Napoleon’s Empire

Napoleon’s Early Life
– Born in 1769 – Corsica
– Studied at a military school in France
– Lieutenant in the French Army 1785
– Studied the works of the philosophes

Military Successes
– Promoted in military quickly
– Won confidence of his men with
energy, charm, and ability to
make decisions
– Plan to strike Britain through
Egypt failed

Retreated back to Paris
The Consulate

Napoleon declared a new constitution
– Actually established a dictatorship
Napoleon named first consul
 Restoring Order

– Rejected elected officials for his
appointees
– Education became controlled by national
government
– Required all citizens pay taxes

Napoleon was popular
– Plebiscite approved him as Consul for Life
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies

Peace with the Church
– Restored stability with the Catholic Church

1801 Napoleon made an agreement with the pope
 Catholicism
was recognized as major French
religion
 Pope would not ask for return of seized church
lands

Codification of the Laws
– Before Revolution, France had 300 legal systems
– Napoleon prepared seven codes of law
– Civil War Code (Napoleonic Code)
Recognized the principle of the equality of all citizens
 Rights of individuals
 Abolition of serfdom and feudalism

Building an Empire



1799 France at war with a European coalition
Napoleon achieved peace in 1802
1803 war renewed with Great Britain
– Napoleon’s Grand Army won a series of battles,
enabling him to create a large empire
Building an Empire

Britain’s Survival
– Due to its sea power
– Napoleon tried to destroy them via the
Continental System
 Failed
because countries resented being told they
couldn’t trade with Great Britain

Nationalism
– French were hated as oppressors, stirring
patriotism of others
– French demonstrated what nationalism was
Downfall of the Empire

Disaster in Russia
– Napoleon invaded Russia because they refused
to remain in the Continental System
– Russians retreated back, refusing to fight

Burned their own cities to ensure French had no food
– Great Retreat took French through cold
conditions
– Other European states attacked the crippled
French Army



Paris captured in 1814
Napoleon exiled to the island of Elba in 1814
Bourbon monarchy restored under Louis
XVIII
The Fall of Napoleon

The Final Defeat
– New King had little support, Napoleon escaped
– Napoleon gained control over his army, entered
Paris on March 20, 1815
– Powers who defeated Napoleon pledged to
defeat him again
– Defeated at Waterloo on June 18, 1815


Exiled for good to St. Helena
Napoleon’s Legacy
– Spread ideas of revolution
– Destroyed feudalism
– Abolished absolute monarchies