Alexander Grab’s book, Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe, is an examination of the complex systems, policies, and processes that characterized the Napoleonic empire. The work looks closely at these factors in France itself, as well as in the various satellite states and regions that Napoleon ruled in Europe. The book also explores the Napoleonic legacy throughout these states and regions. Grab insists that Napoleon needs to be viewed not simply as a French figure, but as a European figure, and therefore the book considers him in that light. Grab is currently a professor of history at the University of Maine and has published several scholarly articles including The Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy: State Administration, Conscription and Desertion in Napoleonic Europe, and Jewish Education in Napoleonic Italy: The Case of the Ginnasio in Reggion Emilia. Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe won the International Napoleonic Society’s first prize in 2004.
Grab begins the work by analyzing the foundations of Napoleon’s empire and the nature of his rule. Grab presents a brief narrative of the first through the fifth Coalition Wars, and then proceeds to list the various lands and territories that became part of the French empire as a result. In considering Napoleon’s rule over the empire, Grab asserts that it was characterized as a Janus face. This Janus face consisted of both liberal reforms based upon Enlightenment principles, and ruthless exploitation required to maintain the empire. These two facets of Napoleon’s rule were often linked. Grab states, “Napoleon initiated changes in his subject states in order to be able to draft soldiers more efficiently and augment public revenues.” Importantly, under Napoleon Europe experienced a transition. His rule marked the definitive end of the ancien régime and the beginning of the modern era. This was due largely to reforms that led to the creation of the modern, centralized state. Though France had already taken these steps, Napoleon brought these reforms to the rest of Europe. Grab maintains, “In his satellite states, the Emperor and his officials proclaimed French-like constitutions, establishing coherent political and legal foundations.”
Grab explains that Napoleon’s reforms were not equally effective throughout his empire and a number of factors impacted a state’s receptiveness and ability to properly implement them. The most important factors were the social and economic conditions within the state prior to its inclusion in the empire. States with well-developed economies and the presence of a large professional class generally embraced Napoleon’s reforms. Grab also notes that the amount of time a state remained a part of the empire also impacted the success of reforms. Resistance to Napoleon and the empire also played a major part. Such resistance could come from local ruling classes as well as from popular sentiment. Either one could substantially delay or derail Napoleon’s plans. Resistance often occurred as a response to Napoleon’s insatiable desire for more soldiers. Grab contends that conscription was “the most hated Napoleonic policy and aroused much resistance in every country.”
In addition to conscription, Grab argues that Napoleon’s empire exploited the peoples of Europe in various ways. For instance, in order to pay for the upkeep of the army and the financial costs of war, Napoleon relied heavily on satellite state revenues. Grab notes that “without the extensive financial support from occupied Europe, Napoleon would have been unable to maintain and expand his empire.” Napoleon also forced the various states of Europe into trade arrangements that favored France. By boosting French industry and commerce at the expense of the satellite states, Napoleon believed that he could dominate the continent economically. Also, the Continental Blockade forced European countries to cease trade with Britain. In addition to Napoleon’s hopes that the blockade would starve Britain financially, he also saw it as a way to protect French industry and commerce against his hated rival. However, not only did the blockade force Britain to sue for peace, it caused resentment throughout Europe. In many cases it ruined states’ overseas trade and hurt industrialists and consumers alike by preventing raw materials and luxury items from reaching Europe. Grab observes, “the blockade also hurt landowners who depended on the export of grain and other products to Britain and who witnessed a decline in agricultural prices.” Grab also mentions that for all intents and purposes the blockade had failed as soon as Napoleon acknowledged smuggling by offering licenses to trade with Britain.
Grab spends most of the book looking at individual states throughout Europe, and their experiences under the empire. Beginning with France, each state and region is presented with a chronological narrative of events highlighting imperial interactions. With regard to France, Grab discusses Napoleon’s relationship with the Church, and the successful Concordat that benefitted his regime. He also explores France’s internal legal and political organs, such as the administration, the judiciary, and the police. He also presents the Civil Code as one of Napoleon’s great Imperial achievements. Grab affirms that “owing to its simple, concise, and coherent style, the Civil Code had immense influence and attraction outside France. Napoleon used the Code as a tool of domination and ordered its introduction in his satellite states.” Grab also considers the financial reforms and education systems that Napoleon created in France.
