78 The French Empire

23.2: The French Empire

23.2.1: “Emperor of the French”

The title of Emperor of the French emphasized that the emperor ruled over the French people, the nation, and not over France, the republic. This moniker aimed to demonstrate that Napoleon’s coronation was not a restoration of monarchy but an introduction of a new political system: the French Empire.

Learning Objective

Differentiate between the French Directory, the French Consulate, and the French Empire

Key Points

  • The Directory was a five-member committee that governed France from November 1795 when it replaced the Committee of Public Safety. French military disasters in 1798 and 1799 damaged the Directory, eventually leading to its demise. In the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon seized French parliamentary and military power, forcing the sitting directors of the government to resign.
  • A remnant of the Council of Ancients abolished the Constitution of the Year III, ordained the Consulate, and legalized the coup d’état in favor of Bonaparte with the Constitution of the Year VIII. The new constitution (adopted in 1799) established the form of government known as the Consulate. The constitution tailor-made the position of First Consul to give Napoleon most of the powers of a dictator.
  • The constitution was amended twice and in each case, the amendments strengthened Napoleon’s authority. The Constitution of the Year X (1802) made Napoleon First Consul for Life. In 1804, the Constitution of the Year XII established the First French Empire with Napoleon Bonaparte I, Emperor of the French.
  • The title Emperor of the French was established when Napoleon Bonaparte received the title of Emperor in 1804 from the French Senate and was crowned Emperor of the French at the cathedral of Notre Dame. The title emphasized that the emperor ruled over the French people, the nation, and not over France, the republic. The old title of king of France indicated that the king owned France as a personal possession.
  • The title was purposefully created to preserve the appearance of the French Republic and show that after the French Revolution, the feudal system was abandoned and a nation state was created, with equal citizens as the subjects of their emperor. The title also aimed to demonstrate that Napoleon’s coronation was not a restoration of monarchy, but an introduction of a new political system: the French Empire.
  • Napoleon’s reign lasted until 1815, interrupted by the Bourbon Restoration of 1814 and his own exile to Elba. He escaped reigning as Emperor for another 94 days before his final defeat and exile. The title, however, was later used by the House of Bonaparte.

Key Terms

Emperor of the French
The title established when Napoleon Bonaparte received the title of Emperor in 1804 from the French Senate and was crowned at the cathedral of Notre Dame. The title emphasized that the emperor ruled over the French people, the nation, and not over France, the republic.
Directory
A five-member committee that governed France from November 1795, when it replaced the Committee of Public Safety, until it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire (November 8-9, 1799) and replaced by the Consulate. It gave its name to the final four years of the French Revolution.
Coup of 18 Brumaire
A bloodless coup d’état under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte that overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate. It took place on November 9, 1799, 18 Brumaire, Year VIII under the French Republican Calendar.
Consulate
The government of France from the fall of the Directory in the Coup of 18 Brumaire (1799) until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804. By extension, the term also refers to this period of French history. Napoleon Bonaparte, as First Consul, established himself as the head of a more liberal, authoritarian, autocratic, and centralized republican government in France while not declaring himself head of state.

 

Directory vs. Consulate vs. French Empire

The Directory was a five-member committee that governed France from November 1795 when it replaced the Committee of Public Safety. French military disasters in 1798 and 1799 damaged the Directory and eventually led to its demise. In the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon seized French parliamentary and military power in a two-fold coup d’état, forcing the sitting directors of the government to resign. On the night of the 19 Brumaire (November 10, 1799) a remnant of the Council of Ancients abolished the Constitution of the Year III, ordained the Consulate, and legalized the coup d’état in favor of Bonaparte with the Constitution of the Year VIII.

The new constitution (adopted in 1799) established the form of government known as the Consulate. The constitution tailor-made the position of First Consul to give Napoleon most of the powers of a dictator. The new government was composed of three parliamentary assemblies: the Council of State (Conseil d’État), which drafted bills; the Tribunate, which debated but could not vote on bills; and the Legislative Assembly (Corps législatif), which could not discuss the bills, but whose members voted on them after reviewing the Tribunate’s debate record. The Conservative Senate (Sénat conservateur) was a governmental body equal to the three aforementioned legislative assemblies. However, the Senate was more of an executive body as it verified the draft bills and directly advised the First Consul on their implications. The executive power was vested in three Consuls, but all actual power was held by the First Consul, Bonaparte.

The Constitution was amended twice, each time strengthening Napoleon’s already concentrated power. The Constitution of the Year X (1802) made Napoleon First Consul for Life. In 1804, the Constitution of the Year XII established the First French Empire with Napoleon Bonaparte — previously First Consul for Life, with wide-ranging powers — as Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. That ended the period of the French Consulate and of the French First Republic.Napoleon’s rule was constitutional, and although autocratic, it was much more advanced than traditional European monarchies of the time.

Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1806.

Napoleon’s coronation took place on December 2, 1804. Two separate crowns were brought for the ceremony: a golden laurel wreath recalling the Roman Empire and a replica of Charlemagne’s crown. Napoleon entered the ceremony wearing the laurel wreath and kept it on his head throughout the proceedings.

A New Title

The title Emperor of the French was established when Napoleon Bonaparte received the title of Emperor in 1804 from the French Senate and was crowned Emperor of the French at the cathedral of Notre Dame. The title emphasized that the emperor ruled over the French people, the nation, and not over France, the republic. The old title of king of France indicated that the king owned France as a personal possession. The new term indicated a constitutional monarchy. The title was purposefully created to preserve the appearance of the French Republic and to show that after the French Revolution, the feudal system was abandoned and a nation state was created, with equal citizens as the subjects of their emperor. The title also aimed to demonstrate that Napoleon’s coronation was not a restoration of monarchy, but an introduction of a new political system: the French Empire.Napoleon’s reign lasted until 1815, when he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, exiled, and imprisoned on the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. His reign was interrupted by the Bourbon Restoration of 1814 and his own exile to Elba, from where he escaped less than a year later to reclaim the throne, reigning as Emperor for another 94 days before his final defeat and exile. The title, however, was used by the House of Bonaparte – Napoleon II (1815) and Napoleon III (1852-70).

Emperor of the French was the title established when Napoleon Bonaparte received the title of Emperor in 1804 from the French Senate and was crowned Emperor of the French at the cathedral of Notre Dame. The title emphasized that the emperor ruled over the French people, the nation, and not over France, the republic. The old title of king of France indicated that the king owned France as a personal possession. The new term indicated a constitutional monarchy. The title was purposefully created to preserve the appearance of the French Republic and to show that after the French Revolution, the feudal system was abandoned and a nation state was created, with equal citizens as the subjects of their emperor. The title also aimed to demonstrate that Napoleon’s coronation was not a restoration of monarchy, but an introduction of a new political system: the French Empire.Napoleon’s reign lasted until 1815, when he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, exiled, and imprisoned on the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. His reign was interrupted by the Bourbon Restoration of 1814 and his own exile to Elba, from where he escaped less than a year later to reclaim the throne, reigning as Emperor for another 94 days before his final defeat and exile. The title, however, was used by the House of Bonaparte – Napoleon II (1815) and Napoleon III (1852-70).

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