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The birth of Napoleon
Napoleon was born in 1769 in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean, only a few months after France had annexed the island. -
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Financial Crisis
Bad harvests in 1787 and 1788 and a slowdown in manufacturing led to food shortages, rising prices for food, and unemployment. -
The Third Estate declaring a draft
On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate boldly declared that it was the National Assembly and would draft a constitution. -
End of the Old Regime
On August 4, 1789, the National Assembly decided to abolish all
legal privileges of the nobles and clergy. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
On August 26, the National Assembly
adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. -
Meeting with assembly and amending constitution
Assembly met for the first time in October 1791 and amended the constitution to allow for trying the king if he turned against the nation. Although Louis XVI publicly swore to uphold the new constitution, the constitutional monarchy seemed already doomed. -
New Constitution and New Fears
The new Constitution of 1791 set up a
limited monarchy. There was still a king,
but a Legislative Assembly would make
the laws. -
The First Republic
In September 1792, the newly elected National Convention
began meeting. The Convention had been called to draft a new
constitution, but it also served as the ruling body of France. It was dominated by lawyers, professionals, and property owners. -
Angry citizens Protesting
In the spring of 1792, angry citizens demonstrated to
protest food shortages and defeats in the war. -
Napoleon's Military Successes
Napoleon rose quickly through the ranks. In 1792 he became a captain. Two years later, at age 24, the Committee of Public Safety made him a brigadier general. -
Adoption of a new calendar
An example of de-Christianization was the adoption of a new calendar. Years would no longer be numbered from the birth of Christ but from September 22, 1792—the first day of the French Republic and the autumnal equinox. The calendar contained 12 months. Each month consisted of three 10-day weeks, with the tenth day of each week a day of rest. -
Society for Revolutionary Republican Women
In 1793, two women founded the Society for Revolutionary Republican Women in Paris. Most members were working-class women who asserted that they were ready to defend the republic. -
Law of 22 Prairial repealed
In August 1794, the Law of 22 Prairial was repealed and the release of prisoners began. -
Law of Prairial passed
Law of 22 Prairial gives Robespierre more power; French army ends threat of foreign invasion. -
Constitution legislative houses
To keep any one political group from gaining control,
the Constitution of 1795 set up two legislative houses. A
lower house, the Council of 500, drafted laws. An upper
house of 250, the Council of Elders, accepted or rejected
proposed laws. -
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Corruption
The Directory, which lasted from 1795 to 1799, became known mainly for corruption. People reacted against the sufferings and sacrifices that had been demanded in the Reign of Terror. Some people made fortunes from government contracts or by loaning the government money at very high interest rates. -
Napoleon Commander of France
In 1796 Napoleon became commander of the French armies in Italy. There Napoleon won a series of battles with qualities he became famous for—speed, surprise, and decisive action. Napoleon defeated the armies of the Papal States and their Austrian allies. These victories gave France control of northern Italy. Throughout the Italian campaigns, Napoleon’s energy and initiative earned him the devotion of his troops. -
The rise of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte’s role in the French Revolution is complex. In one sense, he brought it to an end when he came to power in 1799. Yet he was a child of the revolution as well. Without it, he
would never have risen to power, and he himself never failed to remind the French that he had preserved the best parts of the rev-
olution during his reign as emperor. -
The fall of France
By 1799, the British had defeated the French naval forces supporting Napoleon’s army in Egypt. -
Consul and Emperor
In Paris, Napoleon took part in the coup d’état of 1799 that overthrew the Directory and set up a new government, the consulate. -
Peace with the Church
In 1801 Napoleon came to an agreement with the pope, which recognized Catholicism as the religion of a majority of the French people. In return, the pope would not ask for the return of the church lands seized in the revolution. With this agreement, the Catholic Church was no longer an enemy of the French government. It also meant that people who had acquired church lands in the revolution became avid supporters of Napoleon. -
Consul For Life
In 1802 Napoleon was made consul for life. Two years later, he crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I. -
Greatest land deal in history
In 1803 Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million. The boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase ran from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. This sale has been called the greatest land deal in history. -
Naploeonic Code
Seven law codes were created, but the most important was the Civil Code, or Napoleonic Code, introduced in 1804. -
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Master of Europe
From 1807 to 1812, Napoleon was the master of Europe. His Grand Empire was composed of three major parts: the French Empire, dependent states, and allied states. -
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Nobles created
Between 1808 and 1814, Napoleon created about 3,200 nobles. -
The Fall of Napoleon
Napoleon’s downfall began in 1812
when he decided to invade Russia. Within
only a few years, his fall was complete. -
Paris captured
Paris was captured in March 1814. -
British and Prussian bloody defeat
At Waterloo in Belgium on June 18, 1815, Napoleon met a combined British and Prussian army under the Duke of Wellington and suffered a bloody defeat. This time, the victorious allies exiled him to St. Helena, a small island in the south Atlantic. -
Napoelon's death
Napoleon remained in exile until his death in 1821, but his memory haunted French political life for many decades.
