Tilsit and the Height of the Empire

After defeating Russia at Friedland in June 1807, Napoleon met Tsar Alexander I on a raft in the middle of the Niemen River at Tilsit. The treaties of July 1807 made Russia France's ally and divided Europe into spheres of influence. Prussia, the big loser, lost about half its territory; its Polish lands became the Duchy of Warsaw under French protection. Napoleon placed members of his family on thrones: his brothers Joseph, Louis and Jérôme became kings of Naples, Holland and the new Kingdom of Westphalia.

At its height around 1810–12, the Grand Empire included France's enlarged borders, dependent kingdoms and allied states covering much of Europe. Yet the system was fragile. It rested on military victory, the cooperation of reluctant allies and family rulers, and taxes and soldiers drawn from conquered peoples, which generated growing resentment.