The Age of Napoleon

Is this what the French Revolution was all about???

Napoleon Bonaparte

• Born in 1769 on the island of Corsica – Napoleon was educated in French military schools.

• Napoleon was a radical Jacobin – meaning that he believed in the radical ideals of the French Revolution.

• The revolutionary government used Napoleon and his military expertise to battle the Austrians (and other Europeans) who were attacking France in order to end the Revolution.

Rise to Power

• In 1799, the Directory fell apart and Napoleon used his troops to restore order and take control.

• Napoleon used terms from the old Roman Republic and named the new French government THE CONSULATE with himself as First Consul.

• Napoleon continued to attack the nations of Europe – first saying France needed to defend the revolution – then justifying the attacks by stating that France needed to spread the ideals of the revolution throughout Europe.

The French Empire

• In 1804, a PLEBISCITE was held and the voters of France voted to create an empire with Napoleon Bonaparte as NAPOLEON I – EMPEROR.

• What happened to democracy? Liberty? Equality? Fraternity?

• From a period of universal manhood suffrage – bit by bit voting rights had been reduced until voting was controlled by the wealthy BOURGEOISIE (the former wealthy 3rd Estate). The wealthy bourgeoisie wanted the stability Napoleon as emperor would bring.

• Josephine

• Marie Louise

• Napoleon II

Napoleon as Emperor

• Napoleonic Code – recodified the laws of France with the right to property as one of the strongest elements of the law.

• Bank of France• Public school system to spread the revolution’s ideals• Meritocracy – positions in government and the military

given on the basis of merit rather than birth or wealth.• THE CONCORDAT with the pope – Napoleon brought

religion back to France. The pope recognized Napoleon as ruler in exchange for the return of the Catholic Church – BUT – religious toleration remained.

•Catholicism was declared the religion of the majority of Frenchmen.•Papal acceptance of church lands lost during the Revolution.•Bishops subservient to the regime.•Eventually, Pope Pius VII renounced the Concordat, and Napoleon had him brought to France and placed under house arrest.

Napoleon and the World at War

• Napoleon first began fighting to save the revolution – then to spread the revolution – then to control all of Europe.

• 1805 Great Britain, Austria, Russia and Sweden formed a new coalition of nations to defeat Napoleon.

• Great Britain was Napoleon’s greatest enemy – this was a battle to see which nation would control the world.

The Battle of Trafalgar

• Napoleon knew that in order to defeat Great Britain – he would have to defeat the British navy and then invade the island.

• All was lost when British Lord Horatio Nelson defeated the French fleet off the coast of Spain at Trafalgar in 1805.

The Continental System

• The French knew that without invading Britain – the only way to defeat the British was to destroy their economy.

• As an island nation – Britain was dependent on sea trade for survival.

• Napoleon forced the nations of Europe to stop all trade with Britain – THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM.

• The French and British navies blockaded each others port in attempts to strangle trade.

• December 1805 – Napoleon defeated the Russians and Austrians at the Battle of Austerlitz.

• Napoleon and France seemed unstoppable.

Napoleon’s Reorganization of Europe

• French Empire directly included: France, Belgium, the Netherlands, portions of Italy.

• He dismantled the Holy Roman Empire and reorganized the western German states as the CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE.

• By 1812 – all of Europe was controlled by Napoleon except for: Russia, Great Britain, Sweden, and Portugal.

•Jerome Bonaparte King of Westphalia.•Joseph Bonaparte King of Spain•Louise Bonaparte King of Holland•Pauline Bonaparte Princess of Italy•Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles (son) King of Rome•Elisa Bonaparte Grand Duchess of Tuscany•Caroline Bonaparte Queen of Naples

The Family Tree…

What went wrong for Napoleon?

• Nationalism – a person's sense of allegiance to his nation/ethnicity – as opposed to allegiance to a religion or a multi-ethnic empire.

• As Napoleon controlled new areas of Europe – he destroyed their old governments and feudal ways.

• The Napoleonic Code became the law of all conquered territories.

• IN FACT – Napoleon spread the ideals of the French Revolution WHICH WOULD BE HIS DOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Napoleon Bit Off More Than He Could Chew!!

• 1812 – Napoleon attacked the sleeping giant – RUSSIA under Tsar Alexander I

• Over 500,000 soldiers marched with Napoleon toward Moscow.

• BUT – the Russian winter started and Napoleon was far from home

• BUT – the Russians instituted a “scorched earth” policy – burning Moscow

• BUT – the cold and starvation meant that only 100,000 returned to Paris.

Napoleon’s Defeat

• By April of 1814, Napoleon had been defeated by his enemies.

• He abdicated and went into exile on the island of Elba off the coast of Italy.

• The French government minister CHARLES-MAURICE de TALLYRAND – helped to reorganize the French government under the rule of LOUIS XVIII – the younger brother of the executed Louis XVI.

• The victors over Napoleon met in Vienna to organize a post-Napoleon/post-French Revolution Europe.

• Louis XVIII

The Congress of Vienna

• The players:– Russia – Alexander I– Prussia – Frederick William III– Britain – Lord Castlereagh for George III– Austria – Prince Clemens von Metternich– France – Talleyrand for Louis XVIII

• They were united by the desire to turn back the clock to 1789 – REACTIONARY

• The British had already achieved the TREATY OF CHAUMONT March 1814 – which restored the Bourbon monarchy (Louis XVIII) and pulled France back to its 1792 borders.

• Quadruple Alliance – Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria – agreement to keep the peace of Europe for twenty years.

• Land changes:– Kingdom of the Netherlands– Prussia given lands along the Rhine to deter any

possible French aggression – a cause of World War I– Austria given control of northern Italy***remember this

during the unification of Italy – a cause of World War I

But wait!!!! The Hundred Days

• 1 March 1815 Napoleon returned and raised a huge army. Louis XVIII fled and Napoleon took Paris. He promised a liberal constitution and peace with his neighbors.

• The Allies declare Napoleon an outlaw. • 18 June 1815 – the British under the Duke of

Wellington and the Prussians – defeat Napoleon in Belgium at the Battle of Waterloo. He is sent back into exile on St. Helena off the coast of Africa. He dies in exile in 1821.

The Congress of Vienna continues

• The Hundred Days terrified the Allies – they move even more reactionary

• France is forced to submit to an army of occupation and to pay a war indemnity

• Alexander I establishes the HOLY ALLIANCE between Russia, Prussia, and Austria – reactionary movement by Christian monarchs to maintain peace

The Legacy

• Napoleon illustrated the supremacy of the bourgeoisie

• Nationalism and Liberalism were spread throughout Europe

• Established monarchs were shown to be vulnerable

• These changes – added to the developing Industrial Revolution – would bring Europe into the modern age.

Les Invalides

Hitler visits tomb, 1940

The Germans after Napoleon

• The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved after 1000 years.

• The Habsburgs began to look east and concentrated on controlling eastern Europe instead of the Germans – CAUSE OF WORLD WAR I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aftermath of Congress

• The German state of Prussia grew in size and strength – as it fought Napoleon.

• The territorial gains after the Congress of Vienna left Prussia as the largest ethnically German kingdom.

• Prussia began a fifty year conquest of the German people that would end in 1871 with the creation of the German Empire – this too led to WORLD WAR I.