1. Napoleon’s Early Years
If you are repeatedly put down, verbally insulted and attacked and/or ridiculed, how would you respond?

2. Napoleon’s Rise to Power
1797 : Main French General – Put down the 1st Coalition (except Britain, loss in Egypt)
1799 : Coup d’etat over Directory (1 of three consuls)
1804 : Crown’s himself emperor

3. Stabilizing France : Peace in Europe (1802)
Peace with Britain
Time to stabilize France; ravaged after 13 years of war and revolution
3 points of reform to prepare France for the conquest of Europe

4. Stabilizing France : Peace with the Church
Napoleon had no faith he personally practiced.
Signs a concordant with the Catholic Church (and Pope).
Catholicism becomes the official religion of France (end of dechristianization)
Napoleon keeps all the Church land seized in the revolution.

5. Stabilizing France : New Law Codes
Military code
Criminal code
Code of civil procedure
Commercial code
Code of criminal instruction
Napoleonic Code (Civil Code)
Takes 300 legal systems and puts it into ONE set of laws; less confusion and embraces the ideas of the F. Revolution (equality before the law).
Examples of things fixed :
individual choice of profession, religious tolerance, abolish feudalism, etc.
Issues (?) : women were less equal; i.e. divorce much harder, husband rights over wife

6. Stabilizing France : Govt. Reform
Centralized govt. under Napoleon and his officials.
Established a Meritocracy over old Aristocracy
Rank was now based on ability and service to the state
One could change their social status for the first time.

7. Spreading the Ideals of The Revolution
Empire built on the idea of spreading the ideals of the French Revolution Napoleon saw himself as a liberator of the “Old Regimes” He created an Empire made up of three parts :