A. Smooth      05/09/2020

History of the consulate and the formation of the Napoleonic Empire table. Consulate in France and the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon's wars of conquest


Formation of the consulate of the city - the adoption of the new Constitution of France, the establishment of the consulate. 1st consul 2nd consul 3rd consul Creation of laws Declaration of war Appointment of ministers and officials Making peace LEGISLATIVE VOTE


Consular Policy 1799 - 1804 consulate in France. Consulate policy: 1. Entrepreneurship development. 2. Financial reform - the introduction of the franc. 3. Acceleration of the industrial revolution. Strikes and unions of workers were forbidden. Those dissatisfied with the policies of the First Consul faced executions, arrests, and exile.


France becomes the empire of the city - the establishment of an empire in France. Why did Napoleon need an army? Who could serve in the Napoleonic army? How many years did they serve? What branches of the army was Napoleon's army divided into? What does the "principle of equal opportunity" declared by Napoleon in the army mean?








Conquest wars consulates and empires. Date Place of the battle Result 1805 Landing in England The army was transferred to Vienna 1805 Trafalgar Victory of the English fleet under the command of Admiral Nelson 1805 Austerlitz Victory of France over Russia and Austria


Conquest wars of consulate and empire. Date Place of the battle Result 1805 Landing in England The army was transferred to Vienna 1805 Trafalgar Victory of the English fleet under the command of Admiral Nelson 1805 Austerlitz French victory over Russia and Austria 1806 Jena (Prussia) French victory over Prussia


Conquest wars of consulate and empire. Date Place of the battle Result 1805 Landing in England The army was transferred to Vienna 1805 Trafalgar Victory of the English fleet under the command of Admiral Nelson 1805 Austerlitz French victory over Russia and Austria 1806 Jena (Prussia) French victory over Prussia 1806Signing with the defeated states of the treaty on the continental blockade of England

Consulate in France

The revolution brought many talented and active military leaders to the pinnacle of power. Among them are Bonaparte, Ney, Murat, Davout, Lannes. In December 1799, a constitution was adopted in the country. Power was transferred to three consuls, the main of which was the first consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. He was elected to this post for a ten-year term.

Remark 1

Napoleon Bonaparte - French statesman and military leader. Born in 1769 on the island of Corsica. During the years of the revolution, he advanced as a talented commander, became the commander of the army. In 1799, having made a coup d'état, he became the first consul of France. In 1804 he proclaimed himself emperor of the French. The military successes of the emperor ended with an inglorious campaign in Russia in 1812 and the defeat of French army. He died in 1821 on the island of Saint Helena, having been exiled there by decision of the Congress of Vienna.

The consulate retained a republican form of government, although the real power was concentrated in the hands of Napoleon. The second and third consuls had an advisory vote. The legislative function was divided among three authorities - the Council of State, the Legislative Corps and the Tribunate. The bills adopted by them fell into the Senate, and then approved by the first consul. All males, reaching the age of 21, received the right to vote. True, they elected only candidates for deputies, from among whom the government appointed members to the legislative bodies.

The constitution of 1799 was approved by popular vote (plebiscite). Most voters voted for Napoleon, who by that time had become wildly popular. Bonaparte's regime of personal power was established in the country.

Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte

In 1802, a new plebiscite secured for Napoleon the post of first consul for life. He could appoint a successor, single-handedly dissolve the Legislative Assembly, decide questions of war and peace. It remained only to give Napoleon the title of emperor. This was done in May 1804. The Pope himself laid the crown on the head of the new emperor. The church glorified first the first consul, then the emperor, turning into a pillar of the Napoleonic regime.

In 1807, the Tribunate is dispersed, in which opposition to the Bonaparte regime has developed. The restoration of the pre-revolutionary splendor of the royal court began. The old nobility returned from immigration, the king granted titles of nobility to his associates and formed a new elite. Since 1808, 3,600 titles of nobility have been awarded. Napoleon granted land to each newly minted nobleman. But the return of privileges did not happen, the Napoleonic laws consolidated legal equality.

