This book looks at the Napoleonic Empire from an entirely new perspective: that of the ruled, rather than the ruler. Broers concentrates on the experience of the peoples of Europe and weaves together a myriad of regional experiences to produce a social history of the Napoleonic Empire with a truly panoramic scope. "What emerges, then, is a picture which escapes many of the usual clichés, and for which there is simply no parallel elsewhere, it being hard to imagine a more stimulating and useful introduction to the subject [and] Broers' thesis being a powerful one."-- English Historical Review Michael Broers, University of Leeds.