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November 9th, 1799, was Napoleon's first great political accomplishment. Napoleon was part a coup that attempted to overthrow the directory, France's government at the time. The coup was successful, and the directory gave their power up to Napoleon and his men. Napoleon worked with the other leaders of the coup to form a consulate government, and made himself First Consul. This gave him the most power of the three consuls who were chosen.
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Created in 1800, the Banque de France was a national bank established by Napoleon to steady the economy. With the bank, he also created a fair tax system. This allowed for the French government to gain a substantial amount of money.
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Starting in 1802, Napoleon started to build lycées, public schools intended to train France's future generation of government workers. The lycées were intended to allow for graduates to hold public office instead of simply inheriting them through family. The lycées were open to males of all backgrounds. This was a massive social change for the French. Napoleon's new system allowed for more voice to be heard. Today, with modern modifications, Napoleon's lycées are still in use today.
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The Legion of Honour was established by Napoleon in 1802. Its purpose was reward frenchmen who has served on the battlefield or who served civil France. The Legion encouraged good service, and those who were rewarded were gifted with medals.
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After the revolution, France's economy was struggling. In order to gain more money, Napoleon decided to sell his empire in North America to the United States. He was planning to replace it with a European empire anyway, so the loss of territory wasn't an issue for him. Napoleon sold his American territory to Thomas Jefferson on April 30th, 1803, thus concluding the Louisiana Purchase. Napoleon gained $15 million from the purchase, and was able to stabilize the economic situation in France.
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The Napoleonic Code was a set of laws enacted by Napoleon on March 21st, 1804. These laws brought stability and order to a country still shaken by the French Revolution. Napoleon's code had ideals that the people expressed they wanted in the French Revolution, while still maintaining the control the people needed. This political achievement was France's first single set of laws. It is still, with modern revisions, intact today.
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December 2d, 1804, was the coronation of Napoleon, when he crowned himself Emperor of France. This political climb gave Napoleon much more power than he had when he was First Consul. He was now the sole leader of France, and had the power of a king, but now had an empire at his command. This allowed Napoleon to grow his country into a far larger empire.
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The Battle of Ulm, which began on Sept. 25th 1805, and ended on Oct. 20th 1805, was a military triumph for Napoleon. The battle took place between Napoleon's Grand Army and an Austrian Army. The Austrians, with an army of around 70,000 men waited to ambush Napoleon by the Black Forest. The Russians were supposed to come help the Austrians defeat Napoleon's army. However, Napoleon made it to the Black Forest before the Russians arrived. He had an army of 210,000 men and defeated the Austrians.
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The Battle of Dürenstein was a trap set for Napoleon's army on November 11th, 1805. His army was pursuing what they believed to be retreating Austrians and Russians. Although surprised by the attack, and suffering many casualties, Napoleon's army managed to win the battle.
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The Battle of Austerlitz, which took place on December 2d, 1805, was one of the greatest military achievements of Napoleon's life. It was between the French, the Austrians, and the Russians. Napoleon only had 68,000 men, while the Russians had Austrians had 90,000 combined. However, although he was grossly outnumbered, Napoleon outnumbered his opponents in skill. He managed to win the first battle of the war.
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Shorty after being crowned Emperor, Napoleon decided to turn Paris into a city fit for an emperor in 1806. He began the construction of several monuments and structures such as the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. He also built the Pont des Arts, the first iron bridge in the history of Paris. This new construction was as wonderful for the people of Paris as it was for him. Napoleon transformed the city into something even more spectacular.
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Napoleon replaced many roads and canals that were falling apart around 1806. He also built new roads and canals as well. This greatly improved the economy because the newly constructed and improved roads and canals allowed for people to travel easier and spend less money trying to fix broken roads or finding ways to travel around them.
