With Napoleon now related to the king the Revolution overthrew (through his marriage to Marie-Louise), it seemed that France was moving full circle. Napoleon then might impose his direct ruler, or the rule of a family member, or leave the collaborationist government in place so long as it remained loyal to him. Then, Napoleon would impose his powerful influence on a collaborationist government made up of locals friendly to France as they drafted a new constitution. First, his army would take a region over. Napoleon's takeovers all followed a similar script. He also made his stepson, Josephine's son, into the viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy. For instance, when Napoleon had to transfer his brother Joseph from Naples to rule over Spain, he made one of his leading generals, Murat, into the King of Naples. When he ran out of family, he switched to more distant relatives and the servants he believed most faithful. Napoleon made use of his large family, appointing his brothers and sisters as royalty throughout Europe. All of these states, from the Empire to the Napoleonic allies, participated in the Continental System. Essentially all of Europe was now 'at war' with Britain, their resources and industry and populations being used to serve the French Empire. In addition to those lands he ruled over directly, Napoleon held alliances with Austria, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, and a greatly reduced Prussia. It was comprised of an enlarged France (which had swallowed Belgium and Holland, parts of Germany, and the Italian coast all the way to Rome) and various puppet nations actually ruled by Napoleon or by a Bonaparte subservient to Napoleon. By 1810 to 1811, Napoleon's empire included nearly all of Europe except for the Balkans.

In 1811, the new empress gave birth to a son, Napoleon II, known as the 'King of Rome'. (Ironically, Napoleon's marriage to Marie Louise, a Hapsburg, made him the nephew-in-law of Louis XVI, the king executed during the French Revolution. Alexander I turned Napoleon's inquiries about his sister down, and Metternich stepped into the breach, offering Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria as a wife. Hoping that a younger woman would conceive more readily, he had his marriage to Josephine annulled and started looking for a suitably aristocratic second wife. In 1809, Napoleon turned 40, and became concerned at his lack of an heir. Timeline: Napoleon's Vast Empire (1809-1811)īetween 18, Napoleon's empire stood at its greatest extent.

Napoleonic code