Napoleon: 1769 - 1821
Which Napoleon would you want as a ruler?
Napoleon Crossing the Alps
“The truest conquests, the only ones that give
rise to no regrets, are those gained over
ignorance. The most honorable as well as the
most useful activity of nations is to contribute to
the advancement of human knowledge. The real
strength of the French Republic should henceforth
lie in its determination to possess every new
idea, without a single exception.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte
(upon his election to the National Institute of France)
Vocabulary
• Meritocracy: leadership chosen on the basis of
abilities and achievements rather than birthright
• Coup d’Etat: the sudden violent overthrow of a
government and seizure of political power (especially
by the military)
• Abdicate: to give up a high office formally or
officially, especially the throne
• Nationalism: proud loyalty and devotion to a nation
Meteoric Rise
•Born in Corsica
•Napoleon wasn’t a revolutionary
before the French Revolution, but he
welcomed the changes
•He rose during the battles of the
French Revolution due to meritocracy
•By the age of only 25, Napoleon was
made a brigadier general by the
Committee of Public Safety
Coup d’Etat
• Napoleon’s combination of intelligence, charm, wit,
and decisiveness allowed him to win the support of
his troops and other people
• Napoleon took part in the coup d’etat that overthrew
the Directory
• Even though in theory France was a republic
(democracy), Napoleon held absolute power as the
first consul of a new government called the consulate
"A man will fight harder for
his interests than for his
rights."
– Napoleon, quoted in Thorpe, Scott, How to Think Like
Einstein, Barnes & Noble Books, Inc., 2000, p.167.
Crowned Himself Emperor of the French
December 2, 1804 Notre Dame
Emperor Napoleon & Empress Josephine-1806 by David
Napoleon placing
the crown on his
own head, instead of
being crowned by
the head of the
Church. He then
crowned Josephine.
Consul vs. Emperor
Note the plainer
appearance of
Napoleon when he
first became
Consul, as
compared to the
much more grand
scene of him once
his imperial
ambition had been
revealed and he
had seated himself
as Emperor
Dictator?
• Napoleon appointed members of the bureaucracy, controlled the army,
conducted foreign affairs, and influenced the legislature
• Once in power, Napoleon employed generosity, flattery, and bribery to win
over some of his enemies
• He was ruthless in suppressing opposition
• He shut down 60 of France’s 73 newspapers, insisting that the government
view all manuscripts before they are published, and having government
police read people’s mail
• 1802: Napoleon made himself consul for life
• 1804: Napoleon crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I
CONTROL!!!
Napoleon’s Reforms
• Centralized the Government
• Napoleonic Code of 1804: MOST IMPORTANT!
– Before the Revolution, France had up to 300 separate legal systems, so
Napoleon codified the laws
– The most important of the new unified codes was the Civil Code, or
Napoleonic Code, which recognized the equality of all citizens before
the law
• Concordat of 1801: Normalized relations with the Catholic
Church by declaring Catholicism the religion of the majority
of the French
• Lycee System of Education: New system of schools under
strict government control to ensure well-trained government
officials and military officers (education for the masses)
Napoleon in the New World
Louisiana Purchase, 1803
Sold for $15,000,000-Napoleon needed to
money to fight his foreign wars
"I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought
order out of chaos. I rewarded merit
regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I
found it. I abolished feudalism and
restored equality to all regardless of
religion and before the law. I fought the
decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime
because the alternative was the
destruction of all this. I purified the
Revolution.“
– Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon’s Empire
• Napoleon now could create a new world order
• His Grand Empire had three parts: the French
Empire, dependent states, and allied states
– The dependent states were kingdoms that
Napoleon’s relatives ruled, including Spain, Holland,
Italy, and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw
– The allied states were those Napoleon defeated and
forced to join him in war against Britain, including
Prussia, Austria, Russia, and Sweden
Napoleonic Europe 1799-1815
Napoleon’s Family Rules!
