Coup of Brumaire and Consulate

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  • Created by: lou9119
  • Created on: 19-11-17 15:48
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  • Coup of Brumaire and the Consulate
    • Decline in power and popularity of the Directory
      • Jourdan's Law 1798
        • Conscription was reintroduced to rebuild the size of the army. Provoked widespread resistance.
      • Second Coalition 1799
        • Encouraged by British success. Revolutionary War continued, the French armies were pushed back into France from Germany and Italy. This meant the Directory could not continue to be funded by plunder. The threat of invasion made it unpopular. France was weary of war.
      • Coup of Prairial 1799
        • War going badly was blamed on the Directors. Neo-Jacobin councils purged two of them. Followed by law of forced loan on rich which was hated and resisted.
      • Law of Hostages 1799
        • Second law. Any area seen as resisting the gov can be declared 'disturbed' and authorities can arrest nobles, emigres, rebels. It was never applied but raised fears of the Terror.
    • Coup of Brumaire 1799
      • Military situation improved as the Second Coalition failed and were defeated. Sieyes, a new Director, plotted a coup. He wanted to restore the power of the executive and knew a democratic approach was impossible because of the power of the neo-Jacobins in council. He needed the army and Generals. His choice was Napoleon.
      • Sieyes planned to move the Councils out of Paris to Saint Cloud and did in Nov 99. Once there N was persuaded to address them. In the 500 N was attacked by deputies but his soilders rescued him. The councils were cleared by military and abolished the directory in a decree. It had lost legitimacy and popularity through undemocratic actions so no one defended it.
      • France was to be rueld by a provisional executive committee of Sieyes, Ducos and N. Sieyes saw N as a figurehead for the regime but N insisted he should become the First Consul (HoS) and he won as leader of the army.

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