ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the differences between the Napoleonic Consulate and the Empire. In 1804, Napoleon decided to abandon the republican facade of the Consulate. The defeat of Austria and Prussia and the peace of Tilsit gave Napoleon the opportunity to pursue a grandiose program intended to cripple his last major enemy, Britain, and to make France the dominant economic power on the Continent. The counterpart to Napoleon's bid for control over Europe was a steady expansion of government authority in France itself. The most striking feature of Napoleonic society was the increased prestige of the military, a consequence of the 'war culture' fostered by the Emperor's repeated campaigns. As part of the regime's systematic effort to regulate behavior, prostitutes were subjected to police controls and mandatory health inspections, a gendered form of discipline that remained in effect in France until after World War II. The conquest of Moscow was a hollow victory.
