Napoleon Bonaparte
Rise of Napoleon
 24
years old is made a general by the
Committee of Public Safety
 At 26, he becomes commander of French
armies in Italy
Gains fame for victories in Italy
 France wants him to invade Britain
He knows that invasion will fail, so he
invades Egypt instead
Invasion of Egypt also fails
Consul and Emperor
1799
Napoleon takes part in coup d’état
that overthrows the Directory.
A
consulate government is set up
Napoleon
is named the first consul
3
years later he gets named consul for
life
1804,
Napoleon is crowned Emperor
Peace with the Church
 Napoleon
knows it’s good to mend relationship with the
Church
 Makes
deal with the pope
 Catholicism
is recognized as the religion of the
majority of France
 In
return, the pope will not ask for the return of
seized Church lands from the Revolution
 Catholic
Church is no longer an enemy of the State
 People
who seized lands now support the
government.
Codification of the Law
 Institutes
Napoleonic (Civil) Code – unifies all
the laws of France
the
equality of citizens before the law
the
right to choose your own profession
religious
toleration
abolition
of serfdom + feudal obligations
women
No
less equal than men
inheritance rights for daughters
A New Bureaucracy
public
officials + military officers
promoted on ability
Aristocracy
(noble class) based on
meritorious service to nation
Preserver of the Revolution???
Liberties
taken away
newspapers
banned
books
government
Mail
shut down
controlled publishing
confiscated + opened by police
Building the Grand Empire

Napoleon builds France and becomes the greatest
power in Europe at the time.
 Known

as the Grand Empire
The Grand Empire would consist of three parts
 French
Empire
 Dependent
 Allied
states
states
Building the Grand Empire….

The French Empire


France and its new extended boundaries
The Dependent States

Kingdoms ruled by relatives of Napoleon
 Unified
 Spain
- brother
 Holland

German States
– brother
The Allied States

Countries defeated by Napoleon

Russia, Prussia, Austria
Building the Grand Empire….


Napoleon spreads the ideas of the French Revolution

Legal Equality

Religious toleration

Economic freedom
Clergy and nobility have all special privileges taken away


Napoleons system of merit instituted in new states
Napoleon hoped to build a long lasting French Empire

Two factors lead to its demise
 Britain
 Nationalism
Britain


Napoleon wants to invade Britain and conquer.

British navy too strong for Napoleons forces

French defeated trying to invade
Continental System

Napoleons new plan to defeat British

Set up a blockade against importing British goods, try to bankrupt
them

System fails
 Allied
 Too
states go behind his back
many markets worldwide to try and stop British trade
Nationalism

Sense of identity of a people based on
 Common
language
 Religion
 National

symbols
Conquered people are not forced to take on French
culture
 Still
unified by their own culture
 Resentful
of invaders
Russia

Under control of Napoleon, but ignoring Continental system

Must be punished


Napoleon sets out with 600,000 men

Only brings enough supplies for 26 days



Set precedent for other countries
Depending on quick victory
War would last 6 months
Russians strategy baffles Napoleon

Refuse to fight

Retreat further into Russia

Burn fields and homes along the way
Russia…

Napoleon finally reaches Moscow

Russian capital


Wins two battles along the way, but costly victories


Finds it set ablaze
Tens of thousands of men die in battle
Begins Great Retreat

Napoleon makes decision to leave Russia

Still in the dead of winter

Thousands of troops are lost


Starvation

Hypothermia

Suicide
Less than 40,000 out of 600,000 make it back
Downfall of Napoleon

Disaster in Russia leaves France vulnerable to surrounding countries

Napoleon defeated
 Exiled

to island of Elba
Louis XVIII restored as monarch in France
 Brother
of Louis XVI

Napoleon escapes Elba and returns to France to claim his empire

Foreign armies rally together to finish Napoleon for the last time


Napoleon defeated at Waterloo in Belgium

Duke of Wellington leads British and Prussian troops
Defeated, Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena

Dies in exile in 1821