In a previous correspondence, we highlighted Napoleon the III’s role in draining the swamp in Western France and triggering the planting of a sustainable reforestation of a wet desert. Our French colleague, who remarked on this achievement, also recommended we look at what else he did as a leader to change the economic fortunes of France. For those who have studied him before, they will know that he was a very busy fellow, even if less famous and successful than his uncle, Napoleon I.
Napoleon III’s rise to power was complex, from exile in Switzerland and London, to failed coups. He travelled widely, from London to Brazil to New York. He spent time studying the incredible success of the British economy and met the famous scientists of his day. In 1840 he gathered sixty armed men in England, hired a ship called the Edinburgh-Castle, and sailed across the channel to attempt to take power. To cut a long story short he was arrested, imprisoned, and escaped back to Britain again. While in prison, he wrote poems, political essays, and many articles, becoming quite well known as a writer. He was famous for L’extinction du pauperisme, a study of poverty in the French industrial working class, with proposals to eliminate it. Again, to cut a long story short he returned to France after the French Revolution and became President in 1849 by a sizeable majority, much more than Biden’s recent rise to President!
Our current leaders in the UK may not have experienced quite the same trauma to achieve power, but that’s not the main point of this story. It’s what he did next that really counts. His first priority was the modernization of the French economy, trailing way behind that of the UK and Germany. He wanted the Government to play an active role, much in the same way as the modern-day economist, Marianna Mazzucato, describes the ‘Entrepreneurial State’.
He triggered the reconstruction of Paris and similar public works in other French cities. He modernized the French banking and railway systems, and turned the merchant marine into the second largest in the world. He promoted the building of the Suez Canal, modernized agriculture and made France an agricultural exporter. He negotiated a free trade agreement with Britain and other European trading partners. He lowered tariffs, triggering a domestic growth twice that of Britain. French workers were given the right to organise and strike and the first women students were admitted to the Sorbonne. His influence lasted over 20 years until he was defeated by the expansionist Prussians. He is not seen nowadays as nearly as powerful or successful as his uncle, Napoleon I, but his legacy for the domestic economy is recognised by historians and students of French business.
Its maybe an exaggeration to describe the needs of the Scottish economy in a similar manner, but we believe not. Some form of modernisation and recovery is needed and a strong leadership with an interest in domestic commercial and industrial policy is essential for at least the next 20 years for the sake of a prosperous Scottish future.