France 1795-1799
Domestic Policy		 France 1804-1813
Domestic Policy
The Netherlands
the Patriots, 1787 		France 1799-1804
the Economy






The Consulate, 1799-1804 : Domestic Policy



In 1799, against orders, NAPOLEON BONAPARTE returned to France, leaving his army behind in Egypt. Once in Paris, he toppled the DIRECTORATE and established the CONSULATE. In theory, the consulate was supposed to be a collegial body of equals taking turns in governing the nation; in practise one man was dominating - Napoleon Bonaparte.
He resumed the policy of reforms which had been neglected by the Directorate. In 1800 the BANK OF FRANCE was established. In 1804, the CODE CIVILE was published (also referred to as the CODE NAPOLEON), a book containing France's laws, based on the principles of equality and liberty. It granted full EMANCIPATION to the JEWS, PROTESTANTS and FREEMASONS; the Catholic church of France had been restored, as a private organization, by the CONCORDATE of 1802. In the same year, the system of PUBLIC EDUCATION was introduced. Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy were introduced in 1803, VACCINATION in 1804.

Napoleon abolished the revolutionary calendar and chronology, reintroducing the christian calendar and chronology. In 1804 he created the LEGION OF HONOUR.

In exile, LOUIS XVIII. continued to claim the throne of France; even jetons were minted in his name.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		The Napoleon Bonaparte Internet Guide, from Univ. Doetinchem, NL
Homepage from La Fondation Napoleon Bonaparte, in French and English
Timetable : France during the French Revolution and under Napoleon Bonaparte. An annotated Chronology of Civil and Military Events, by Richard Orsinger, 1997
Ben Weider, Napoleon and the Jews, from International Napoleonic Society
DOCUMENTS List of First Consuls, 1799-1804, from World Statesmen : France by Ben Cahoon, scroll down
The Assembly of Jewish Notables, Answers to Napoleon, posted by Univ. of Calgary
Jeton : Louis XVIII. 1800, from Napoleonic Medals
REFERENCE William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, 1989, 466 pp.



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on November 9th 2004

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