The French Empire (French: Empire français; Latin: Imperium Francicum), known retroactively as the First French Empire, and colloquially as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815, The French Empire (French: Empire français; Latin: Imperium Francicum), known retroactively as the First French Empire, and colloquially as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815, when Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena. Historians refer to Napoleon's regime as the "First Empire" to distinguish it from the restorationist Second Empire (1852–1870) ruled by his nephew Napoleon III. Neither should be confused with the French colonial empire, which refers to France's various colonies, protectorates and mandate territories. On 18 May 1804, Napoleon was granted the title Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français, pronounced [ɑ̃pʁœʁ de fʁɑ̃sɛ]) by the French Sénat conservateur and was crowned on 2 December 1804 (11 Frimaire year XIII), signifying the end of the French Consulate and of the French First Republic. Despite his coronation, the state continued to be formally called the "French Republic" until October 1808. The empire achieved military supremacy in mainland Europe through the War of the Third Coalition, where French armies scored a string of decisive victories against Austrian and Russian forces, most notably at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. French dominance was reaffirmed during the War of the Fourth Coalition, at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806 and the Battle of Friedland in 1807, before Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia led to the near The French Empire (French: Empire français; Latin: Imperium Francicum), known retroactively as the First French Empire, and colloquially as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815, when Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena. Historians refer to Napoleon's regime as the "First Empire" to distinguish it from the restorationist Second Empire (1852–1870) ruled by his nephew Napoleon III. Neither should be confused with the French colonial empire, which refers to France's various colonies, protectorates and mandate territories. On 18 May 1804, Napoleon was granted the title Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français, pronounced [ɑ̃pʁœʁ de fʁɑ̃sɛ]) by the French Sénat conservateur and was crowned on 2 December 1804 (11 Frimaire year XIII), signifying the end of the French Consulate and of the French First Republic. Despite his coronation, the state continued to be formally called the "French Republic" until October 1808. The empire achieved military supremacy in mainland Europe through the War of the Third Coalition, where French armies scored a string of decisive victories against Austrian and Russian forces, most notably at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. French dominance was reaffirmed during the War of the Fourth Coalition, at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806 and the Battle of Friedland in 1807, before Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia led to the near complete loss of his army, and the French empire started to collapse in 1814 amidst the severe depletion of its army and a mounting invasion from all sides by several countries. French forces fought with stiff resistance and Napoleon held off coalition forces with a series of successive victories in February and March 1814 before he was eventually defeated in April. The following year, Napoleon managed to briefly restore the French empire before he was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. A series of wars, known collectively as the Napoleonic Wars, extended French influence to much of Western Europe and into Poland. At its height in 1812, the French Empire had 130 departments, a population over 44 million people, ruled over 90 million subjects throughout Europe, maintained an extensive military presence in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland, and counted Austria and Prussia as nominal allies. Early French victories exported many ideological features of the Revolution throughout Europe: the introduction of the Napoleonic Code throughout the continent increased legal equality, established jury systems and legalised divorce, and seigneurial dues and seigneurial justice were abolished, as were aristocratic privileges in all places except Poland. France's defeat in 1814 (and then again in 1815) marked the end of the First French Empire and the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration. Talleyrand had advised Napoleon to pursue milder terms; the treaties marked an important stage in his estrangement from the emperor. After Tilsit, instead of trying to reconcile Europe, as Talleyrand had advised, Napoleon wanted to defeat Britain and complete his Italian dominion. To the coalition of the northern powers, he added the league of the Baltic and Mediterranean ports, and to the bombardment of Copenhagen by the Royal Navy he responded with a second decree of blockade, dated from Milan on 17 December 1807. The application of the Concordat and the taking of Naples led to Napoleon's first struggles with the Pope, centred around Pius VII renewing the theocratic affirmations of Pope Gregory VII. The emperor's Roman ambition was made more visible by the occupation of the Kingdom of Naples and of the Marches, and by the entry of General Sextius Armorial of the First French Empire History of France List of Napoleonic battles Military career of Napoleon Bonaparte

The author examines the controversial question of the part played by the French Revolution in the awakening of French peasants to modern politics; Eugen Weber and others have questioned the role of the Revolution and set this awakening much later under the Third Republic. In Melvin Edelstein's view, on the contrary, the peasants' political participation was far from négligeable and he bases his view on an analysis of the degree of peasant participation in local and national elections mainly between 1789 and 1793. The research done up to now on nearly twenty departments indicate that these percentages were often higher than was previously asserted, and especially that these results refute two generally accepted ideas: the backwardness of the South and the West considered to be "under-developed" compared to a more politically aware north-eastern France and the idea that the superiority of the degree of urban participation compared to that of rural areas: more generally, it was the opposite which took place. The First Empire plebescite votes confirm that a real apprenticeship concerning national questions went on during the French Revolution. La place de la Révolution Française dans la politisation des paysans - Persée Saut au contenu Plan Figures La place de la Révolution Française dans la politisation des paysans [article] Melvin Edelstein Traducteur/Traductrice : Michel Vovelle Annales historiques de la Révolution française Année 1990 280 pp. 135-149 Résumés Documents liés Référence bibliographique Edelstein Melvin, Vovelle Michel. La place de la Révolution Française dans la politisation des paysans. In: Annales historiques de la Révolution française , n°280, 1990. pp. 135-149. DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/ahrf.1990.1319 www.persee.fr/doc/ahrf_0003-4436_1990_num_280_1_1319 BibTex RefWorks RIS (ProCite, Endnote, …) LA PLACE DE LA RÉVOLUTION FRANÇAISE DANS LA POLITISATION DES PAYSANS L'ouvrage d'Eugen Weber Peasants into Frenchmen a suscité un débat animé sur le point de savoir quand, comment et jusqu'à quel point, les paysans français ont découvert la politique. Cette controverse touche les origines de la démocratie en France. Weber affirme avec insistance que la politisation paysanne dans les régions rurales « sous-développées » de l'Ouest, du Centre et du Midi, ne se produit pas avant les premières années de la Troisième République. (1) Eugen Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen : The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914 (Stanford, 1976), p. 242. (2) Eugen Weber, « The Second Republic, Politics, and the Peasant », French Historical Studies 1 1 (1980), 521-550 ; Eugen Weber, « Comment la Politique Vint aux Paysans : A Second Look at Peasant Politicization», A.H.R. 87 (1982), 357-389.