Napoleon Bonaparte
• Napoleon’s Childhood
• Military School
• Studied Alexander the
Great, Charlemagne,
Caesar.
Napoleon’s Rise to Power
• October 1795 – Saving the National
Convention
– Becomes a hero of the government and the people.
• 1796 – Defeats Austria
– Becomes most famous general in all of France.
• November 9, 1799 – Seizes control of France.
– First Consul
– Coup d’etat
• 1800 – New constitution is approved by
the people, making Napoleon an elected
leader.
• By 1802 – Napoleon was in control of
France and signed peace agreements with
the British, Austrians, and Russians.
December 2nd, 1804
Emperor Napoleon I
•
An “enlightened dictator”
– Kept many of the ideas of the Revolution
•
•
National Bank and Tax Collections
Government Leaders
– Dismissed corrupt leaders
– Opened schools to train male for leadership.
•
•
Religious Freedom
Napoleonic Code
– Uniform set of laws for the country.
– Order and Authority over Liberty.
Napoleon’s Conquests
• The Louisiana Purchase - $$$$$
• Annexed the Netherlands, parts of
northern Italy, and Switzerland
• British, Russians, Austrians, and Sweden
join forces to stop his advances.
Building an Empire
• Battle of Austerlitz – Dec. 2, 1805
– He defeats the Russian troops
– This forces Austria, Prussia and Russia into
signing peace treaties.
• Battle of Trafalgar – Oct. 21, 1805
– Napoleon loses to Admiral Nelson and the
British
Napoleon’s Three Mistakes
• 1. The Continental System
– Blockade against Britain backfires.
• 2. Attacking Spain (Peninsular War)
– Guerilla warfare in Spain causes the loss of
many of Napoleon’s best troops.
• 3. Attacking Russia
– His most famous “blunder”
– “Scorched-Earth policy”
Napoleon’s Defeat
• The Grand Alliance
– April 1814 – Napoleon forced into terms of surrender.
• Exile on Elba
– And the escape – March 1st, 1815
• Fighting King Louis XVIII
• Battle of Waterloo – June 18,1815
• Exile and Death on St. Helena
• After Napoleon, King Louis XVIII and Limited
Monarchy.
• Lessons of the French Revolution & Napoleon