In 1799, after the French Revolution had quieted into the Thermidorean Reaction, general Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory
Tim Flynn
IB European History
Period 3
Essay #6
In 1799, after the French Revolution had quieted into the Thermidorean Reaction, general Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory (the executive branch appointed by the legislative assembly) and came into power as leader of the Consulate, beginning in 1799. Under Napoleon, France became a nationalist power, expanding its territory into Italy and exerting its influence over other powers. Napoleon consolidated his rule by suppressing rebellions in France, normalizing relations with the Church in the Concordat of 1801, and streamlining the French law system in the Napoleonic Code. By 1804, Napoleon was so powerful that he declared himself Emperor.
In 1799, the French government of the Thermidorean Reaction, called the Directory, was floundering. A young French general, having already won fame with a series of victories for Revolutionary France in Italy Napoleon Bonaparte, was then busy fighting a fruitless war in Egypt. The government, frightened by his massive popularity, next sent him on this Egyptian campaign. The government stated the reason for the Egyptian campaign as a means to threaten British trade with India, but in reality it seemed mostly a ploy to get the dangerous and ambitious Napoleon away from Paris. Hearing of the chaos, Napoleon abandoned his army and with great fanfare, returned to Paris a hero. On November 9, 1799 (the month of "Brumaire" in the French Revolutionary calendar) Napoleon Bonaparte and Abbe Sieyes pulled off a coup in France. They overthrew the current Directory and replaced it with a new government: the Consulate. Sieyes and Napoleon both installed themselves as consuls, though the popular Napoleon became First Consul. The overthrow of the Directory and establishment of the Consulate marked the real end of the French Revolution. The Consulate was outwardly an institution of self-government, with its Council of Notables and Senate. This bicameral legislature was largely for show: Napoleon controlled the Consulate. Under his rule, France entered a period of "Enlightened Despotism",