Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Question 1

Why did Napoleon need to maintain high taxes? What taxes did he maintain? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 1

Napoleon needed to maintain high taxes in order to finance the costs of the war. This maintained the land tax from the Directory and the tax on personal property.

Question 2

When did Napoleon begin to draw up a new cadastre? What was the intention of this? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 2

Napoleon began to drawn up a new cadastre in 1807, with this intended to reassess the value of land in order to recalculate taxes that should be levied on an individual and an area more fairly and accurately to improve tax yields.

Question 3

What fraction of the country had had their tax reassessed by the cadastre by 1815? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 3

1/5 of the country had had their taxes reassessed by the cadastre by 1815, meaning that tax estimates were still wildly inaccurate at this point.

Question 4

How was the collection of tax and the payment of these tax collectors altered under Napoleon? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 4

Under Napoleon, tax collectors were appointed for each département, with these individuals paid as a proportion of the value of the tax they collected.

Question 5

What tax was introduced on trade from September 1803? What was the impact of this? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 5

From September 1803, an octroi on goods entering and leaving an administrative area was introduced, causing the price of goods to rise.

Question 6

What form of tax did the government heavily rely upon in order to finance the war effort? Give examples of this - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 6

The government under Napoleon heavily relied upon indirect taxes to maintain funding for the war effort, with this resulting in taxes on goods such as alcohol, salt, tobacco and playing cards, which all impacted the working classes.

Question 7

When did Napoleon introduce a metallic currency? What was the impact of this money’s weight? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 7

Napoleon introduced a metallic currency in 1803 in order to replace previous volatile currencies. The weight of this money directly corresponded to the value of the currency, meaning that this was much more stable than previous paper currency.

Question 8

What action did Napoleon take with regards to paper money? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 8

Napoleon chose to make all paper money illegal tender, refusing to honour payments for a currency that had become worthless after years of inflation. This meant that the only legal currency became metallic currency.

Question 9

When was the Bank of France set up? What was the role of this institution? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 9

The Bank of France was set up in January 1800, with this institution intended to provide credit for both government and entrepreneurs. It also produced a currency of gold and silver coins and allowed Napoleon to raise loans at a reasonable rate of interest.

Question 10

What actions did Chaptal take as Minister of the Interior in order to improve France’s economic state? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 10

Chaptal established a Bureau of Statistics to gather data on industry, agriculture and the population, set up the Society to Encourage National Industry which held exhibitions on French industry and promoted this, established Councils of Agriculture, Arts and Commerce in every départements.

Question 11

How many Chambers of Commerce did Chaptal set up across France? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 11

Chaptal set up 23 Chambers of Commerce across France.

Question 12

By what % did France’s wool industry yield increase by from 1811 to 1812? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 12

France’s wool industry increased its yield by 400% from 1811 to 1812.

Question 13

How did the value of France’s exported silks increase from 1790 to 1812? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 13

From 1790 to 1812, exported silks rose in value from 26 million francs to 64 million.

Question 14

How did Napoleon’s intervention to prioritise certain products hinder the economy of his regime? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 14

Napoleon’s regime focussed heavily upon luxury goods rather than everyday products, resulting in a slight hindering of economic growth under this regime.

Question 15

How did Napoleon’s Civil Code disadvantage agricultural production in France? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 15

Napoleon’s Civil Code encouraged farms to be split up as a result of dividing property between heirs, with this resulting in French farms being split beyond the level at which they could be self-sufficient.

Question 16

What impact did the war have on the types of products encouraged to be produced by farmers? Give examples - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 16

The war resulted in the government attempting to encourage the growth of replacement crops in order to reduce the dependence on imported goods from colonies, as this had been disrupted by the war. This saw cotton, coffee, dyes, tobacco and sugar being domestically produced.

Question 17

When was the import of sugar cane prohibited? Why? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 17

The import of sugar cane was prohibited from January 1813 in order to incentivise and protect the domestic sugar beet growing industry.

Question 18

When did Napoleon sell Louisiana to the USA? Why? For how much? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 18

Napoleon sold Louisiana to the US in 1803 for 50 million francs, with this in order to finance the war effort and a proposed invasion of Britain.

Question 19

What impacts did the war have on French trade, economy, finance and business? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 19

The war saw labour lost to the army (disadvantaging domestic industry), taxation was raised to finance wars, loans were taken out, trading opportunities were lost as restrictions and barriers opened (British Blockade).

Question 20

When did Napoleon launch his ‘Continental System’? What was the aim of this? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 20

Napoleon launched the ‘Continental System’ in 1806, with this intended to act as a continental blockade of British trade by restricting Britain’s access to European markets. This was subscribed to by both France and (supposedly) France’s allies too, or else they would risk being treated as enemies of France.

Question 21

Why did the Continental System fail? (2) - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 21

The Continental System failed as a result of the French Navy being unable to restrict crossings of Europe’s coastlines and a subsequent increase in contraband and smuggling into and out of Britain. Furthermore, Britain’s trade with N/S America made up for losses in continental trade, so it was never entirely weakened by Napoleon’s efforts.

Question 22

When was France forced to allow some unlicensed trade with Britain? What does this indicate? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 22

France was forced to allow some unlicensed trade with Britain in 1810 to raise funds and offset a decline in customs receipts, meaning that any attempt to isolate and restrict British trade with the continent was wholly ineffective.

Question 23

What factors limited the degree of economic change in France under Napoleon? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 23

France was still a highly agrarian economy and had low living standards, taxes remained high to fund the war, collective bargaining agreements remained weak, France had no individuals seeking to invest in the economy, farms remained small and unprofitable, working conditions were poor (making industrial work unattractive).

Question 24

When did expenditure begin to exceed income in France under Napoleon? - Financial and Economic Policies and Problems

Answer 24

In 1806, Napoleon’s France saw expenditure exceed levels of income.