Question

Napoleon was a child of the Enlightenment."" Assess the validity of the statement. Use examples referring to specific aspects of the enlightenment and to Napoleon’s policies and attitudes

Answer 1

An example of Napoleon being a child of the Enlightenment is his Napoleonic Code (1804) which contained ideals such as legal equality and religious toleration (both Enlightenment based).

However, an example of Napoleon not being a child of the Enlightenment is the Consulate (1799-1804). The consulate was a representative government, like a Republic. Napoleon promised male suffrage and legislature within this government, but in reality he has full power. In addition to this, he censored the press to his will—not a Enlightenment action.

(You could go both ways with this argument, but those are the examples I could provide, there could be more.)