Napoleon as Monarch: A Political Evolution

Abstract

There was little in Napoleon’s early career to suggest either a tolerance of the institution of monarchy or an appetite for the exercise of royal power. From an early age he read widely of the Enlightenment vulgate — works by Mably, Raynal, Voltaire and, of course, Rousseau — and wrote short tracts and essays on political topics. He excitedly discussed ideas of nation and patrie, even as he struggled to reconcile the competing pulls of his French and Corsican identities. For, unlike most of his fellow-officers, he had two different versions of political alignment to make during these formative years. He had, like his contemporaries, to decide where he stood on issues of authority, religion and the nature of the state. But he also had to decide where his national affiliations lay: with France, or with the Corsica of his ancestors, which was embroiled for much of the period in a struggle to regain its independence from the French crown. He chose to be French, a decision which nonetheless created a crucial tension with his love for Corsica and his continued admiration for the Corsican patriotic leader, Pasquale Paoli.¹ If this was a clear choice on Bonaparte’s part, it was a choice made easier by clan infighting in Corsica and by the exile of the Bonaparte family from the island in June 1793.² From this point he became single-minded in his pursuit of a military career in France, and in consequence loyal to his republican masters.