This bust of Napoleon Bonaparte shows the emperor wearing a proud expression and a cocked hat. On 9 October of 1811 Napoleon visited Amsterdam. The keys to the city were handed over to the emperor on the Oetewalerweg – what is now the Linnaeustraat – and he entered the city on horseback through the gate of the Muiderpoort. He stayed with his brother Louis in the royal palace on Dam Square. The Netherlands had been part of the French empire since 1810, with Amsterdam officially designated as the third capital city during that time. French rule bought many administrative reforms, including the civic register (of births, deaths and marriages) and the chamber of commerce, both of which stem from the Napoleonic period. Economically, however, it was a terrible time, as the war with England prevented the merchant fleet from sailing out.