In an effort to strengthen his position and found a new dynasty, Napoleon sought to intermarry with the "legitimate" monarchs of Europe. The Russian tsar refused, but the Austrian court agreed to marry Princess Marie-Louise.

The significance of the consulate and the empire for France

The regime of Napoleon's government entered the history of France under the name "Bonapartism".

Definition 1

Bonapartism is the military dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte in early XIX century in France. Later, the term came to refer to any counter-revolutionary bourgeois dictatorship.

Under Napoleon, the bourgeoisie was not allowed to power. The emperor maneuvered between different classes, relying on the state machine and a strong army. The main unity of the people was the revolutionary idea of ​​the unity of the nation. Napoleon implemented his slogan "France first". Already by 1806, a huge empire was created, not inferior in area to the empire of Charlemagne.

Question 01. Indicate the reasons for the creation of the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. Compare the monarchy he restored with that of Louis XVI.

Answer. Reasons for creating an empire:

1) France needed a reconciliation between supporters and opponents of the revolution;

2) Bonaparte used this as one of the means of rehabilitating his regime in the eyes of the Catholics;

3) Bonaparte used this as a means of increasing his authority in the international arena (for example, thanks to this title, peace negotiations between the emperors Napoleon I and Alexander I were on an equal footing);

4) it is quite possible that this was the fulfillment of the childhood dream of Napoleon, who was brought up in a monarchical country and always strived for greatness;

5) at the disposal of Bonaparte was all the fullness of the executive power and devotion to the army, no one had a chance to challenge his decisions.

Question 02. Tell us about domestic politics consulates and empires of Napoleon I.

Answer. Bonaparte stimulated the development of big business, taking a whole range of measures for this, including the strengthening of the franc. At the same time, he launched a large-scale state building, which has been used since ancient times to give work to the poor. The creation of new jobs also stimulated the development of the business of the big bourgeoisie, which, I repeat, was supported by the government. Bonaparte also decided to make peace with the moderate opponents of the revolution. He declared an amnesty for emigrants, and also tried to improve relations with the Catholic Church. The latter included a whole range of measures. The first consul went to negotiate with the Pope. Later, the pope presided over the emperor's coronation ceremony. After a series of French military victories, the Roman high priest became controlled by Paris, while he was glorified and supported in every possible way in undertakings that did not diverge from the political course of the empire. The separation of church and state in France was abolished, the positions of Catholic hierarchs were formally restored, but, for example, Napoleon personally appointed bishops. Using his right to legislate independently, Napoleon introduced a number of codes in France and in the territories under its control with new norms of social relations. His code contained many of the revolution's gains in civil rights and personal freedoms, the kind of freedoms that revolutionary movements in many countries aspired to after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Question 03. What measures did the continental blockade include? What were Napoleon's goals with this policy? Make your development forecast international relations in connection with its use.

Answer. Napoleon hoped to deprive Britain of money to continue the war. To do this, he banned all the countries under his control from any trade relations with these territories subordinated to London. However, such measures were not beneficial, first of all, to the continental countries: they were already too dependent on British goods, while English industry could find new markets in their own and foreign colonies. That is why Russia did not actually observe the blockade. From this we can conclude that the continuation of the blockade would only lead to the ruin of the countries that supported the blockade. Napoleon also understood this, therefore, according to the memoirs of some contemporaries, he made plans to conquer the British colonies, primarily India.

Question 04. Start compiling the table "Foreign policy of the consulate and the empire." Table columns: years, main events during foreign policy, totals, value.

