Napoleon Forges an Empire
1799 - 1815
Learning Target
• Explain how Napoleon built and lost an
empire.
Napoleon: Why he is important!
• He was a short man
only 5’ 3” tall.
• He was one of the
world’s greatest
military geniuses.
• In four years from
1795-1799, Napoleon
rose from obscurity to
become the master of
France.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Biography
• Napoleon was born in 1769 on
the Mediterranean Island of
Corsica (Italian island annexed
by France) .
• In 1785, at the age of 16, he
was made a lieutenant in the
French army in charge of
artillery.
• In October of 1795, when
royalists marched on the
National Convention,
Napoleon and his gunners
greeted the thousands of
royalists with a cannonade.
• The attackers fled in panic,
and Napoleon became a hero.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Biography
• By the age of 25 Napoleon
was made a brigadier
general by the Committee
of Public Safety.
• He led armies against the
Kingdom of Austria winning
major victories using speed
deception and surprise.
• Expanded France’s Empire
by thousands of miles
• He returned to France in
1797 as even a bigger hero.
Napoleon : Failure in Egypt
• Napoleon took over an
army training to invade
England.
• Knowing that the French
were not ready to take on
England, Napoleon
convinced the Directory to
attack Egypt instead.
• Napoleon failed to take
Egypt in an attempt to
prevent British trade with
India.
• Napoleon abandoned his
army and returned home to
France.
Napoleon’s Coup ď État of the
Directory
• In 1799, the Directory had lost control of the political
situation and the confidence of the French people.
• Napoleon plotted with members of the Directory and the
Council of 500 while his wife Josephine met with wealthy
influential backers.
• The Coup occurred on November 9, 1799 when
Napoleon was put in charge of the military and ended
the next day when he drove out members of the Council
of Elders.
• The legislature voted to end the Directory and placed in
charge of France was a Consul of thee persons, one of
which was Napoleon. Napoleon was only 30.
Napoleon as First Consul
• The plebiscite (a vote by which the
people of an entire country or district
express an opinion for or against a
proposal especially on a choice of
government or ruler ) of 1800 gives
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Napoleon the mandate to play a
role for which he is well suited both
in character and in terms of his
18th-century education - that of the
enlightened despot
Napoleon as First Consul controlled
the entire government.
He appointed members of the
bureaucracy, controlled the army,
conducted foreign affairs, and
influenced the legislature.
France was still a Republic
1802 Napoleon was made Consul
for life!
Napoleon as Emperor
• In 1804, Napoleon
decided to make himself
emperor and the French
voters supported him.
• On December 2, 1804
Napoleon was to be
crowned in Notre Dame
Cathedral by the Pope.
• Napoleon, however took
the crown from the Pope
and placed it on his own
head. Demonstrating that
he was above the church
in many ways.
Napoleon’s
Domestic
Policy
Napoleon: Concordat
with the Roman Catholic Church
• Napoleon made peace with the
Church to restore stability to
France.
• He himself was an
Enlightenment believer in
reason, and believed religion
was a political matter.
• Bonaparte approved of religion
in its role of preserving an
orderly society.
• In 1801 Napoleon made an
agreement with the Pope that
recognized Catholicism as the
religion of most of France.
• The pope gave up asking for
the return of church lands.
The Napoleonic Code, or Code
Civil, entered into force on March
21, 1804. Even though the
Napoleonic code was not the first
legal code to be established in a
European country— it is
considered the first successful
codification and strongly
influenced the law of other
countries.
The Napoleonic Code, formally
said, dealt only with civil law
issues, such as filiation and
property; It also did not deal with
how laws and regulations were to
be passed — which is reserved for
a constitution.
The Code, with its stress on
clearly written and accessible law,
was a major step in establishing
the rule of law.
Napoleon’s Civil Code
Napoleonic Code
• The Napoleonic Code
recognized:
– Equality before the law
– The right to choose a
profession
– Religious toleration
– The end of serfdom and
feudalism
– Outlawed unions and
strikes
– Safeguarded all property
rights.
