Chronology of the French Revolution: 1795-1799

A Chronology of the French Revolution: 1795-1799

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1795	February 21	Separation of Church and State: freedom of worship restored.
	April 5	Treaty of Basle with Prussia. -- The Treaty of Basle forged a peace between France and Prussia. It was negotiated by François, Marquis de Barthélemy.
	April	Bread riots in Paris.
	May 16	Treaty of the Hague with the Batavian Republic.
	May 31	Revolutionary Tribunal abolished. -- The Revolutionary Tribunal, established by the Montagnards, was set up to try people for crimes against the Revolution. It was a powerful tool for the Committees, oftentimes securing a conviction before a verdict.
	June 8	Death of Louis XVII. -- Louis XVII died of scrofula, "tuberculosis of the lymph nodes" (OED). Doyle notes that ironically, this is the very disease that many people believe that his father, Louis XVI, could cure with a touch (295-6). This "laying on hands" is supposed to symbolize the divine right of kings and God's power in them.
	July 22	Treaty of Basle with Spain
	August 22	Constitution of the Year III and the Two Thirds Law approved. -- The Constitution of the Year III re-organized the government, and created two governing councils. The Council of Five Hundred (comprised of 500 members) was responsible for creating all legislation, while the Council of Elders (with only 250 members) could either ratify or refuse that legislature. Executive power rested in five Directors, nominated by the Elders and voted upon by the Five Hundred. One Director was compelled to retire each year. The Two Thirds Law came from the Convention. It stated that two-thirds of the members of the original two councils should come from the Convention membership.
	October 5	Napoleon is charged with protecting the Directory and rings the Tuileries with cannon. -- Around 25,000 people came to the Convention to protest and were met with cannon fire. Napoleon Bonaparte, an artillery general, devised the strategy and ordered the cannons fired into the crowds.
	October 15	Napoleon is named 'general de division'.
	October 26	Napoleon is named 'general en chef de l'armee de l'Interieur'.
	November 2	Directory constituted.

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1796
	February 19	Abolition of assignats as legal tender. This ended the experiment of paper money secured by national lands (see note to 12 Dec 1789)
	February 27	The Pantheon Club is closed. -- The Pantheon was a well-known political club associated with the writings of Babeuf (see note to 19 Feb 1797). Its closing was also important because five political clubs and a theatre were closed at this time.
	March 2	Napoleon is named General in charge of the Army of Italy. -- This date marks the beginning of a series of military campaigns by Napoleon Bonaparte, only some of which are covered in this chronology.
	March 10	Napoleon weds Rose de Beauharnais (the future Empress Josephine).
	April 11	Invasion of Italy.
	April 28	Police Legion mutiny. -- This mutiny betrayed an attempted coup by Babeuf. He organized and subverted the Police Legion (which had replaced the National Guard) with promises of equality and food. His tactics were too successful for his own good, and several members of the Police Legion mutinied prematurely. They were put down, and he, his conspirators, and his plot were exposed.
	May 10	Napoleon defeats the Austrian Army at Lodi.
	June 12	Napoleon invades Papal Territory.
	December 15	Expedition departs for Ireland. -- The Irish fed on the idea of the Revolution. In this instance the French, eluding the British fleet, almost landed their ships in Ireland, but were prevented by weather.

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1797
	January 14	Napoleon victorious at Rivoli.
	February 2	Napoleon captures Mantua.
	February 19	Commencement of the trial of Babeuf. -- François Babeuf was a former land agent turned professional insurrectionalist. He wrote in his paper, Tribun du peuple, how the Revolution had become nothing more than a rich versus poor campaign. He moved between supporting the 1793 Constitution and advocating an oppressively violent communism. He published both openly and in hiding. He was finally arrested and his trial began on this day. He was executed on 27 May 1797.
	May 15	Venetian Republic occupied.
	May 27	Babeuf is executed.
	June 29	Foundation of the Cisalpine Republic. -- With the fall of the Austrian forces (between 15 May and 29 June) Napoleon began to section off land and founded the Cisalpine Republic.
	August 24	Laws against the clergy are repealed.
	September 4	Coup d'etat of Fructidor. -- Doyle states that "On the night of 3-4 September (17-18 Fructidor) they [the triumvirs] ordered the troops they had assembled to seize all strong points in Paris and surround the legislative chambers . . . They also closed down some 30 newspapers . . . There was no resistance. The coup was practically bloodless" (330-1). This coup stopped attempts to revitalize French royalists. Napoleon's viceroy, Augereau, ordered his troops to stay out of the conflict.
	October 17	Napoleon signs the Treaty of Campo-Formio with Austria.
	November 28	Congress of Rastadt. -- The Congress of Rastadt purposed to make peace between France (or the Cisalpine Republic) and the Holy Roman Empire.

