23-3“Napoleon Forges an Empire”

Napoleon Bonaparte• 5ft, 3 inches tall• Recognized as one

of the world’s military geniuses along with Alexander and Julius Caesar

• Sent to military school in northern France at age 9

• 1785, only 16 years old, finished school and became a lieutenant in the army

Hero of the Hour• When the Revolution

broke out, Napoleon joined the new government’s army

• Royalists stormed the National Convention, and Napoleon received orders to greet those protestors with fire

• Those attackers fled in panic and confusion

• Napoleon Bonaparte became the hero of the hour, and was hailed throughout Paris as the savior of the French Republic

• 1796, the Directory (France’s new government) appoints Napoleon to lead an army against Austria and the kingdom of Sardinia

• Napoleon’s army won a series of battles in Italy, crushing the threat of Austrian troops to France

• The newspapers praise Napoleon’s victories

• Next, Napoleon’s army moved on to Egypt to disrupt trade between Britain and India

• Napoleon’s series of defeats would end, and his luck ran out

• His French troops were defeated by British admiral Horatio Nelson

• Napoleon was able to keep this defeat from the press

Napoleon vs. NelsonNapoleon vs. Nelson

Directory Loses Control

• The French people had lost confidence in the Directory

• The only thing keeping the them in power was their control of the army

• The Abbe Sieyes urges Napoleon to seize political power

• Napoleon puts a plan in motion

Napoleon Takes Control• It began on November 9, 1799, when

Napoleon was put in charge of the military

• It ended the next day when his troops drove out the members of 1 chamber of the legislature, and then voted to dissolve the Directory

• Napoleon assumes dictatorial powers as one of three consuls

• Sudden seize of power called a coup- french phrase “coup d`e tat”

Napoleon’s Coup d’ E`tat

Europe at Peace

• France was still at war• 1799, British Diplomats assemble the

Second Coalition of anti-French powers- Britain, Austria and Russia- with the goal of driving Napoleon from power

• By 1802, as a result of war and diplomacy, all 3 countries had signed peace agreements with France and Europe was at peace for the first time in 10 years.

• Napoleon could now focus on restoring France

• At first, he pretends to be the constitutionally chosen leader, but in 1800, Napoleon holds a plebiscite (vote of the people) to approve a new constitution

• This was the 4th constitution in 8 years• French people are so desperate for

strong leadership, voted in favor for power to Napoleon

Stability and Order• To get economy stable- sets up tax

collection and national bank• Dismissed corrupt officials• Set up lycees, government run public

schools to train officials• Signed concordat (agreement) with

Pope Pius VII, creating a new relationship between the Church and France

• Concordat gains Napoleon support from church and the French

Napoleon Established the Banque de France, 1800

Napoleon Established the Banque de France, 1800

Lycee System of EducationLycee System of Education• Established by

Napoleon in 1801 as an educational reform.

• Lycées initially enrolled the nation’s most talented students [they had to pay tuition, although there was some financial help available for poorer student].

• Lycées trained the nation’s future bureaucrats..

Napoleonic Code• The Napoleonic Code

recognized:• Equality before the

law• The right to choose a

profession• Religious toleration• The end of serfdom

and feudalism• Outlawed unions and

strikes• Safeguarded all

property rights.• Government

employment based upon ability.

Napoleonic Code

• The Code had several key concepts at its core:

1.Equality of all in the eyes of the law 2.No recognition of privileges of birth (i.e.

noble rights inherited from ancestors.) 3.Freedom of religion 4.Separation of the church and the state 5.Freedom to work in an occupation of

one's choice

Napoleonic Code

6. Strengthening the family by:• Placing emphasis on the husband and father as

the head of the family • Restricting grounds for divorce to three reasons:

adultery, conviction of a serious crime, and grave insults, excesses or cruelty; however divorce could be granted by mutual agreement, as long as the grounds were kept private.

• Defining who could inherit the family property

Napoleonic Codes: Accomplishments

• The Code in effect did several things:1.It preserved the social aims of the

Revolution. 2.It protected the interests of the rising

middle class. 3.It guaranteed civil liberties.

Napoleonic Code: Weaknesses

1. A woman could not vote. 2. A wife owed obedience to her husband, who

had total control over their property. 3. A unmarried woman had few rights and could

not be a legal guardian or witness wills. 4. It was easier for a man to sue for divorce on

grounds of adultery, while a man had to cohabit with his mistress for two years for his wife to justify a divorce.

Napoleonic Code: Weaknesses

5. If a man surprised his wife in bed with another man, he could kill her legally. If a woman did so, she could be tried for murder.

