*By the summer of 1794, everyone was tired of the Reign of Terror.  In the Revolutionary month of Thermidor (late July) Robespierre was overthrown and executed by a combination of radicals who wanted to go even further than Robespierre and conservatives who wanted to slow down the revolution (a few were even secretly monarchists).  This is known as the Thermidorean reaction, and afterwards, the Jacobins had little power.  Some Parisians rebelled against this, but were put down by the military, including a young officer of artillery named Napoleon Bonaparte, who gave the mobs a whiff of grapeshot.

*The Committee of Safety would be followed by the Directory, a bicameral legislature.  There were 500 members of the Council of Five Hundred and 250 in the Council of Elders.  The Council of Elders then chose five Directors from a list proposed by the Council of Five Hundred.

*The Directory was notoriously corrupt.  Citizen Talleyrand, the foreign minister, often insisted on being bribed before allowing foreign representatives to speak to the French government (most famously in the XYZ affair with America).

*Beginning in the mind 1790s, France conquered and absorbed the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium and Luxembourg), and created new republics in Italy (where there were several, most eventually united as the Republic of Italy; the Papal States were briefly the Republic of Rome), the Netherlands (the Batavian Republic), and Switzerland (the Helvetic Republic).  In some places the French were welcomed, in others distrusted or despised (in most cases feelings were mixed, as some reformers welcomed them and the majority of people—and their displaced rulers—resented and resisted them).

*After dispersing the Parisian Mob with his whiff of grapeshot, Napoleon went on to conquer Northern Italy and then captured Egypt following the Battle of the Pyramids, where his battle cry was "Forward! Remember that from those monuments yonder forty centuries look down upon you." His fleet was destroyed by British Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798, but Napoleon went back to France in triumph (while most of his army was left behind and eventually defeated; many died of disease and the rest were eventually sent back to France with many priceless artefacts).  One of the most famous results of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, which eventually allowed the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

*In 1799, Napoleon and Abbe Sieyes (a church leader who had supported the Third Estate and the National Assembly from the start) led a coup that overthrew the Directory.  They established the Consulat, with Napoleon as First Consul.  A new constitution was written, but it largely existed to place most power directly or indirectly in the hands of Napoleon.  Once this Constitution was written, it was submitted to a plebiscite, or popular vote to approve or reject a government action—it was approved by 99% of the vote (Napoleon viewed this as good government:  authority from above, confidence from below). Plebiscites were also used to get conquered countries to express appreciation and approval of their conquest (in polls monitored by the army).

*The Consulat made France more orderly and rational, more centralised, and more controlling.  Napoleon appointed prefects for each district in France, each with more power than any of Louis XIV's intendants.  The Consular suppressed dissent—Paris went from having 753 active newspapers to 13.

*In 1801 Napoleon made peace with the Catholic Church through the Concordat.  This recognised the Pope's authority over the church, but also recognised the right of anyone who had bought church property during the Revolution to keep it, and it gave the French government authority to nominate bishops and pay their salaries and those of other clergy.  It also made Sundays a religious holiday again.  The Concordat remained in force until 1905 when France officially separated Church and State, and still remained in force in Alsace (which France did not own in 1905 but owned in 1801 and owns again today).

*In 1804 Napoleon published a new code of laws for France, the Civil Code or the Code Napoleon.  It still forms the basis of French Law and large parts of the law in Belgium, the Netherlands, parts of Germany, and elsewhere in Europe (thanks to France's conquests there there).  It is also used in parts of Latin America that gained their independence in the 1810s and copied the Code.  It is often said that it is still used in Louisiana, although since Napoleon sold Louisiana in 1803, its impact is probably minimal—although older French laws, including parts of the Code Louis, do survive.

*It was said that Napoleon had ambition without conviction.  In France he opposed Catholicism and then supported it, depending on the popular mood at the time; in Egypt he praised Islam.  He fought to support the Revolution, then overturned its ideas as Consul, particularly in 1802 when he was named Consul for Life.  He was a truly self-made man of the enlightenment, supposedly claiming le Revolution, c'est moi.  However, he fully overturned the Revolution in 1804.

*In AD 800, after unifying France, the Low Countries, Germany, and Northern Italy, the King of the Franks, Charles the Great (or Charlemagne) had gone to Rome to pray on Christmas Day.  During the Mass, Pope Leo III had crowned him Emperor of the Romans, establishing the supremacy of the Church over all earthly rulers.

*In December of 1804, having invited Pope Pius VII to the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, Napoleon took a newly-made crown called the Crown of Charlemagne in his own hands and crowned himself Emperor of France.  In May 1805 he went to Italy and crowned himself King of Italy (another title of the Holy Roman Emperors) using the ancient  Iron Crown of the Lombards, made in the 7th century with an iron band beaten out of one of the nails used in the Crucifixion.  He would go on to create a court of 'Notables' around himself, which were essentially a new nobility.

*As Emperor, Napoleon created the University of France in 1808, which had control over all the schools in France, from the elementary level through college.  This was one of the first great efforts at universal public education, and would influence many later reformers.