Jerome Bonaparte  King of Westphalia
Joseph Bonaparte  King of Spain
Louise Bonaparte  King of Holland
Pauline Bonaparte  Princess of Italy
Napoléon Francis Joseph Charles (son) King of Rome
Elisa Bonaparte  Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Caroline Bonaparte  Queen of Naples
The Continental System
• One of Napoleon’s goals was to destroy Great Britain
• Napoleon banned British goods in the lands he
controlled in order to hurt their economy
• The Continental System was intended to stop British
goods from reaching continental markets
• The main flaw in the Continental Plan was that Britain
still had naval dominance
• Allied states resented being told they could not buy
British goods, and this strategy failed as well
The Continental System 1806-1810
Fall of Napoleon
• Napoleon’s fall began with his invasion of Russia, which had
refused to remain in the Continental System
• In 1812, a Grand Army of over 600,000 men entered Russia
• Napoleon needed to score a quick, decisive victory
• The Russians would not fight: they retreated to Moscow,
drawing the French into the interior of Russia (hoping that
Russia’s size and weather would support the Russian cause)
• The Russians burned crops and villages along the way: this
scorched-earth policy left the French without food or shelter
Defeat in Russia
• After reaching Moscow in
September, Napoleon realized
that he would not be able to feed
and supply his army through the
long Russian winter so he turned
homeward
• The “Great Retreat” – the
French retreat from Moscow
through the Russian winter
(terrible conditions turned the
retreat into a battle for survival)
• Only about 20,000 of 600,000
soldiers made it back to France
alive
• Other European nations rose up
to attack the crippled French
army
Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow
Painting by Adolf Northern
Route of the Great Retreat
First Exile
• The Russian disaster destroyed Napoleon’s reputation for success and soon
after he was defeated by a new alliance of Russia, Britain, Austria, and
Prussia
• The victors forced Napoleon to abdicate and exiled him to the island of
Elba
• Louis XVIII, Louis XVI’s brother, restored the
Bourbon monarchy
• The king had little support
Louis XVIII r. 1814-1824
Escape from Elba, The Hundred Days,
& The Battle of Waterloo
• February 26, 1815: Napoleon snuck past his guards, escaped
from Elba, and returned to France
• Paris welcomed him with celebration, and Louis XVIII, the
new king, fled to Belgium
• With Louis XVIII gone, Napoleon moved back into the
Tuileries
• The period known as the Hundred Days had begun (Napoleon
ruled while the allies reassembled their forces)
• June 18, 1815: The opposing armies (French vs. Allies) met in
Waterloo, Belgium
• In a one-day battle, the allied British and Prussian forces under
the leadership of the Duke of Wellington crushed the French
army
Returning to France from Exile in Elba
Defeat at Waterloo
Permanent Exile
• After Waterloo, the allies exiled Napoleon to St. Helena, a
small island in the south Atlantic
• Napoleon’s power ended and he died on the island
Legacy of Napoleon
• France was a centralized state
with a Constitution
• Citizens had rights to property
and access to education
• Napoleonic Code consolidated
many changes of the Revolution
• Awakening of feelings of national
pride and growth of nationalism
Napoleon: Overview
• Rose during the battles of the French Revolution due to
meritocracy
• Took part in the coup d’etat that overthrew the Directory
• 1799: Became the first consul of France (despite being a
republic, Napoleon held absolute power and was ruthless in
suppressing opposition)
• 1801: Lycee – a system of education
• 1802: Named himself ‘Consul for Life”
• 1804: Crowned himself ‘Emperor of France’
• 1804: Napoleonic Code – a civil code that recognized the
equality of all citizens before the law
• Napoleon’s Grand Empire
– French Empire
– Dependent States = kingdoms ruled by Napoleon’s relatives
– Allied States = those defeated by Napoleon and forced to join in war
against Great Britain
Napoleon: Overview (cntd.)
• The Continental System: Napoleon banned British goods in
the lands he controlled in order to hurt the British economy
(problems: Britain had naval dominance and allied states
resented being told what they could/not buy)
• Invasion of Russia:
– Scorched-earth policy: Russians burned crops and villages along their
path inland to leave the French without food or shelter)
– “Great Retreat”: French retreated from Moscow through the Russian
winter (thousands didn’t make it back)
• First Exile (Elba): Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to Elba
• Escaped from Elba and returned to France (Louis XVIII fled
and Napoleon resumed power)
• Waterloo: Napoleon was defeated by a combined British and
Prussian army
• Permanent Exile (St. Helena): Napoleon’s power ended
Haitian Revolution: 1791-1804
• Slaves in the New World were
inspired by the ideas of the
French Revolution
• Toussaint L’Ouverture – a
former slave led a revolt to
free the slaves in Haiti
• It was a brutal conflict
• Result: the elimination of
slavery and the establishment
of Haiti as the first republic
ruled by people of African and
black Caribbean ancestry
Haitian Independence: 1804
• Of the many rebellions that occurred in the
New World during the centuries of slavery,
only Haiti was successful in achieving
permanent independence under a new nation
• The Haitian Revolution is regarded as a
defining moment in the history of Africans in
the New World
Putting Europe Back Together: Congress
of Vienna (1815)
Special Thanks to Ms. Stewart
Basic Agenda
1. Decide what to do with France
2. Maintain a balance in power in Europe
3. Restoration of European monarchies
Congress of Vienna
(1814-1815)
• European monarchs sought to turn back the clock to 1789 and restore
Europe’s Old Regime
• Members included the “Big Four” and France
– Austria – Prince Metternich
– England – Duke of Wellington and Lord
Castlereagh
– France – Talleyrand
– Prussia – Frederick William III, Hardenberg, and
Humboldt
– Russia – Tsar Alexander I
Metternich (1773-1859)
• Conservative leader at the Congress
• Opposed democracy and nationalism
• Claimed that he was guided by the principle of legitimacy:
lawful monarchs from the royal families that had ruled before
Napoleon would be restored to power
Results of the
Congress of Vienna
•
Restoration of European monarchies;
temporary suppression of democratic and
nationalistic ideals
•
Concert of Europe – group of leading
nations which periodically met to discuss
issues regarding stability
•
The Principle of Intervention: the great
powers of Europe had the right to send
armies into countries where there were
revolutions in order to restore legitimate
monarchs to power and maintain a balance
of power; Great Britain did not agree with
this policy
•
New political map of Europe
•
International peace – no general war in
Europe until World War I (100 years later)
–
–
–
Crimean War (1854-1856)
Austro-Prussian War (1866)
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)