6. Minors had few rights. (A father even could place his child in jail for up to six months.)

7. Illegitimate children had no rights of inheritance.

Napoleon Brings Order After the RevolutionThe Economy!!!

Goals of the Revolution

Equal taxationLower inflation

Napoleon’s ActionsNapoleon’s Actions

Set up fairer tax codeSet up national bankStabilized currencyGave state loans to businesses

ResultsEqual taxationStable economy

Napoleon Brings Order After the RevolutionGovernment & Society

Goals of the Revolution

Less Government CorruptionEqual Opportunity in Government

Napoleon’s ActionsNapoleon’s Actions

Appointed officials by meritFired corrupt officialsCreated lycées: Government Run Public SchoolsCreated Code of Law

Results

Honest Competent OfficialsEqual opportunity in governmentPublic education

Napoleon Brings Order After the Revolution: Religion

Goals of the Revolution

Less powerful Catholic ChurchReligious tolerance

Napoleon’s ActionsNapoleon’s Actions

Recognized Catholicism as “faith of FrenchmenSigned concordat with the PopeRetained seized church lands

Results

Religious toleranceGovernment control of church landsGovernment recognition of church influence,

Napoleon Crowned as Emperor

• In 1804, Napoleon decided to make himself emperor

• In a flashy ceremony, wearing a long robe, he walked slowly down the aisle of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

• He takes the crown out of the pope’s hands, and puts it on his own head

• This arrogant gesture showed Napoleon had more power than the Church

Napoleon taking the crown from the pope instead of following tradition and allowing the Pope to crown him

Napoleon Creates an Empire

• Napoleon wants to create an empire and control all of Europe and reassert French power in the new world (Americas)

• He envisions his western empire to include Florida, Louisiana and the French West Indies

• To do this, he needs support from the French colony St. Domingue (now Haiti)

• There’s a civil war going on in St. Domingue because slaves want their freedom back, along with the same privileges of French citizens

Napoleon Creates an Empire

• Loss of American Territories• In 1801 Napoleon

attempts to retake colony of Saint Domingue (Haiti) but fails

• Gives up on the Americas and focuses on Europe

St. Domingue (Haiti)

Louisiana Purchase• Napoleon sends over troops to get control

over the island• Thousands of soldiers die from yellow fever• Napoleon realizes the long obstacle facing

him and doesn’t want the trouble• He offers to sell all of the Louisiana

territory to the U.S.• This benefited Napoleon 2 ways:

-France gains money to finance European operations -punished Britain by giving them another rival (the U.S.)

Louisiana Purchase - 1803

Napoleon Focuses on Conquering Europe

• Napoleon had already annexed the Austrian Netherlands, parts of Italy and set up a puppet government in Switzerland

• Fearful of his ambitions, Britain persuaded Russia, Austria and Sweden to join a third coalition against France

• Napoleon has a series of brilliant battles and crushes his opposition

• All rulers sign a peace treaty with France except Britain

• Napoleon has the biggest empire since the Romans

• The only threat is Britain’s Navy

Hey… Why do you think Britain needs to

have a strong Navy??

Yep- it’s an island and surrounded by water!

Yep- it’s an island and surrounded by water!

Battle of Trafalgar

• In his war against the third coalition, Napoleon lost just one major battle, the Battle of Trafalgar

• This naval defeat was more important than all of Napoleon’s victories on land

• Battle took place in 1804 off coast of Spain• British admiral who defeated Napoleon in 1798

in charge of British fleet• Nelson outmaneuvered the much bigger fleet of

French-Spanish fleet• Nelson was wounded by a French sharpshooter,

but heard the news of defeating Napoleon once again before he died

“Now I am satisfied,” whispered the admiral. “Thank God, I have done my duty”.

Napoleon vs. Nelson Napoleon vs. Nelson Round 2Round 2

The Battle of Trafalgar in 1804 was a humiliating defeat for France

The defeat prevented any possibility of an invasion of England for Napoleon.

• Destruction of French fleets had 2 major results:1) assured supremacy of British navy for the next hundred years2) Napoleon had to give up idea of invading Britain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clS3Ekih7nE&feature=related

Napoleon’s Empire

• By 1812, the only major European countries free from Napoleon’s control were Britain, Ottoman Empire, Portugal and Sweden

• Other countries in Europe had rulers who were puppets of Napoleons, or even related

• French Empire is huge, but unstable.• Napoleon was able to maintain the

empire for just 5 years (1807-1812), but caused the collapse himself

• Has puppet rulers in some countries, alliances with others