Answer. Foreign policy of the consulate and the empire

Napoleon Bonaparte after the coup d'état hastened to legalize his power. He dictated a new constitution, according to which all power was concentrated in the hands of the first consul. The four legislative bodies - the Senate, the Council of State, the Tribunate and the Legislative Corps - had a purely decorative value. Napoleon ended the parliamentary regime and suffrage, even in the curtailed form in which it existed under the Directory. Instead of the right to choose deputies, French citizens received only the right to nominate candidates, from among whom the government itself appointed members of the legislature.
The system of elected local and regional (departmental) self-government created by the revolution was also destroyed. It was replaced by the police-bureaucratic system of prefectures: the Minister of the Interior appointed the prefect of the department, the prefect appointed mayors and members of the municipal councils of cities and communes. All of France was now engulfed from top to bottom in a strictly centralized administrative apparatus, the threads of control of which were ultimately concentrated in the hands of Napoleon. The powerful and ramified department of the police entangled the entire public and personal life French: nothing escaped his observation.
With particular ruthlessness, the police, like all government authorities, subjected democratic circles to persecution and repression. Napoleon sought to completely eradicate Jacobinism and its very spirit. The renegade Fouche, in his capacity as Minister of Police, assisted him with particular zeal in this.
One of Napoleon's first measures, carried out at the beginning of 1800, was the closure of independent newspapers; he retained only those press organs that were wholly subordinate to the government. The strictest censorship was established. Everything that reminded of the revolution and its leaders was excluded from literature, theater, and teaching.
Napoleon liquidated the progressive legislation of the revolution in matters of religion and the church. In 1801 a concordat (agreement) with Pope Pius VII was concluded and in 1802 put into effect. By virtue of the concordat, Catholicism was recognized as "the religion of the vast majority of French citizens"; the state paid salaries to the clergy; the pope of Rome renounced claims to church lands confiscated during the revolution and recognized the control of the French state over the activities of priests and bishops. By this agreement with the Pope, Napoleon sought to place the Catholic Church at the service of the new, bourgeois order.
The Napoleonic regime defended and guarded the redistribution of property that took place during the years of the revolution, when the lands of the church and the emigrant nobles passed into the hands of the bourgeoisie and the peasantry. At the same time, Napoleon opened the doors of France to those emigrants who refused to support the Bourbon monarchy and were ready to serve him. Some of them were returned unsold estates. However, the police established surveillance for all former emigrants.
Napoleon consistently supported and encouraged the entrepreneurial activity and initiative of industrialists, bankers, and merchants. In 1800, the French Bank was founded. Napoleon enjoyed special patronage of industry, for the development of which he did not skimp on government orders, state subsidies, and export bonuses. The government protected the domestic market from foreign, primarily British, competition. In the interests of large property owners and to the detriment of broad sections of the working people, direct taxes were reduced and indirect taxes increased two to two and a half times.
Contemporaries said of Napoleon that he was more afraid of the slightest unrest of the workers than of a lost battle. Encouraging the development of industry, organizing public works, the government tried to prevent unemployment, which could cause revolutionary outbreaks. At the same time, the workers were subjected to particularly close surveillance by the police. Having repealed many of the laws of the revolutionary years, Napoleon retained the Le Chapelier law, which deprived the workers of the right to defend their interests in an organized manner and provided entrepreneurs with unlimited opportunity to exploit them. In 1803, work books were introduced, which gave employers and authorities an additional means of control and police guardianship over workers.
The policy of the Napoleonic government up to a certain time met not only the interests of the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie, but also the interests of the peasant proprietors. Marx wrote: “After the first revolution had turned semi-serf peasants into free landowners, Napoleon consolidated and regulated the conditions under which the peasants could freely use the French land they had just inherited and satisfy their youthful passion for property.”

Questions and answers to § 11. Consulate and the formation of the Napoleonic Empire

1. Specify the reasons for the creation of the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. Compare the monarchy he restored with that of Louis XVI.

