Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military officer and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of successful campaigns across Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1796 to 1815. 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 to 1814, and briefly again in 1815.
The Consulate was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the French 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 the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the Directory 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.
The Constitution of the Year VIII was a national constitution of France, adopted on 24 December 1799, which established the form of government known as the Consulate. The coup of 18 Brumaire had effectively given all power to Napoleon Bonaparte, and in the eyes of some, ended the French Revolution.
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 Ruhollah 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 Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas 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 97% of voters with an 80% turnout. As with other plebiscites under Napoleon III, the results 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 or French Empire, 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 4 April 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".
Honoré Muraire, was a French statesman of the French Revolution. Under the Ancien Régime he held the title of seigneur of Favas; later under the French Empire he held a title of comte de l'Empire.
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.
