This chapter ties in with developments in historiography that have brought the history of the Napoleonic Empire, the history of colonialism, and the history of imperialism closer together, and that have initiated historical studies in which the Napoleonic Empire is situated within larger temporal and spatial contexts. More precisely, it pursues reflections on the Napoleonic Empire’s civilizing mission by proposing a case study from the German-speaking part of the Napoleonic Empire: the analysis of Jacques-Claude Beugnot’s activities as Imperial Commissioner and Finance Minister in the Grand Duchy of Berg. Underscoring Beugnot’s representation of the superiority, progressiveness, and uniqueness of France and the French—and accordingly the inferiority, backwardness, and similarity of the rest of Europe—the chapter argues that Beugnot was convinced of France’s responsibility vis-a-vis an outmoded ‘old Europe,’ and that this responsibility can certainly be considered a civilizing mission.