why was the directory overthrown in 1799

Question 1

what did military success lead to

Answer 1

spread of the revolution

Question 2

when was the Cisalpine republic and Ligurian republic created

Answer 2

• june 1797
• Milan - Directory and Constitution of
  Year III established

Question 3

helvitic republic creation

Answer 3

• january 1798
• French troops seized Switzerland and created the Helvetic
  Republic
• annexing Geneva to France.

Question 4

when was the roman republic set up in the papal states

Answer 4

• Januray 1798
• forced the pope to flee to Tuscany

Question 5

Long-term dissatisfaction with the Directory

Answer 5

• Political instability.
• Loss of support
• Increasing reliance on the military.

Question 6

SIGNIFICANCE of the Long-term dissatisfaction with the Directory

Answer 6

• The alienation of the bourgeoisie explains their subsequent unwillingness to support the regime when the coup took place.
• It had lost so much of its popularity and legitimacy through its undemocratic actions that no one came forward to defend it in the Coup of Brumaire.
• Enabled the ambition, political talents and opportunism of Napoleon himself.
• Increasing reliance on the army, which made an army takeover a distinct possibility.

Question 7

when was the law of Hostages

Answer 7

5 September 1799

Question 8

Economic impact

Answer 8

• French profits from the Revolutionary War of 1792-99 amounted to about 360 million francs.
• However, little of this found its way back to Paris.
• ¼ (200 million livres) of the indemnities from Napoleon’s Italian Campaign were sent back to the Directory.
• Wealth tended to be spent on funding and maintaining the army.
• French armies were pushed back into France from Germany and Italy – thus could not rely on the spoils of war.
• 1798 – To raise money for the war effort, the rich were forced to loan their wealth to the state.

Question 9

when was Jourdans Law

Answer 9

• 5 September 1798

Question 10

what was Jourdans Law

Answer 10

• Conscription of all men aged between 20 and 25 for a five year term.
• This was apply both in peacetime and in wartime.
• This was to apply to married men with children.

Question 11

significance of Jourdans Law

Answer 11

• Contributed to a wave of uprisings across many French provinces:
• Normandy and Brittany – deserters formed their own rebel armies (the new Chouan).
• Rebel armies took Le Mans before being defeated by Republican forces.
• Royalists attempted to capture Toulouse in the south –west.

Question 12

what was the law of Hostages

Answer 12

• Introduced in an attempt to suppress unrest and enforce obedience.
• Any area seen as resisting the Government could be declared ‘disturbed’.
• It allowed arbitrary arrest and the confiscation of property.
• With few willing or able to enforce the law, it achieved little other than increasing anger the government.

Question 13

when was the coup of prairial

Answer 13

• june 1799
• ‘Revenge of the Councils’

Question 14

when was Abbe Seiyes appointed a director

Answer 14

May 1799

Question 15

what was the cuop of prairial June 1799

Answer 15

• There were divisions among the Directors and talk of a national mess.
• The appointment of Abbe Sieyes as a director in May 1799 was a key turning-point.
• Using the councils he plotted against the neo-Jacobin directors and had them replaced by more conservative figures.
• General Joubert, commander of the army in Paris, was called on to ensure the directors did not resist.

Question 16

when was the cuop of Brumaire

Answer 16

9/10 november

Question 17

aims of the cuop of brumaire 9/10 november 1799

Answer 17

• Fearing civil unrest and rise of the right and left, the moderate Republican Abbe Sieyes decided to overthrow the Directory from within before it was taken down by political opposition.
• He believed the system of govt under the Directory was failing, due to the weakness of the executive.
• He was aware that a democratic overthrow was not possible and sought help from the army.

He needed a great general with a powerful reputation to ensure the loyalty of the army.
- Napoleon Bonaparte was the main who fitted the bill
- October 1799 – Lucien Bonaparte was elected as President of the Council of 500, and troops were also deployed around Paris.

Question 18

key events of the cuop of Brumaire 9/10 november

Answer 18

1. Council of Ancients and the Council of 500 convinced by plotters that there was a Jacobin plot being formed within Paris reconvene in Saint-Cloud (fearing trouble from the Parisian mob), under the protection of Napoleon and Marat.
2. The Directory surrounded by troops led by Moreau resigned, flee or arrested.
3. 10 November The Council of Five stormed by Napoleon’s men. Council refuse to back down.
4. Lucien Bonaparte convinces the Council of Jacobin tyranny and is able to push through the abolition of the directory.
5. 10 November - the establishment of a three-man executive.

Question 19

Abbe Sieyes role on the coup of brumaire 9/10 November

Answer 19

• Orchestrated the Coup of Prairial.
• Secured the appointment of Lucien Bonaparte as President of the Council of 500.
• Planned coup
• Invited Napoleon to take part in the plot.
• Heightened fears of a Jacobin plot.
• Convinced the Council of Ancients

Question 20

Napoleon role on the coup of brumaire 9/10 November

Answer 20

• Napoleon’s own personal ambition which caused him to support the plan.
• BUT hesitant and indecisive.
• Fortunately, no trouble from Paris and the army remained loyal.
• Later he claimed to have undertaken the coup to defend liberty and the revolution and rescue France from instability and weakness.

Question 21

lucien Bonaparte role on the coup of brumaire 9/10 November

Answer 21

• The success of the Coup of Brumaire.
• The coup worked – but only just.
• Lucien Bonaparte ordered a contingent of soldiers to calm the council of 500.
• Lucien Bonaparte convinces the Council of Jacobin tyranny and is able to push through the abolition of the directory

Question 22

Significance: The Coup of
Brumaire, 9/10 November
1799

Answer 22

• The Fall of the Directory
• New Constitution of Year VIII, 15th December 1799.
• Napoleon made First Consul with full executive powers.
• 1802 Napoleon made Consul for Life
• 1804 Napoleon becomes Emperor of France.

Question 23

Directory was a success

Answer 23

• Ramel’s tax and tax collection reforms balanced govt. finances.
• Had the support of the army.
• Destroyed sans-culotte power.
• Curbed the threat from the right and left.
• Presided over a period of successful conquests.

Question 24

Directory was a failure?

Answer 24

• Alienated bourgeoisie.
• Reforms to currency (inflation – deflation).
• The constitution (too many checks and balances).
• Reliance on war and the army
• Undemocratic actions.

Question 25

conclusion

Answer 25

- The army was used to restore order when there were risings against thegovernment thereby preventing changes in government for five years. - The reliance on the army to maintain stability which ultimately meant that an army takeover was highly likely