– Government employment
based upon ability.
Napoleonic Code
• The Code had several key concepts at its
core:
1.Equality of all in the eyes of the law
2.No recognition of privileges of birth (i.e.
noble rights inherited from ancestors.)
3.Freedom of religion
4.Separation of the church and the state
5.Freedom to work in an occupation of one's
choice
Napoleonic Code
6. Strengthening the family by:
• Placing emphasis on the husband and
father as the head of the family
• Restricting grounds for divorce to three
reasons: adultery, conviction of a serious
crime, and grave insults, excesses or
cruelty; however divorce could be granted
by mutual agreement, as long as the
grounds were kept private.
• Defining who could inherit the family
property
Napoleonic Codes:
Accomplishments
• The Code in effect did several things:
1.It preserved the social aims of the
Revolution.
2.It protected the interests of the
rising middle class.
3.It guaranteed civil liberties.
Napoleonic Code: Weaknesses
1. A woman could not vote.
2. A wife owed obedience to her husband,
who had total control over their
property.
3. A unmarried woman had few rights and
could not be a legal guardian or witness
wills.
4. It was easier for a man to sue for
divorce on grounds of adultery, while a
man had to cohabit with his mistress
for two years for his wife to justify a
divorce.
Napoleonic Code: Weaknesses
5. If a man surprised his wife in bed with
another man, he could kill her legally. If
a woman did so, she could be tried for
murder.
6. Minors had few rights. (A father even
could place his child in jail for up to six
months.)
7. Illegitimate children had no rights of
inheritance.
Napoleon Brings Order After the Revolution
The Economy!!!
Goals of the
Revolution
Equal taxation
Lower inflation
Napoleon’s
Actions
Set up fairer tax code
Set up national bank
Stabilized currency
Gave state loans to businesses
Results
Equal taxation
Stable economy
Napoleon Brings Order After the Revolution
Government & Society
Goals of the
Revolution
Napoleon’s
Actions
Results
Less Government Corruption
Equal Opportunity in Government
Appointed officials by merit
Fired corrupt officials
Created lycées: Government Run
Public Schools
Created Code of Law
Honest Competent Officials
Equal opportunity in government
Public education
Napoleon Brings Order After the Revolution:
Religion
Goals of the
Revolution
Napoleon’s
Actions
Results
Less powerful Catholic Church
Religious tolerance
Recognized Catholicism as “faith of
Frenchmen
Signed concordat with the Pope
Retained seized church lands
Religious tolerance
Government control of church lands
Government recognition of church
influence,
Conclusion: Napoleon’s Domestic Policy
• In his domestic policy
Napoleon was the
preserver of much of the
revolutionary spirit of
France.
• On the other hand liberty
was replaced by
despotism.
– Napoleon shut down 60 of
France’s 73 newspapers.
– Mail was opened by
government police.
– All manuscripts must be
inspected before they are
printed.
Napoleon’s Empire
Building the Empire
• When Napoleon was
made first consul France
was at war with Austria,
Great Britain and Russia.
• Napoleon needed peace
to settle the present
French government, and
to save the world from
chaos.
• Napoleon achieved a
peace treaty in 1802.
Napoleon hoped to expand
his empire in Europe and
the New World.
In 1803, Bonaparte faced a major
setback when an army he sent to
re-conquer Haiti and establish a
base was destroyed by a
combination of yellow fever and
fierce resistance. Recognizing
that the French possessions on
the mainland of North America
would now be indefensible, and
facing imminent war with Britain,
he sold them to the United States
—the Louisiana Purchase—for less
than three cents per acre. The
dispute over Malta provided the
pretext for Britain to declare war
on France in 1803 to support
French royalists.
Building an Empire:
War Against the Third Coalition
http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/
microsites/line_of_fire/
• In 1803 war resumed with
Great Britain who was
later joined by Austria,
Russia and Prussia.
