Europe | Charlemagne

Tyrant, liberator, warmonger, bureaucrat: the meaning of Napoleon

It’s his continent, and Europeans are just living in it

An illustration of Napolean holding a copy of the Code Civil in one hand and swinging a sword above his head in the other. — Illustration: Peter Schrank

Nov 22nd 2023

Ever watched a film about how important bureaucratic reforms are devised? Ever wanted to? Hopes were high among a certain type of nerd that a Hollywood blockbuster out this week would provide just those thrills. Alas, “Napoleon”, a big-budget biopic, serves up rather more predictable fare: the manner in which a Corsican upstart seized absolute power as French emperor, fought endless battles and bonked a slew of mistresses. Thrilling as blood, sweat and courtship can be, it misses the point of Napoleon. For whereas many tyrants over the course of European history have fought wars and ruled impetuously, not to mention imperiously, few have marked modern Europe—and the world beyond—so enduringly. Forget Bonaparte the general, the Napoleon that really matters was the fellow who held dozens of administrative gatherings from which emanated the laws and institutions that hundreds of millions of people still live by today.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The general and the bureaucrat”