h) Napoleon & Coup Of Brumaire 1799

Question 1

What was the Law of 22 Prairial and when was it passed?

Answer 1

11 May 1798

The Directory sought to expand its power beyond the 1795 Constitution

Cancelled the elections and selected replacements in gov themselves

Acting like a dictatorship

Question 2

What was the Jourdan Law and when was it introduced?

Answer 2

September 1798

Conscription due to the French army dwindling in size

Led to revolts

Question 3

Why was the unpopularity of the Directory reflected in the 1799 elections?

Answer 3

• Of the 187 Directory backed candidates, 121 were defeated at polls
• Dozens of Jacobins gained seats in the Councils

Question 4

What problems in France were caused by the War?

Answer 4

1. Renewed Conscription
2. Shortage of funds
3. Wealthy forced to give money/loans
4. Law of Hostages - arrest those who didn’t comply with the loan

Question 5

What were the Directory’s setbacks by 1799?

Answer 5

1. Law of Hostages - indicated that the Directory was returning to the days of the Terror
2. Debt - only 10% of the required 100 million livres loan had been collected
3. Conscription - sought 400,000 troops, only got 250,000
4. Notables & Royalists - refused to serve in offices for the Directory, had to rely on enemies
5. Countryside - no government authority

Question 6

Who were Napoleon’s important allies in the Coup of Brumaire?

Answer 6

Abbé Sieyés - one of the Directors

Lucien Bonaparte - relative and president of the Council of 500

Question 7

How did Napoleon gain power in the Coup of Brumaire?

Answer 7

• Councils fooled into believing a revolution was imminent
• Napoleon was put in charge of the Paris Garrison
• Directors were arrested
• Napoleon and his troops forced the deputies out of the Council of 500
• The Ancients agreed to the Directory with an executive of three people, including Napoleon and Sieyés