Talk:French Consulate
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This article is based on Britannica 1911. As anybody can see, it's written in a very strong style, with a lot of judgments passed here and there. One must also take into account the fact that Britannica was, at the time, a British encyclopedia, and the British tend to have very strong views against Napoleon. For instance, the article also makes frequent remarks as to Napoleon's "dictatorial" behavior — but, in fact, Napoleon, as far as I know, had less power or than most of the monarchs of Europe at the time, and also less than more recent dictators (Mussolini, Franco, not to mention Hitler...). For instance, Napoleon is credited with a series of codes of laws — but it seems that these codes were established after considerable legislative debate. In a true classical dictatorship, these codes would have been adopted as part of rule by decree, without discussion. One would, for instance, have to make a fair and balanced assessment of his rule. I'm not an expert on the era though, so I'd prefer somebody more knowledgeable than me to write on this. David.Monniaux 06:25, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)
For instance, do we have any reference for Napoleon having a "bullying police" according to the standards of the day? David.Monniaux 06:47, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)
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[edit] Napoleon's rule
I can tell you now that Napoleon was far more benevolent than the rulers of the Revolutionary period. The Directory was brutal, although not as brutal as the Committee of Public Safety, and it was corrupt. Bonaparte brought the rule of law back to France and ended the corruption that was emptying the nation's treasury. Although the death penalty was retained under his rule, its use was greatly limited and only applied to those who directly threatened the government and the nation. Petty criminals almost never received the death penalty. There can be no doubt Napoleon was a dictator - but more one in the mould of Lee Kuan Yew - who instituted a meritocracy and restored his nation - than in the mould of Mussolini or Hitler. Napoleon was a firm, but fair and virtuous leader. I have also read more extensively on him than almost anyone I have met. That said, having just edited the article on the Napoleonic Wars and created an article detailing the entire length of the Italian campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars I'm not in the mood to embark on another extensive editing spree.
[edit] Huh?
I have a hard time following this article. The language is overly flowery and it's constantly throwing out names and events with only the most vague references to what they are. I've tried making some edits here and there to make it more readable. I am fairly familar with this topic, but I'm not an expert. An expert in French history with good english skills needs to go through this and edit away all the crap. user:J.J.
- I've done a fair degree of cleanup on the lead and on the section Fall of the Directory government. Does someone want to carry on from there? -- Jmabel | Talk 02:33, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Battle of Trebbia
Someone recently removed a reference to the Directory falling shortly after the Battle of Trebbia. Obviously not the Battle of Trebia that we have an article on (from the Punic Wars). Can anyone clarify & restore? Thanks. And yes, I agree that this is flowery, even after some recent edits. This article deserves some work, if someone is up for it. -- Jmabel | Talk June 29, 2005 01:42 (UTC)
[edit] 1802 vote
In the article, citation is requested for "In August of 1802 a second national referendum was held, this time to confirm Napoleon as 'First Consul for Life.' Once again a rigged vote claimed 99% approval." I'm not sure what exactly someone is doubting. Documentation that the vote occurred and that it officially passed 3,653,600 – 8,272 can be found at [1]. I don't have an immediate citation claiming the election was rigged (though it certainly was: in the similar election in 1804 making him emperor, more physical "no" ballots still exist today than were acknowledged in the official count). Does someone else have something appropriate to cite? - Jmabel | Talk 06:38, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] wording
Although Guillaume Marie Anne Brune and André Masséna retrieved the fight at the Battle of Bergen Retrieved? Is there a better word for this? RJFJR 19:18, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
