a member of the Directory. Proposed a new constitution. Wanted an executive body independent of the whims of electoral politics, a government based on the principle of "confidence from below, power from above". He and Napoleon enact a coup d'etat after the Directory is disbanded to establish a Consulate, that of which Napoleon shortly takes advantage and declares himself First Consul, the most powerful man in France.
Battle of Abukir
(1798) Napoleon's fleet is destroyed by British Admiral Horatio Nelson, cutting his army off from France. The second coalition gathers to defeat French in Italy and Switzerland, then threatens to invade France itself. Ruins Napoleon's plan of destroying Britain through its trade system.
Battle of Austerlitz
(1805) Napoleon defeats Austrian and Russia armies. Austria concedes under the Treaty of Pressburg, and withdrew from Italy, leaving Napoleon in control of everything north of Rome. He is now recognized as king of Italy.
Battle of Trafalgar
(1805) British Admiral Horatio Nelson destroys French and Spanish fleets, but then dies. British do not lose any ships. Ends all French hopes of invading Britain and guarantees British control of the sea for the rest of the war.
(1769-1821) French general who became emperor of the French. Overthrew French Directory in the coup d'etat of 1799. Issued the Constitution of the Year VIII, which, even with its democratic cover, system of checks and balances, and three established consuls in which executive authority was to be divided, granted Napoleon dominant power as the First Consul. Established a concordat with the church as well as the Napoleonic Code. Became emperor of the French in 1804. Lead a series of military victories against the various coalitions. Failed to defeat Great Britain and was abdicated in 1814. Returned to power briefly in 1815 but was defeated and died in exile.
Civil Code of 1804
Also known as the Napoleonic Code. Napoleon's bargain with the middle class that reasserted equality of all male citizens before the law and absolute security of wealth and private property. Forbid privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs were only to go to people that were qualified and trained. Conservative attitude toward women remain. Workers' organizations stay banned. Fathers are the dominant figure in a household. Property to be distributed among all children.
Concordat of 1801
A concordat between Pope Pius VII and Napoleon. Made possible because Pius had written that Christianity was compatible with the ideals of equality and democracy. Reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church as the majority church of France and restored some of its civil status. Gained for French Catholics the right to practice their religion freely. Required refractory clergy and those who had accepted revolution to resign. Replaced by clergy whose title the Pope confirmed, but the state would name bishops, as well as pay their salaries. In return, the church was to give up its claims to its confiscated property.
Confederation of the Rhine
A federation of German states organized under Napoleon I in July 1806. Formerly under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, which was dissolved the same year, the new federation placed itself under the "protection" of Napoleon and was governed by one of his close allies. It quickly fell apart after Napoleon's defeat outside Leipzig in 1813 as member states abandonded the French and joined the German natinalist "war of liberation."
(1806-4) Napoleon's policy of preventing trade between Great Britain and continental Europe, intending to destroy Great Britain's economy. Britain instead trades in the Americas and eastern Mediterranean, therefore not suffering very badly; however, the remaining European nations are severely hurt. Foreign merchants become ready to turn towards smuggling due to Napoleon's tariff policies and his refusal at turning his empire into a free trade area.
Coup d'etat (of 18 Fructidor)
staged by the Directory in 1797 for the purpose of preserving the republic and preventing a peaceful restoration of the Bourbons. Put their own supporters into the legislative seats their opponents had won. Imposed censorship and exiled some of their enemies. Napoleon assisted the Directory, sending a subordinate to Paris to ensure its success.
(1795-9) Were anti-monarchists; staged a coup d'etat with help from Napoleon to prevent the revival of the monarchy. Economic troubles and the dangerous internal situation eroded all support.
Holy Roman Empire
(962-1806) The West German princes withdraw under its rule, and Francis II dissolves this body, calling himself Emperor Francis II of Austria.
the British admiral who destroyed the French fleet at Abukir and ruined Napoleon's plans of destroying Britain by invading Egypt and damaging British trade. Destroys Spanish and French fleets in the Battle of Tralfagar, sufficiently succeeding in ending all French hope of invading Britain. Dies in battle.
a direct vote in which a country's people have the opportunity to approve or reject a proposal
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord
(1754-1838) Bonaparte's foreign minister who objected to the excecution of the Bourbon duke of Enghien in 1804, in which he declared the act "worse than a crime--a blunder" because it provoked foreign opposition
(1798-1802) Consisted of the nations of Russia, Austria, Ottoman Empire, and Britain. Resulted from the French attack into Egypt, which had alarmed Russia.
(1803-7) William Pitt the Younger persuades Russia and Austria to join him against France, who had ignored the ultimatum that the British issued. This was in response to suspicions that Napoleon was planning to expand his empire beyond Europe.
Treaty of Tilsit
(1807) Agreement between Napoleon and Czar Alexander I after the Third Coalition collapsed in which Russia became a secret ally of France, and Prussia, an open ally. Napoleon took over the lands of Prussia, west of the Elbe, as well as the Polish provinces.
Civil Code of 1804
The ____________________ established the following:
1. All privileges based on birth abolished; primogeniture remains abolished.
2. Effectively granted legal equality to the middle class and thus institutionalized the revolutionary principle of equality
3. Also institutionalized women's secondary status