*Napoleon claimed that his greatest legacy would be his civil code, but as Emperor, his power and glory would come from his military triumphs.  On land he was seemingly unstoppable, adding more and more land the Empire.

*At sea, Napoleon was less successful.  His Egyptian fleet had been destroyed by Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 (Nelson was already famous for the Battle of Cape St Vincent ne Portugal in 1797 during which his ship had come alongside a Spanish ship, he had boarded the Spanish ship, captured it, and then boarded and captured a Spanish ship touching that one).  In 1801, at Copenhagen, Nelson defeated the Danish-Norwegian navy in hopes of forcing them (and Sweden, Prussia, and Russia) to cease trading with France—during that battle he had been given orders by signal flags to withdraw because his commander thought he was outnumbered, but, holding his telescope in his one hand, he put it up to his blind eye and said he could not read the signal.  Nelson's last victory came in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar.  Issuing the signal that 'England expects that every man will do his duty,' Nelson attacked and defeated 33 ships French and Spanish ships with 27 of his own.  The British were successful, but Nelson was shot through the spine and died during the battle.  He was given a state funeral in London and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

*Beginning in 1797, Napoleon conquered parts of Italy to bring liberty to the people of Italy.  Eventually he conquered most of the rest of Italy (earning excommunication from Pope Pius VII when he took over the Papal States), Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, and Poland, part of which he recreated as the Duchy of Warsaw.  He set his brothers up as kings of Holland, Naples, Westphalia, and Spain.  After defeating Francis II of Austria at the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805, Francis II in 1806 abdicated laid down the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, ending the Empire after 1006 years.  Francis thenceforth was Kaiser of Austria, and still ruled extensive lands in Europe.  Any nation that Napoleon did not conquer outright was typically forced to ally itself with him—although some, such as Prussia, took this opportunity to prepare to fight again another day, as they created people's armies of their own.

*In Germany, Napoleon streamlined the hundreds of tiny Germany states into the Confederation of the Rhine, which eventually held 35 states and 4 free cities.  Napoleon also granted many of the rulers of these states new titles, promoting counts to duke and dukes and electors to kings, such that Napoleon was sometimes known as the kingmaker. 

*Throughout Europe, he spread not just the Code Napoleon, but also the Metric System, instituted in France during the Revolution as an enlightened system of measurement.  The Inquisition was abolished, public education was promoted, many aspects of the feudal system were swept away, and roads, parks, bridges, and new farms were created.  While Spain was ruled by Joseph Bonaparte, many of Spain's American colonies began successful campaigns for independence.  The King of Portugal fled to Brazil, which would eventually lead to the separation of Brazil from Portugal.

*With such absolute control over Europe, Napoleon instituted what he called the Continental System, which was not allowed to trade with England, which not only fought France itself, but which supported others who did.  England, in turn, tried to blockade the continent, each hoping to strangle the other's trade (the USA ran afoul of both systems, until Thomas Jefferson signed the Embargo Act, stopping American trade with either, so that we ended up strangling ourselves—the British practise of impressing sailors on American ships to fight Napoleon also led to the War of 1812, a little side-show of the Napoleonic Wars).  Ultimately this hurt France far more than it hurt the UK, partly because England had been undergoing the Industrial Revolution for over half a century, and also had a much more active and successful middle class (which had somewhat merged with a nobility that did not disdain commerce and industry as the French aristocracy did) and stronger financial institutions, partly because it had enjoyed the rule of law (and respect for people's rights) instead of an absolute monarch for over a century.  In fact, while the Continental system ended up promoting British industry (as the UK had to become more self-sufficient) it ended up stifling many French industries whose foreign markets were limited.  Besides, many of France's vassals and allies did not want to give up imports from Britain (particularly food, which was in short supply in war-town Europe).

*After his initial wave over overwhelming success, Napoleon began facing resistance throughout his empire.  As French nationalism carried the French Army to success after success, the peoples they conquered developed a new identities of their own, glorifying their own nations and their accomplishments.  As they did so, they organised resistance against France.

*In Spain, people rapidly came to resent Spanish rule.  Beginning in 1809, the people of Spain began to fight against the French in the mountains and countryside.  These battles were called 'little wars' or guerilla.  This was supported by the Portuguese and the British, who eventually sent Arthur Wellesley to lead the fight against Napoleon, who came to Spain himself to try to put it down.  The Peninsular War kept Napoleon annoyed and distracted for years—he called it his Spanish Ulcer.  In 1813 Wellesley won a decisive victory while Napoleon was in Eastern Europe and he was given the title Duke of Wellington (and many other titles by England, Portugal, Spain, and later the Netherlands—and his heirs hold lands in Belgium as a result of his military career, too).

*Napoleon also faced opposition in Germany, where many young nationalists, particularly college students, formed volunteer armed forces called Freikorps.  One of these, the Lützow Free Corps, was famous for including men from all parts of Germany (although it was organised by Prussia).  Because many of them were students and academics, they went on to influence German art, literature, and intellectual and social life.  They wore black uniforms with red trim and brass buttons—for many Germans, this later made the colours Black, Red, and Gold the colours of German nationalism.

