Military Reforms

 -Napoleon I reorganized the French army that was expected to play a decisive role in the
Napoleonic wars.
 -He set up a semi-military squad called lycees. In this squad future soldiers were produced.
The aim was to produce absolutely loyal soldiers devoted to the State.
 -The army was reorganized, reequipped and trained. In this way Napoleon I produced a
disciplined loyal, strong and professional army that was entirely devoted to him alone
Censorship and propaganda
 In 1800 Napoleon reduced the number of political journals published in Paris from 73 to
9
 No new political journals were to be produced
 Those left were forbidden to discuss controversial subjects
 Their editors were forced to rely for news on articles published in Le Moniteur, which
were written by Napoleon or his ministers
 In 1809 censors were assigned to each newspaper
 In 1810 provincial papers were reduced to one per department
 By 1811 there were only 4 Parisian papers and these were constantly under police
supervision
 Up to 1810 all books, plays, lectures and posters that appeared in Paris were sent to
Napoleon
 Publishers were supposed to send two copies to the police headquarters before
publication
 In 1810 more than half the printing presses in Paris were shut down
 Publishers were forced to
(i) take out a licence and
(ii) (ii) swear an oath of loyalty to the government.
 Booksellers were strictly controlled and severely punished, even death – if found to be
selling subservient material
 Some authors were sent into exile for criticising the government
 Many theatres were closed
 However sculptors, architects and artists were used by Napoleon for propaganda and
portraying him in a positive way.
 David and Ingres were employed by Napoleon as State propagandists, showing Napoleon
as a romantic hero-figure.
(Here Napoleon showed all his dictatorial tendencies. He showed that his reforms were
mainly aimed at consolidating his position. It also shows that his policies in France were
retrogressive)