Chapter 21 Section 4

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Chapter 21Section 4

• The Napoleonic
• Era

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Napoleon as Dictator

• The period from 1799 to 1814 while Napoleon was
  dictator was called the Napoleonic Era
• The people accepted Napoleon as dictator because
  most craved stability, others were too afraid to
  protest
• He reorganized the government to give himself
  unlimited power.
• He had the power to appoint or dismiss any
  officials and to propose all new laws
• The only purpose his Consulate served was to
  approve or reject Napoleons decisions
• Napoleon put his new constitution to a vote in a
  procedure called a plebiscite- people could only
  vote yes or no and could make no suggestions
• The French voters approved the constitution

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Accomplishments in Government

• Under Napoleons government scholars organized
  all French law into a system called the
  Napoleonic Code
• A central financial institution was formed as the
  Bank of France
• He created a system of furthering education in
  the way of high schools, universities and trade
  schools
• In 1801 Napoleon came to an agreement with the
  pope called the Concordat- it confirmed that most
  of France was Catholic but still allowed
  religious freedom
• Using skillful mediation Napoleon broke the
  alliance between Frances enemies and by 1802
  Russia, Austria and Great Britain had either
  deserted the alliance or had made peace with
  France

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Napoleon in Europe

• In 1804 the French people voted to make Napoleon
  their emperor.
• The British felt that France threatened their
  territory so they went to war again with France
• Austria, Russia and Sweden joined with Britain
  and Spain sided with France
• In 1805, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson led a
  British fleet that conquered a French/Spanish
  fleet, which saved Britain from invasion
• Napoleon in turn defeated the Russian and
  Austrian armies which led to the collapse of the
  war against France
• Napoleon forced Austria and Prussia to sign
  another treaty. Russia allied itself with France.
  He gained direct control of the Netherlands and
  Spain. He also abolished the Holy Roman Empire
  and placed much of Italy under his control

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Napoleon crossing the Alps on his way to take
Italy
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Increased Nationalism

• In all the lands he controlled, Napoleon enforced
  the Napoleonic Code and he abolished feudalism
• The French unintentionally increased feelings of
  nationalism- a love of ones country rather than
  ones native region- in the countries they
  conquered
• This increased opposition to French rule in many
  of the conquered nations
• Napoleon pushed too far when he invaded Portugal
  (which relied on Britain for its economy) and
  Spain and overthrowing both their kings and
  placing his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the
  throne
• Spain rebelled in 1808 and Britain sent an army
  led by the future Duke of Wellington to aid Spain
  and Portugal in their efforts
• The Peninsular War lasted from 1808-1814 until
  Spain evicted Joseph Bonaparte

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Duke of Wellington at the Peninsular War
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Catastrophe in Russia

• Czar Alexander I of Russia opened up trade with
  Britain in 1812
• A very angry Napoleon decided to invade Russia
• He recruited an army of 600,000 and in 1812
  marched to Russia
• The Russian defenders slowly fell back deep into
  their own country as they did so they executed a
  scorched-earth policy- burning or destroying
  crops and everything else the opposing army might
  need.
• The French did capture Moscow, but as soon as
  they entered the city the Russians burned the
  city to the ground. So it wasnt really a great
  victory
• With no shelter and winter coming, Napoleon was
  forced to retreat on October 19, 1812
• By the time he got back to Prussia he lost 2/3 of
  his army

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Final Defeat

• The monarchs in western Europe took advantage of
  Napoleons defeat in Russia
• Prussia, Austria and Great Britain joined Russia
  in a alliance against France
• Napoleon retreated into France until he was
  captured in Paris in March 1814
• They gave Napoleon a pension and retired him to
  the island of Elba off the west coast of Italy
• France was allowed to keep the boundaries of 1790
  and they restored the Bourbon monarchy and put
  Louis XVIII the brother of Louis XVI on the
  throne
• France once again had a king

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The Hundred Days

• Learning of the new monarchy, Napoleon escaped
  from Elba and landed in France on March 1, 1815
• He reclaimed the army that King Louis XVIII had
  sent after him and marched on Paris on the 20th
• Louis XVIII fled into exile and Napoleon once
  again ruled France
• Great Britain and their allied forces sent armies
  to France to stop Napoleon.
• On June 18, 1815 the armies collided at Waterloo
  where Napoleon met his defeat by the Duke of
  Wellington
• Napoleon asked to be sent to the U.S. but he was
  sent into exile to the remote island of St.
  Helena where he would live under constant guard
• He died there in 1821
• The monarchs once again took power

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Review Questions

• What do you call the procedure where people could
  only vote yes or no and could make no
  suggestions?
• Under Napoleons government scholars organized
  all French law into a system, what was it called?
• In 1801 Napoleon came to an agreement with the
  pope called the Concordat- what did it do?
• What is nationalism?
• This is the burning or destroying crops and
  everything else the opposing army might need.
• Did the French capture Moscow?

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