Age of Napoleon
Chapter 3
Section 4
Video
• Click on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eVfqcPT6EY
• Watch this introductory video about the life of
Napoleon
• Continue reading this Powerpoint
Napoleon Bonaparte
•Born in
Corsica on
August 15,
1769
•He was a
lieutenant in
French army
when French
Revolution
erupted
Corsica
The arrow is
pointing to the
island of Corsica,
located SE of
France in the
Mediterranean
Sea and due
north of the island
of Sicily.
Egypt
Napoleon led a disastrous military expedition to Egypt to defeat the
British who occupied Egypt. However, the British defeated
Napoleon’s forces. Napoleon cleverly hid the defeat from France
through spies and censoring the press.
Napoleon
• Napoleon was young lieutenant when the French
revolution first broke out
• Battle victories fueled his ambitions and his rise
through the army ranks
• By 1804, Napoleon acquired enough power to
assume the title Emperor of France
• At each step on his rise to power, Napoleon had
held a “plebescite”, which essentially is a vote of
the people
• However, he still had absolute power, although he
was legally elected
Napoleon’s Power
• Napoleon consolidated his power by strengthening
the central government
• His economic and social reforms won support
across classes
• Among his most lasting reforms was the
Napoleonic Code, a new code of laws.
• The Napoleonic Code embodied Enlightenment
principles of equality, religious tolerance, and
abolition of feudalism
How did Napoleon restore economic
prosperity to France?
•
•
•
•
He controlled prices
Encouraged new industry
Built roads and canals
Established public school system under strict
government control to train officials and military
officers
• Made peace with Catholic Church with the
Concordat (agreement) of 1801
• Concordat of 1801 kept Church under state
control but recognized religious freedom for
Catholics
What French social classes
supported Napoleon?
• Émigrés allowed to return upon taking an oath of
loyalty
• Peasants because Napoleon recognized the lands
peasants bought from Church and nobles during
the revolution
• Middle class approved of his economic reforms
and restoration of order after so much chaos
Expansion of French Empire
• From 1804 to 1812, Napoleon battled the
European powers and created a vast French
empire
• A brilliant general, before each battle Napoleon
developed a new strategic, military plan
• In this way, opposing generals could never
anticipate what Napoleon would do next because
his battle plans were always different – very
unpredictable
• Napoleon rarely lost a battle
Territorial Expansion
• Napoleon annexed the Netherlands, Belgium,
parts of Italy and Germany to build his Grand
Empire
• However, Britain remained outside the grasp of
Napoleon
• His attempt to impose an economic blockade of
Britain (Continental System) failed
• Under the Continental System, Napoleon tried to
block imports from Great Britain
• Although British exports declined, Britain’s
powerful navy kept vital trade routes open
Territorial Expansion
• Europeans resented the scarcity of goods
• Growing nationalism in other countries led
to resistance against French influence and
domination
• In Spain, patriots waged guerilla warfare
(hit-and-run raids) against the French
Napoleon’s Power in Europe
in 1812
• Click on www.phschool.com
• Enter the web code, mzp-1841, in the
box
• Listen to the presentation
Napoleon’s Mistakes
• Napoleon invaded Russia (1812) with 600,000
soldiers
• To avoid battling Napoleon’s forces, Russian
troops retreated, burning crops and villages as
they went (scorched-earth policy)
• Most of Napoleon’s Grand Army was destroyed
• Fewer than 20,000 soldiers survived the invasion
• Soldiers died from disease, starvation/malnutrition,
and froze to death
• Brutal Russian winter contributed to Napoleon’s
shattering defeat
Invasion of Russia
• Go to www.khanacademy.org
• In the search box, type “French Invasion of
Russia”
• Watch the video and learn about Napoleon’s
disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
Napoleon’s Invasion of
Russia Failed
His
invasion of
Russia
failed
miserably,
leaving a
trail of
corpses
from
Moscow all
the way to
Paris.
Soldiers
froze to
death or
died from
starvation
and
disease.
