Callister, Graeme ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3651-3919 (2026) "Every Frenchman is a Soldier": Conscription and Social Distinction in Napoleonic France. Atenea: Revista de la Asociación Española de Historia Militar. (In Press)

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Abstract

In 1798 France instituted regular universal male conscription. Theoretically, the law insisted that every Frenchman was a soldier and owed service in their country’s defence; to its writers, the law reinforced Revolutionary principles of equality and citizenship, while ensuring that France’s army had sufficient manpower. Napoleon’s post-1799 regime, however, eroded the universal basis of conscription, serving to enforce social distinction and delineate who was – and was not – “French”. By allowing exemptions that favoured social elites and using conscription to co-opt or exclude minority national, religious or ethnic groups, Napoleon’s regime used compulsory service to reinforce its view of French society.

Item Type:	Article
Status:	In Press
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D901 Europe (General) D History General and Old World > DC France K Law > K Law (General) U Military Science > U Military Science (General)
School/Department:	School of Humanities
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/15346

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