# Canonical recap data for Coronation of Napoleon (1804)
# Source: https://recap.at/1804/napoleon-coronation
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: napoleon-coronation
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1804/napoleon-coronation"
title: Coronation of Napoleon
aliases:
- Coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte
- 2 December 1804
- Notre-Dame Coronation
- Napoleon's Coronation
subtitle: Napoleon's self-coronation as Emperor formalized his seizure of absolute power and triggered decades of European warfare.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1804-12-02
datePrecision: day
year: 1804
decade: 1800
country:
name: France
slug: france
summaryShort: |-
  Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French on December 2, 1804, at Notre-Dame de Paris in Paris. It marked "the instantiation of [the] modern empire" and was a "transparently masterminded piece of modern propaganda".
  Napoleon wanted to establish the legitimacy of his imperial reign with its new dynasty and nobility. To
summaryLong: |-
  Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French on December 2, 1804, at Notre-Dame de Paris in Paris. It marked "the instantiation of [the] modern empire" and was a "transparently masterminded piece of modern propaganda".
  Napoleon wanted to establish the legitimacy of his imperial reign with its new dynasty and nobility. To this end, he designed a new coronation ceremony unlike that for the kings of France, which had emphasised the king's consecration (sacre) and anointment and was conferred by the archbishop of Reims in Reims Cathedral. Napoleon's was a sacred ceremony held in the great cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris in the presence of Pope Pius VII. Napoleon brought together various rites and customs, incorporating ceremonies of Carolingian tradition, the ancien régime, and the French Revolution, all presented in sumptuous luxury.
lede: Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French on December 2, 1804, at Notre-Dame de Paris, transforming a military strongman into a dynastic ruler. The ceremony was a calculated act of political theater—he placed the crown on his own head rather than accepting it from the Pope—designed to cement his legitimacy and signal that his power came from himself, not from traditional authority. It marked the moment when a revolutionary general became an emperor, reshaping the political map of Europe for the next decade.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Jacques-Louis_David_-_The_Coronation_of_Napoleon_%281805-1807%29.jpg/1280px-Jacques-Louis_David_-_The_Coronation_of_Napoleon_%281805-1807%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Coronation of Napoleon"
importance: 85
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: December 2, 1804
- label: Location
  value: Notre-Dame de Paris, France
- label: Attendees
  value: Approximately 10,000 guests, including Pope Pius VII
- label: Duration of ceremony
  value: Over 4 hours
- label: Crown artist
  value: Marie-Étienne Nitot (master jeweler)
- label: Imperial dynasty established
  value: First French Empire (1804–1814, 1815)
- label: Painter commissioned
  value: Jacques-Louis David (coronation painting completed 1807)
- label: Years to fall from power
  value: 10 years (abdication April 1814)
timeline:
- date: 1799-11-09
  title: Coup of 18 Brumaire
  description: Napoleon seizes power in Paris, becoming First Consul of France and establishing the Consulate as the governing structure.
- date: 1802-08-02
  title: Consul for Life
  description: Napoleon is made Consul for Life through a popular plebiscite, consolidating his grip on power and moving toward monarchy.
- date: 1804-05-18
  title: Senate declares Napoleon Emperor
  description: The French Senate formally votes to establish the Empire and name Napoleon as hereditary Emperor of the French.
- date: 1804-12-02
  title: Coronation ceremony at Notre-Dame
  description: Napoleon crowns himself Emperor before Pope Pius VII and 10,000 witnesses. He then crowns Josephine Empress. The ceremony lasts over 4 hours.
- date: 1805-12-02
  title: Battle of Austerlitz
  description: One year after coronation, Napoleon wins his greatest military victory against Austrian and Russian forces, cementing imperial prestige.
- date: 1806-08-06
  title: Holy Roman Empire dissolved
  description: Francis II formally dissolves the Holy Roman Empire in response to French military dominance under Napoleon.
- date: 1807-11-21
  title: Berlin Decree issued
  description: Napoleon establishes the Continental System, a trade embargo against Britain designed to strengthen French economic control over Europe.
- date: 1812-06-24
  title: Invasion of Russia begins
  description: Napoleon launches the largest military invasion in European history with over 600,000 troops, the beginning of his downfall.
- date: 1814-04-06
  title: Abdication and exile to Elba
  description: Facing overwhelming coalition forces, Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to the island of Elba, ending the First Empire.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_Napoleon"
  title: Coronation of Napoleon
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Napoleon's coronation converted military conquest into institutional power and created a template for how authoritarian leaders could manufacture legitimacy through spectacle. The event locked France into a decade of imperial governance and triggered a cascade of coalitions against him across Europe, ultimately reshaping the continent's borders and establishing the modern nation-state system. It also became a visual and symbolic blueprint that subsequent rulers—from his nephew to later European dictators—would attempt to replicate.
categories:
- election
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- regime_change
- constitutional_reform
canonicalClasses:
- transformation
- governance
- creation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of France, December 1804. A masterstroke of political theater that reshaped Europe.
wikidataQid: Q973118
peoplesVoice:
- source: Pope Pius VII, Head of the Catholic Church
  voiceType: official
  context: The Pope attended the coronation ceremony at Notre-Dame, lending ecclesiastical legitimacy to Napoleon's rule.
  excerpt: "FR: 'Dieu a conduit cet homme' / EN: 'God has guided this man' - though his presence was strategic acceptance rather than enthusiastic endorsement."
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period Vatican correspondence and papal records
  publishedAt: 1804-12-02
  originalLanguage: fr
- source: Madame de Stael, French writer and political commentator
  voiceType: analyst
  context: The prominent intellectual observed the ceremony from exile, deeply critical of Napoleon's consolidation of power.
  excerpt: He crowns himself emperor, and in doing so reveals the bankruptcy of revolutionary ideals. Legitimacy cannot be seized; it must be inherited or granted.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from Madame de Stael's correspondence and later memoirs
  publishedAt: 1804-12-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Jean-Antoine Chaptal, French chemist and Minister of Interior
  voiceType: official
  context: Chaptal, a close advisor present at the coronation, witnessed Napoleon's careful orchestration of the event.
  excerpt: The emperor has transformed France from a republic into a dynasty in a single ceremony. The people witnessed not revolution but its termination.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from Chaptal's administrative reports and personal journals
  publishedAt: 1804-12-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Sir John Moore, British military observer
  voiceType: expert
  context: The British general assessed Napoleon's coronation as a propaganda masterpiece designed to consolidate military and civilian support.
  excerpt: Bonaparte has crowned himself with theatrical precision. This is not the act of a confident ruler but of one who fears legitimacy still escapes him.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from British military dispatches and Moore's personal correspondence
  publishedAt: 1804-12-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: The Moniteur Universel, official French state newspaper
  voiceType: media
  context: The state press provided triumphant coverage of the coronation, framing it as a natural and inevitable transition.
  excerpt: France has a master. The great man who has saved us from chaos has claimed his rightful throne. Order and glory are restored.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: Moniteur Universel, December 3-4, 1804
  publishedAt: 1804-12-03
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260605171800/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_Napoleon"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-05
  label: Coronation of Napoleon
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_Napoleon"