Grab likewise provides detailed accounts of Imperial circumstances throughout Europe. In discussing the Netherlands, Grab notes the difficulties Napoleon encountered with his brother Louis on the throne; the king’s refusal to resort to conscription chief among the problems. The book highlights the importance of the Kingdom of Westphalia for Napoleon. Not only did it provide a buffer between France and Prussia, but the Emperor intended for it to be an example of French administrative state building in Germany. Grab states, “By demonstrating the superiority of the French system, Napoleon aimed to convince other rulers to follow the French example and thus bolster his own hegemony over Germany.” Grab acknowledges the grim, bitter struggle in Spain, as well as the empire’s role in laying the foundations for eventual Italian unification. Each chapter examining a state or region concludes with an overview of the imperial legacy there.
Before a final conclusion that presents Napoleon’s overall legacy, Grab examines the imperial collapse, noting both the disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia and the following year’s War of the Sixth Coalition. Grab maintains that in previous wars his enemies had not acted together. However, in 1813, things were different. He declares, “For the first time, the European powers united and decisively defeated the Emperor, whose resources and trained manpower were nearing exhaustion.” According to Grab, Napoleon’s greatest legacy was not that of a talented battlefield general, but rather that of a reformer. Indeed, Grab asserts, the positives from his reforms outweighed the negatives of the empire’s exploitations. Grab comments, “the uniqueness of the Napoleonic empire lies more in his reform programs than in his exploitation and harsh domination.”
Alexander Grab’s Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe stands alongside previous works on the Napoleonic empire, notably Michael Broers’ Europe Under Napoleon, and Stuart Woolf’s Napoleon’s Integration of Europe. These books all present Napoleon as a European figure rather than merely a French figure. In the introduction, Grab acknowledges his debt to these and other authors that have presented Napoleon from this perspective. Indeed, given Napoleon’s far reaching power over the continent and the manner that his decisions affected the lives of millions at the time and since, it seems appropriate that historians should present him first and foremost as a European figure. There are substantial differences between Napoleon and Adolf Hitler. Nevertheless, could this same formula be applied to the latter and his empire? The prospect provides some interesting food for thought and begs the question of just when a historical figure should transcend his national identity for analytical purposes.
One of Grab’s great strengths in this book in his chronological narrative approach within each chapter to specific states and regions. In this manner he provides a clear analysis not only of the internal politics of these states, but also of the wider implications of imperial policies. Each chapter is a journey through the political, social, economic and military events that the satellite states experienced under Napoleon’s rule. These events are then offered to contextualize a state’s role within the empire. For instance, in the chapter examining Portugal, Grab comments that Napoleon’s inability to successfully subdue the state damaged the empire in the long run. Not only did it allow Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, to use Portugal as a base to strike into Spain, but it “demonstrated his incapacity to close Europe to British trade and contributed to the eventual failure of the Continental blockade.” Grab’s book is rich with such considerations, linking the regional to the imperial in a simple yet intelligent and weighty manner.
Grab’s notion of the Janus face with regard to Napoleon’s rule is very intriguing, and his conclusion that the good outweighed the bad is convincing. Undoubtedly, the empire was ruthless at exploiting the subordinate states and regions of the empire, especially in terms of manpower for its armies. Woolf considers it one of the great contradictions of the empire. He asserts that Napoleon’s economic policies would have worked if it hadn’t been for the pressing needs of the war. Grab’s views appear to align with Woolf’s, especially considering Napoleon’s success in establishing modern, centralized, bureaucratic states throughout Europe. Indeed, this was perhaps Napoleon’s greatest legacy.
Grab’s book is a work of synthesis and draws on many secondary sources. The bibliography is presented by region or topic. General reference works on Napoleonic Europe contain not only Broers and Woolf’s books, but also Geoffrey Ellis’ The Napoleonic Empire, Charles Esdaile’s The Wars of Napoleon, and Felix Markham’s Napoleon. Grab also includes such diverse works as John Lawrence Ton’s The Fatal Knot: The Guerilla War in Navarre and the Defeat of Napoleon in Spain, Frank Bundy’s The Administration of the Illyrian Provinces of the French Empire, 1809-1813, and Tim Blanning’s The French Revolution in Germany: Occupation and Resistance in the Rhineland, 1792-1802.
Alexander Grab’s Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe is an excellent and well-written consideration of the pivotal role that the Emperor played in European affairs during the period. It not only provides a fine overview of the various states within the empire, it also brilliantly explores the effects that polices created in Paris had on peoples throughout the continent. In analyzing Napoleon’s role as a European figure, Grab equals or perhaps even excels Broers’ wonderful Europe Under Napoleon. Grab’s work is sharper, and his presentation is more concise and better organized. This is a book that all students of the Napoleonic era should really take to.
ISBN-13: 978-0333682746
ISBN-10: 0333682742
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The Keen Reader
Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2015
