Editing Batavian Republic (section)

====Pressure for constitutional reform====
Though Napoleon had a warlike reputation, his policies in his first years as [[First Consul]] were aimed at restoring peace in Europe, albeit at terms favorable to France. The animus of the members of the [[Second Coalition]] was mostly against the French Revolution, its ideas and its consequences. By this time Napoleon himself was convinced of their perfidy. Talleyrand and Napoleon therefore saw a possibility of a compromise, in which France would retain its chain of docile client states, but with the "revolutionary" sting removed, to appease the Allies. That unrevolutionary docility was to be assured by constitutions designed to eliminate not only domestic conflict (as was the new French political order), but also any flashes of impertinent nationalism. France therefore embarked on a program of constitutional reform in the dependent republics, first in the [[Helvetic Republic]], where Napoleon as Mediator imposed the [[Constitution of Malmaison]] in 1801 (followed by the [[Second Helvetic Constitution]] a year later), restoring the old confederal order.<ref>Schama, pp. 410–412.</ref>

A similar "solution" seemed appropriate for the Batavian Republic. The Batavian government, and its constitution, were particularly disliked by the Consul (no friend of democracy in any case), because of the snub that Amsterdam bankers gave in 1800 to his request for a big loan at the usual generous rate of interest the French expected as a matter of right.<ref>Schama, pp. 406–409, 412</ref> He blamed the ''Uitvoerend Bewind'' for this, and many other foibles, like undermining the boycott of British goods. To remedy these ills, a new Batavian constitution on the political principles of the Consulate (union, authority, political office for men of ability and social station) was needed. The new French ambassador [[Charles Louis Huguet, marquis de Sémonville]] he sent to The Hague in 1799 was just the man for this job.<ref>Schama, p. 407.</ref>

Meanwhile, even the minds of reformers like Gogel had become receptive to the need for change. The frustrations of the stalemate between unitarist reformers and democratically elected federalist obstructionists had caused a certain disillusionment with democratic politics in the former (the latter were already convinced). An alliance was therefore forming between the would-be reformers, who would like to finally push their reforms through, by "Bonapartist" means, if necessary, and the people who wished to restore the old federal order, in the hands of the old regent class. Director [[Augustijn Gerhard Besier|Besier]] in particular was amenable to a project that would extend executive power (and curtail that of the Assembly), and revert the constitution to federal devolution. With the help of Sémonville he now started to push a project of constitutional reform that followed the French [[Constitution of the Year VIII]] in important respects: a bicameral legislature would be appointed by a "National College" (akin to the French [[Sénat conservateur]]) from a list of names produced by a convoluted system of national elections. This met with little enthusiasm by two of the other Directors [[François Ermerins]] and [[Jean Henri van Swinden]], and by the Representative Assembly, that rejected the project on 11 June 1801, by fifty votes to twelve.<ref>Schama, pp. 415–416.</ref>