Consulate, 1799–1804, in French history, form of government
established after the coup of 18 Brumaire (Nov. 9–10, 1799),
which ended the Directory. Three consuls were appointed to rule
France—Napoleon Bonaparte (see Napoleon I), Emmanuel Joseph
Sieyès, and Roger Ducos. Sieyès and Ducos were soon replaced by
Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès and C. F. Lebrun, and the
Consulate became little more than a scheme for autocratic
government by Bonaparte, who was made first consul for life in
1802 and emperor in 1804. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia,
6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights
reserved. More on Consulate from Fact Monster: See more
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