the other European monarchies at that time?
Upvote:2
Well, Napoleon's empire and his satellites were born out of the French Revolution and presumably in his first years in power as First Consul, before he became emperor, he might have well retained some of the revolutionary rhetoric. (Did he actually? It'd be a good technical follow-up question).
However, once he became emperor, Napoleon didn't seem to have much use for revolutionary language or ideas. As you correctly point out, he was an absolute monarch himself and did not seek on principle to dethrone other absolute monarchs; instead he married the daughter of the Austrian Emperor. So I am a bit hard-pressed to recall examples where Napoleon or his minions claimed that "they were revolutionary forces fighting a revolutionary wars" - what did you have in mind?
Another telling example (for which, alas, I do not have a reference at the moment) is that Napoleon did not even conceive of offering Russian serfs freedom when he invaded Russian - arguably the only political move that could have allowed him to achieve victory (of course, actually winning his battles there also could have helped....).
Upvote:4
What differentiated the monarchies of France and its allies from other European monarchies was that the "monarchs" were "nouveaux riches," (nouveau empowered, actually) as opposed to "established" monarchs. As for their claims to being "revolutionary," these monarchies were "born" in the French Revolution, and paid "lip service" to "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite."
Upvote:10
There was a set of reforms introduced by Napoleon into conquered countries
The law based on Napoleonic code. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified.
The code declared presumption of innocence, competitive trial and right to an attorney.
The code prohibited secret and ex post facto laws
The courts were prohibited to refuse justice citing incompleteness of the law.
As a consequence, serfdom and slavery were abolished
Jews and other minorities were emancipated
The metric system Napoleon introduced in all conquered states the metric system which facilitated trade. The previous diverse measurement units were abolished.
The abolition of intrastate borders All borders inside a country were abolished as well as taxes for crossing such borders. This greatly expanded trade. The intrastate borders were especially common in the German States.
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