Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
Napoleon and his allies overthrew the Directory by a coup d’état on November 9, 1799 (the Coup of 18 Brumaire), closing down the Council of Five Hundred. Napoleon became the First Consul for ten years, appointing two consuls who had consultative voices only. His power was confirmed by the new Constitution of the Year VIII, which preserved the appearance of a republic but established a dictatorship.
The Constitution of the Year VIII was adopted on December 24, 1799, and established the form of government known as the Consulate. The new government was composed of three parliamentary assemblies: the Council of State, which drafted bills; the Tribunate, which debated them but could not vote; and the Legislative Assembly, which could not discuss the bills, but whose members voted on them after reviewing the Tribunate’s debate record. The Conservative Senate (Sénat conservateur) was a governmental body equal to the three aforementioned legislative assemblies.
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. 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. It vested all of the real power in the hands of the First Consul, leaving only a nominal role for the other two consuls. Over 99% of voters approved the motion, according to the released results. While this near-unanimity is certainly doubtful, Napoleon was genuinely popular among many voters.
The Constitution was amended twice and in each case, the amendments strengthened Napoleon’s already concentrated power. The Constitution of the Year X (1802) made Napoleon First Consul for Life. In 1804, the Constitution of the Year XII established the First French Empire with Napoleon Bonaparte as Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. The Constitution established the House of Bonaparte as France’s imperial dynasty, making the throne hereditary in Napoleon’s family.
The Constitution of the Year XII was later extensively amended by the Additional Act (1815) after Napoleon returned from exile on Elba. The document virtually replaced the previous Napoleonic Constitutions.