Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Coup of 18 Brumaire
The Coup of 18 Brumaire (French: Coup d'État du 18 Brumaire) brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French. This bloodless coup d'état overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate. This occurred on 9 November 1799, which was 18 Brumaire, Year VIII, under the short-lived French Republican calendar system.
After Habsburg-controlled Austria declared war on France on 12 March 1799, emergency measures were adopted and the pro-war Jacobin faction, the Montagnards, triumphed in the 1799 French legislative election held in April. With Napoleon and the republic's best army engaged in the French invasion of Egypt and Syria, France suffered a series of reverses on the battlefield in the spring and summer of 1799.
The Coup of 30 Prairial VII (18 June) ousted the Jacobins and left Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, a member of the five-man ruling Directory, the dominant figure in the government. France's military situation improved following the Second Battle of Zurich. As the prospect of invasion receded, the Jacobins feared a revival of the pro-peace Royalist faction. When Napoleon returned to France on 9 October, both factions hailed him as the country's saviour.
Dazzled by Napoleon's campaign in the Middle East, the public received him with an ardor that convinced Sieyès he had found the general indispensable to his planned coup; however, from the moment of his return, Napoleon plotted a coup within the coup, ultimately gaining power for himself rather than Sieyès. Probably the weightiest possible obstacles to a coup were in the army. Some generals, such as Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, believed in republicanism; others, such as Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, believed themselves capable of governing France. Napoleon worked on the feelings of all, keeping secret his own intentions.
Before the coup, troops were conveniently deployed around Paris. The plan was to first persuade the Directors to resign, and then to get the Council of Ancients and the Council of Five Hundred (the upper and lower houses of the legislature, respectively) to appoint a pliant commission that would draw up a new constitution to the plotters' specifications.
On the morning of 18 Brumaire, Lucien Bonaparte, who served as the president of the Council of Five Hundred, falsely persuaded the Councils that a Jacobin coup was at hand in Paris, and induced them to depart for the safety of the suburban Château de Saint-Cloud. Napoleon was charged with the safety of the two Councils and given command of all available local troops. Later that morning, Sieyès and Roger Ducos resigned as Directors. The now former Minister of Foreign Affairs Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, a close ally of Napoleon, pressured Director Paul Barras to do the same.
The resignation of three of the five Directors on day one of the coup prevented a quorum and thus practically abolished the five-man Directory, but the two Jacobin Directors, Louis-Jérôme Gohier and Jean-François-Auguste Moulin, continued to protest furiously. Both men were arrested on day two by Napoleon's ally General Jean Victor Marie Moreau, and by the following day, they were compelled to surrender. In contrast to the Directory, the two Councils were not yet intimidated and continued meeting.
By the following day, the deputies had, for the most part, realised that they were facing an attempted coup rather than being protected from a Jacobin rebellion. Faced with their refusal to submit, Napoleon stormed into the chambers, escorted by a small force of grenadiers. While perhaps unplanned, this proved to be the coup within the coup: from this point, this was a military affair.
Hub AI
Coup of 18 Brumaire AI simulator
(@Coup of 18 Brumaire_simulator)
Coup of 18 Brumaire
The Coup of 18 Brumaire (French: Coup d'État du 18 Brumaire) brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French. This bloodless coup d'état overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate. This occurred on 9 November 1799, which was 18 Brumaire, Year VIII, under the short-lived French Republican calendar system.
After Habsburg-controlled Austria declared war on France on 12 March 1799, emergency measures were adopted and the pro-war Jacobin faction, the Montagnards, triumphed in the 1799 French legislative election held in April. With Napoleon and the republic's best army engaged in the French invasion of Egypt and Syria, France suffered a series of reverses on the battlefield in the spring and summer of 1799.
The Coup of 30 Prairial VII (18 June) ousted the Jacobins and left Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, a member of the five-man ruling Directory, the dominant figure in the government. France's military situation improved following the Second Battle of Zurich. As the prospect of invasion receded, the Jacobins feared a revival of the pro-peace Royalist faction. When Napoleon returned to France on 9 October, both factions hailed him as the country's saviour.
Dazzled by Napoleon's campaign in the Middle East, the public received him with an ardor that convinced Sieyès he had found the general indispensable to his planned coup; however, from the moment of his return, Napoleon plotted a coup within the coup, ultimately gaining power for himself rather than Sieyès. Probably the weightiest possible obstacles to a coup were in the army. Some generals, such as Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, believed in republicanism; others, such as Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, believed themselves capable of governing France. Napoleon worked on the feelings of all, keeping secret his own intentions.
Before the coup, troops were conveniently deployed around Paris. The plan was to first persuade the Directors to resign, and then to get the Council of Ancients and the Council of Five Hundred (the upper and lower houses of the legislature, respectively) to appoint a pliant commission that would draw up a new constitution to the plotters' specifications.
On the morning of 18 Brumaire, Lucien Bonaparte, who served as the president of the Council of Five Hundred, falsely persuaded the Councils that a Jacobin coup was at hand in Paris, and induced them to depart for the safety of the suburban Château de Saint-Cloud. Napoleon was charged with the safety of the two Councils and given command of all available local troops. Later that morning, Sieyès and Roger Ducos resigned as Directors. The now former Minister of Foreign Affairs Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, a close ally of Napoleon, pressured Director Paul Barras to do the same.
The resignation of three of the five Directors on day one of the coup prevented a quorum and thus practically abolished the five-man Directory, but the two Jacobin Directors, Louis-Jérôme Gohier and Jean-François-Auguste Moulin, continued to protest furiously. Both men were arrested on day two by Napoleon's ally General Jean Victor Marie Moreau, and by the following day, they were compelled to surrender. In contrast to the Directory, the two Councils were not yet intimidated and continued meeting.
By the following day, the deputies had, for the most part, realised that they were facing an attempted coup rather than being protected from a Jacobin rebellion. Faced with their refusal to submit, Napoleon stormed into the chambers, escorted by a small force of grenadiers. While perhaps unplanned, this proved to be the coup within the coup: from this point, this was a military affair.