• Napoleon’s Grand Army
defeated the Austrian,
Russian, and Prussian
armies in three
successive battles Ulm,
Austerlitz and Jena
(1805-07)
• He used these victories to
create a new European
order.
The New European Order
• Napoleon’s Grand
Empire was
composed of three
elements.
– Enlarged France
reaching to the Rhine
– Dependent States
– Allied States
Napoleonic Empire
Spreading the Principles of the
Revolution
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Legal Equality
Religious toleration
Economic freedom
Quote on page 348…
In the inner and
dependent states
Napoleon tried to destroy
the old order.
– The clergy and the nobility
lost their privileges.
– Equal opportunity for all
Two Major Reasons why
Napoleons Empire Collapsed.
• Survival of Great Britain
– Sea power; as long as
they controlled the
waves they were
invulnerable to attacks
– At the Battle of Trafalgar
in 1805, British defeat of
the French-Spanish fleet,
destroyed any attempt to
invade Britain.
• Force of nationalism
– A unique cultural identity
of a people based on
common language,
religion, and national
symbols.
– The Spirit of Nationalism
in France was great for
Napoleons empire, but he
did not realize the spread
of liberalism beyond
France indirectly spread
nationalism as well.
The Battle of Trafalgar in 1804 was a humiliating
defeat for France
The defeat prevented any possibility of an
invasion of England for Napoleon.
Force of Nationalism
• The French aroused
nationalism in two
ways.
– First, they were hated
as oppressors. This
hatred stirred the
patriotism in other
countries.
– Second, France
demonstrated to the
people of Europe what
a nation in arms could
accomplish.
The End of Napoleon
Russian Winters and Waterloo
The Continental System
• Since Napoleon could not defeat the British navy
he turned towards economic warfare.
• He planned to cut off all British trade with the
European continent.
• Despite initial drops in exports and domestic
unrest the British economy survives.
• Continental System hurts European nations
however.
• Napoleon ignores the advice to turn Europe into
a free trade zone, and French tariffs make
people angry.
Why did Napoleon invade Russia in spite of
the risks of invading a large country?
• In 1807 the Czar of
Russia had agreed not
to trade with Britain, but
due to poor economic
conditions he continued
the trade in timber.
• The Russians refused
to remain in the
Continental System
leaving Napoleon with
little choice but to
invade Russia.
What did the Russians do that prevented
Napoleon from achieving a quick victory?
• Napoleon desired to
achieve a quick victory
over the Russians in
Lithuania.
• He formed an army of
600,000 men to invade
Russia. It was the largest
army Europe had ever
seen but within six
months 9 out of 10 were
dead.
• The Russian army
contained 200,000 men.
How did the Russian army deprive Napoleon
of the food supplies they needed?
• The Russians refused to
give battle and simply
retreated.
• As they retreated they
burned their own villages
and countryside to
prevent Napoleon’s army
from finding food.
• This is called the
scorched earth policy.
What did Napoleon’s army discover when
they entered Moscow?
• Moscow was completely
abandoned.
• The day after Napoleon
took Moscow it went up in
flames.
• Napoleon waits 8 weeks
for the Czar to surrender.
He refuses.
• He says, “My campaign,
led by General Winter is
just beginning.”
Napoleon in Moscow!
• Napoleon was far from home with a badly damaged army.
• Lacking adequate supplies as winter was quickly
approaching in an unfriendly country.
• By October, Napoleon was forced to retreat.
Napoleon’s Retreat
Conditions on the journey
home.
• During the march, men
and horses both starved
because there was no
food and no time to
gather any. Horses died
in the thousands from
overwork and starvation –
no time to graze. Men
were seen quenching
their thirst with horse
urine, because water was
unobtainable or polluted.
Conditions on the journey
home.
• Temperatures plummeted
to 40 degrees below
zero.
