NAPOLEON: Emperor of
France
( and almost of all of Europe!)
•
Focus Questions for: Napoleon!
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What was Napoleon Bonaparte’s real last name?
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Why was Napoleon made fun of at military school?
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What did Britain have that Napoleon could never really challenge?
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What was Napoleons first ‘title’ when he was leader of France?
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The ‘Continental System’ was designed to destroy the economy of.....?
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What country had a major problem with the “Continental System”?
•
What was it called when you burn everything when you retreat, so that the enemy can not use
it?
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How many troops did Napoleon take into Russia? How many came back with him?
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Where did Napoleon spend his first, ‘100 Days’ exile?
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What does it mean when you have suffered your “Waterloo”?
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Where did Napoleon die?
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Who crowned Napoleon as Emperor of France?
• Napoleon Bonaparte was the son (born in
1769) of an Italian, from the Island of
Corsica. The Island had been Italian, then
lost to France in a war. Thus the Italian
family de Bounaparte became Bonaparte.
He was of minor nobility ( the last name
means "of good name") and his father
actually worked for Louis XVI for a little
while.
• As many good families do, Carlo Bonaparte
sent his son Napoleon to military in school,
as a career as an officer was very respectable.
• Young Napoleon Bonaparte (
from here on lets just say
Napoleon) was a very gifted
student, excelling in the most
intellectual of he military
branches, Artillery (required
superb math and organization
skills). He was not very popular
at first as the other students
made fun of his heavy Italian
accent. Never one to accept
teasing, he was often in fights
and usually won them, earning
his classmates respect.
• After graduation Napoleon was
stationed back in his home
island of Corsica, where he
supported the French
Revolution against Louis XVI.
"I have fought sixty battles and I have learned nothing which
I did not know at the beginning. Look at Caesar; he fought
the first like the last."
• The young officer impressed the
new leaders of Republican
France, and he was appointed
General, and head of all
Artillery forces of the
FrenchArmy in Italy. He took it
upon himself to invasion
Austria, and defeated
a very large Austrian Army. He
was becoming well known as a
great military thinker.
• Napoleon returned to Paris the young
conquering hero. He was loved by the new
leaders of France, but they also feared how
popular he was becoming. He was ordered to
go and fight the British forces then in Egypt.
• While fighting in Egypt, Napoleon scored
major victories. However, the British Royal
Navy controlled the sea. Napoleon would
never really be able to challenge the British
Navy.
• After Egypt, Napoleon was called back to
Paris....but he was getting tired of taking
orders from others...
• After returning to Paris in order to save the
new French rulers from the people of Paris (
who were tired of waiting for their lives to
get better!), Napoleon insisted he be
appointed, along with two others, as a
"Directory" to rule France. It did not take
long for the other two leaders to lose power
as Consuls, and Napoleon becoming "First
Consul"; Dictator of France.
• The rest of Europe was
eager to reverse this
silly "French
Revolution" and put a
new King of France on
the throne from the
rightful Bourbon
family. Napoleon was
right when he said that
all of Europe was his
enemy. One by one he
defeated Austria,
Prussia, British Army
in Europe, etc.
• He was even able to force other
countries to take orders from
him, otherwise he would invade
them. He could not invade his
biggest enemy though, Britain
remained safe across the water.
• Red- Greater France
• Gold- Countries under Napoleons
direct control
• Yellow-Countries that took
orders from him, but were not
happy about it.
• Grey- Countries not yet under his
rule or influence
• In order to break the British, Napoleon came up
with the "Continental System" ; this plan simply
said that no nations in Europe would be allowed to
trade with Great Britain. Napoleon hoped to
destroy the British economy!
• There were many in Europe who did not like this
system as they made a lot of money from trade
with Britain. Russia, under the rule of Tsar Alex I,
felt they should not have to suffer to help France
and Napoleon. Alex told Napoleon he would not
follow the "Continental System"!
• Napoleon decided to punish Russia and take
it over directly. He assembled the "Grand
Armee" of 700,000 troops to invade the
Russian Empire. Things went well at first,
and Napoleon was able to move over a lot of
territory. However, he was not winning major
battles, and the further he got into Russia
the more difficult it became. He was able to
conquer Moscow, but it had been burned by
the Russians ( 'scorched Earth' ; destroy
whatever the enemy can use!). It was a
hollow victory!
• Napoleon was now faced
with the horrible idea
that he would have to
retreat from Russia. His
'Grande Armee' started
the long march back to
France. Out of the
700,000 who went in,
only 40,000 made it
back to France.
• Napoleon was defeated,
knew it, and went into
British captivity
without much more of a
fight.
• The British treated Napoleon well, and basically
gave him an island off of France, close to where he
grew up. He was allowed to take a few loyal
followers with him to this island, called Elba, and
basically left alone.
• Back in Paris, the allied forces placed Louis XVIII
onto the thrown of France and figured the had
ended the "French Revolution" once and for all.
• However, Napoleon grew restless, and knew that he
was still a hero in France...he and his followers got
into a ship, and sailed, determined to regain the
throne!
• Louis XVIII sent a large army down to southern
France to meet Napoleon and crush him.
• Napoleon knew he was very out gunned and could
not win a battle...so, instead of fighting the French
army sent to destroy him, he simply walked out in
front of them and dared any to shoot "their
Emperor". The entire French Army cheered him,
and joined his forces to march on Paris.
• Louis XVIII heard of this and quickly left France!
• The Allied Forces said that the would not permit
this ( even though Napoleon stated that when he
took power again he did not want any more war)
and launched an attack. Napoleons new army met
the allied army in a little town in what is today
Belgium (it was France then): Waterloo.
• Waterloo was a defeat for Napoleon, and again he
was captured by the British.
• This time the British exiled Napoleon to the
island of St.Helena, a cold and rainy rock in
the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was
there in 1821, 6 years after his capture in
1815, that Napoleon died. He probably died
of stomach cancer, though rumors persist
that the British poisoned him to make sure
he never gained power again.
• His body was brought back to Paris, where it
lies today.
• Some odd facts about Napoleon:
• When Napoleon was crowned "Emperor of France" he
refused to let the Pope place the crown on his head; he
stated that the almighty did not make him leader, he did it
himself. So he placed the crown on his own head, and his
wifes.
• He took a 2 hour bath each day ( when not in the
battlefield)
• He was not short; he was 5' 7", not short at all for the time.
• Napoleon, the great military genius, was horrible at the
ultimate military game, Chess; he often cheated.