Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French emperor and military commander who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and briefly again in 1815. His political and cultural legacy endures as a celebrated and controversial leader. He initiated many enduring reforms, but has been criticized for his authoritarian rule. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and his wars and campaigns are still studied at military schools worldwide. However, historians still debate the degree to which he was responsible for the Napoleonic Wars, in which between three and six million people died.
The Consulate was the top-level government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term The Consulate also refers to this period of French history.
Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, Duke of Parma, was a French nobleman, lawyer, freemason and statesman during the French Revolution and the First Empire. He is best remembered as one of the authors of the Napoleonic Code, which still forms the basis of French civil law and French-inspired civil law in many countries.
The Council of Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the Directory (Directoire) period of the French Revolution.
Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne was a French diplomat, born in Sens. He is known primarily for his close relationship with Napoleon Bonaparte, of whom he wrote in detail in his celebrated memoirs.
Antoine-Jean Gros was a French painter of historical subjects. He was granted the title of Baron Gros in 1824.
Giovanni Battista Caprara Montecuccoli was an Italian statesman and cardinal and archbishop of Milan from 1802 to 1810. As a papal diplomat he served in the embassies in Cologne, Lausanne, and Vienna. As Legate of Pius VII in France, he implemented the Concordat of 1801, and negotiated with the Emperor Napoleon over the matter of appointments to the restored hierarchy in France. He crowned Napoleon as King of Italy in Milan in 1805.
Antoine Claire, Comte Thibaudeau was a French politician.
A referendum on creating an Islamic Republic was held in Iran on 30 and 31 March 1979. Ayatollah Khomeini did not allow an open referendum, insisting that the Iranian population had chosen an "Islamic Republic" already by demonstrating against the Shah. In response, political parties such as the National Democratic Front and the Fadaiyan Khalgh boycotted the referendum.
A referendum on re-establishing the Empire was held in France on 21 and 22 November 1852. Voters were asked whether they approved of the re-establishment of the Empire in the person of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte and family. It was approved by 96.9% of voters with a 79.8% turnout. As with other plebicites under Napoleon III, the result were rigged and only served to legitimize their rule under a false sense of democracy.
A referendum was held in France on 20 and 21 December 1851. Voters were asked whether they approved of the continuation of the authority of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte and to delegate the powers required to produce a new constitution. It was approved by 92% of voters with an 81.7% turnout.
A constitutional referendum on the Charter of 1815 of the First French Empire, with Napoleon I restored to power in place of Louis XVIII, was held on 22 April 1815. Like in previous French referendums, the officially announced result was nearly unanimous. Out of seven and a half million eligible voters, 79% abstained that day. Compared to the 1804 referendum, the yes vote had a net loss 2 million votes.
The Sénat conservateur was an advisory body established in France during the Consulate following the French Revolution. It was established in 1799 under the Constitution of the Year VIII following the Napoleon Bonaparte-led Coup of 18 Brumaire. It lasted until 1814 when Napoleon Bonaparte was overthrown and the Bourbon monarchy was restored. The Sénat was a key element in Napoleon's regime.
The Saint-Domingue expedition was a large French military invasion sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to regain French control of the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue on the island of Hispaniola, and curtail the measures of independence and abolition of slaves taken by the former slave Toussaint Louverture. It departed in December 1801 and, after initial success, ended in a French defeat at the Battle of Vertières and the departure of French troops in December 1803. The defeat forever ended Napoleon's dreams of a French empire in the West.
The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire after 1809 and also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 3 May 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815, when Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena.
Jean Tulard is a French academic and historian. Considered one of the best specialists of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Napoleonic era, he is nicknamed by his peers "the master of Napoleonic studies".
The musket Modèle 1777, and later Modèle 1777 corrigé en l'an IX was one of the most widespread weapons on the European continent.
Thomas-Augustin de Gasparin, was a French military officer and député for the Bouches-du-Rhône departement to the National Legislative Assembly and the Convention.
France and Russia signed a treaty of peace in Paris on 8 October 1801. The treaty formally ended Russo-French hostilities in the War of the Second Coalition. Two days later, on 10 October, they signed a secret convention of alliance. The signatories for both were Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord for France and Count Arkady Morkov for Russia. Ratifications were exchanged on 11 October. The French law recognizing the treaty is dated 9 December 1801.
Patrice Gueniffey is a French historian. He is a specialist in Napoleonic studies and the French Revolution, and the director of the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.
