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It was a Committee of France’s rulers (the most powerful being Bonaparte) that was formulated from the Coup D'etat of 18 Brumaire. Napoleon was the first consul and named himself consul for life. gave Napoleon the power of drafting laws that suited him & the National Assembly. The legislative branch would simply approve all his laws & act as a “cover-up” in what actually acted as an absolute-powered monarchy. The Consulate was abolished when Napoleon declared himself as “Emperor of France”.
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The Coup D’etat was a new form of a republic that had overthrown the Directory. The executive power in the new government was vested among three consuls (Napoleon, Emanuel Sieyes, Pierre Roger-Ducos). Napoleon Bonaparte named himself the first consul of France which gave him absolute control. Bonaparte initiated a constitution that established a bicameral legislative assembly that had been elected indirectly in order to reduce the role of elections.
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The Concordat was an agreement between the papal representatives in Rome & Paris that emboldened the status of the Catholic Church in France. It repaired the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church & France that had been fractured because of the events that took place during the French Revolution. Napoleon was given the right from the papal authorities to nominate the positions of each member of France’s church. Catholicism was associated with France as the country’s majority religion.
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The Battle of Trafalgar was fought between the British Navy and the combined French & Spanish naval fleet. The battle ended with a British victory & a major loss from the French. The battle put Great Britain in a prime position to be recognized as the world’s most dominant naval power. As a result of the French loss, their power at sea was heavily compromised & the British gained a major advantage.
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The Battle of Ulm ended in a major French victory (especially for Napoleon). It was fought on German grounds against Austria. The battle allowed Napoleon to trap the entire Austrian Army. It forced German Commander Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich & his troops to surrender.
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The Battle of Austerlitz took place in Moravia and was fought between Austria & France. Napoleon's 68,000 soldiers defeated the combined 90,000 Russian & Austrian soldiers. It was the initial battle of the War of the Third Coalition. Francis I of Austria was forced to agree to sign the Treaty of Pressburg & the French emerged victoriously.
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The adversaries involved in the Peninsular War were Portugal & France. Portugal refused to agree to terms with Napoleon on the Continental System because Great Britain had been a reliable trade partner with the Portuguese. Napoleon removed the Portuguese King from the throne after taking over the entire country. He then conquered Spain and put his brother, Joseph, on the throne. However, Great Britain invaded Spain & Napoleon had to remove his troops.
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Napoleon attempted to expand upon his absolute control in Europe by attacking Alexander I's forces. Russian soldiers intelligently fell back & destroyed their villages & countryside. This led to the French not being able to find food & forage. The Russians elected to fight the French in Borodino. Then Napoleon traveled to Moscow only to find a city with deprived resources. This forced his army to make The Great Retreat out of Russia. Only 10% of the Grand Army troops survived.
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This was known as Napoleon’s final defeat as Emperor of France. The battle took place south of Brussels, Belgium. It was the French army against English Commander Arthur Wellesley & the allied forces of Germany, Belgium, & the Dutch. After many brutal days of fighting, the war ended as Napoleon's final defeat and totaled 50,000 casualties.
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This was the last major event of Napoleon's lifetime. He was forced to officially abdicate the throne of France and give up his absolute power. St. Helena was an island in the South Atlantic and was 1,200 miles from the mainland where he was imprisoned. Lastly, Napoleon died on St. Helena six years later not as a king, but as a captive prisoner.
