The French Republic (1792-1799) was the government of France that existed from the passage of the new French constitution in 1792 to the Coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799, when Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the ruling French Directory and replaced it with the French Consulate triumvirate. The republic was formed during the French Revolution, replacing the old Kingdom of France, and it would be at war for all of its existence, fighting against the Austrian Empire, United Kingdom, Prussia, Netherlands, and several other reactionary European regimes during the French Revolutionary Wars.
History[]
The French First Republic was founded after the National Convention of 1792 after a short-lived constitutional monarchy failed to serve the people well. Louis XVI of France was deposed and replaced by the National Convention, the parliament of the newly-declared French Republic. France was an extremist nationalist government, declaring war on the Austrian Empire and Prussia in 1792 to flex their military muscles and spread the revolution to the rest of Europe. The French Revolutionary Wars nearly resulted in the empire's destruction, had Lazare Carnot not introduced the levee en masse in 1793 to raise all young men to military service. This National Guard conscript army was led by officers who rose from Private to General in the matter of a year or two. The French Republic's reforms led to its takeover of northern Italy, the Rhineland, the Austrian Netherlands, and the United Provinces by the time of peace in late 1797.
The republic had hardly recovered from the First Coalition when, in 1798, a Second Coalition was formed. This alliance, consisting of Austria, the Russian Empire, Great Britain, and small German states managed to divert Napoleon from his Egypt Campaign and forced him to return to Europe. Rising general Napoleon Bonaparte, who had led the Egypt Campaign and the Italian Campaign, was also immensely popular in the government. His 18 Brumaire Coup of 9 November overthrew the ruling body and he became the President.
Napoleon managed France through the Second Coalition, defeating the Austrians and Russians in Italy in early 1800, winning the Battle of Marengo. Another defeat at the Battle of Hohenlinden in December forced Austria to sue for peace, and Russia also surrendered. Britain did not make peace until 1802.
In 1804, an ambitious Napoleon built up France's armed forces. He was proclaimed Emperor of the French Empire by the French Senate, and the republic fell.
Gallery[]
| French First Republic | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by: Kingdom of the French |
1792-1799 | Succeeded by: French Consulate |