Europe was to be forbidden to trade with that country.
A plan was forming in the mind of Napoleon which was destined as the turning-point in his astonishing career.

It was of vast importance to him that he should have an heir to the great inheritance he was creating.

By repudiating Josephine, and marrying the daughter of Francis Joseph, there might be an heir who would also be the legitimate descendant of the Caesars; thus immensely fortifying the empire after his own death.
When this thought took possession of his mind, the psychological moment had arrived.

The tide had turned toward disaster.

The marriage with Maria Louisa took place at Paris in 1810.