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Napoleon and His Collaborators: The Making of a Dictatorship
A great historian explains how Napoleon forged a dictatorship and explores the dilemmas of collaboration, personal and political. The Eighteenth Brumaire, November 9, 1799: with France in political and economic turmoil, a group of disaffected politicians enlisted the talented general Napoleon Bonaparte to lead a coup d'etat and establish "confidence from below, authority from above." This is the story of how Napoleon managed his ascent from general of the Republic and first consul to dictator and conqueror of Europe. Napoleon did not vault into the imperial throne but moved toward dictatorship gradually; each assertion of new power came gilded with a veneer of legality and a rhetoric of commitment to the ideals of 1789. In this fashion Napoleon not only gained the upper hand over his partners of Brumaire but also retained their loyalty and services going forward. Far from shunting aside those collaborators, he put them to use in ways that satisfied their most emphatic needs: political security, material self-interest, social status, and the opportunity for high-level public service. 10 illustrations.
298 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 28, 2016
This book is kind of a sub-specialty biography of Napoleon. It covers Napoleon and those key persons who helped him takeover, form, and run his government. It looks at how Napoleon was able to become the supreme leader of France, how he developed and formed the government he did, and how he ran his government. It provides a coherent story of these aspects of Napoleon’s career. It contains not so much biographical details of Napoleon’s life, but the biographies of those that help him govern France.
It starts out on how Napoleon was able to seize power, focusing on the key players in this. Next, it describes how the government was organized. It moves on to the signs that Napoleon was after total control of the government. The following focus is on how he was able to move from a consulate to an emperor. In each of these areas the book always describes the individuals who where instrumental in these events.
In the later part of the book, it focuses more on the life’s of his important players with a whole chapter on Napoleon’s right hand man – Jean-Jacques-Regis Cambaceres. Next, it looks at other key roles played and who played them in running the government. Another chapter in the latter half of the book provides information on how his helpers were able to cope with the loss of liberty that ensued as Napoleon took stronger and stronger control in France. A lot of these people were firmly in the camp of liberty, so there was much soothing of consciousness in them. Finally, it looks at his collaborators work to give the French people as much liberty as possible, actually working against Napoleon’s wishes. Unfortunately, they were not able to accomplish much here.
I felt that is was a good book with some very good parts to it. Often the author, Isser Woloch, was able to make his narrative read like an actual story, especially in the taking over of the government. The more in depth look at Cambaceres also fell into the very good category.
I would recommend this book to the reader who would like a behind the scenes look at Napoleon’s government and the life’s of those that helped him. I feel it would help the reader to know some background of the Napoleonic era, so I would say that this is probably not a good starting point for someone with little background knowledge of this era. It is definitely not for those who want anything on the military side of things because it just doesn’t have it.
It starts out on how Napoleon was able to seize power, focusing on the key players in this. Next, it describes how the government was organized. It moves on to the signs that Napoleon was after total control of the government. The following focus is on how he was able to move from a consulate to an emperor. In each of these areas the book always describes the individuals who where instrumental in these events.
In the later part of the book, it focuses more on the life’s of his important players with a whole chapter on Napoleon’s right hand man – Jean-Jacques-Regis Cambaceres. Next, it looks at other key roles played and who played them in running the government. Another chapter in the latter half of the book provides information on how his helpers were able to cope with the loss of liberty that ensued as Napoleon took stronger and stronger control in France. A lot of these people were firmly in the camp of liberty, so there was much soothing of consciousness in them. Finally, it looks at his collaborators work to give the French people as much liberty as possible, actually working against Napoleon’s wishes. Unfortunately, they were not able to accomplish much here.
I felt that is was a good book with some very good parts to it. Often the author, Isser Woloch, was able to make his narrative read like an actual story, especially in the taking over of the government. The more in depth look at Cambaceres also fell into the very good category.
I would recommend this book to the reader who would like a behind the scenes look at Napoleon’s government and the life’s of those that helped him. I feel it would help the reader to know some background of the Napoleonic era, so I would say that this is probably not a good starting point for someone with little background knowledge of this era. It is definitely not for those who want anything on the military side of things because it just doesn’t have it.
September 28, 2019
This is an impressive history. It is tightly argued and replete with facts.
