8 February 1801
Treaty of Lunéville

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Defeats at the battles of Marengo (14 June 1800) and Hohenlinden (3 December 1800) have forced Austria to the negotiating table. The Austrians agree to abide by the terms of the Treaty of Campo Formio, originally negotiated by Bonaparte in person in October 1797 following earlier victories over the Austrians. Under this treaty, agreed by the Austrians to stave off the threat to Vienna posed by Bonaparte's army, they cede Belgium and the left bank of the Rhine to France, and agree to the establishment, under French control, of the Cisalpine Republic in northern Italy. This is reconstituted as the Italian Republic in January 1802, when Napoleon becomes its president.

'Treaties are sacred acts, the execution of which is the highest guarantee of a nation's honour.' Napoleon

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