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Napoleon Bonaparte seizes control of the Republic in 1799, becoming First Consul and later Emperor of the French Empire (1804–1814/1815).

As a continuation of the wars sparked by the European monarchies against the French Republic, changing sets of European Coalitions declare wars on Napoleon's Empire.

His armies conquer most of continental Europe with swift victories such as the battles of Jena-Auerstadt or Austerlitz.

Members of the Bonaparte family are appointed as monarchs in some of the newly established kingdoms.

These victories lead to the worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms, such as the Metric system, the Napoleonic Code and the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

After the catastrophic Russian campaign, and the ensuing uprising of European monarchies against his rule, Napoleon is defeated and the Bourbon monarchy restored.

About a million Frenchmen die during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Treaty of Amiens (1802) – A Brief Peace in the Napoleonic Era

The Treaty of Amiens, signed on March 25, 1802, between Britain and France, officially ended the War of the Second Coalition, marking the only significant period of peace between 1792 and 1815. This treaty is often regarded as the transition point between the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), although Napoleon would not declare himself Emperor until 1804.

Terms of the Treaty of Amiens

• Britain recognized France’s territorial gains in continental Europe.
• France agreed to withdraw from Naples and the Papal States, restoring their independence.
• Britain returned Egypt to the Ottoman Empire, following its victory over the French in 1801.
• France agreed to evacuate Portugal (though Spain retained Olivença).
• Britain returned most of its overseas conquests, including the Dutch Cape Colony, Martinique, and Guadeloupe.
• Malta was to be returned to the Knights of St. John, though this clause would later spark renewed conflict.

The Longest Peace of the Napoleonic Era (1802–1803)

For the first time in a decade, Britain and France were at peace, allowing both nations to recover from the immense strain of war. This was the longest break in hostilities during the period from 1792 to 1815, providing a brief interlude before Napoleon resumed his expansionist ambitions.

The Treaty’s Fragility – A Short-Lived Peace

Despite its significance, the Treaty of Amiens was unstable from the outset:

• Britain and France deeply distrusted each other, and neither side fully intended to uphold all terms of the treaty.
• Napoleon expanded French influence in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, violating the spirit of the agreement.
• Britain refused to evacuate Malta, a key point of contention.
• France’s increased colonial ambitions, including its expedition to Saint-Domingue, worried the British government.

A Prelude to the Napoleonic Wars

The Treaty of Amiens ultimately provided only a temporary pause in hostilities. By May 1803, tensions between Britain and France had escalated once again, leading to Britain’s declaration of war and the start of the Napoleonic Wars.

Though Napoleon would not be crowned Emperor until 1804, the Treaty of Amiens is widely seen as the turning point between the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, marking the end of ideological revolutionary conflict and the beginning of Napoleon’s imperial ambitions.

Both France and Britain, having tired of war, sign the Treaty of Amiens in October 1801 and March 1802.

This calls for the withdrawal of British troops from most colonial territories it had recently occupied.

The French navy is now free of the blockade.

Napoleon immediately dispatches an expeditionary force of twenty thousand troops to Saint Domingue.

The Rosetta Stone is brought to England in February by Colonel Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner, who arrives at Portsmouth on the captured French frigate L'Egyptiane.

Leclerc begins his invasion on February 3 with approximately seventeen thousand troops, landing the first five thousand at several points on the north coast; with him is Alexandre Pétion.

Villaret had arrived before Cap-Haïtien on February 3 and an attack by land and sea begins two days later.

General Henri Christophe carries out his orders, setting light to the town and slitting the throats of part of the white population.

Toussaint, with approximately twenty thousand men under his command, orders the black generals to raze the coast towns and retreat into the interior, but because of either disloyalty or poor communications the order is not universally followed.

Christophe burns Le Cap to ashes for the second time in ten years, but the French occupy Port-au-Prince before Jean-Jacques Dessalines can destroy it.

February Rochambeau lands in the bay of Mancenille on February 6 and captures Fort-Dauphin.

Putting out the fires and putting up defensive works, Leclerc sets up his main headquarters at Cap-Haïtien before sending ships towards North America to resupply.

During this time Latouche-Tréville and Boudet take Port-au-Prince and Léogâne and obtains Laplume's surrender.

General Kerverseau, landing at Santo Domingo with two thousand men, takes possession of a large part of the Spanish area of the island, at this time headed by Toussaint's brother Paul Louverture.

Leclerc launches a simultaneous assault on February 17 with the divisions he has formed.

Rochambeau on the left sets out from Fort-Dauphin towards Saint-Michel, while Hardy marches on Marmelade and Desfourneaux on Plaisance.

At the same time general Humbert is to land at Port-de-Paix to climb up the Trois-Rivières gorge, and Boudet to move up from south to north.

The aim is to surprise the enemy, force him to retreat to Les Gonaïves and there encircle him.

Despite the difficulties of the terrain and Maurepas's resistance, the plan works well.

Desfourneaux's division enters Les Gonaïves, now on fire, on February 23.

General Boudet occupied Saint-Marc, also on fire and filled with the blood of the throats cut on the orders of Dessalines, who managed to escape the trap.

Maurepas and his two thousand troops continue to resist but finally have to surrender to Humbert.

The French forces besieging fort de la Crête-à-Pierrot are attacked in the rear by Dessalines, then by Toussaint, as they attempt to bring relief to the besieged, but the fort is finally forced to surrender and inside it are found large amounts of arms and munitions as well as many assassinated white residents.

At Les Verrettes the French forces find a horrible spectacle.

No longer able to follow the rebel forces' march, eight hundred men, women, children and old people had been killed, and the rebels there had also killed any prisoners they had taken.

The Rosetta Stone is presented on March 11 to the Society of Antiquaries of London, which in turn presents it to the British Museum.

Leclerc writes on April 1 to Bonaparte that he has seven thousand active men and five thousand in hospital-meaning that another five thousand are dead.

Leclerc also has seven thousand “colonial troops” of variable reliability: mulattoes, but also a lot of black soldiery brought over by turncoat leaders.