==History==

==History==

[[File:Blason vide Chevaliers de l'Empire Ordre de la Réunion.svg|thumb|right|Generic heraldic markers (blue band and gold star) of a Knight of the Order of the Reunion]]

It was set up on 18 October 1811 by [[Napoleon|Napoleon I]],{{cite journal |last=Stevnsborg |first=Niels |date= September 2022 |title=A highly decorated regiment: the Dragoons of the French Imperial Guard |page=171 |journal=Orders & Medals Research Society Journal|volume=61 |issue=3|issn=1474-3353}} on his first visit to the [[Royal Palace of Amsterdam|Paleis op de Dam]] in Amsterdam after his 1810 annexation of the [[Kingdom of Holland]] to France. It was set up as an order of merit to replace [[Louis Bonaparte]]'s [[Order of the Union]]. It had three ranks and Napoleon himself was its Grand Master. The knights of the order were authorised to wear their old decorations until 1 April or exchange them for ones of the new order. Within the [[First French Empire]]'s hierarchy of orders it was second only to the [[Legion of Honour]], with the [[Order of the Iron Crown (Kingdom of Italy)|Order of the Iron Crown]] being the third in rank. Napoleon disliked the idea of a poor nobility and so assigned 500,000 francs annually to provide pensions to the order's members.

It was set up on 18 October 1811 by [[Napoleon|Napoleon I]],{{cite journal |last=Stevnsborg |first=Niels |date= September 2022 |title=A highly decorated regiment: the Dragoons of the French Imperial Guard |page=171 |journal=Orders & Medals Research Society Journal|volume=61 |issue=3|issn=1474-3353}} on his first visit to the [[Royal Palace of Amsterdam|Paleis op de Dam]] in Amsterdam after his 1810 annexation of the [[Kingdom of Holland]] to France. It was set up as an order of merit to replace [[Louis Bonaparte]]'s [[Order of the Union]]. It had three ranks and Napoleon himself was its Grand Master. The knights of the order were authorised to wear their old decorations until 1 April or exchange them for ones of the new order. Within the [[First French Empire]]'s hierarchy of orders it was second only to the [[Legion of Honour]], with the [[Order of the Iron Crown (Kingdom of Italy)|Order of the Iron Crown]] being the third in rank. Napoleon disliked the idea of a poor nobility and so assigned 500,000 francs annually to provide pensions to the order's members.