Meanwhile Napoleon was busy superintending the drawing up of a code of civil laws for France. He assembled the first lawyers in the nation, under the presidency of Cambreres, and frequently took part in their deliberations; the results of their labors were the code civil des Francaix, code de proc4dure, code penal, and code &instruction criminele, besides commercial and military r; odes, all of which often go loosely under the name of the code .Napoleon. The first of these is an admirable production, and is in force to the present day. Considerable attention was besides paid to such branches of education as were likely to promote efficiency in the public service. Mathematics, phy sical science in all. its departments, engineering, etc., were as vigorously encouraged as philosophy, ethics, and political speculation were discouraged. But the best proof that Napoleon wanted not an educated people, but only active and expert tools and agents, was the indifference that he manifested to primary and elementary education. In a pop ulation of 32,000,000, the number of pupils under 10 years is given by Foureroy at only 75,000. The internal government was the acme of despotic centralization. Napoleon appointed all prefects of departments and all mayors of cities, so that not a vestige of provincial or municipal freedom remained. He ruled France as he ruled the army of France, and was already an emperor in almost everything,but the name, Peace betsvecs, Prahee .nd England did not last long. Napoleon's policy in Italy irritated the British government, and, as remonstrances were ineffectual, war was declared against France May 18. 1803. The English fleet scoured the seas, paralyzing the com merce of Prance; while Napoleon threatened to invade England, and assembled a large army at Boulogne. So utterly did he misconceive the character and condition of Eng lishmen that he felt sure (by his own statement) he should be welcomed as a liberator people. While these warlike preparations were going ou occurred the dangerous conspiracy of the Chouan chief, George Cadoudal (q.v.), Pichegru (q.v.), Moreau and others. Its discovery (Feb., 1804) alarmed Napoleon excessively, and led to what has been considered one of the blackest deeds in his career—the murder of the duke d'Enghien (q.v.) on Mar. 20 following. He now appears to have felt it necessary to assume the title of emperor. France, he alleged, wanted an empire as a symbol of per manent security. An appeal was made to the nation. Upwards of 3,000,000 votes w ere given in favor of the proposed change in the form of government; only 3,000 or 4,000 against it. But where there is no municipal freedom, one does not know what value to put on votes. On May 18 Napoleon assumed the title of emperor at St. Cloud, and was crowned hy, or rather in the presence of the pope (for Napoleon rudely crowned him. self), on Dec. 2. In the following summer (May 26), he was also crowned king of Italy, in the great cathedral of Milan; and Eugene Beauharnais, his step-sou, was appointed to the ottice of viceroy.
This policy of aggrandizement, which set at naught the conditions of the treaty of Luneville, alarmed the other nations of Europe, especially Austria, who saw her Italian possessions seriously threatened. In 1805 a coalition was formed between England, Russia, Austria, and Sweden, mainly through the persevering policy of the first of these countries; and war again broke out in the month of September. 'Napoleon acted with amazing celerity. Concentrating his widely scattered forces at Mainz, he marched at once across Bavaria, compelled gen. Mack to capitulate at Ulm with 20,000 men (Oct. 17), and on Nov. 13 entered the capital of Austrk. France was electrified; the rest of Europe was thunder-struck. But a more glorious triumph was yet to conic, The Rus sian army was already in Moravia, under the immediate command of the emperor Alex ander I., and was there being joined by the scattered Austrian troops. Napoleon did not lose a moment. Hurrying north, he gave battle to the allies at Austerlitz on Dec. 2. The contest was tremendous, but the victory was complete. Napoleon's opponents were utterly crushed; and next day the Austrian emperor sought an interview, and sued for peace. A treaty was signed at Presburg on Dee. 20, by which Austria ceded to France all her Italian and Adriatic provinces; other changes effected by it were, the dissolution of the old German empire and the formation of the confederation of the Rhine (q.v.),
In Feb., 1806, a French army conquered Naples, and the crown was conferred by Napoleon on his brother Joseph; in the following June another brother, Louis, was made king of Holland. Prussia now, when it was too late, assumed a hostile a'titude. She had hung off, partly through fear and partly through selfishness, from the gre tt anti French coalition of the previous year, and now, when circumstances were almost hope lessly adverse, she madly rushed against her colossal enemy. Austria, with more magnanimity than prudence, lent her help, but the star of Napoleon was in the ascendant. The battle of Jena (Oct. 14) absolutely annihilated the power of Prussia; five days later Napoleon entered Berlin, whence he issued (Nov. 21), his celebrated "decrees" against British commerce, hoping to ruin her by shutting out her ships from every harbor in Europe. His expectations, it need hardly be said. were disappointed. His policy well-nigh ruined the commerce of his own and other countries, but it only increased the prosperity of England. Her fleets and cruisers swept the seas; nothing could be got from the colonies save through her, and the merchants of the continent were obliged—in order to supply their customers as before—to let her carry on a vast contraband traffic. See ORDERS IN COUNCIL.
After the capture of Berlin, Napoleon proceeded northwards to encounter the Rus sians, who were advancing to the help of Prussia. On his way he summoned Poland to rise, but only with partial success. At Pultask (Dec. 18, 1806) and at Eylan (Feb. 8, :807) the French were beaten and driven back on the line of the Vistula; hut after some months lie received heavy re-enforcements, and on June 13 fought and won the great battle of Friedland, which led to the treaty of Tilsit. signed on July 7. By a secret article of this treaty, Russia promised to close her ports to British vessels. It is impor tant to observe here that, as the military triumphs of Napoleon increased, the civil and political liberties of his subjects diminished. Consequent on the treaty of Tilsit, a decree of the imperial senate abolished the tribunate—the only political body in France that preserved the semblance of national self-government. In August, Napoleon created his brother Jerome sovereign of Westphalia—having, patched up a kingdom for him in his usual unscrupulous way—and soon after entered on a war with Portugal—the of the great peninsular war. The occasion of the war was the refusal of the prince regent of Portugal to carry out the Berlin decree in regard to British' shipping,. In g, Mar., 1808, occurred that extraordinary instance of trepannin at Bayonne by 'Which the whole royal family of Spain fell into the hands of NapolAn; and in the following July his "dearly beloved brother" Joseph was'ordered to exchange the throne of Naples for the "crowns of Spain and the Indies." His successor was the "handsome swords man" (beau sabreur), Joachim Murat. Spain rose in insurrection, and an English force, under sir John Moore, was dispatched to its assistance. Napoleon invaded the country about the close of October, defeated the Spanish forces, and captured Madrid (Dec. 4). But his presence was urgently needed elsewhere, and he was forced to let Soult and other generals conduct the war in the peninsula. Austria, again irritated and alarmed at his aggressive policy, especially in Italy (where he had seized Tuscany and the states of the church), once more prepared for war, which broke out in the spring of 1809. Her army of Germany, commanded by the archduke Charles, was in splendid condition; but still fortune was adverse. Napoleon hurried into Bavaria, routed the archduke at Eckmfild (April 22), compelled him to retreat into Bohemia, and on May 12 entered Vienna for the second time. But the struggle was not over. The archduke rallied his scattered forces. worsted Napoleon in the terrible conflicts of Aspern and Essling (May 21 and 22). and drove him to take refuge for a time on an island of the Danube. The battle of Wagram (July 6), however, once more prostrated, or at least intimidated, Aus-, tria; and on Oct. 14 she signed the Treace of Schoubrunn.