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During Napoleons Egyption campaign in 1799, the French Army made a major discovery of the Rosetta Stone. A French soldier found the stone tablet, that contains Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Egyptian Demonic. This tablet helped with the future translation of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Although Napoleon found this artifact, and making social progress, the British army claimed the stone in 1801 when they defeated the French.
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To get rid of the corrupt, failing Directory government in 1799, Napoleon, a decorated military general, gathered his troops and carried out a peaceful Coup D'etat, an overthrow of the government. His political success allowed him to create a new government, called the consulate, and name himself first of 3 consuls. This gave him immense political power over the country, and the people loved him for creating a stable government after years of fragility.
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In 1800 Napoleon imposed land and other taxes on the French people to help fund the government, education system, new national bank, and more. These taxes were necessary, steadily worked, and greatly helped France's economy and government, making this an economic success. Although the taxes applied to everybody, the working class was more affected by the taxes than the wealthy, and he created the job of tax collectors to ensure everyone paid and would receive punishment if they didn't.
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In 1800, Napoleon proposed and created the Banque de France, becoming the new national Bank of France. It distributed paper money and kept a large reserve of gold bars for protection. Value of paper money was very high, so it was only used by merchants and in large transactions. This stable system helped the economy recover from the revolution. The Banque of France has been the national bank since and is still in service today.
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Although many different people and countries put together plots to assassinate Napoleon, he managed to foil all of them and escape unscathed. However, the closest someone got to Napoleon was carried out by Royalists on Christmas Eve of 1800. Napoleon and his family were on the way to the Opera, when a large barrel full of shrapnel and gunpowder exploded just seconds after Napoleon's carriage had passed. This military event destroyed many buildings in the area, but Napoleon was unhurt.
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The Concordat is an agreement with France and the Roman Catholic Church, signed by Napoleon. This social success by Napoleon was not for his own good, because he was not very religious himself, but for France. Napoleon was given the right to nominate bishops, and made the official religion of France into Roman Catholic. In return the Pope, Pius VII, allows citizens to keep the church land they had seized years ago.
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In the 1800's, Jewish people were extremely discriminated against, having to wear arm bands and live in Ghettos. After Napoleon became emperor, he legally stopped all discrimination and made Jews full citizens of France. They were now allowed to attend their synagogues and have the same freedoms as other, breaking the social barrier that had separated them.
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The Napoleonic Code is a set of laws that Napoleon put into place when he took power. This political event created a set of laws and protected some rights, but it also was not beneficial to the women and slaves who lost all their rights under the code. The people approved of the code however, because it showed them some stability and set good laws that protected their right to own property, choose their own religion, and got rid of Feudalism.
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France had a failing economy that caused the French Revolution, and when Napoleon came into power he implemented measures within his code to create an economic success for France. He put into law that men can choose their own careers, and made an effort to visit farmers and factories himself. He wanted people to create their own jobs and own private property. By the end of his rule in 1814, 500,000 farm laborers owned their own land to harvest instead of working for minimal pay.
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Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France in the Notre Dame Cathedral in December of 1804. This political act official made him the sole ruler of France, and showed his desire to become an Empire and use his strong army to conquer other countries. This political decision changed the form of government from a consulate to monarchy, giving Napoleon total control.
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The Arc de Triomphe is a massive stone arch placed in the center of Paris, that Napoleon commissioned in 1806 after his troops won the victory in Austerlitz. He wanted the Arc to honor the soldiers, and the names of all their battles would be engraved into it, making it a social success and monument. The 162 foot Arc serves as a symbol of power for the French empire, and it took 30 years to build, finished long after Napoleon's death.
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Napoleon founded the University of France in 1806, and before that created many secondary schools, called lycees, throughout the country, standardizing education for everyone. This social event created more good schools for the French people to attend, making the entire country more educated and intelligent. The University of France had 17 different branches when it was first founded, some specializing in politics, military, sciences, or math.
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The battle of Wagram, a small town in modern-day Czech Republic, was the battle where Napoleon's win over the Austrians won him and ended the Fifth Coalition war. When the French and Austrians were fighting over Germany, the battle of Wagram occured. Napoleon's army of 154,000 men defeated the 158,000 Austrians by splitting their troops down the middle and capturing them. Four days after the battle, the Austrian General, Archduke Charles, asked for an armistice, or a peace treaty.
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After Napoleon was sent to the island of Elba, he escaped less than a year later to try to take back France. When he returned, his presence scared off Louis XVIII, and Napoleon was able to take back his Army and start the 100 days campaign. He took his army to Belgium for the Battle of Ligny, where he defeated the Prussians and British, but was not able to totally destroy their army. His confident return scared many allies, but he would soon loose in the Battle of Waterloo.