I began reading it with limited knowledge of the history of the post-revolutionary period. It might not be the best introductory commentary for a person with my level of ignorance. I found that there was an assumption of some significant foundation knowledge and, when this was lacking, it was difficult to follow the fast-moving events and, particularly, the names.
So my reticence over the book derives entirely from my own shortcomings. On the basis of this book, I regard Woloch as an impressive historian; I just wish I had known more about the context so as to gain full benefit from reading his work.
Despite the confusion I felt, mainly from the large cast of characters, I thought the Book provided an invaluable insight into how Napoleon, a man who achieved some significant outcomes from France, developed into a tyrant as a result of his charisma, his bullying, his supreme self-confidence, and his gradual usurpation of all power. This was yet another warning of the dangers of monocracies.
I began reading it with limited knowledge of the history of the post-revolutionary period. It might not be the best introductory commentary for a person with my level of ignorance. I found that there was an assumption of some significant foundation knowledge and, when this was lacking, it was difficult to follow the fast-moving events and, particularly, the names.
So my reticence over the book derives entirely from my own shortcomings. On the basis of this book, I regard Woloch as an impressive historian; I just wish I had known more about the context so as to gain full benefit from reading his work.
Despite the confusion I felt, mainly from the large cast of characters, I thought the Book provided an invaluable insight into how Napoleon, a man who achieved some significant outcomes from France, developed into a tyrant as a result of his charisma, his bullying, his supreme self-confidence, and his gradual usurpation of all power. This was yet another warning of the dangers of monocracies.
January 15, 2025
Book Review of “Napoleon and His Collaborators: The Making of a Dictatorship”
A Summary
In the preface, the book explores the dysfunctionality of the Directory. The, “Brumaire coup was a joint venture between a group of insecure republican politicians who had lost faith in their own Directory regime, and a general who had served the Directory outstandingly but had also come to see it as dysfunctional” (p. XI- XII). In chapter 1, Woloch continues his exploration of the Directory, but switches to a focus on the Brumaire plot. He says, “the Directory regime improbably combined a system of annual elections with a readiness to nullify the results of those elections if they seemed outside the pale” (p. 5). In the later parts of the chapter, Woloch examined the environment and plot which allowed Napoleon to become the head of state. He says, “the Revolution’s ideological bias against dominant personalities and naked ambition could not suppress the natural inclination to identify with individual achievement rather than abstractions. Ordinary French citizens, not to mention members of the new political elite, must have craved on some level to celebrate an individual who embodied their highest values and personified their republics achievements” (p.15). This is aside from the plot itself which took advantage of “pseudo-legality” in the constitution (p. 17). Including the second chapter is simply not necessary for a summary of the book. In the third chapter we see Napoleon strengthen his gripe on power by threatening the Senate and the Tribune. When the Legislative Corps and Tribunate nominated Daunou as the Senatorial Vacancy, Napoleon and Cambacérès threatened the Senate. The Senate re-voted and, “Bonaparte’s candidate, General Lamartillière won by a vote of 52 out of 54. Bonaparte had successfully invaded the Senate” (p. 82). In this chapter, Napoleon also replaced 60 out of the 300 members of the Tribune. He does this because earlier in the year, the Tribune rejected sections of the proposed Civil Code. In chapter 4, Joseph Bonaparte “signed the Treaty of Amiens that ended a decade of European war. Public enthusiasm for Bonaparte in France was never higher: the first consul had achieved peace and internation preponderance through military victory” (p. 90). As a reward for his military victories and ensuring European peace for France, Napoleon was rewarded “an additional ten-year term” (p. 92). Unfortunately, this generous reward was still not enough for Napoleon, because he was eager to be first consul for life. The Senate was obviously unhappy with this proposition, so Napoleon turned to the people. He held a national vote for this proposition, and he won by an outstanding margin. There was a ratio of 442:1 of yes votes to no votes. The fifth chapter focuses on the role Cambacérès plays. There are only specific details in this chapter that are important for this summary. Firstly, “Neither the second nor third consuls had any substantive power at all. Their functions were largely symbolic” (p. 122). Secondly, Napoleon spent much of his time outside of France on military campaigns. Running France like a first consul “became Cambacérès preeminent duty” (p. 131). In the sixth chapter, Woloch analyzed Napoleon movement towards a complete dictatorship and his change in character. Due to the depoliticization, “Debates in the Council of State”, “were wide-ranging, uninhibited, and robust” (p. 177). “Sessions often went on for hours”, and “Bonaparte welcomed contradiction” (p. 177). As time went on, Napoleon attitude changed. “Napoleon sometimes displayed impatience, silenced people who irritated him”, “no longer seemed to welcome diverse opinions”, “and cut short the discussions” (p. 177). I see chapter 7 and 8 as very much related. His prominent servitors lost their loyalty to Napoleon due to the disrespect Napoleon had for public liberties. An example of Napoleon violation public liberties would be his oppressive censorship of “books written against the state” (p. 209). He took this so far to design the “tribunal de l’imprimerie” (p. 209). It was a guideline the government used to censure publishers. In chapter 8, questions of why and what if asked. Woloch spends a lot of time proving his point that, “participation in the Napoleonic regime was hardly a form of selfless behavior. First and foremost it served pure self-interest—political security, financial advantage, social prestige, and one’s sense of honor, the desire to be useful to society in some fashion.” Woloch provided evidence for this psychological phenomenon throughout the book but only cements this conclusion in the last pages of the book.
