The treaty of Amiens proved to be
but a temporary truce in the long struggle between France and Great
Britain.
[Sidenote: French Reforms under the Consulate]
So far, the Consulate had meant the establishment of an advantageous
peace for France. With all foreign foes subdued, with territories
extended to the Rhine, and with allies in Spain, and in the Batavian,
Helvetic, Ligurian, and Cisalpine republics, the First Consul was free
to devote his marvelous organizing and administrative instincts to the
internal affairs of his country. The period of the Consulate (1799-
1804) was the period of Bonaparte's greatest and most enduring
contributions to the development of French institutions.
[Sidenote: The Revolutionary Heritage]
Throughout his career Bonaparte professed himself to be the "son of the
Revolution," the heir to the new doctrine of Liberty, Equality, and
Fraternity. It was to the Revolution that he owed his position in
France, and it was to France that he claimed to be assuring the results
of the Revolution.
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