WHII: SOL 8a
Rise of Napoleon, Congress of Vienna
Legacy of Napoleon
• Unsuccessful attempt to unify Europe under
French domination
• Napoleonic Code
• Awakening of feelings of national pride and
growth of nationalism
Rise of Napoleon
• Napoleon Bonaparte was a military hero who
rose quickly through the army. He favored
republican rule.
• 1799-Overthrew the Directory and set up a
three-man governing board known as the
Consulate
• In 1802, Napoleon became consul for life.
• Two years later, he crowned himself Emperor of
the French.
• At each step, Napoleon had held a plebiscite and
been strongly supported by the French people.
Steps taken by Napoleon:
• Controlled prices
• Encouraged industry
• Built roads and canals
• Set up public schools
• Made peace with the Church
• Encouraged émigrés to return
• Recognized peasants’ right to lands they had gained
• Opened jobs to all based on talent
Napoleonic Code
• His most lasting reform was a new code of laws
known as the Napoleonic Code.
Napoleonic Code
• Equality of all male citizens before the law
• Religious toleration
• Abolition of feudalism
• From 1804 to 1812, Napoleon successfully
battled most of Europe and created an empire
• Defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
Legacy of the Congress of Vienna
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“Balance of power” doctrine
Restoration of monarchies
New political map of Europe
New political philosophies (liberalism,
conservatism)
Congress of Vienna
• This was a meeting of the victorious powers,
after Napoleon’s exile, whose objective was
to settle the many issues arising from the
French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic
Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman
Empire.
Congress of Vienna
• The decisions the participants had to make
included whether to keep Napoleon’s
reforms or undo many of them and how to
redraw the map of Europe after Napoleon’s
military conquests
Members
• Five European “great powers”
– Austria
– Prussia
– Russia
– Great Britain
– France
Representatives of Austria
• Foreign Minister, Prince
Klemens von Metternich

Emperor Francis I of Austria
Representatives of Prussia
• Karl von
Hardenberg

Wilhelm von
Humboldt

King Frederick William
III of Prussia
Representatives of Russia
Count Karl Nesselrode
• Czar Alexander I of Russia
Representatives of Great Britain
• Robert Stewart,
Viscount Castlereagh
Arthur Wellesley, 1st
Duke of Wellington
Richard Trench, 2nd
Earl of Clancarty
Representatives of France
• Charles Maurice de
Talleyrand-Périgord
Goals
• Establish lasting peace and stability in
Europe
• Prevent future French aggression
• Restore balance of power
• Restore royal families to thrones
Actions Taken
Formed Kingdom of the Netherlands
Created German Confederation
Recognized independence of Switzerland
Added Genoa to Kingdom of Sardinia
Required France to return territories
conquered by Napoleon but left France a
major power
• Affirmed principle of legitimacy (royal
families)
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Congress of Vienna
• The agreements conflicted with the rising
desire for democracy.
• Different ethnic groups were spread
throughout several countries (e.g., Slavs could
be found in Germany, Austria, Russia, and
Italy).
• The agreements did not appeal to the
increasing number of supporters of liberalism,
who were found among the middle class,
college students, and factory workers
Klemens von Metternich’s efforts to
establish peace and stability
• Metternich sought to maintain peace
between European nations by creating a
balance of power among rival countries so
no country would be a threat to the others.
To guard against revolutions, he set up a
series of alliances called the Concert of
Europe, which required nations to help one
another if a revolution erupted.
Map of Europe 1815