Capitulation of Mantua Bonaparte
After months of siege and failed relief efforts, the Austrian garrison at Mantua surrendered. The result consolidated French command of northern Italy and freed troops for further operations.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1797 in France — Page 3
Explore 206 historical events and records for France in 1797.
Historical records for France in 1797
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Capture of Manheim
Distinguishes himself under Bernadotte in the capture of Mannheim
Carnot driven into exile Barras
The Fructidor coup forced Lazare Carnot to flee France after he opposed the planned purge. His removal ended a major challenge to Barras within the executive.
Carnot Escapes Planned Arrest
Carnot avoided capture during Fructidor and went into hiding before leaving France to escape political proscription.
Carnot Faces Isolation Among Directors
Carnot increasingly stood apart from the three interventionist Directors and became exposed to the same purge planned against legislative conservatives.
Carnot Loses Directorial Office
Carnots exclusion removed a senior military organizer from the Directory and changed the composition of the executive without normal constitutional rotation.
Carnot Opposes Executive Coup Plans
Carnot resisted his colleagues intention to use soldiers against the elected councils, creating a decisive rupture inside the five member Directory.
Carnot rejects military solution Council of Ancients
Carnot resisted plans by fellow Directors to use troops against their elected critics. The dispute divided the executive just as the Council of Ancients faced an increasingly unstable political environment.
Cisalpine Rep
Allows the ex-papal states, headed by Bologna, to join the Cisalpine Republic
Civic Worship Promoted as Republican Alternative
Theophilanthropic services combined ethical instruction and simple ceremonies, which he hoped would provide a public alternative to established confessional divisions.
Commander of 7th Corps
Appointed Commander of the VII Corps
Commander of 7th Corps
Appointed Commander of the VII Corps
Conflict Over Refractory Priests Deepens
La Revelliere Lepeaux opposed attempts to ease restrictions on nonjuring clergy because he regarded clerical royalism as a threat to republican government.
Conservative Election Results Annulled
After Fructidor his allies invalidated numerous electoral returns, ensuring that the councils no longer reflected their recent conservative gains.
Conservative Leadership in Council of Ancients
Barbe Marbois led the Council of Ancients while constitutional conservatives challenged the policies of the ruling republican Directors.
Constitutional Checks Weaken After Fructidor
La Revelliere Lepeaux and his allies preserved the republic in name while sharply limiting the independence of its elected legislature.
Constitutional Club Restrictions Stir Conflict
Disputes about political clubs increased hostility between the councils and the Directory as Barras sought to preserve a favorable republican political network.
Coup
Flees to Switzerland & Germany during the coup of Fructidor
Creation of Cisalpine Republic Bonaparte
French victories enabled the formation of the Cisalpine Republic from territories in northern Italy. Bonaparte oversaw arrangements that tied the new state politically and strategically to France.
Debate over political deportations Council of Five Hundred
The Fructidor legislation sent selected opponents into exile or deportation without the protections of ordinary trials. The Five Hundred's participation marked a sharp retreat from its constitutional safeguards.
Deportation Orders Replace Ordinary Trials
The Fructidor laws authorized deportation of selected opponents without normal judicial safeguards, establishing punishment by political decree.
Deputies Political Immunity Effectively Overridden
The arrest of parliamentary leaders during Fructidor demonstrated that military power could override the protections ordinarily attached to elected representation.
Diplomacy Justifies Antiroyalist Intervention
Foreign Minister Talleyrand issued explanations depicting Fructidor as a necessary defense of France against a monarchical conspiracy.
Director Barthelemy Taken Into Custody
Barthelemy was arrested during the intervention, leaving the Directory without one of its members opposed to the ruling republican faction.
Director Supports Extraordinary Republican Defense
La Revelliere Lepeaux sided with Barras and Rewbell in accepting an unconstitutional use of force to prevent perceived royalist political gains.
Directorial Regime Depends on Soldiers
Fructidor secured Barras in office but exposed how readily the government resorted to military intervention when constitutional politics turned against it.
Directors Claim to Defend Republican Constitution
The interventionists described themselves as defenders of the Revolution, although their actions violated the autonomy intended for the legislative councils.
Directors Consider Force Against Legislative Majority
Barras and allied Directors concluded that normal legislative bargaining might not prevent a conservative takeover and prepared to employ armed pressure.
Directory
Heads a new five man group called the Directory which rules Republican France
Disagreement With Carnot Over Intervention
La Revelliere Lepeaux supported a forceful solution to the electoral crisis, unlike Carnot who objected to the planned coup.
Dispute with Directors over parliamentary authority Council of Five Hundred
Pichegru's association with the legislative opposition widened mistrust between the Five Hundred and the executive. Supporters of the Directory argued that the elected chamber could become an instrument of royalist restoration.
Elections Annulled Across Numerous Departments
The surviving councils invalidated elections in many departments, replacing electoral outcomes with a parliament favorable to the executive.
Electoral Sovereignty Suffers Lasting Damage
By invalidating votes cast only months earlier, the ruling Directors undermined public confidence that representative institutions could change policy peacefully.
End of Lille Peace Initiative
Barras backed abandoning negotiations that no longer served the Directorys political and strategic calculations after the September intervention.
Escape during Fructidor coup
Carnot escaped capture when the coup of 18 Fructidor targeted him and other opponents of the ruling Directory faction.
European Courts Receive Fructidor Explanation
Talleyrands ministry tried to persuade foreign governments that the French state remained stable despite the arrest and deportation of prominent political figures.
European peace changes army debate Council of Five Hundred
The Treaty of Campo Formio ended major fighting against Austria but left France with continued military commitments. Deputies weighed peacetime expectations against the cost of maintaining influence beyond France's borders.
Executive Fears Reversal of Revolutionary Laws
Rewbell considered the electoral majority a potential threat to the laws protecting the republican settlement and supported intervention against conservative deputies.
Executive Gains Purge Authority Over Officials
Rewbell benefited from emergency powers that permitted removal of administrators thought disloyal to the republican government.
Executive-legislative standoff deepens Council of Ancients
Barthélemy and Carnot opposed an extra-constitutional move against the newly elected opposition. The confrontation made the independence of the councils a central political issue.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.