The accurate value and quality of coins produced by The Royal Mint is determined through the Trial of the Pyx. Here we explore how coins are tested, and the role the Trial plays in ensuring The Royal Mint maintains the highest level of quality when producing the nation’s coinage.

The Trial of the Pyx is a procedure which has taken place since 1282 and is an annual judicial ceremony to test and ensure that The Royal Mint’s newly minted coins meet the required standards.

The Trial is held every February and is judged by a jury of over six assayers from the Company of Goldsmiths, who are independent from The Royal Mint. After the coins have been inspected and judged for their weight, diameter, and composition, the verdict is then read aloud by the Clerk of the Goldsmiths’ Company at the instruction of the Senior Master and Queen’s Remembrancer – an ancient post created in 1154 by Henry II, and the oldest judicial position still in existence.

This verdict is received by the Chancellor of the Exchequer under their capacity of Master of the Mint. In the past, if the coinage is found to be substandard, the trial carried a variety of punishments for the Master of the Mint, including a fine, removal from office, or imprisonment. However, these do not happen today.

Isaac Newton and the 1710 Trial

One of the most famous, and most controversial, examples surrounding the inaccurate value of coins comes from the 1710 Trial of the Pyx, where Isaac Newton’s coins were found to not contain enough gold.

In 1696, Sir Isaac Newton moved from his post at Cambridge University to London to first become the Warden of The Royal Mint, and three years later, the Master of the Mint.

Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton

Image Credit: The Royal Mint

The role of Master of the Mint had traditionally been a ceremonial one, however, Newton wanted to make a contribution. He encouraged the engravers to up-skill themselves by taking on outside work, increasing the quality of their coins which also made them more difficult to counterfeit. Newton also started fastidiously pursuing counterfeiters through the courts which resulted in The Royal Mint gaining the reputation of one of the most trustworthy and accurate Mints in the world.

Note from Sir Isaac Newton re a Draft Submission

Image Credit: The Royal Mint

Therefore, when Newtons coins were judged as being below the required standard and not containing enough gold in the 1710 Trial of the Pyx, Newton reacted angrily, and set about proving the judgement procedure as faulty.

The coins in question had been compared with a new gold Trial of the Pyx Plate, introduced in 1707, and Newton managed to prove that it was in fact the plate that contained too much gold, and therefore his coins were not below the required standard. As a result, the earlier trial plate of 1688 was returned to use.

1688 Gold Trial Plate

Image Credit: The Royal Mint

Over 50 countries were affected, yet this revolutionary wave occurred without any kind of central international coordination. No single cause or theory can explain why they transpired; the sentiments that fuelled this year of tumultuous change were instead sparked by a confluence of various social, economic, and political factors, including widespread dissatisfaction with autocratic regimes, economic hardships, demands for political reforms, and desires for national unification and independence.

However, although widespread, many of these revolutions fizzled out or collapsed within a year. What triggered them, was anything achieved, and why did many of the revolutions end relatively swiftly?

Causes:

Political repression and autocratic rule

Many European countries were governed by autocratic monarchies or regimes that limited civil liberties and political participation. Citizens had grown increasingly frustrated by their lack of representation, and of oppressive governance and censorship, leading to a widespread demand for democracy over monarchy.

Economic hardships

A series of poor harvests since 1839, economic recessions, and industrialisation-related changes had meant decreased investment in agriculture, leading to widespread poverty, unemployment, rising food prices and shortages.

The working class and urban populations faced dire living conditions, contributing to social unrest and anger at how neglectful their country’s monarch could be.

Ideological stirrings

Ideas of liberalism, nationalism, and socialism were gaining traction across Europe. Calls for individual rights, constitutional reforms, national identity, and social equality spread through intellectual circles, influencing people to demand political change and other liberties such as freedom of the press.

The revolutionary barricades in Vienna in May 1848

Desire for national unification and independence

Many regions within Europe were fragmented politically, comprising several states or having provinces under foreign rule. Indeed France’s Napoleon Bonaparte made his brother King of Spain. Movements aimed at national unification, independence, or autonomy grew stronger, especially in Italy, Germany, Hungary, and Poland, fostering a strong sense of nationalism.

Inspiration from previous revolutions

The success of previous revolutions, notably the French Revolution of 1830, inspired people to believe in the possibility of effecting change through collective action.

When the February Revolution broke out in France in 1848, resulting in the overthrow of King Louis-Philippe and the establishment of the French Second Republic, it acted as a catalyst, sending a powerful message across Europe, from the Italian and German states to the Habsburg Empire and other regions. People in other countries saw this as an opportunity to demand similar reforms and challenge existing authoritarian regimes, sparking uprisings across the continent.

Social inequality and class struggles

Social disparities between the aristocracy and the lower classes fuelled discontent.

Urban populations had risen sharply, and the long working hours and inability to buy food or pay rent for the slums the working-class and urban poor lived in prompted them to seek better working conditions, fair wages, and representation in the face of industrialisation’s impact on labour. 

Meanwhile the middle-classes feared the new urban arrivals, concerned that the cheaper, mass-produced goods facilitated by industrialisation now replaced traditional skilled artisan products. Indeed many of the revolutions’ leaders were middle-class workers, who felt misunderstood and disconnected from their rulers and their comparatively lavish lives.

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  Illustration of 19th century slum (Dudley St., Seven Dials, 1872)

  Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Wellcome Images Photo number: L0000881 / CC BY 4.0

Achievements

The revolutions of 1848 were diverse in nature, with each country facing its unique set of grievances and aspirations. Although the uprisings didn’t result in lasting and widespread changes at the time, they did plant the seeds for future movements advocating for democracy, national unity, and social reforms in Europe. Outcomes varied region to region and many of the revolutions were considered failures, but there were a few notably significant events.

The February Revolution in France led to the establishment of the French Second Republic, and Denmark also experienced an end to its 200 year old monarchy.

In Italy, 1848 marked a series of uprisings against Austrian and other foreign rule, as well as efforts for national unification under figures like Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini. Similarly, the German states witnessed widespread protests, demands for constitutional reforms, and aspirations for a unified Germany, culminating in the Frankfurt Parliament’s attempts to create a German national assembly.

The Habsburg Empire faced intense unrest, particularly in Hungary, where demands for autonomy and reforms led to clashes with the Austrian monarchy. The Hungarian Revolution, led by figures like Lajos Kossuth, sought political freedoms and autonomy within the empire. However, serfdom was put to an end in Austria and Hungary.

Elsewhere in Europe, similar movements for liberal reforms and national independence emerged. In Poland, an uprising against Russian rule aimed at regaining independence, although it was eventually suppressed. Revolts and demands for change also occurred in regions like the Czech lands, Romania, and the Balkans.

Challenges

Despite the initial enthusiasm and hopes for change, many of these revolutions faced significant challenges. Internal divisions among revolutionary factions, conflicting interests, and the reluctance of conservative forces to relinquish power led to the suppression of several uprisings. By the end of 1848 and into 1849, many of the revolutions had been quelled, and conservative forces regained control across Europe. Thousands of people also lost their lives in these conflicts.

Nonetheless, the events of 1848 had a lasting impact, serving as catalysts for future movements advocating for liberal reforms, national unification, and democratic governance. 1848 marked a significant turning point in European history, highlighting aspirations for change and setting the stage for subsequent revolutions and political transformations in the years to come.

The event ignited a spirit of resistance among patriots throughout the 13 colonies, galvanising their fight for independence and eventually leading to the American revolution. What factors led to the Boston Tea Party, and why did it have such significance?

Seven Years War (1756-1763)

Although the Seven Years War (known in the US more commonly as the French and Indian War) encompassed multiple nations, the main belligerents were the British and French Empires. Seeking territorial expansion across several continents, both suffered significant casualties and accumulated substantial debt to fund their protracted struggle for territorial dominance.

The most pivotal battleground was in North America, which in 1756 had been geographically split between the empires of the British, French and Spanish. Through costly yet key victories at Quebec and Fort Niagara, the British emerged triumphant, annexing substantial swathes of previously held French territory in Canada and the Mid-West via the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

While this British victory had eradicated the immediate French and Native Indian threat (to some extent) to Britain’s 13 American colonies, military and naval expenditures had nearly doubled Britain’s national debt to £133 million. Consequently, the British thought it fair to impose higher taxes on its 13 colonies, having accrued the debt fighting wars on the colonists’ behalf.

The colonists disagreed, and this colonial taxation brought about heightened economic hardship in the US, underscoring the cultural disparities and ideological differences between the colonists and the British mainland.

Taxes and duties

In 1765, Britain introduced the Stamp Act, which imposed a tax on printed materials – i.e. virtually every piece of paper used in the colonies. Colonists vehemently protested the imposition of new direct taxation on these, compelling the British Government to eventually repeal the legislation a year later. However, further taxes followed.

The rallying cry of “No taxation without representation” became an iconic slogan, succinctly summarising colonial outrage and objection at being taxed against their will and without representation in Parliament.

The introduction of the Townshend Duties in 1767 and 1768 imposed new forms of indirect taxation on imported goods such as glass, paint, paper, lead and tea. The revenue raised helped pay the salaries of colonial governors and judges – perceived by the colonists as the British buying their loyalty.

The imposition of these duties sparked fury in the colonies, becoming the main root of spontaneous and violent opposition. Fuelled by propaganda leaflets and posters, such as those created by Paul Revere, colonists engaged in riots and organised merchant boycotts. Eventually, the colonial response was met with severe repression, with British troops sent to enforce the duties.

Boston Massacre (1770)

Just a year after the imposition of the Townshend Duties, the governor of Massachusetts urged the remaining 12 colonies to join his state and unite in opposition against the British, advocating for a boycott of their goods. Simultaneously, a riot erupted in Boston over the seizure of a ship, aptly named Liberty, involved in smuggling.

Despite these signs of unrest, there was no indication that the colonies were seriously contemplating fighting their British rulers until the infamous Boston massacre.

In March 1770, a group of redcoats guarding the Boston Customs House were accosted by a large crowd in the city, and bombarded with snowballs and more dangerous missiles as the cold and irate townspeople vented their anger toward the British soldiers. Amidst the chaos, they suddenly opened fire after a soldier was knocked down, resulting in the British shooting dead 5 colonists and injuring 6 others.

The Boston Massacre, 1770

Image Credit: Paul Revere, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

While the Boston Massacre is often portrayed as the inevitable start of a revolution, it initially prompted the British government to retract the Townshend Duties, except the tea tax, briefly suggesting that the crisis had abated. However, radicals such as Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson sustained the simmering resentment, keeping the revolutionary fervour alive.

What happened at The Boston Tea Party?

The British government failed to make further political concessions, missing the chance to avert rebellion. Instead, increasing widespread agitation by organised groups became widespread. In 1772, a British ship enforcing unpopular trade regulations was set ablaze by enraged patriots, and Samuel Adams initiated the creation of Committees of Correspondence – a network of rebels across all 13 colonies. 

However, it was in December 1773 when the most iconic and blatant demonstration of anger and resistance took place.

In May 1773, the British parliament had passed the Tea Act, which permitted the British East India Company to sell tea to the colonies duty-free, and much cheaper than other tea companies, yet still tax the tea once it reached colonial ports. These rising duties and perceived assault on liberties exacerbated tensions.

In November and December that same year, the first shipments of tea arrived in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston. While most governors turned the ships around or unloaded the tea into a holding warehouse to deescalate tensions, Thomas Hutchinson, the Governor of Massachusetts, refused to allow the ships to return to Britain, demanding the tea be unloaded and sold with the duties collected.

“The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor”, lithograph depicting the 1773 Boston Tea Party

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Nathaniel Currier, 1896 / Public Domain

Subsequently, after a meeting of the Sons of Liberty network on the evening of 16 December 1773, a group of around 100 colonists, led by Samuel Adams, boarded the East India Company‘s 3 trade ships (the Dartmouth, Eleanor, and the Beaver), that were docked at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston’s harbour, and poured 342 chests of British tea that belonged to the East India Company (weighing 46 tonnes and worth close to $1,700,000 in today’s currency) into the sea.

News of the dramatic yet largely peaceful incident spread quickly, and while in sympathy with the colonists, some prominent figures thought it wrong; George Washington believed private property was sacrosanct, and Benjamin Franklin insisted the British East India Company be reimbursed.

(The act itself, now famously termed the ‘Boston Tea Party’, wasn’t immediately known as such. The term was first used in print around 1826, but it took until the 1830s until it became a common way of describing the event – perhaps in a satirical manner, or to downplay any associations of violence.)

Consequences

Rather than appease the rebels, Britain’s parliament responded with a series of restrictive Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) on Massachusetts in early 1774, aimed at punishing Massachusetts. These measures – notably the Boston Port Act (which effectively shut down Boston’s port to all trade until the East India Company was reimbursed for the tea thrown in the harbour) – intensified colonial unity and led to the formation of the First Continental Congress in September 1774.

Here, delegates including George Washington, Samuel Adams and John Adams discussed countering Britain’s aggression, and how they could coordinate resistance against it. In the ensuing ‘Sussex Resolves’, citizens were ordered not to obey the ‘Intolerable Acts’, to boycott imported goods from Britain, and to raise a militia.

In April 1775 the first shots of the American War of Independence were fired as British troops clashed with militia men at the twin battles of Lexington and Concord. British reinforcements landed in Massachusetts and defeated the rebels at Bunker Hill in June – the first major battle. After the British withdrew into Boston, they were besieged by an army commanded by General, and future president, George Washington.

On 26 October 1775 King George III declared the American colonies to be in a state of rebellion, authorising the use of force against the rebels for the first time.

Declaration of Independence, painted by John Trumbull.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

By 4 July 1776, the Second Continental Congress had adopted the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming the separation of 13 American British colonies from Britain. This enabled the colonists to solidify an official alliance with France, and obtain French assistance, paving the way for their future victory.

Perhaps surprisingly given the zeal with which he went on to lead the French Empire, Napoleon more readily identified as a Corsican and, in his early career, fought fervently for Corsican independence.

It was only after a falling out with Corsican resistance leader Pasquale Paoli that Napoleon made France his home and began to establish himself as the new republic’s rising star by masterminding a succession of vital military victories, including the resistance-breaking Siege of Toulon and, in 1785, the defeat of 20,000 royalists in Paris.

Identified by republican politicians as a natural leader, Napoleon’s ascent to the head of the government was meteoric, propelled by numerous battlefield victories in Italy and then Egypt. In 1799 he seized power of France and became first consul, quickly establishing himself as a hugely popular leader by overseeing continued military dominance and instituting influential legal reforms.

These legal reforms, enshrined in the Napoleonic Code, cemented the aims of the Revolution by replacing the outmoded inconsistencies of old feudal legislation.

Napoleon is perhaps more famous today for being short than for his military prowess and political talents.

Napoleon even succeeded in bringing about peace by defeating Austria and, for a time, quelling Britain’s efforts to stand against the French military. His irresistible ascent to power culminated in his coronation as the Emperor of France in 1804.

Peace in Europe did not last long, however, and the rest of Napoleon’s reign was defined by years of wars across Europe against various coalitions. During this time his reputation as a brilliant military leader was further enhanced, until the War of the Seventh Coalition and the French defeat at Waterloo led to his abdication on the 22 June 1815.

Napoleon saw out the rest of his days in exile on the remote island of Saint Helena.

Here are 10 facts you may not have known about the French emperor.

1. He wrote a romance novel

Behind the ruthless, battle-hardened facade, Napoleon was a bit of a softie, as both his embarrassingly soppy love letters and a recently unearthed romantic novella prove. Penned in 1795, when Napoleon was 26, Clisson et Eugénie is a brief (just 17 pages) exercise in sentimental self-mythologising that, according to most reviews, fails to establish him as a lost literary genius.

2. His first wife, Josephine Bonaparte, narrowly avoided the guillotine

Napoleon’s first wife nearly did not live to marry the French emperor.

Josephine, Napoleon’s first wife, was previously married to Alexandre de Beauharnais (with whom she had three children), an aristocrat who was guillotined during the Reign of Terror. Josephine was also imprisoned and scheduled for execution before being released five days later when the Reign of Terror’s architect, Robespierre, was himself guillotined. 

3. He would disguise himself and walk the streets

At the height of his powers Napoleon developed the habit of dressing up as a lower-class bourgeoisie and wandering the streets of Paris. Seemingly, his aim was to find out what the man on the street really thought of him and he reportedly quizzed random passers-by about their Emperor’s merits. 

4. He was tone deaf

Apparently, one of Napoleon’s least endearing habits was his penchant for singing (or humming and mumbling) whenever he became agitated. Unfortunately, pained accounts suggest that his singing voice was distinctly unmusical.

5. He was afraid of cats (possibly)

Oddly, a whole host of historic tyrants — Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Mussolini, Hitler and our man Napoleon — are reputed to have suffered from Ailurophobia, the fear of cats. It turns out, however, that there is little in the way of evidence to support the common claim that Napoleon was terrified of cats, although the fact that it’s become such a well-worn rumour is interesting. It is even claimed that his alleged fear stemmed from a wildcat attack when he was an infant.

6. He discovered the Rosetta Stone

Now held in the British Museum in London, the Rosetta Stone is a granite slab carved in three scripts: hieroglyphic Egyptian, demotic Egyptian and ancient Greek. It played a vital part in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs and has long been considered a hugely important artefact. Less well known is the fact that it was discovered by Napoleon’s soldiers during the Egyptian campaign in 1799.

7. He wore poison around his neck

It is said that Napoleon carried a vial of poison, attached to a cord he wore around his neck, that could be swiftly downed should he ever be captured. Apparently, he did eventually imbibe the poison in 1814, following his exile to Elba, but its potency was by then diminished and only succeeded in making him violently ill. 

8. A submarine escape plot was hatched to rescue him from exile in Saint Helena

An aerial view of the island where Napoleon lived out his final years.

Following his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena, a small island in the South Atlantic, 1,200 miles from the nearest land. Escape from such isolated incarceration was reckoned to be near-impossible. Even so, numerous plans were hatched to rescue the exiled Emperor, including an audacious plan involving two early submarines and a mechanical chair.

9. He wasn’t that short

Napoleon has become synonymous with shortness. Indeed, the term “Napoleon complex”, used to characterise short, overly aggressive people, is conceptually bound to his famously diminutive stature. But in fact, at the time of his death, Napoleon measured 5 feet 2 inches in French units — the equivalent of 5 feet 6.5 inches in modern measurement units — which was a distinctly average height at the time.

10. The cause of his death remains a mystery

Napoleon died, aged 51, on the island of Saint Helena after a long, unpleasant illness. The cause of this illness has never been conclusively established, however, and his death remains a subject surrounded by conspiracy theories and speculation. The official cause of death was recorded as stomach cancer, but some claim foul play was involved. Indeed, claims that he was in fact poisoned appear to be supported by analysis of hair samples that show a far higher than normal concentration of arsenic. Although it is also contended that arsenic was present in the wallpaper of his bedroom.

During this time the expanding membership has adopted many hundreds of different rules and regulations, designed to remove barriers to trade and impose uniformity and consistency in areas such as consumer and worker’s rights and civil freedoms.

To its supporters this represents a magnificent achievement, but despite the enormous transformation of Europe they represent, the organisation remains somewhat distant from the seamless union envisaged by its founding fathers.

In the context of state-building, this has been a rather slow, organic process, the decades since its foundation representing less than three new members a year, a pedestrian programme of expansion which would arguably have been anathema to the more impatient of history’s European expansionists.

Notable among these was Napoleon Bonaparte, whose breath-taking series of military campaigns united more states than have joined the EU, and in 1/3 of the time. Yet, despite this astonishing achievement, he also succeeded in bequeathing an equally enduring raft of financial, legal and political reforms, and even the blueprint for a nascent trading bloc. That he managed this with such lightning speed is perhaps worthy of further examination.

The Confederation of the Rhine

When, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain and its Austrian and Russian allies challenged Napoleon’s growing hegemony, they handed to him instead a loose, fracturing 1,000 year-old political union known as the Holy Roman Empire. In its stead he created what would be regarded by many as his pièce de résistance, the Confederation of the Rhine.

The Confederation of the Rhine in 1812. Image credit: Trajan 117 / Commons.

Founded on 12 July 1806 it produced almost overnight a union of 16 states, with its capital at Frankfurt am Main, and a Diet presided over by two Colleges, one of King’s and one of Princes. It made him, as he was later quoted as saying, the successor not of Louis XVI, ‘but of Charlemagne’. 

Within the brief space of 4 years it expanded to 39 members, admittedly almost exclusively consisting of very small principalities, but having expanded to cover a total area of 350,000 square kilometres with a population of 14,500,000.

Medal of the Rhine Confederation.

Wide-ranging reforms

Not all his victories however, were on such a grandiose scale, but they were complemented as much as possible by the introduction of reforms instigated by first the Revolutionary French regime, and later Napoleon himself.

So, wherever Napoleon’s armies conquered, they sought to leave an indelible mark, although some proved more popular and lasting than others. The new French civil and criminal law, income tax and uniform metric weights and measures were adopted in whole or in part across the continent, albeit with opt-outs of varying degrees.

When financial exigencies compelled wholesale financial reform, he founded the Banque de France in 1800. This institution would in its turn be instrumental in the creation of the Latin Monetary Union in 1865, with France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland as members. The basis of the organisation was the agreement to adopt the French gold franc, a currency introduced by none other than Napoleon himself in 1803.

Napoleon Crossing the Alps, currently located in the Charlottenburg Palace, painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1801.

The Code Napoleon

Arguably Napoleon’s most enduring legacy was the new French civil and criminal code, or Code Napoleon, a Europe-wide legal system which survives to this day in many countries. The revolutionary government of the National Assembly had originally sought to rationalise and standardise the myriad of laws which governed different parts of France from as early as 1791, but it was Napoleon who oversaw its realisation.

Whereas Roman Law dominated in the south of the country, Frankish and German elements applied in the north, alongside various other local customs and archaic usages. Napoleon abolished these entirely after 1804, with the adoption of the structure which bore his name.

The Code Napoleon reformed commercial and criminal law, and divided civil law into two categories, one for property and the other for family, giving greater equality in matters of inheritance – although denying rights to illegitimate heirs, women and reintroducing slavery. All men however were technically recognised as equal under the law, with inherited rights and titles abolished.

It was imposed upon or adopted by nearly every territory and state dominated by France, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Milan, parts of Germany and Italy, Switzerland and Monaco. Indeed, elements of this legal template were widely adopted during the course of the following century, by a unified Italy in 1865, Germany in 1900 and Switzerland in 1912, all of which passed statutes which echoed his original system.

And it was not only Europe which appreciated its merits; many of the newly independent states of South America also incorporated the Code into their constitutions.

Referenda

Napoleon was also adept at exploiting the principle of referenda to lend legitimacy to his reforms, as when he moved to consolidate power and establish a de facto dictatorship.

A referendum was held in 1800, and his brother Lucien, who he had conveniently appointed Minister of the Interior, claimed that 99.8% of those of the eligible electorate who voted had approved. Even though more than half of them had boycotted the vote, the margin of victory confirmed in Napoleon’s mind the legitimacy of his power grab, and there was never any question of a second, confirmatory people’s vote.

Andrew Hyde co-wrote the three-volume work The Blitz: Then and Now and is the author of First Blitz. He contributed to the BBC Timewatch programme of the same name and to the recent Channel 5 TV documentary on the Windsors. Europe: Unite, Fight, Repeat, will be published on 15 August 2019, by Amberley Publishing.

A revolution in decline

By the last year of the 18th century, the French Revolution had drifted a long way from the heady days of 1789. Though the King was dead and France’s external enemies mostly defeated, it had largely devolved into an orgy of violence, known afterwards as the Great Terror.

Between 1793 and 1794, Robespierre’s France guillotined and summarily executed thousands of potential political opponents before the orchestrator himself lost his head in July 1794.

The fall of Robespierre ushered in a new, more conservative form of government known as the Directory. The Directory purged the former leader’s radical supporters – the ‘Jacobins’ – and resorted to extreme repression to keep the country under Parisian control.

The Directory

Historians have not been kind to the Directory, calling it unrepresentative and repressive.

The Directory was made up of five directors. The voting system at the time denied almost all Frenchmen any real say in who these Directors were. The regime was not a popular one.

It clung onto power over the last years of the 1790s. But when the brilliant young General Napoleon Bonaparte returned to France in October 1799, many saw him as a potential saviour.

Napoleon may only have been thirty at the time of the coup but he was already a famous soldier and regarded by many as the greatest son of the revolution. The chaos generated by the revolution had granted this gifted young man opportunities that would have been denied to him under the old regime.

Run on the Tuileries on 10. Aug. 1792 during the French Revolution, as painted by Jean Duplessis-Bertaux in 1793. Image Credit: CC

Military career

Napoleon began his military career as an artillery officer. He played an integral role in defeating a British Royalist force at the battle of Toulon in 1793.

Promotions quickly followed. Despite having been imprisoned for his connections to Robespierre, and his descent from a very minor noble family on the remote Italian-speaking island of Corsica, Napoleon was given command of a ragtag army in Nice in 1796.

Over the next year, he lead this army on a stunning campaign, defeating the Italians and the Austrians and forcing both to sign humiliating peace treaties. His next step was to take his armies to Egypt in a roundabout attempt to menace the growing British Empire in India.

The glamour of this campaign, though it was less successful than the first, enhanced the growing fame of the young soldier.

In the Autumn of 1799 he sensed an opportunity and returned to France (leaving his loyal and devoted troops behind to be defeated and captured by the British).

An offer he couldn’t refuse

This opportunity came at the hands of Director Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès. Though a member of the government, Sieyès was as bitterly disappointed with it as everyone else and had been planning a coup for some time.

But a coup needed popular support. Sieyès noted the adulation with which Napoleon was greeted when he returned home. He realised that this was the man to legitimise and defend his new regime.

Napoleon had other ideas. Far from being Sieyès’ puppet, he began planning to seize power for himself.

The uprising

A series of recent uprisings meant thousands of troops were conveniently stationed around Paris. The plan was to use these men to intimidate the upper and lower chambers of the government into resigning and permit a new more centralised regime to replace it.

The Storming of the Bastille, by Jean-Pierre Houël. Image Credit: Public Domain

Sensing that something was wrong, the Directors resigned and their system collapsed. But the upper and lower chambers remained defiant.

On 9 November, with Sieyès occupied in Paris, Napoleon took matters into his own hands. He marched proudly into the upper chamber – the Council of Ancients – surrounded by battle-scarred grenadiers.

The Ancients resisted, but a show of military muscle and an effective speech allowed Napoleon to escape unscathed. The lower chamber – the Council of the 500 – proved more difficult.

These men threatened Napoleon, many with daggers in their hands. According to some reports, Napoleon was paralysed with fear and came close to fainting.

Napoleon Crossing the Alps, currently located in the Charlottenburg Palace, painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1801. Image Credit: Public Domain

Fortunately for Napleon, his brother Lucien was President of the lower chamber. In the midst of the unrest, Lucien drew his sword and pointed it at his brother’s heart, roaring to the councillors that if his brother was a traitor he would kill him himself.

This ostentatious display gave control of the situation back to Napoleon, who then forced the 500 to sign a new constitution.

First Consul

Napoleon I as Emperor of France, c. 1805. Image Credit: Public Domain

With thousands of soldiers behind him, Napoleon intimidated Sieyès into changing the new constitution to give one man, “First Consul”, absolute power.

This man, of course, would be Napoleon. With this move, the French Revolution was over.

France had a new absolute ruler, and in 1804 he would dispense with the pretence of democracy by declaring himself Emperor.

Though the Corsican eventually met his match at Waterloo, he is still regarded as one of the most romantic glamorous and important figures in history. From a bony provincial youth to a Warrior-Emperor ruling from Portugal to Russia, Napoleon’s story is an extraordinary one, and two of its finest and most famous moments happened on this day.

From outsider to emperor

After seizing control of France in 1799 Napoleon had ruled as First Consul – which effectively amounted to being a dictator over his adopted nation. Born in Corsica, which had only become a French possession on the year of his birth in 1769, he was – like Stalin the Georgian and Hitler the Austrian – an outsider.

Nevertheless, his youth, glamour and almost immaculate record of military success ensured that he was the darling of the French people, and this knowledge caused the young general to consider creating a new office that would serve as a more concrete reminder of his power and prestige.

As in ancient Rome, the word King was a dirty one after the Revolution, and again taking inspiration from the Caesars (who he greatly admired) Napoleon began to toy with the idea of crowning himself Emperor.

Despite his obvious vanity, he was not a blind megalomaniac, however, and was aware that after bloody fighting and revolution in order to depose and behead a King, replacing one title of autocrat with another might not be the best idea.

Napoleon in his less ostentatious role as First Consul.

He knew that firstly, he would have to test public opinion, and secondly, the ceremony of being crowned Emperor would have to be different and distanced from those of the Bourbon Kings. In 1804 he held a constitutional referendum asking the people to approve the new title of Emperor, which came back with 99.93% in favour.

Slightly dubious though this “democratic” vote may have been, it was enough to reassure the First Consul that the people would support him.

The Revolution at its most radical had resulted in a bloody period known as “the Terror,” and the anti-monarchical fervour of a decade ago had long-since fizzled out as the revolution produced weak and incompetent leaders. France was enjoying strong rule under a figure of huge popularity, and if being lorded over by an “emperor” was the price they had to pay for their new-found success and prosperity, then so be it.

Following in the footsteps of Caesar and Charlemagne

Unlike the 20th century dictators to which Napoleon has often been compared, he was a genuinely effective ruler who cared for his people, and many of his reforms, such as the Bank of France, stand to this day.

Full of confidence and sure of his own popularity, Napoleon began to plan every stage and symbol of his coronation in meticulous detail. At 9 A.M on 2 December he set out in a great procession to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which he entered in his full Imperial finery of regal red and ermine.

Eager to disassociate himself with the hated Bourbon Kings, however, his Imperial symbol of the bee replaced the royal Fleur-de-Lis on all the regalia. The bee had been a symbol of the ancient Frankish King Childeric, and was a carefully managed attempt to associate Napoleon with the austere military values of France’s first monarchs rather than the effete and despised Bourbon dynasty.

In accordance with this, he had a new crown made, based on that of Charlemagne, the last master of Europe, a thousand years earlier. In a breathtaking and era-defining moment, Napoleon carefully took the crown off the Pope, eased the Roman-style laurel leaves off his head, and crowned himself.

The impact of this moment, at a time where Kings, Lords and even politicians came from aristocratic lineages, cannot be imagined today.

This was the ultimate moment of the self-made man, placed on his throne not by divine right but by his own brilliance, and by the love of his people. Napoleon then crowned his beloved wife Josephine as Empress and left the cathedral as the first Emperor of France, the latest in a line that stretched from Caesar to Charlemagne, and now to this upstart Corsican.

His new image. The Imperial robes and the carpet are decorated with the symbol of the bee.

The road to Austerlitz

He would not have long to enjoy his new position however. After a relatively quiet period on the foreign stage the British broke the Peace of Amiens in 1803, and over the next two years were busy creating a coalition of powers arrayed against France.

Anxious to defeat his most bitter enemy, Napoleon began training a powerful army on the Channel, intending to invade and subjugate England. He never got the chance however, for upon hearing that the Russians were heading to support their Austrian allies in Germany, he lead his troops east in a lightning march to defeat his nearest continental enemy before Tsar Alexander’s forces arrived.

Marching his army at an astonishing pace and in total secrecy, he was able to surprise General Mack’s Austrian army in what is known as the Ulm Manouvre, and surround his forces so completely that the Austrian was forced to surrender his entire army. Having lost just 2000 men, Napoleon was then able to march on and take Vienna unimpeded.

Having suffered this disaster, the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and Tsar Alexander I of Russia wheeled their huge armies to face Napoleon. He met them at Austerlitz, in what is known as the Battle of the Three Emperors.

Napoleon’s tactics at Austerlitz are rightly regarded to be among the most masterful in the history of warfare. Deliberately leaving his right flank looking weak, the Emperor of France fooled his enemies into making a full-blooded attack there, not knowing that the excellent Marshal Davout’s corps were there to plug the gap.

With the enemy engaged on the French right their centre was weakened, allowing Napoleon’s crack troops to overwhelm it and then mop up the rest of the enemy army from their new commanding tactical position. Simple enough tactics, but unbelievably effective as the enemy army of 85,000 men was put to flight.

After Austerlitz, success followed success, with the defeat of Prussia in 1806 followed by victory over Russia again the following year. After the Russians sued for peace at the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit, Napoleon really was the master of Europe, ruling over lands far more extensive than Charlemagne ever had.

The Emperor surrounded by chaos at Austerlitz.

Napoleon’s legacy

Though it would all come tumbling down eventually, Europe’s old feudal regimes could never return after Napoleonic rule. The world had changed, and the events of 2 December were pivotal in that change. The French people always loved their Emperor, especially after the Bourbons were restored after his fall. It required yet another revolution to once again oust them from power, and in 1852, a new Emperor was crowned.

He was none other than Napoleon’s nephew, a man who owed his popularity and power to his uncle’s brilliance rather than any great ability himself. Napoleon III was crowned Emperor of France exactly 48 years after Napoleon I, on 2 December.

The new Napoleon.

Displayed in the window of Hannah Humphreys’ print shop, fights would break out to see the latest work. An émigré wrote in 1802,

‘The enthusiasm is indescribable, when the next drawing appears; it is veritable madness. You have to make your way through the crowd with your fists’.

James Gillray, painted by Charles Turner.

A powerful asset

Caricatures, once a social curiosity, had become powerful political tools. Some of the raunchier London images of French royalty played a major role in the downfall of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Pitt’s Tory government was also acutely aware of the power of satire, and secretly put Gillray on the payroll from 1797.

One of the primary victims of Gillray’s etching knife was Napoleon, who was in no doubt about the potential potency of vindictive cartoons. On exile in Elba, he admitted Gillray’s caricatures were more damaging than a dozen generals.

‘Napoleon Crossing the Alps’, painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1805.

The Egyptian expedition

In 1798, Napoleon led a military expedition to Egypt, which served as a springboard to political power. It was at this point that Gillray began his shrewd attacks.

In ‘Buonaparte leaving Egypt’, Gillray depicted Napoleon’s escape from the Mediterranean campaign in 1799, which was considered a despicable act of betrayal. The campaign, which aimed to defend trade interests and weaken British connections to India, was in a state of hopelessness.

‘Buonaparte leaving Egypt’, published 8 March 1800.

The letters between French generals revealed the despair:

‘I could never have believed General Bonaparte would have abandoned us in the condition in which we were; without money, without powder, without ball . . . more than a third of the army destroyed … and the enemy but eight days march from us!’

In Gillray’s print, the figurehead of the tender is double-headed, signifying Napoleon’s duplicity. As he looks back sly and smug, a mob of emaciated French soldiers desperately hurry towards their leader, still faithful as they are unaware of the betrayal.

In another print, named ‘Buonaparte, hearing of Nelson’s victory, swears by his sword, to extirpate the English from the earth.’, Gillray depicts the moment Napoleon hears of Nelson’s great naval victory at the Nile in 1798.

In an enormous speech bubble, he declares

‘What? our Fleet captur’d & destroy’d by the Slaves of Britain?’, and announces his plans for an obelisk to be inscribed ‘To Buanoparte Conqueror of the World, & extirpater of the English Nation.’

This was a reference to an announcement Napoleon made in 1797:

‘[France] must destroy the English monarchy, or expect itself to be destroyed by these intriguing and enterprising islanders…Let us concentrate all our efforts on the navy and annihilate England. That done, Europe is at our feet.’

‘Buonaparte, hearing of Nelson’s victory, swears by his sword, to extirpate the English from the earth’, published 8 December 1798.

‘Little Boney’ is born

In 1803, Napoleon assembled over 100,000 invasion troops at Boulogne, announcing:

‘All my thoughts are directed towards England. I want only for a favourable wind to plant the Imperial Eagle on the Tower of London’

In light of this terrifying prospect, Gillray raised his game and created one of his greatest legacies – the myth of ‘Little Boney’.

‘Doctor Sangrado curing John Bull of repletion-with the kind offices of young Clysterpipe & little Boney- a hint from Gil Blas’, published 2 May 1803.

Despite never seeing Napoleon in the flesh, Gillray’s imagery of Napoleon was so powerful that it perpetuated a myth of an entire personality.

He became known as a spoilt little man who compensated for his lack of height by seeking power, war, and conquest. In reality, he stood at average height. As he was often surrounded by the Imperial Guard, who were generally tall, the perception of his small stature was consolidated.

Stereotypical attributes of Gillray’s Napoleon included a huge cocked hat with a tricolour plume, an a tricolour sash, a huge scabbard or immense spurs on Hessian boots. His oversized clothing makes mockery of him, too small for his worldly ambitions.

‘Evacuation of Malta.’ published 9 February 1803.

Ill-tempered

Later that year, Napoleon’s short temper had become notorious after an outburst during a meeting with the British Ambassador Lord Whitworth in March 1803. The British press reported he threatened an invasion of England with 400,000 or 500,000 men.

Gillray depicted the moment Napoleon read these newspaper reports in ‘Maniac Raving’s-or-Little Boney in a Strong Fit.’. Stamping in fury with fists clenched, his frantic gestures have overturned a table and left a terrestrial globe to loll on the floor – next to his oversized plumed cocked hat, of course.

‘Maniac Raving’s-or-Little Boney in a Strong Fit.’, published May 1803.

The subject of his raging tantrum is revealed in the explosive swirling text, reading,

‘English Newspapers- English Newspapers!!! Oh, English Newspapers!!! hated & Betray’d by the French! – Despised by the English! & Laughed at, by the whole World!!! Treason! Treason! Treason!’ … Invasion! Invasion! Four Hundred & Eighty Thousand Frenchmen British Slavery – & everlasting Chains!  everlasting Chains.’

‘Buonaparte, 48 Hours after Landing.’ published 26 July 1803.

As preparations were made on both sides of the channel for the anticipated invasion, Gillray produced images of unapologetic propaganda. In ‘Buonaparte, 48 Hours after Landing.’, published in July 1803, Napoleon’s head is proudly held on a pitchfork by John Bull, as one of the 615,000 armed yokels who stood ready to fight.

He exclaims,

‘Ha! my little Boney! – what do’st think of Johnny Bull now? – Plunder Old England! hayy?’

‘The Plumb-pudding in danger – or – State Epicures taking un Petit Souper’, published 26 February 1805.

The Plumb-pudding in danger

Gillray’s most famous image is undoubtedly ‘The Plumb-pudding in danger – or – State Epicures taking un Petit Souper’, published in 26 February 1805.

Martin Rowson described it as,

‘probably the most famous political cartoon of all time … stolen over and over and over again by cartoonists ever since’.

Carving up the world with British Prime Minister William Pitt, ‘Little Boney’ just about perches on the edge of his chair as he cuts a slice marked ‘Europe’ .

St. George and the Dragon

In a pastiche of history painting, Gillray created ‘St. George and the Dragon’ in 1805. Whilst George III acts out St George, and Britannia is the fair maiden, Napoleon plays a dragon.

With a barbed fang and flames issuing from his mouth, a sword-cut has gashed his skull, and cut his crown in two. His large wings combined with the legs and talons of a beast of prey echo questions of his identity, mainly provoked by his dual loyalties to Corsica and France.

‘St. George and the Dragon.’, published 2 August 1805. Image source: Digital Bodleian / CC BY 4.0

Driven by revolutionary zeal and militaristic ingenuity, Napoleon oversaw a period of intense warfare against six coalitions, proving his leadership and strategic acumen time and time again, before finally succumbing to defeat, and abdication, in 1815. Here are 10 facts about the conflicts.

1. There’s a good reason they are known as the Napoleonic Wars

Unsurprisingly, Napoleon Bonaparte was the central, and defining, figure of the Napoleonic Wars. They are typically considered to have commenced in 1803, by which time Napoleon had been First Consul of the French Republic for four years. Napoleon’s leadership brought stability and military confidence to France in the aftermath of the revolution and his combative leadership style undoubtedly shaped the conflicts that came to constitute the Napoleonic Wars.

2. The Napoleonic Wars were prefigured by the French Revolution

Without the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars would never have happened. The ramifications of the revolt’s violent social upheaval extended far beyond France’s borders, triggering other conflicts across the globe that became known as the “Revolutionary Wars”.

Neighbouring powers viewed France’s revolution as a threat to established monarchies and, anticipating intervention, the new republic declared war on Austria and Prussia. Napoleon’s ascent through the French military was undoubtedly driven by the increasingly influential role he played in the Revolutionary Wars.

3. The Napoleonic Wars are usually considered to have started on 18 May 1803

This was the date that Britain declared war on France, ending the short-lived Treaty of Amiens (which had brought a year of peace to Europe) and sparking what became known as the War of the Third Coalition – the first Napoleonic War.

4. Napoleon had been planning to invade Britain when it declared war on France

The escalating agitation that prompted Britain to declare war on France in 1803 was entirely justified. Napoleon was already planning an invasion of Britain, a campaign he intended to fund with the 68 million Francs the United States had just paid France for the Louisiana Purchase.

5. France fought five coalitions during the Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars are typically separated out into five conflicts, each named after the alliance of nations that fought France: The Third Coalition (1803-06), the Fourth Coalition (1806-07), the Fifth Coalition (1809), the Sixth Coalition (1813) and the Seventh Coalition (1815). The members of each alliance were as follows:

• The Third Coalition was composed of the Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Britain, Sweden, Naples and Sicily.
• The Fourth included Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Saxony and Sicily.
• The Fifth was Austria, Britain, Tyrol, Hungary, Spain, Sicily and Sardinia.
• The Sixth originally included Austria, Prussia, Russia, Britain, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Sardinia and Sicily. They were lated joined by the Netherlands, Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden.
• The Seventh was formed of 16 members, including Britain, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.

6. Napoleon was a brilliant military tactician

Napoleon’s reputation as a brilliant and innovative battlefield strategist was already established when the Napoleonic Wars commenced, and his brutally effective tactics were showcased throughout the ensuing conflicts. He was undoubtedly one of the most effective and influential generals in history and most historians agree that his tactics changed warfare forever. 

7. The Battle of Austerlitz is widely regarded as Napoleon’s greatest victory

The Battle of Austerlitz saw outnumbered French forces take victory.

Fought near Austerlitz in Moravia (now the Czech Republic), the battle saw 68,000 French troops defeat nearly 90,000 Russians and Austrians. It is also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors.

8. Britain’s naval supremacy played a key part in the wars

For all Napoleon’s battlefield ingenuity, Britain consistently managed to present a sturdy opposition force during the Napoleonic Wars. This owed a lot to Britain’s formidable naval fleet, which was substantial enough to allow Britain to continue its international trade and empire building, pretty much untroubled by the threat of an invasion from across the Channel.

Britain’s command of the seas was most famously showcased at the Battle of Trafalgar, a decisive and historically vaunted British naval victory which saw the Franco-Spanish fleet decimated without a single British vessel being lost.

9. The Napoleonic Wars triggered global conflict

Inevitably, power struggles in Europe had an impact on the global stage. The War of 1812 is a good example. The simmering tensions that eventually sparked this conflict between the US and Britain were, to a large extent, caused by Britain’s ongoing war with France, a situation that began to seriously impact on America’s ability to trade with either France or Britain.

10. The Hundred Days period brought the Napoleonic Wars to a dramatic conclusion

Following his abdication in 1814, Napoleon was sent to the Mediterranean island of Elba. But his exile lasted less than a year. After escaping Elba, Napoleon led 1,500 men to Paris, arriving in the French capital on 20 March 1815. This began the so-called “Hundred Days”, a brief but dramatic period that saw Napoleon seize back power before entering into a series of battles with allied forces. The period concluded on 22 June when Napoleon abdicated for a second time following France’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.