Napoleonic Governance in the Netherlands and Northwest Germany by Martijn van der Burg

Author:Martijn van der Burg
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030666583
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Development of the Intermediary Bodies

Early 1811, the first phase of integration was completed in the Dutch departments. Now, Charles-François Lebrun was able to delegate most of the day-to-day management to the intendants. Therefore, he was less tied to the third capital. With Napoleon’s permission, he relocated to Huis ten Bosch in The Hague—the former residence of the Oranges and briefly the palace of King Louis Napoleon. Between 1811 and 1813 he settled alternately in Amsterdam and The Hague.68 Contemporaries remarked that Governor Lebrun increasingly played the role of ‘good old man’, on the background, to appease the Dutch.69 There may have been a link between Lebrun’s stay in The Hague and simultaneous severe actions of French military commissions against reluctant Dutch conscripts.70 Responding to this repression, Lebrun argued that true justice did not demand blood, but examples. Blood spilled ‘without absolute necessity’ would only produce more hatred and revolt.71

Throughout, Charles-François Lebrun was willing to listen to the concerns of the Dutch. He had the ability to cope with Napoleon’s high demands and, if necessary, he did not hesitate to tell Napoleon the truth. For instance, ‘Gentle measures are needed’, Lebrun frequently insisted with Napoleon, ‘those work wonders with the Dutch’.72 Yet, Lebrun always remained loyal to Napoleon and did not tolerate widespread opposition.

The shock Dutch republicans had experienced in 1806, now befell the inhabitants of the Hanseatic cities. Davout made it clear that the North Germans had to make no illusions—all autonomy was lost. Obviously, French influence had been considerable for years, but the definitive loss of republicanism fell heavily on citizens.73 Hamburger Karl Gries regretted that ‘out of Republicans we have become Subjects’. Proud citizens, were attached to their form of government, not least because it was so old, Gries claimed. But he admitted that, despite all the laudable efforts to preserve civic republican freedom, form of government had become archaic.74 Tellingly, one of the first acts of the Commission was abolishing the urban Senates, the backbone of the age-old Hanseatic governance system. Davout was keen to dispose completely of the old urban form of government, but many of the civil servants were retained, also as a gesture toward the administrative elite.75 Reactions were mixed. According to Davout, the old officials settled with ‘resignation and submissiveness’. However, police accounts reported dissatisfied reactions from the population, such as the nightly removal of posters with the Commission’s official ordinances. In the hinterland, popular responses seem to have been more moderate.76

When the organization plans finished, auditeurs Himbert de Flégny and Beckmann-Schore personally brought all documentation to Paris, to submit it to Napoleon. If the Emperor approved it before 25 June, the French government could enter into force punctually on 1 July 1811.77 With an imperial decree, the workings of the intermediate government were finally determined. The Commission would continue its work from 1 January 1812 onward as the gouvernement général of the Hanseatic departments. The decree displayed many similarities with the manner in which the Dutch situation was regulated. For instance, a

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