First French Empire
On the 2nd of December 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte stood inside Notre-Dame de Paris to receive his imperial crown. Pope Pius VII had traveled from Rome to perform the consecration ceremony for this new political order. The Senate had granted him the title Emperor of the French on the 18th of May that same year. This event marked the formal end of the French First Republic and the Consulate era. A rump legislature named three provisional consuls after troops led by Napoleon seized control in November 1799. Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès expected to dominate the new regime but was outmaneuvered by Bonaparte. He drafted the Constitution of the Year VIII to secure his own election as First Consul. The Constitution of the Year X later made him First Consul for life. A general plebiscite followed with 3,653,600 votes aye and only 8,272 votes nay. The state continued to be formally called the French Republic until October 1808 despite the coronation.
French armies scored decisive victories against Austrian and Russian forces during the War of the Third Coalition. The Battle of Austerlitz took place on the 2nd of December 1805 and overshadowed the defeat at Trafalgar. Napoleon swept away the remnants of the old Holy Roman Empire through these campaigns. Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Saxony were reorganized into the Confederation of the Rhine. The Treaty of Pressburg signed on the 26th of December 1805 extracted extensive territorial concessions from Austria. Prussia responded by forming an alliance with Russia and sending troops into Bavaria on the 1st of October 1806. Napoleon destroyed the Prussian armies at Jena and Auerstedt during the War of the Fourth Coalition. Successive victories at Eylau and Friedland finally ruined Frederick the Great's formerly mighty kingdom. The Treaties of Tilsit ended the war between Russia and France in July 1807. An alliance between the two empires held as much power as the rest of Europe combined. Napoleon suffered his first serious tactical defeat at Aspern along with the death of Marshal Jean Lannes.
Napoleon installed his relatives as rulers of many European states to create satellite kingdoms. Older brother Joseph Bonaparte replaced the dispossessed Bourbons in Naples. Younger brother Louis Bonaparte was installed on the throne of the Kingdom of Holland formed from the Batavian Republic. Brother-in-law Marshal Joachim Murat became Grand-Duke of Berg. Youngest brother Jérôme Bonaparte was made son-in-law to the King of Württemberg and King of Westphalia. Adopted son Eugène de Beauharnais was appointed Viceroy of Italy. Adopted daughter and second cousin Stéphanie de Beauharnais married Karl, the son of the Grand Duke of Baden. Caroline Bonaparte conspired against her brother and against her husband Murat. The hypochondriac Louis found the supervision of the blockade taken from him. Jérôme Bonaparte lost control of the blockade on the North Sea shores. Many of his siblings and relations performed unsuccessfully or even betrayed him. Napoleon gradually withdrew power from his siblings and concentrated his affection and ambition on his son.
Russia agreed to join the Continental System against Britain under the terms of Tilsit. Napoleon responded with a second decree of blockade dated from Milan on the 17th of December 1807. The application of the Concordat and the taking of Naples led to Napoleon's first struggles with Pope Pius VII. The bombardment of Copenhagen by the Royal Navy prompted this response. France pledged to aid Russia against the Ottoman Empire while Russia joined the economic war. Alexander also agreed to enter the Anglo-Russian War to instigate the Finnish War against Sweden. The treaty removed about half of Prussia's territory including Cottbus given to Saxony. Białystok was given to Russia and the rest of Polish lands set up as the Duchy of Warsaw. Prussia was ordered to reduce its army to 40,000 men and pay an indemnity of 100,000,000 francs. Observers in Prussia viewed the treaty as unfair and as a national humiliation. The crisis of 1811 ruined the discontented bourgeoisie who opposed the Continental Blockade.
Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 to ensure his own access to the Mediterranean and exclude his chief rival. Despite victories at Smolensk and the Moskva, he was defeated by the country and climate. Alexander refused to make terms after the entry into Moscow. A terrible retreat followed during the harsh Russian winter while all of Europe turned against him. Pushed back from bastion to bastion after crossing the Berezina, Napoleon had to fall back upon frontiers of 1809. He refused peace offered by Austria at the Congress of Prague between the 4th of June and the 10th of August 1813. Longstanding allied states like Saxony and Bavaria forsook him after his defeat at Leipzig. Bernadotte now Crown Prince of Sweden turned upon him while General Jean Moreau joined the Allies. Following the loss of Spain reconquered by an Allied army led by the Duke of Wellington, the uprising in the Netherlands began. Paris capitulated on the 30th of March 1814 and the empire briefly fell with Napoleon's abdication at Fontainebleau on the 11th of April 1814.
After less than a year's exile on the island of Elba, Napoleon escaped to France with a thousand men and four cannons. King Louis XVIII sent Marshal Michel Ney to arrest him. Upon meeting Ney's army, Napoleon dismounted and walked into firing range saying If one of you wishes to kill his emperor here I am. Instead of firing, the soldiers went to join Napoleon's side shouting Vive l'Empereur. Napoleon retook the throne temporarily in 1815 reviving the empire in the Hundred Days. He was defeated by the Seventh Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo. He surrendered himself to the British and was exiled to Saint Helena where he remained until his death in 1821. After the Hundred Days, the Bourbon monarchy was restored with Louis XVIII regaining the French throne. The rest of Napoleon's conquests were disposed of in the Congress of Vienna. The empire lasted from the 18th of May 1804 to the 6th of April 1814 and again briefly from the 20th of March 1815 to the 7th of July 1815.
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Common questions
When did Napoleon Bonaparte become Emperor of the French?
Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of the French on the 18th of May 1804 when the Senate granted him the title. He received his imperial crown inside Notre-Dame de Paris on the 2nd of December 1804.
What were the major battles fought by Napoleon during the First French Empire?
Major battles included Austerlitz on the 2nd of December 1805, Jena and Auerstedt in 1806, Eylau and Friedland in 1807, Aspern, Leipzig, and Waterloo. The Battle of Austerlitz overshadowed the defeat at Trafalgar while the Battle of Waterloo ended the Hundred Days period.
Who were the family members installed as rulers of European states under Napoleon?
Joseph Bonaparte replaced the Bourbons in Naples while Louis Bonaparte ruled the Kingdom of Holland. Joachim Murat became Grand-Duke of Berg and Jérôme Bonaparte was made King of Westphalia. Eugène de Beauharnais served as Viceroy of Italy and Stéphanie de Beauharnais married Karl of Baden.
When did the First French Empire officially end and what happened to Napoleon after that?
The empire lasted from the 18th of May 1804 to the 6th of April 1814 before briefly returning from the 20th of March 1815 to the 7th of July 1815. Napoleon surrendered to the British after Waterloo and was exiled to Saint Helena where he remained until his death in 1821.
What legal reforms were introduced during the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte?
The Napoleonic Code increased legal equality across Europe and established jury systems while making divorce legal. Seigneurial dues and aristocratic privileges were abolished except in Poland and public education received a liberal restructuring.