Inside Napoleonic France: State and society in Rouen, 1800-1815

Based on extensive French archival research, this book investigates the nature of the Napoleonic state and its short and longer-term impact upon local society. Specifically, it examines the question of state power and its implementation and reception at a local level, the relationship between central government and the regions, the social and economic impact of war and how the Napoleonic regime addressed Rouen's revolutionary past. Daly argues that despite an unprecedented degree of social control, the Napoleonic state was not all-powerful, and that the central government's power was tempered by local considerations. It is this interaction between the representatives of central government and the regional elites which provides the central focus of the book.

Contents:
Introduction; City on the Seine: Rouen in 1800; The Prefectoral administration; Law and order: the war on brigandage; The Concordat; The Rouen notables; The plight of maritime commerce; The statistical culture of the empire; The Rouen cotton industry; The problem of subsistence; Conscription; Public opinion from Brumaire to the Hundred Days; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.