• Napoleon lost 25,000
troops just crossing the
Berezina river when the
Russians burned the only
two bridges to cross the
river trapping thousands
on the wrong side of the
river to be captured by
the Cossacks who drove
them naked back into
Russia.
How many soldiers made it back
from Moscow to Poland alive?
• Less than 40,000 out of
the 600,000 made it back
alive.
• Napoleon himself
abandoned his army and
rode back to France to
organize another army.
Men were easy to get, but
the horses lost in the
battle would cost
Napoleon a victory in the
next battle.
The European Coalition
• Napoleon returns to Paris and
raises an army of 350,000 men.
• The nations of Europe (Grand
Alliance: Great Britain,
Russia, Prussia, Austria and
Sweden ) are reluctant to go to
war with Napoleon and try to
negotiate a peace treaty that
would have left Napoleon in
power over a weakened France.
• He refused saying, “I am an
upstart soldier. My dominion will
not survive the day when I
cease to be strong.”
Napoleon’s Defeat
• Napoleon’s Grand Army
was defeated by the
Grand Alliance (Britain,
Russia, Prussia, Sweden
and Austria) in the Battle
of Nations or Leipzig.
• Napoleon is exiled to the
island of Elba off the
coast of Italy to live out
the rest of his days.
An alliance of Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Austria
attacked France and defeated Napoleon’s Army in 1813 at
Leipzig. The Battle of Leipzig or the Battle of the Nations
(16-19 October 1813) was the largest conflict in the
Napoleonic Wars and the most decisive defeat suffered by
Napoleon Bonaparte. Fought on German soil, it also
involved German troops on both sides, as a large
proportion of Napoleon 's troops actually came from the
German Confederation of the Rhine.
Mistake #1
In 1806
Napoleon
attempted to
blockade British
ports to hurt
their economy.
This Continental
System was to
make the
continent more
self sufficient.
The British Navy
put their own
blockade around
Europe which
weakened
Europe’s
economy.
The Collapse
of Napoleon’s
Empire
Mistake #3
In 1812 Napoleon
attempted to
conquer
Russia.The
Mistake #2
Russians
Napoleon made
retreated and
his brother King of
followed a
Spain in 1808.
scorched-earth
The Spanish
people were loyal policy leaving no
to their own king. livestock or grain
for the French
The peasant
Army. The onset
fighters called
guerrillas fought of Winter, attacks
against Napoleon and deserters left
only 10,000 of
in a war called
the original
The Peninsular
400,000 troops.
War.
The Battle of Waterloo
The Final Defeat
Where was Napoleon exiled after
his capture in Paris?
• The island of Elba off
the coast of Italy in
the Mediterranean
Sea.
Napoleon Escapes
• During Napoleon’s stayed on Elba in 1814, he
was not content. His thoughts kept wandering
back to his ambitions of a grand empire.
• After awhile, Napoleon couldn’t stand it any
longer. He planned an escape with some of his
most trusted advisors.
• In February 1815, Napoleon sailed from the
island with 1,000 or so followers. He landed near
Cannes on March 1 and marched toward Paris.
Napoleon gathered supporters along the way.
Napoleon Escapes
• Napoleon escaped from the
island and returned to France.
– When troops came to capture
him he opened his coat and
screamed,
– “Soldiers of the 5th regiment, I am
your Emperor…if there is a man
among you who would kill his
Emperor, here I am.”
– He then shouted, “Vive
l’Empereur.” (long live the
Emperor.).
Napoleon Escapes
• Nineteen days later he was
in Paris and resumed his
title as Emperor.
• He declared a new
constitution that limited
his powers.
• His return to power was
known as “The Hundred
Days”
• His army rallied to him.
The soldiers who had been
captured during the years
of fighting had been
released enabling
Napoleon to reform his
Grande Armée.
What happened to Louis XVIII?
• After Napoleon’s
defeat the Bourbon
monarchy had been
restored. Louis XVII
had died in prison
from tuberculosis.