Two Adjectives
The book was fastidious with its attention to the influence and motives of Napoleon’s collaborators in revolutionary France.
The book was highly descriptive with words on these revolutionary characters, but utterly non-descript on a visual level. There were almost 0 images, and this made remembering and understanding these characters much more difficult.
Something I Learned
I learnt the genius and complexities behind the Brumaire plot.
Something I Like and Disliked
I liked the pace of the book. I never felt like a topic went too fast so I would have to re-read it multiple times to understand it.
I disliked the fact there were 0 images, other than the cartoons.
What Implication Arises from the Book
There are many implications that arise from the book. One that was often explored in reflection of the book is the fact Napoleon relied on such loyal collaborators, and they were always loyal to him because they were self-interested. In the last chapter Woloch asks, “Equally unanswerable, follows: what if one or several prominent servitors had resorted to exit at a key juncture in the developing trajectory of tyranny at home or abroad?” (p. 239). He further proves it to be “unanswerable” by saying “None chose to employ it [an exit]. If there is an exception it is Talleyrand, but his case is highly ambiguous. His exit was neither painless nor public” (p. 239). Woloch later says “Participation in the Napoleonic regime was hardly a form of selfless behavior. First and foremost, it served pure self-interest” (p. 242). This shows the motives for why they were so loyal to him but admits that we do not know the effect it would have had if they lost their loyalty. This I why my takeaway is that loyalty from his collaborators was simply necessary and to lose their loyalty would have resulted in an utterly unpredictable disaster.
A Recommendation for Who May Be Interested in the Book
The book explores the complexities of the Brumaire coup and the complexities of the revolutionaries. For someone who wants to understand the role of collaborators in revolutions and creating dictatorships, the book is perfect.
A Summary
In the preface, the book explores the dysfunctionality of the Directory. The, “Brumaire coup was a joint venture between a group of insecure republican politicians who had lost faith in their own Directory regime, and a general who had served the Directory outstandingly but had also come to see it as dysfunctional” (p. XI- XII). In chapter 1, Woloch continues his exploration of the Directory, but switches to a focus on the Brumaire plot. He says, “the Directory regime improbably combined a system of annual elections with a readiness to nullify the results of those elections if they seemed outside the pale” (p. 5). In the later parts of the chapter, Woloch examined the environment and plot which allowed Napoleon to become the head of state. He says, “the Revolution’s ideological bias against dominant personalities and naked ambition could not suppress the natural inclination to identify with individual achievement rather than abstractions. Ordinary French citizens, not to mention members of the new political elite, must have craved on some level to celebrate an individual who embodied their highest values and personified their republics achievements” (p.15). This is aside from the plot itself which took advantage of “pseudo-legality” in the constitution (p. 17). Including the second chapter is simply not necessary for a summary of the book. In the third chapter we see Napoleon strengthen his gripe on power by threatening the Senate and the Tribune. When the Legislative Corps and Tribunate nominated Daunou as the Senatorial Vacancy, Napoleon and Cambacérès threatened the Senate. The Senate re-voted and, “Bonaparte’s candidate, General Lamartillière won by a vote of 52 out of 54. Bonaparte had successfully invaded the Senate” (p. 82). In this chapter, Napoleon also replaced 60 out of the 300 members of the Tribune. He does this because earlier in the year, the Tribune rejected sections of the proposed Civil Code. In chapter 4, Joseph Bonaparte “signed the Treaty of Amiens that ended a decade of European war. Public enthusiasm for Bonaparte in France was never higher: the first consul had achieved peace and internation preponderance through military victory” (p. 90). As a reward for his military victories and ensuring European peace for France, Napoleon was rewarded “an additional ten-year term” (p. 92). Unfortunately, this generous reward was still not enough for Napoleon, because he was eager