The Napoleonic era was a crucial period in the formation of modern Europe. The Napoleonic Empire covered much of Europe and its impact was felt across the continent, as well as in parts of the non-European world. The course analyses how this empire was created and the states and society that it forged. The varied and sometimes contradictory elements of this era will be discussed – from the impact on the growth of secularisation, constitutionalism and the codification of laws to the beginnings of Romanticism, manifestations of early nationalism and monarchical reaction after 1815. The course will also assess the significance of both the reality and the ‘myth’ of empire, not only at the time but also in the later nineteenth and twentieth centuries.