End of Napoleon
• Napoleon returned to Paris to raise another army
• But the British and Prussian forces were
determined to crush Napoleon permanently
• Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.
• Enemy forced captured Napoleon and exiled him
to island of Elba
• Napoleon was given 1,000 men to rule over a
population of 110,000 people with the title
Emperor of Elba
• Napoleon escaped Elba, returned to France, and
staged a daring comeback!!
Napoleon Exiled to Elba
Elba – off
the coast
of Italy
End of Napoleon
• Napoleon’s forces met the king’s forces on the
road to Paris
• The king’s forces surrendered and Napoleon
marched into Paris and assumed the throne once
again as the king fled
• Napoleon’s second rule lasted another 100 days
• He was captured and defeated a second time, and
exiled to island of St. Helena (farther away)
• Napoleon later died on St. Helena
Battle of Waterloo
British
and
Prussian
forces
finally
defeated
Napoleon’
s army on
June 18,
1815.
Napoleon
was
captured
and exiled
to St.
Helena.
He never
returned.
St. Helena – an island in the
South Atlantic
British forces
captured
Napoleon and
exiled him for
the 2nd time to
St. Helena, a
remote island
in the South
Atlantic Ocean.
Napoleon died
on St. Helena
in 1821.
Bye bye, Napoleon!!
Legacy of Napoleon
•
•
•
•
•
Elections with limited suffrage
More citizens had rights to property
Greater access to education
He spread the ideas of the Revolution
Failed to make Europe into a French
empire
• He sparked nationalist feelings across
Europe – other Europeans demanded
changes in their countries
• He sold Louisiana Territory to USA in 1803
Congress of Vienna
• European leaders met in Vienna, Austria to
restore stability/order in Europe after
Napoleon’s defeat
• Leaders included Emperor Francis I
(Austria), Alexander I of Russia, Lord
Robert Castlereagh (Britain), Prince
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (France)
• The dominant leader of the Congress of
Vienna was Prince Clemens von
Metternich of Austria
Goals of Congress of Vienna
• 1. Create a lasting European peace
• 2. Establish a Balance of Power in
Europe
• 3. Protect the system of monarchy in
Europe
Why did European leaders re-draw
the map of Europe?
• European leaders re-drew European boundaries
• The main goal was to surround France with
strong countries to prevent future French
territorial ambitions
• European leaders feared that France would
someday seek another French empire and wage
war to acquire territory again
Principle of Legitimacy
• The principle of legitimacy was to restore
the monarchies that the French Revolution
or Napoleon had overthrown – to make the
monarchies “legitimate” once again
• The monarchies in France, Spain,
Portugal, and Italian states were restored
How to Protect this New European
Order
• Quadruple Alliance – Austria, Prussia, Great
Britain, and Russia
• These four countries pledged 1) to act together
to maintain the balance of power and 2)
suppress future revolutions (particularly France)
• European powers promised to meet periodically to
discuss problems affecting European peace – this
became known as the Concert of Europe
• The legacy of the Congress of Vienna was that
European peace was maintained for nearly 100
years until 1914 when World War I erupted
Powerpoint Questions
1. Where was Napoleon born?
2. What is a plebescite?
3. What Enlightenment ideas were embodied in the
Napoleonic Code? (3 points)
4. What is the name of the economic system that
closed European ports to British goods to hurt
Great Britain?
5. Hit-and-run raids are known as ___.
6. Name the strategy when a retreating army burns
crops and villages as they go to leave nothing
behind.
Powerpoint Questions
7. Which country did Napoleon invade in 1812?
8. Where was Napoleon exiled the first time?
9. How long did Napoleon’s second period of rule
last?
10. In what battle was Napoleon finally defeated?
11. Where was Napoleon exiled the second time?
Powerpoint Questions
12. What were the three goals of the Congress of
Vienna? (3 points)
13. Who was the dominant leader at the Congress of
Vienna?
14. What is the principle of legitimacy?
15. What was the pledge behind the Concert of
Europe?
16. How many soldiers began the Russian invasion?
How many soldiers survived?