Changes

===Coup d'etat of the 18th Brumaire===

===Coup d'etat of the 18th Brumaire===

[[Image:David - Napoleon.jpg|thumb|Napoleon Crossing The Alps by [[Jacques Louis David]]]]

[[Image:David - Napoleon.jpg|thumb|Napoleon Crossing The Alps by [[Jacques Louis David]]]]

Despite the failures in Egypt, Napoleon returned to a hero's welcome. In alliance with the director [[Emmanuel Sieyès]] and his brother, [[Lucien Bonaparte]], president of the council of five hundred, he overthrew the Directory by a coup d'etat on November 9, 1799 ("the 18th Brumaire" according to the revolutionary calendar), and closed down the council of five hundred.  Napoleon became "first consul" for ten years, with two consuls appointed by him who had consultative voices only. His power was confirmed by the new constitution ("Constitution of the year VIII"), originally devised by Sieyès to give Napoleon a minor role, but rewritten by Napoleon, and accepted by direct popular vote (3,000,000 in favor, 1,567 opposed). The constitution preserved the appearance of a [[republic]] but in reality established a military dictatorship. The days of Brumaire sounded the end of the short-lived republic: no more representative government, assemblies, a collegial executive, or liberty.<ref> Furet (1996) p 212</ref>

Despite the failures in Egypt, Napoleon returned to a hero's welcome. In alliance with the director [[Emmanuel Sieyès]] and his brother, [[Lucien Bonaparte]], president of the council of five hundred, he overthrew the Directory by a coup d'etat on November 9, 1799 ("the 18th Brumaire" according to the revolutionary calendar), and closed down the council of five hundred.  Napoleon became "first consul" for ten years, with two consuls appointed by him who had consultative voices only. His power was confirmed by the new constitution ("Constitution of the year VIII"), originally devised by Sieyès to give Napoleon a minor role, but rewritten by Napoleon, and accepted by direct popular vote (3,000,000 in favor, 1,567 opposed). The constitution preserved the appearance of a [[republic]] but in reality established a military dictatorship. The days of Brumaire sounded the end of the short-lived republic: no more representative government, assemblies, a collegian executive, or liberty.<ref> Furet (1996) p 212</ref>

==Diplomacy==

==Diplomacy==

===Russia to 1812===

===Russia to 1812===

===The Polish issue===

===The Polish issue===

In 1807 Napoleon created a powerful outpost of his empire in Eastern Europe. [[Poland]] had recently been divided up by its neighbors, but Napoleon created the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which depended on France from the very beginning. The duchy consisted of lands seized in Russia, Austria, and Prussia; its Grand Duke was Napoleon's ally the king of Saxony, but Napoleon appointed the intendants who ran the country.  The 2.5 million Poles thrilled to the opportunity and by 1814 sent about 200,000 men to  Napoleon's armies, including about 90,000 who marched with him to Moscow.  The Russians strongly opposed any move toward an independent Poland and to punish them Napoleon invaded in 1812.  <ref> Riley (2000) p. 27-8. The Grand Duchy was dissolved in 1815 and Poland would not be a state until 1918.</ref> Napoleon's impact on Poland was dramatic, including the Napoleonic legal code, the abolition of serfdom, and the introduction of modern middle class buraucracies.  

In 1807 Napoleon created a powerful outpost of his empire in Eastern Europe. [[Poland]] had recently been divided up by its neighbors, but Napoleon created the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which depended on France from the very beginning. The duchy consisted of lands seized in Russia, Austria, and Prussia; its Grand Duke was Napoleon's ally the king of Saxony, but Napoleon appointed the intendants who ran the country.  The 2.5 million Poles thrilled to the opportunity and by 1814 sent about 200,000 men to  Napoleon's armies, including about 90,000 who marched with him to Moscow.  The Russians strongly opposed any move toward an independent Poland and to punish them Napoleon invaded in 1812.  <ref> Riley (2000) p. 27-8. The Grand Duchy was dissolved in 1815 and Poland would not be a state until 1918.</ref> Napoleon's impact on Poland was dramatic, including the Napoleonic legal code, the abolition of serfdom, and the introduction of modern middle class bureaucracies.  

== Moscow ==

== Moscow ==