• The newly enthroned
monarch Louis XVIII
fled to Belgium as
Napoleon made his
way towards Paris.
To Belgium to Attack the Allies
Napoleon resolved to attack the British,
Prussian, Belgian and Dutch armies before the
other powers could come to their assistance.
He marched into Belgium.
Battle of Waterloo
• On June 18, 1815, in
Waterloo, Napoleon met a
combined British and
Prussia army, Napoleon
Suffered a bloody defeat at
the hands of the Duke of
Wellington.
• The allied forces exiled him
to the St. Helena, small
island in the South Atlantic.
• The fear of him escaping,
haunted the French
political life for years to
come
The Effects of The French Revolution
These were felt in several ways in countries outside
France. Due to the people's revolt against the monarchy,
the Russians succeeded in overthrowing the Czar and
transferring from an Absolute Monarchy to
Communism. England also benefited from this. The
people rebelled against the monarchy and caused the
English monarchs to lose all power and control over the
people. "The French Revolution was a step towards
replacing traditional aristocratic forms of government
with more open, elective systems.
Along with the American Revolution, it inspired reformers
throughout the western world."
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What was the significance of the Napoleon’s Civil
Code?
Why did Napoleon want to stop British goods from
reaching Europe?
Why did being a sea power help Britain to survive the
attack from the French?
Explain how nationalism contributed to Napoleon’s
defeat. Be sure to discuss how French nationalism
produced nationalism outside of France
Using the diagram below, identify the reasons for the
rise and fall of Napoleon’s Grand Empire
Questions
5.
Using the diagram below, identify the reasons for the rise and fall of
Napoleon’s Grand Empire
Rise
Napoleon’s Rise & Fall
Fall
The Congress of Vienna
1814
Who was invited to the
Congress of Vienna?
• Czar Alexander I
– The Czar of Russia
– Wants Poland
• Viscount Robert
Castlereagh
– British foreign
secretary
– Wanted to deny
Russia, Poland
– Wanted to strengthen
Germany
Who was invited to the
Congress of Vienna?
• Prince Karl August von
Hardenberg
– Prussian statesman
• Prince Klemens von
Metternich
– Austrian Statesman
– Long-lasting order in Europe
– Wanted a return to
conservative ideas
• Prince Charles-Maurice
de Talleyrand
– French statesman
– Wanted to keep France in
one piece.
What was the purpose of the
Congress of Vienna?
• It was to arrange a
final peace settlement
after almost ten years
of war with Napoleon.
What is legitimacy, and how did Metternich
use this concept as a guide to reconstruct
Europe after the fall of Napoleon?
• Legitimacy is the idea
that countries would be
governed by the
legitimate or legal heirs
of the old order.
• Metternich’s goal was to
place the lawful rulers
of countries back in
power.
How did the Congress of Vienna attempt to
balance the power in Europe?
• They rearranged
territories in Europe
hoping that his would
form a new balance of
power. The powers at
Vienna wanted to
keep one country
from dominating
Europe.
What is conservatism?
• Conservatism is based on
tradition and social
stability. It favors
obedience to political
authority, and believed
that organized religion is
crucial to order in society.
• Conservatives hated
revolutions and were
unwilling to accept
demands from people
who wanted either
individual rights or
representative
government.
What is the concert of Europe?
• It was a meeting of
Russia, Prussia,
Austria and Britain to
take steps that would
maintain the peace in
Europe.
What is the principle of
intervention?
• The great powers had
the right to send
armies into countries
where there were
revolutions in order to
restore the legitimate
monarchs to their
thrones.
What reasons did Britain give for not
supporting the principles of intervention?
• Britain refused to accept
the principle of
intervention arguing that
the great powers should
not interfere in the
internal affairs of other
states.
• Russia, Austria, Prussia,
and France however
used military forces to
crush revolutions in Spain
and in Italy.