Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?
Napoleon has been
recognized as one of the
world’s greatest military
geniuses. In only four
years, from 1795 to 1799,
he rose from a relatively
obscure position as an
officer in the French army
to become master of
France
In October of 1795, Napoleon was told to
defend the delegates of the National
Convention. Napoleon and his gunners
greeted the thousands of royalists with a
cannonade. Within minutes, the attackers
fled, and Napoleon became the hero of the
day. He was hailed throughout Paris as the
savior of the French republic.
In 1796, the
Directory appointed
Napoleon to lead a
French army against
the forces of Austria
and the Kingdom of
Sardinia. Crossing
the Alps, the young
general swept into
Italy and won a series
of remarkable
victories.
Next, in an attempt to protect French trade
interests, Napoleon led an expedition into
Egypt. Although he suffered defeats in Egypt,
he was able to keep stories about his setbacks
from the newspapers in France, and
maintained a reputation as a great hero.
By 1799, the Directory had lost control of the
political situation in France. When Napoleon
returned from Egypt, his friends urged him to
seize political power.
In 1800, the people of France voted in favor of
a new constitution. This action gave all real
power to Napoleon as first consul.
His first task was to set up an efficient method
of tax collection and a national banking
system. He also dismissed corrupt officials,
and set up government-run public schools,
which were opened to male students from all
backgrounds.
He also set up the Napoleonic Code, a
comprehensive system of laws. These laws
eliminated may injustices. Freedom of speech
and freedom of the press, however, were both
restricted under these laws.
• In 1804, Napoleon decided to make himself the
emperor of France. The French voters supported
him. On December 2, 1804, dressed in s robe of
purple velvet, Napoleon walked down the long
aisle of Notre Dame, in Paris. The pope waited
for him with a crown. Napoleon took the crown
from the pope and placed it on his own head.
With this gesture, Napoleon signaled that he was
more powerful than the Catholic Church.
•
Napoleon was not content to be the ruler of
France. He wanted to control the rest of
Europe. In 1803, in order to gain much needed
money, he sold all of the Louisiana Territory to
the fledgling United States of America.
By 1812, the only areas in
Europe not under
Napoleon’s control were
Britain, Portugal, Sweden
and the Ottoman Empire.
In addition, Russia, Prussia
and Austria were loosely
attached to Napoleon’s
empire through alliances.
Although these countries
were not totally under
Napoleon’s control, they
were easily manipulated
by Napoleon by threats of
military action.
However, Napoleon’s own personality proved
to be his downfall. His desire for power raised
him to great heights, but this same desire led
to his doom.
Mistake #1: The
Continental System
This was a blockade
Napoleon set up in 1806. It
was supposed to make
continental Europe more
self-sufficient. It was also
intended to destroy Great
Britain’s commercial and
industrial industry.
Why it failed: The blockade wasn’t tight
enough. Smugglers were able to get through.
Even members of Napoleon’s own family
ignored the blockade! In addition, Britain
began its own blockade of French goods.
Because Britain had a better navy, they were
able to make the blockade work.
Mistake #2: In 1808, in an effort to get
Portugal to accept the Continental System,
Napoleon sent an invasion force through
Spain. The Spanish protested this action, and
in response, Napoleon put his brother, Joseph,
on the Spanish throne.
Why it failed: The Spanish were worried that Napoleon
would attack the Catholic Church. For 6 years, bands of
guerrillas (Spanish peasant fighters) struck at the French
armies. They were not an army that Napoleon could defeat
in open battle. Instead, they worked in small groups that
ambushed French troops and then went into hiding. The
British also sent troops to fight Napoleon.
Throughout Europe, a rising sense of
nationalism, or loyalty to one’s own country,
was becoming a powerful weapon against
Napoleon. People who first welcomed him
were beginning to resent the foreign
conqueror
Mistake #3: The invasion of Russia
In 1812, although the Russian Tsar was
Napoleon’s ally, the Russian tsar refused to stop
selling grain to Britain. In June 1812, Napoleon
and his army marched into Russia. As Napoleon
advanced, the Tsar pulled back his troops. As the
Russian troops retreated, they burned grain fields
and slaughtered livestock. This policy left nothing
for Napoleon’s troops to eat
In September 1812, the two armies finally met
in battle. After several hours, the Russians
pulled back. This allowed Napoleon to march
into Moscow. Yet, when Napoleon entered
Moscow, it was in flames. The Russians chose
to burn their city than let it fall into enemy
hands. Napoleon stayed in the ruined city
until October, and then he decided to retreat
to France.
This was disastrous for the French army. Snow
came early, and Russian raiders were able to
attack Napoleon’s army. Although Napoleon
started with 420,000 men, by the time the
army struggled out of Russia in December,
only 10,000 soldiers were left.
In only a few months, Napoleon was able to
raise another army. Most of these new
soldiers, however, were unprepared for battle.
By January 1814, the Napoleon’s enemies
were pushing steadily toward Paris. In April
1814, Napoleon surrendered, and gave up his
throne. He was then given a small pension
and banished to the tiny island of Elba.