Napoleon Bonaparte

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Napoleon Bonaparte
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Early Life

• Born on the Mediterranean island of Corsica in
  1769
• His parents sent him to military school
• When the Revolution broke out, Napoleon joined
  the army of the new government

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Hero of the Hour

• Napoleon defended the delegates of the National
  Convention from attackers, and he instantly
  became a hero
• Won a string of victories in Europe
• He was finally defeated in Egypt by the British
  admiral Horatio Nelson
• Napoleon kept this setback out of the newspapers,
  so he was still considered a hero

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Coup dEtat

• Napoleon and his troops surrounded the national
  legislature and drove out most of its members
• Coup dEtat- Military overthrow of the government
• The Directory dissolved and lost its power
• Napoleon gave himself the title of First Consul
  and assumed the power of a dictator

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Peace

• Britain, Austria, and Russia signed peace
  treaties with France
• By 1802, Europe was at peace for the first time
  in 10 years
• Napoleon could now focus his energies on
  restoring order in France

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Plebiscite

• Definition- vote of the people
• Voted to approve a new constitution
• The new constitution gave all real power to
  Napoleon as first consul

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Restoring Order in France

• Napoleon kept many of the changes that had come
  with the Revolution
• He kept laws that would both strengthen the
  central government and achieve some of the goals
  of the Revolution
• Areas which were affected
• Economy
• Government
• Religion

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Economy

• Set up an efficient method of collecting taxes
• Established a national banking system
• Promoted sound financial management and better
  control of the economy

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Government

• Dismissed corrupt officials
• Lycees- Government-run public schools
• Open to male students of all backgrounds
• Graduates were appointed to public office on the
  basis of merit rather than family connection

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Religion

• One area where Napoleon disregarded changes
  introduced by the Revolution
• Wanted to restore the position of the Church in
  France

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Religion, cont.

• Concordat- agreement with the Pope that
  established a new relationship between church and
  state
• Government recognized the influence of the
  Church, but rejected Church control in national
  affairs
• Napoleon gained support of the majority of the
  French people

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Napoleonic Code

• Comprehensive system of laws
• Napoleon viewed this as his greatest
  accomplishment
• Eliminated many injustices, but actually limited
  liberty and promoted order and authority over
  individual rights
• Restored slavery in the French colonies in the
  Caribbean

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Emperor

• Napoleon decided to make himself emperor
• Actually took the crown out of the Popes hands
  and placed it on his own head
• With this gesture, he signaled that he was more
  powerful than the Church

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Creating an Empire

• Wanted to control all of Europe and reassert
  French power in the Americas
• Envisioned his western empire including
  Louisiana, Florida, French Guiana, and the French
  West Indies
• Saint Domingue was the key to conquering the rest

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Saint Domingue

• People on the island demanded the same rights
  awarded to the French from the revolution
• Toussant LOuverture- leader of the enslaved
  Africans who seized control of the island

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Louisiana Territory

• Napoleon sold all of this land to the U.S.
• President Jefferson purchased this for 15
  million
• Napoleons twofold benefit
• Gained money to finance operations in Europe
• He would punish the British

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Conquering Europe

• Already owned the Austrian Netherlands and parts
  of Italy and Switzerland, but Napoleon wanted to
  conquer the rest of Europe
• British joined forces with Russia, Austria, and
  Sweden to stop him
• Napoleon crushed the opposition
• Austria, Prussia, and Russia signed peace
  treaties
• He had built the largest European empire since
  that of the Romans

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Battle of Trafalgar

• Napoleons only major loss
• Took place off the coast of Spain
• Led by the British commander Horatio Nelson
• Split the French fleet and captured many ships

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Battle of Trafalgar, cont.

• French loss had two major results
• Ensured the supremacy of the British navy for the
  next 100 years
• Forced Napoleon to give up his plans of invading
  Britain

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Napoleons French Empire

• By 1812, the only areas of Europe free from
  Napoleons control were Britain, Portugal,
  Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire
• Russia, Prussia, and Austria were also easily
  manipulated by threats of military action
• (See map on page 232)

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Napoleons French Empire, cont.

• Huge but unstable
• Could only maintain it for 5 years (1807-1812
• Quickly fell to pieces due to Napoleons actions

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Napoleons Costly Mistakes

• The Continental System
• The Peninsular War
• The Invasion of Russia

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The Continental System

• Napoleon set up a blockade to prevent all trade
  communication between Great Britain and other
  European nations
• Was supposed to make continental Europe more
  self-sufficient
• Intended it to destroy Great Britains commercial
  and industrial economy

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The Continental System, cont.

• Blockade wasnt tight enough
• Stronger British Navy rerouted all ships to their
  own ports to be searched and taxed
• Angered Americans and the U.S. declared war on
  Britain in 1812 (War of 1812)

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The Peninsular War

• Napoleon invaded Spain

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The Peninsular War, cont.

• He removed the Spanish king and replaced him with
  his brother Joseph--this outraged the Spanish
  people
• They also worried that Napoleon would attack the
  Catholic Church (Spaniards were devout Catholics)

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The Peninsular War, cont.

• Guerrillas- bands of Spanish fighters who
  ambushed French troops within the country
• British sent troops to aid the Spanish against
  the French
• Napoleon lost about 300,000 men during this war,
  weakening the French Empire

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Nationalism

• Nationalism- loyalty to ones own country
• This was becoming a powerful weapon against
  Napoleon because people were beginning to feel
  abused by him
• Several countries started turning against the
  French

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The Invasion of Russia(see page 236)

• Napoleons biggest mistake
• Breakdown of the alliance between France and
  Russia
• Alexander I refused to stop selling grain to
  Britain
• France and Russia were both competing for Poland

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The Invasion of Russia, cont.

• June 1812- Napoleons 420,000 troops invaded
  Russia
• Scorched-earth policy- As Russian troops were
  retreating, they burned grain fields and
  slaughtered livestock as to leave nothing for the
  enemy to eat

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The Invasion of Russia, cont.

• Moscow- considered Russias holy city
• When Napoleon entered the city, it was in flames
• Alexander destroyed it so they didnt have to
  surrender it to Napoleon

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The Invasion of Russia, cont.

• Russian winters were very harsh, and Napoleons
  troops were starting to drop from battle, hunger,
  exhaustion, and cold
• Napoleons troops retreated from Moscow and left
  Russia with only 10,000 soldiers

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Napoleons Downfall

• Knowing Napoleons army was weak, all of the main
  powers in Europe declared war on France (Britain,
  Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Austria)
• Napoleon raised another army, but it was very weak

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Battle of Leipzig

• October 1813
• Allied forces were easily able to defeat
  Napoleons untrained and inexperienced army

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Napoleons Exile

• In April 1814, Napoleon accepted the terms of
  surrender and gave up his throne
• Allied leaders exiled him to Elba, a tiny island
  off the Italian coast

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Louis XVIII

• Brother of Louis XVI
• Became the new king of France and quickly became
  very unpopular with the French people

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Napoleons Escape

• When Napoleon heard of Louis XVIIIs troubles, he
  escaped from Elba
• He returned to France and regained power as
  emperor within a few days

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Battle of Waterloo

• British troops prepared for battle against
  Napoleon in Waterloo, Belgium
• June 18, 1815- Napoleon attacked
• British and Prussian forces defeated Napoleon in
  two days

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Hundred Days

• Napoleons last bid for power
• British exiled Napoleon to St. Helena, a remote
  island in the South Atlantic
• He lived there for 6 years before he died of an
  illness

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He was as great a man can be without virtue.

• -Alexis de Tocqueville