to be first consul for life. The Senate was obviously unhappy with this proposition, so Napoleon turned to the people. He held a national vote for this proposition, and he won by an outstanding margin. There was a ratio of 442:1 of yes votes to no votes. The fifth chapter focuses on the role Cambacérès plays. There are only specific details in this chapter that are important for this summary. Firstly, “Neither the second nor third consuls had any substantive power at all. Their functions were largely symbolic” (p. 122). Secondly, Napoleon spent much of his time outside of France on military campaigns. Running France like a first consul “became Cambacérès preeminent duty” (p. 131). In the sixth chapter, Woloch analyzed Napoleon movement towards a complete dictatorship and his change in character. Due to the depoliticization, “Debates in the Council of State”, “were wide-ranging, uninhibited, and robust” (p. 177). “Sessions often went on for hours”, and “Bonaparte welcomed contradiction” (p. 177). As time went on, Napoleon attitude changed. “Napoleon sometimes displayed impatience, silenced people who irritated him”, “no longer seemed to welcome diverse opinions”, “and cut short the discussions” (p. 177). I see chapter 7 and 8 as very much related. His prominent servitors lost their loyalty to Napoleon due to the disrespect Napoleon had for public liberties. An example of Napoleon violation public liberties would be his oppressive censorship of “books written against the state” (p. 209). He took this so far to design the “tribunal de l’imprimerie” (p. 209). It was a guideline the government used to censure publishers. In chapter 8, questions of why and what if asked. Woloch spends a lot of time proving his point that, “participation in the Napoleonic regime was hardly a form of selfless behavior. First and foremost it served pure self-interest—political security, financial advantage, social prestige, and one’s sense of honor, the desire to be useful to society in some fashion.” Woloch provided evidence for this psychological phenomenon throughout the book but only cements this conclusion in the last pages of the book.
Two Adjectives
The book was fastidious with its attention to the influence and motives of Napoleon’s collaborators in revolutionary France.
The book was highly descriptive with words on these revolutionary characters, but utterly non-descript on a visual level. There were almost 0 images, and this made remembering and understanding these characters much more difficult.
Something I Learned
I learnt the genius and complexities behind the Brumaire plot.
Something I Like and Disliked
I liked the pace of the book. I never felt like a topic went too fast so I would have to re-read it multiple times to understand it.
I disliked the fact there were 0 images, other than the cartoons.
What Implication Arises from the Book
There are many implications that arise from the book. One that was often explored in reflection of the book is the fact Napoleon relied on such loyal collaborators, and they were always loyal to him because they were self-interested. In the last chapter Woloch asks, “Equally unanswerable, follows: what if one or several prominent servitors had resorted to exit at a key juncture in the developing trajectory of tyranny at home or abroad?” (p. 239). He further proves it to be “unanswerable” by saying “None chose to employ it [an exit]. If there is an exception it is Talleyrand, but his case is highly ambiguous. His exit was neither painless nor public” (p. 239). Woloch later says “Participation in the Napoleonic regime was hardly a form of selfless behavior. First and foremost, it served pure self-interest” (p. 242). This shows the motives for why they were so loyal to him but admits that we do not know the effect it would have had if they lost their loyalty. This I why my takeaway is that loyalty from his collaborators was simply necessary and to lose their loyalty would have resulted in an utterly unpredictable disaster.
A Recommendation for Who May Be Interested in the Book
The book explores the complexities of the Brumaire coup and the complexities of the revolutionaries. For someone who wants to understand the role of collaborators in revolutions and creating dictatorships, the book is perfect.
May 21, 2022
You will achieve deep knowledge of Napoleons inner circle, probably more that you need.
March 28, 2014
A really good book that goes into great detail about all the people who aided Napoleon's rise to the status of Emperor.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews