The Constitution of the Year VIII was adopted on December 24, 1799 (during the Year VIII of the French Revolutionary Calendar), and established the form of government known as the Consulate. Backed by this strong success, he encouraged counsellors Rouher, Baroche and Troplong to quickly write the new constitution which was enacted on 14 January 1852. The Constitution of the Year X established a revised Consulate, with Napoleon as First Consul for Life. The Second Empire was proclaimed on 2 December 1852 and the Imperial Constitution was enacted on 25 December 1852, without any significant change to the 14 January constitution. The First Consul, Tribunate, and Corps législatif each nominated one Senatorial candidate to the rest of the Senate, which chose one candidate from among the three. However, the Senate was more of an executive body as it verified the draft bills and directly advised the First Consul on their implications. He was commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and had the powers of clemency and amnesty, as well as the ability to enact and sign treaties. The people in each district chose a slate of notables by popular vote. Although the office of Holy Roman Emperor was elective, the House of Habsburghad held the title since 1440 (with one brief interruption) and Austria was the core of their territories. As the years progressed, he moved to consolidate his own power as First Consul and leave the two other consuls and the Assemblies weak and subservient. On February 7, 1800, a public referendum confirmed the new constitution. Today Napoleon is widely considered one of the greatest military generals in history. Klemens von Metternich became Foreign Minister in 1809. Assess Napoleon’s Constitution and whether it upheld the ideals of the French Revolution. The First French Empire, officially the French Empire or the Napoleonic Empire (French: Empire Français; Latin: Imperium Francicum), Note 1 was the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte of France and the dominant power in much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. The two French parliamentary assemblies were highly controlled and had limited powers. Under the Legislative Assembly, which was in power before the proclamation of the First... National Convention. The constitution rejected the Ancien Régime and the post-revolutionary restoration monarchies with census suffrage. In 1861, the Legislative Body began to publish its debates; in 1867 it gained the power to direct questions to the government; in 1869, it gained the power to initiate and amend legislation. In 1804, the Constitution of the Year XII established the First French Empire with Napoleon Bonaparte I, Emperor of the French. Slightly modified later that year, on 25 December 1852 the constitution became the basis for the creation of the French Second Empire. The plot included Bonaparte's brother Lucien, then serving as speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, and Talleyrand. The president was vested with sweeping executive and legislative powers. It was the main power of most of continental Europe during the early 19th century. It vested all the real power in the hands of the First Consul, leaving only a nominal role for the other two consuls. Under Article 4 of the constitution, he could initiate, sign or veto any legislation or senate decree ("senatus-consulte"). The Constitution of the Year VIII, adopted December 24, 1799, established the Consulate. In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte was confronted by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès—one of five Directors constituting the executive branch of the French government—who sought his support for a coup d'état to overthrow the Constitution of the Year III. The executive power was vested in three Consuls, but all actual power was held by the First Consul, Bonaparte, who never intended to be part of an equal triumvirate. At the close of the Napoleonic Wars, most of France's colonies were restored to it by Britain, notably Guadeloupe and Martinique in the West Indies, French Guiana on the coast of South America, various trading posts in Senegal, the Île Bourbon (Réunion) in the Indian Ocean, and France's tiny Indian possessions; though Britain finally annexed Saint Lucia, Tobago, the Seychelles, and the Isle de France (now Mauritius). It had the right to issue decrees, or senatus-consulte, to modify institutions to... 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