*Other countries resisted the Continental System, too.  Austria and broke its alliance with Napoleon in 1809, and Napoleon had to go to war again.  Furthermore, Russia began resisting the Continental system's embargo against England in 1807, and eventually Napoleon felt the need to teach Tsar Alexander a lesson.

*In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with his Grand Army.  He had over 300,000 French soldiers and about 180,000 allied troops—a total of about 580,000 men, or perhaps 690,000 according to some sources (although some put the actual force that crossed into Russia at 450,000).  He built new armouries and magzines in East Prussia and assembled over 6000 wagons to carry his supplies—however, that would only last about 40 days, and he planned to win through quick forced marches and by living off the land, as he had in Austria and Prussia.  The Russians probably had less than half Napoleon's force to being with, and knew they could not defeat Napoleon on their own.  However, they had a very valuable ally in the nature of their own country, and they knew how to use it.

*In Russia this was known as the Great Patriotic War (a name later used for the war against Hitler).  The Russians won through a strategy of scorched earth—retreating and burning all the supplies behind them so that the French could not sustain themselves.  As the French moved further into Russia, they ran out of supplies and were forced to abandon wagons that could have brought them more.   The Russian attacked the French when they could, and concentrated on luring them deeper into the country

*In September of 1812, Napoleon reached Moscow and, after a long and bloody battle, marched into it.  However, as the Russian abandoned it, they took everything of value and then set it on fire.  Napoleon's victory was a hollow one, and in October he began his retreat.

*By October, winter has already begun in Russia, and now Napoleon's army was cold, starving, and demoralised, and now the Russian attacked, having raised a force of almost a million men.  It is said that starvation, disease, exposure, and suicide killed more French soldiers than the Russians ever did.  Nonetheless, by the time Napoleon left Russia, he had about 10-20,000 men left to him, with the other 95% dead or captured.

*At this point, all of Napoleon's conquered peoples and former allies rose up against him.  He won a few more victories, but in November of 1813 was defeated at the Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of Nations, by combined forces of Austria, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Hungary, Saxony, and Freikorps from across Germany.

*Napoleon retreated to France, but the Austrians, Prussians, and Russians followed him and the British invaded by sea.  Napoleon abdicated on 11 April 1814 and was replaced by Louis XVIII (Louis XVII had technically been king from his father's execution until his own death in 1795; Louis XVIII was Louis XVI's brother).  France was reduced in size, but allowed to keep its 1792 borders, so it did gain some land overall.  Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba, of which he was technically king.

*After a year of exile, Napoleon escape from Elba and returned to France.  Louis XVIII sent the army to capture him, but when they met him he said 'Soldiers... you recognise me. If any man would shoot his emperor, he may do so now.'  The Army made him their leader, took him to Paris, and for One Hundred Days he was Emperor of France again.

*Napoleon soon invaded Belgium (then part of the Netherlands) and fought a combined Anglo-Dutch army under the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian Army under Marshal von Blücher.  At first he won stunning victories, but on 18 June, 1815, Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.  He abdicated three days later and was exiled to St Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died in 1821.

*Following Napoleon's defeat, the leaders of Europe met in the Congress of Vienna to put things back in order, or to create a Concert of Europe, with everyone playing along in harmony.  The conductor of this great concert was Prince Klemens von Metternich of Austria, also known as the Coachman of Europe.

*The key concept of the Concert of Europe was legitimacy—restoring royal families to their traditional kingdoms.  The King of Portugal returned from Brazil.  The King of Spain was restored to Spain and Naples (but did not regain his American posessions). Louis XVIII was recognised as King of France.  Poland was confirmed as a possession of the countries that partitioned it in the 1700s, and Russia's conquest of Finland was also confirmed.  Prussia gained some territory from its neighbours and the Austrian Netherlands and Luxembourg were made part of the Dutch Netherlands—Belgium would become independent in 1830 and Luxembourg in 1890. 

*There were changes in Germany.  The Empire was not re-established, although most German states were made part of the German Confederation.  Napoleon's simplification of Germany was not significantly altered:  only about 35 German states survived, and many were elevated to kingdoms. 

*The concept of the Balance of Power remained.  A commitment to legitimacy also meant that the monarchies of Europe would step in to put down any new revolution that threatened the established order—such active ultra-conservatism is sometimes known as being reactionary.  The leading reactionary was Tsar Alexander I, who proposed a Holy Alliance in which European leaders would deal with each other and their subjects in a spirit of Christian love (but Christian love based upon the divine right of kings).

*One side effect of the desire for a balance of power was that the UK would quietly support the USA's Monroe Doctrine, helping police the seas so that no European power could create new empires in America that might destabilise Europe.  With the might of the British Empire and the deliberate efforts of many European diplomats to maintain it, the Concert of Europe would prevent a major Continental war for 99 years.