Reasons for creating an empire:

  • France needed a reconciliation between supporters and opponents of the revolution;
  • Napoleon Bonaparte used this as one of the means of rehabilitating his regime in the eyes of the Catholics;
  • Napoleon Bonaparte used this as a means of increasing his authority in the international arena (for example, thanks to this title, peace negotiations between the emperors Napoleon I and Alexander I were on an equal footing);
  • it is quite possible that this was the fulfillment of the childhood dream of Napoleon, who was brought up in a monarchical country and always aspired to greatness;
  • Bonaparte had at his disposal all the fullness of executive power and devotion to the army; no one had a chance to challenge his decisions.
Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte
  • The legislature existed, but had no real powers
Kingdom of Louis XVI
  • Power was inherited
  • The power of the monarch was absolute
  • The legislature was absent
2. Tell us about the internal policy of the consulate and the empire of Napoleon I.

Bonaparte stimulated the development of big business, taking a whole range of measures for this, including the strengthening of the franc. At the same time, he launched a large-scale state building, which has been used since ancient times to give work to the poor. The creation of new jobs also stimulated the development of the business of the big bourgeoisie, which, I repeat, was supported by the government.

Bonaparte also decided to make peace with the moderate opponents of the revolution. He declared an amnesty for emigrants, and also tried to improve relations with the Catholic Church. The latter included a whole range of measures. The first consul went to negotiate with the Pope.

Later, the pope presided over the emperor's coronation ceremony. After a series of French military victories, the Roman high priest became controlled by Paris, while he was glorified and supported in every possible way in undertakings that did not diverge from the political course of the empire.

The separation of church and state in France was abolished, the positions of Catholic hierarchs were formally restored, but, for example, Napoleon personally appointed bishops. Using his right to legislate independently, Napoleon introduced a number of codes in France and in the territories under its control with new norms of social relations.

His code contained many of the revolution's gains in civil rights and personal freedoms, the kind of freedoms that revolutionary movements in many countries aspired to after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

3. What measures did the continental blockade include? What were Napoleon's goals with this policy? Make your own forecast of the development of international relations in connection with its application.

Napoleon hoped to deprive Britain of money to continue the war. To do this, he banned all the countries under his control from any trade relations with these territories subordinated to London. However, such measures were not beneficial, first of all, to the continental countries: they were already too dependent on British goods, while English industry could find new markets in their own and foreign colonies.

That is why Russia did not actually observe the blockade. From this we can conclude that the continuation of the blockade would only lead to the ruin of the countries that supported the blockade. Napoleon also understood this, therefore, according to the memoirs of some contemporaries, he made plans to conquer the British colonies, primarily India.

4. Start compiling the table "Foreign policy of the consulate and the empire." Columns of the table: years, major events in foreign policy, results, significance.

Foreign policy of the consulate and the empire

yearsEventsResultsMeaning
1800 2nd Italian campaign, victory in the battle of MarengoAustria withdrew from the war and recognized new frontier France along the Rhine River, Piedmont and Genoa became possessions of FranceThe anti-French coalition broke up, France expanded its possessions in Italy
1801-1802 France signed peace with all members of the anti-French allianceFrance got a breakThe resulting time was used to prepare for new wars
1803 Start new war with England
New anti-French coalition begins to form
1805 The anti-French alliance is formed.England, Austria, Russia, Naples and SwedenDelayed invasion of the British Isles
21.10.
1805
Trafalgar battleNelson sank the Franco-Spanish squadronNapoleon abandons plan to land on the British Isles
2.12.
1805
Battle of AusterlitzNapoleon's victoryThe coalition broke up
21.10.
1806
Napoleon's Continental Blockade of England ActBeginning of the continental blockadeNapoleon's decision to subjugate all of Europe, for complete blockade England
14.06.
1807
Battle of FriedlandNapoleon's victoryThe collapse of the 4th anti-French coalition
9.07.
1807
Peace of TilsitRussia joined the continental blockadeDivision of spheres of influence in Europe between France and Russia
1807-
1808
Napoleon's invasion of Spain and PortugalNapoleon's uncle sits on the throne of SpainSpanish guerrilla war

§ 11. Consulate and the formation of the Napoleonic Empire