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1798
	January	Occupied Belguim divided into four departments and governed as part of France.
	January 22	A provision Directory is proclaimed in the former Dutch republic and the old order is finally removed two years after the French conquest.
	January 28	France annexes Mulhouse.
	January 31	Law passed giving the standing legislature power to deny the validity of newly elected deputies. -- During the 1788 elections, legislature had to be renewed by one third to meet constitution requirements, and the 198 deputies purged in 1787 had to be replaced; this yielded a total of 347 positions. The large number of deputies to be elected led to fear that royalists would repeat their success of the last two years and throw the government into turmoil. Hence, this law was passed to keep elected deputies whom the current legislature deemed unacceptable from assuming office.
	February	Napoleon forces the Pope to quit Rome. -- General Berthier leads a force to occupy Rome. The Pope takes refuge in Tuscany.
	March 22	General Brune creates the Helvetic Republic from Swiss territory; the Republic's first act (on 2 August) is to grant France access to the Alpine passes.
	March 26	France annexes Geneva.
	May 11	Coup d'etat by the Directory and the Councils against the left. -- The law of 31 January was invoked to deprive 127 newly elected deputies of their seats. Eighty-three of these deputies were thought to be Jacobins. Of the 347 seats up for election, 106 seats went to candidates the Directors preferred to the elected candidates, 53 seats were left vacant, and the rest went to elected deputies of whom the Directors approved.
	May 16	François de Neufchateau is replaced in the Directory by Treilhard.
	May 19	Bonaparte departs for Egypt.
	May-August	Three boats bearing French and Belgian priests leave Olerm for French Guiana.
	June 12	Napoleon takes Malta and garrisons it with French troops.
	June 17	François de Neufchateau appointed Minister of the Interior.
	July	French custom posts established along the Rhine.
	July 21	Napoleon defeats Mameluke army at the battle of the Pyramids and goes on to win Cairo.
	August 1	Fleet that had conveyed French expedition to Egypt destroyed in the battle of the Nile.
	Fall	Governmental organization of the decadal cult and its festivals as antidote to Catholicism; enforcement of Decadi as the official day of rest. -- In the wake of the May 11 Coup d'etat, government forces become more repressive. As part of the effort to quell the resurgence of Catholicism, François de Neufchateau prescribed ceremonies of the decadal cult. In these ceremonies, local officials read new laws, recounted military success and celebrated civil marriages as school children sang patriotic songs. As part of this de-Christianization, Decadi rather than Sunday was proclaimed by the government as the day of rest and worship, and Sunday worship was actively punished.
	September	Jourdan Law passed to draft Flemish peasants into the French army prompts riots.
	October-December	Institution of new direct taxes. -- Romel established four new direct taxes: trading license tax on October 22, land tax on November 23, moveable property and servants tax on November 24, and door and window property tax on December 23. These taxes were assessed and collected by officials under the direction of a commissioner of the central government.

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1799
	January 23	French General Championnet enters Naples
	January 26	Championnet declares Naples to be the Parthenopean Republic.
	February 25	Napoleon enters Gaza.
	March 12	Austria declares war on France.
	March 19	Siege of Acre.
	March 25	French General Jourdan is defeated at battle of Stokach.
	March-April	Elections for the council.
	April 10	Pope Pius VI is moved to France as a prisoner.
	April 27	French General Moreau is defeated at Cassano
	April 28	Assassination of French plenipotentiaries at Rastatt
	May 16	Election of Sieyes to the Directory. He assumes power on June 9.
	June 18	Coup d'etat of 30 Prairial. -- The Jacobin-dominated Council of Five Hundred and the Council of the Elders blamed the Republic's military defeats on members of the executive body, the Directory. Fearing impeachment, the accused directors resigned their positions. The Councils quickly replaced them with their own political allies.
	July 6	Manege Club is founded. -- The success of the Jacobin-influenced coup d'etat of 30 Prairial spawned a new wave of left-wing political activity. One example of this activity is the emergence of the Manege Club, a group of Jacobins who were to play a profound role in shaping the legislation passed in the following months.
	July 25	French victory over the Turks at Aboukir.
	August 5	Royalist uprising around Toulouse.
	August 15	French General Joubert killed at Novi and his troops are defeated.
	August 23	Napoleon leaves his army behind in Egypt to sail for France.
	August 27	Anglo-Russian forces arrive in Holland.
	October 9	Napoleon arrives back in France. He arrives in Paris on 16 October.
	October 18	Anglo-Russian forces evacuate Holland.
	November 9-10	Bonaparte overthrows the Directory. -- Sieyes, desiring a more powerful executive, had been plotting a coup d'etat to seize control of the government and had been attempting to enlist the military support of a general. As soon as Napoleon returned to France, Sieyes saw his opportunity and persuaded Napoleon to join him. After Sieyes pressured the other directors into resigning and resigned himself, Napoleon was able to force the establishment of a provisional government in which he, Ducos, and Sieyes would be consuls. Soon afterward, Napoleon assumed the title of First Consul, allowing him to rule as a dictator over France.
	December 25	Constitution of Year VIII instituted.

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