In Northern European historiography, the termFrench period (French:Période française,German:Franzosenzeit,Dutch:Franse tijd) refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled byRepublican orNapoleonic France.[1] The exact duration of the period varies by the location concerned.[2]
InGerman historiography, the term emerged in the 19th century and developed nationalist connotations. It enteredLow German usage withFritz Reuter's popular workUt de Franzosentid (1860). It was used alongside the concept ofErbfeind ("hereditary enmity") to express anti-French feeling as part of the formation of a German national identity and as such was used in a non-neutral way under theGerman Empire andThird Reich. In Germany, the term has thus been shunned since theBonn Republic, with "French Revolutionary Wars" and "Napoleonic Wars" more commonly used today.
Following theBattle of Austerlitz and theWar of the Third Coalition, Napoleon dissolved theHoly Roman Empire, annexed parts of Austria and certain German states to France, and formed the German states into the Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon was their "protector," but as the Confederation was above all a military alliance, their foreign policy was utterly dominated by France, and the states had to supply France with large numbers of military troops. Disquiet about mass-conscription (thelevée en masse) also trigged an uprising, known as thePeasants' War, in 1798 within modern-day Belgium and Luxembourg. In Germany, Napoleon formed two new states, theGrand Duchy of Berg and theKingdom of Westphalia, which he gave to his generalJoachim Murat and his brotherJerome Bonaparte, respectively. TheAustrian Netherlands andPrince-Bishopric of Liège were annexed and becamedépartements of France.
During the French occupation, theNapoleonic Code was introduced, during which the German people came into contact with the ideals of the French Revolution, including nationalism. InPrussia, which was not part of the French-dominatedConfederation of the Rhine, but still occupied by France, this created a dynamic towards constitutional, political, social, and military reform which would prove critical during theLiberation War. In the Confederation itself, there were already riots against the French rule, and after the devastation of the French army during theFrench invasion of Russia, the commander of the Prussian Corps,Yorck, signed aceasefire with Russia. This was to be the decisive trigger of the Liberation War.
The French period contributed significantly to the emergence of the idea of unity and national consciousness in Germany. The many regions with their various dialects found in the struggle against the French occupation "German" as a common definition of anti-French sentiment or freedom. After theVormärz period, the desire for freedom from the government was suppressed, until theMarch Revolution in 1848 and the formation of the first German parliament, though not all German-speaking territories were involved. In the Prussian War of Liberation conscription modeled after the levée en masse of General Gerhard von Scharnhorst was introduced and the Prussian army reforms introduced. ThePrussian reforms (1807–1812) during the French period include not only the formal abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 but also the largest political and social upheavals between theEarly Modern Period and theModern Period in Germany. With the abandonment of Francis II from the Holy Roman Empire to the Austrian Empire, there was also created a political split between Prussia and Austria, which laid the ground for Austrian exclusion from theGerman Question.