France 1.3 Why was Napoleon Bonaparte able to overthrow the Directory in 1799?

What was the Constitution the National Convention drew up in August 1795?

They established a ‘Directory’

What was the Directory made up of?

Two Councils; the Council of Five Hundred and Council of Ancients

Council of Five Hundred

500 elected members who proposed laws

Council of Ancients

250 members who accepted or rejected the proposed laws from the Council of Five Hundred

Who would run France after the Reign of Terror?

5 directors that were selected by the Council of Ancients from a list drawn up by the Five Hundred

Who were the first five directors that were all supporters of the Revolution and survivors of the Terror?

Barras, La Revellierre, Reubell, La Tourneur, and Carnot

Barras

A director who was the most dominant

La Revellierre

A director who was a strong republican and opponent of the monarchy who hated the Roman Catholic Church.

Reubell

A director who was a moderate republican with knowledge on foreign affairs and disliked the extremism of the Jacobins

La Tourneur

A director who was an engineer and military expert

Carnot

A director who had a military background and didn’t like the Jacobins

Name the problems of the Directory

-The treasury was empty

-Government was almost bankrupt

-war was expensive and people deeply resented conscription

-prices were rising from a shortage of currency

-factions still existed and royalists, jacobins, and moderate republicans continued to fight for their own agendas

-press remained uncensored so radicalism’s and monarchists could express their extreme views

How did the internal divisions within France help the Directory survive?

The lack of cooperation b/w many of the political groups meant none of them were strong enough to challenge the new government.

Coup d’état

The sudden, often violent, overthrow of government power by a group of citizens or military personnel

What was the Coup de Fructidor?

When the Directors ignored the election results when the royalists were planning a determined attack against the Directory, suppressed the royals its by force, imposed strict censorship on the press and removed the more moderate directors, leaving the more radical, pro-jacobin element of the Directory in charge.

List some more reasons why the Directory was able to survive until 1799

-France was successful in war most of the time. Ex: Gaining territory in Italy and making peace with Austria

-Economy improved with better taxation

-better harvests helped the directors take firm control of food prices

-made sure local governments focused on equality and ensured there were no privileges for any class

What were some mistakes and choices that made the Directory lose popularity, as they were just tolerated, not loved

-The directors tried to manage the elections so that favored candidates won discredited them

-their system of taxation fell on property owners, angering those people

-Centre of the Catholic Church captured during the military advance in Italy

-Napoleon’s failed attempt to invade Egypt led in the destruction of the French fleet and army

-France at war again with Britain, turkey, Russia, Austria

-conscription and forced loans needed to pay the war made people angry

When did the Directory end?

1799

Coup of 18 Brumaire

Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory government. It ended the French Revolution and established the Consulate, making Napoleon the dominant ruler of France.

What did napoleon do in order to support the Directory and secure the Directory in office?

He suppressed counter-revolutionary forces in 1799, making him in command of the arm of the interior/

What did Napoleon do to ensure he was always portrayed in a favorable and revolutionary light?

-He ran two newspapers, one for his soldiers to maintain their morale, and the other to downplay royalist suggestions that he was aiming at a personal dictatorship.

Who helped Napoleon overthrow the Directory?

Abbe Sieyes, Lucien Napoleon, Joseph Fouché, and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

Lucien Bonaparte

President of the National Assembly

Jospeh Fouché

Minister of police

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

An aristocrat that supported the revolutionary governments and their church reforms

What were the three roles Napoleon had?

Commander of the army, first consul, and emperor