Napoleonic Era Essay

The Napoleonic Era is normally regarded as the fourth (and final) stage of the French Revolution. It started off from Napoleon’s coup d’etat — also Coup of 18 Brumaire— which, to most modern historians, had ended the revolution— and lasted until Napoleon’s Hundred Days and his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. It overthrew the Directory and replaced it with the French Consulate. This took place on November 9th, 1799, which was 18 Brumaire, Year VIII(8) under the French Republican Calendar.

The Directory: Part 1 After the Reign of Terror, the Convention was swapped for the Directory— a body of five chosen men to rule France. It operated following the Committee of Public Safety and preceding the Consulate. Overall, the Directory lasted four years. However during these years, a young soldier was gaining the adoration of the public: Napoleon Bonaparte. Over time, he became one of the greatest commanders in history and led the French army to numerous victories in Italy.

Part 2: Since 1792, France’s (revolutionary) government had military and political conflicts

Napoleon decided that France’s naval forces were not yet ready to go up against the British Royal Navy. So instead, he proposed an invasion of Egypt in an attempt to wipe out British trade routes with India. Napoleon’s troops gained a victory against Egypt’s military rulers (the Mamluks) at the Battle of the Pyramids in July 1798; soon, however, his forces were stranded after his naval fleet was nearly decimated by the British at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798. In early 1799, Napoleon’s army launched an invasion of Ottoman-ruled Syria, which ended with the failed siege of Acre, located in modern-day Israel. That summer, with the uncertain political situation in France, the ever-ambitious Napoleon opted to abandon his army in Egypt and return to