For Chaptal, trade was an economic issue; for Bonaparte, it was a matter of overall national strength, involving politics, the military, and more. Manufactured goods did not merely represent greater value than raw materials. Britain possessed not only boring machines, but also national standards born of mechanized production. France lagged badly in this regard.
If France could not surpass Britain technologically, it would remain trapped on the continent as it was now, unable to reach other places, forcing him to develop the Continental System.
Digging canals was arduous work, but once they were built, fresh water could irrigate the land and turn deserts into oases. That too was a form of pioneering.
Pioneering was exhausting, which was why plantation owners moving west needed slaves to clear land for them. That was how the chain of profit behind the slave trade came into being.
Slavery brought France far fewer benefits than harms, especially since the Continental System was directly tied to the military. Soldiers' wages were not high; even when military spending was enormous, it dwindled once divided among so many people.
Soldiers needed to fight abroad in order to gain spoils and wealth. But not everyone was so greedy. Some needed a righteous cause before they would draw their swords. Frenchmen in the midst of a Great Patriotic War, like slaves fighting for freedom, were impossible to defeat. France's greatest advantage was that it had not become as deeply entangled in the slave trade as Britain and America. Yet one misstep could still lead to Britain and America joining forces against it. Joseph had signed a peace treaty with America, preventing Anglo-American cooperation. America continued to provide shipping despite sanctions because it also hoped that Franco-American relations would not deteriorate further, causing Britain and France to become allies through the