Napoleonic Era
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica in 1769 to an Italian family that was
given French noble status nine years later. He attended France's prestigious Ecole Militaire and
was serving in the army when the French Revolution started. He rose quickly to general, gaining
fame and power as he won victory after victory. In 1799, he led a coup d'état and was appointed
First Consul; within a few years he named himself Emperor and set out to claim an empire.
Over the next ten years, the armies of France under his command fought almost every European
power, and acquired control of most of continental Europe by conquest or alliance. The
disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point. The defeat at the Battle of Leipzig
the next year was the death knell for the Emperor, and he abdicated the next April after the
Allied Coalition invaded France.
He was sent in exile to the island of Elba. The next year, he escaped from Elba and marched on
Paris, collecting an army as he went. This brief return to power is known as the Hundred Days,
but ended definitively with the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. He spent the rest of his life in
exile on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died in 1821.
Timeline of Napoleon's Empire (1798-1821)
1798
19 May: Napoleon begins his Egyptian Campaign
2 July: Fall of Alexandria
21 July: The French defeat the Mamelukes at the Battle of the Pyramids in Egypt
24 July: Fall of Cairo
1 August: Under the command of the Admiral Nelson, the British fleet destroys the French navy
Battle of Aboukir. 29 December: Second Coalition formed against France. The Second Coalition
included Austria, Russia, and Britain, but not Prussia.
1799
20 February: Napoleon invades Syria towards the end of his Egyptian Campaign
18 June: Purge of Directory; Napoleon's ally, Paul Barras, consolidates his power.
July: The Rosetta Stone is discovered by Napoleon's troops.
24 August: Receiving news of turmoil in France, Napoleon leaves Egypt and sets sail for France.
16 October: Napoleon arrives in Paris.
9-10 November: Coup de Brumaire. Napoleon and Sieyes overthrow the Directory, and form the
three-person consulate. Sieyes and Ducos are appointed as the other two consuls.
12 December: Constitution of Year VIII. Napoleon is appointed First Consul.
1800
7 February: New Constitution approved by the French through a plebiscite.
19 February: Napoleon establishes his residence in the Tuileries Palace, the location where Louis
XVI was held under house-arrest between the period of his attempted escape from Paris and his
execution.
15-23 May: Napoleon leads his army across the Alps in the Second Italian Campaign.
14 June: Napoleon's army handily defeats the Austrian army, for Russia by 1799 had removed
itself from the Second Coalition, at Marengo. End of Second Italian Campaign.
5 November: Negotiations for Concordat open with the Papacy.
24 December: "Opera Plot" attempt to assassinate Napoleon, organized by Cadoudal, a French
royalist who also took part in the counter-revolutionary Vendee peasant rebellion in 1793.
1801
9 February: Treaty of Luneville signed with Austria. This Treaty was a renewal of the earlier,
Treaty of Campo Formio, which secured France's defeat of Austria and right to administer Italian
lands independent of Austria's will. This treaty also ends the Second Coalition.
15 July: Napoleon signs the Concordat with Pope Pius VII. The Concordat ends the schism
between the French government and the Catholic Church, by returning lands to the clergy that
were confiscated from the Church during the anti-clerical periods of the French Revolution, and
by assuring the Pope that France would remain a Catholic country.
30 August: French army still in Egypt surrenders to the British.
1802
26 January: Napoleon becomes president of the Republic of Italy.
25 March: Treaty of Amiens signed with the British. This treaty was essentially a pact in which
British and French forces agreed not to fight, and had no significant territorial provisions. With
Austria defeated, a peace signed with the British, and Russia's withdrawal from the Second
Coalition, for the first time in 10 years, Europe was at peace.
1 May: Napoleon begins his administrative and social reforms by instituting a new educational
system in France with the creation of the lycees, the Ecole Normale Superieur, and the
Polytechnique.
19 May: Napoleon establishes the Legion of Honor as a reward for loyal service to the nation
under the consulate of 1802. The creation of such an institution was in line with Napoleon's
emphasis on the creation of a meritocracy that awards those who serve the nation most
courageously and loyally.
2 August: Napoleon named Consul for Life through a plebiscite.
4 August: Constitution of Year X is also approved through a plebiscite.
1803
11 March: Camps established at Boulogne to train army for invasion of England.
3 May: Napoleon sells Louisiana territory to the U.S.
18 May: Rupture of Treaty of Amiens due to England's breach of the treaty leads to resumption
of war between France and Britain.
1804
February-March: Royalist plot to kidnap Napoleon leads to arrest of Generals Moreau and
Pichegru and Georges Cadoudal.
21 March: Civil Code, also known as the Napoleonic Code, is promulgated. The Civil Code
sought to abolish the privileges and inequalities embodied in the customs of the Ancien Regime.
The principles of personal liberty, freedom of conscience, and equality before the law were
consecrated by the Code. It protected property, but made women into second-class citizens.
18 May: Proclamation of the French Empire, and the declaration of Napoleon as the Emperor.
19 May: Marshals of the empire created.
2 December: Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of the French Empire in Notre Dame Cathedral,
Paris.
1805
26 May: Napoleon is crowned king of Italy in Milan.
7 June: Eugene de Beauharnais, relative to Josephine, Napoleon's wife, is named viceroy of Italy.
9 August: Third Coalition is formed. Austria joins British and Russian Alliance to fight France.
25 August: The Grande Armee, Napoleon's International Army comprised mostly of French and
Italians, leaves Boulogne for Germany.
21 October: Battle of Trafalgar marks another French naval defeat at the hands of the British
under the command of Admiral Nelson.
14 November: Napoleon enters Vienna.
2 December: Napoleon defeats Russian and Austrian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz.
26 December: Napoleon signs the Treaty of Pressburg with Austria. In this treaty the defeated
Austrians surrender their Italian territory of the region of Veneto in Northern Italy to the French.
1806
30 March: Napoleon appoints his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, king of Naples. Napoleon also
appoints other members of his family to rule conquered lands such as Spain.
May-June: Creation of Kingdom of Holland with Louis Bonaparte as king.
12 July: Napoleon establishes the Confederation of the Rhine, effectively ending the Holy
Roman Empire which was established by Charlemagne in 800.
July: Formation of Fourth Coalition led by Prussia, Russia, and Britain.
25 September: Prussian army invades the Confederation of the Rhine.
14 October: Napoleon, after having taken command of the Grande Armee in Germany, defeats
Prussia at the Battles of Jena-Auerstadt.
27 October: Napoleon enters Berlin.
21 November: Continental System inaugurated by Berlin Decrees. The Continental System was
Napoleon's plan to stop all shipping of British goods into Europe. The Continental System
resulted in a British blockade of all European shipping, and ended up hurting France more than
Britain. By trying to spread the Continental System into Spain, Napoleon and France had to
endure the constant harassment of the disastrous Peninsular War.
18 December: Napoleon enters Warsaw, setting the stage for the establishment of the Grand
Duchy of Warsaw.
1807
14 June: Napoleon defeats the Russians at the Battle of Friedland.
7-9 July: Treaty of Tilsit between France, Russia, and Prussia. The Treaty required Russia and
Prussia to abide by the Continental System.
22 July: Napoleon creates the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (Poland), to be overseen by France. The
creation of this state angers Tsar Alexander I, who saw this land as part of Greater Russia.
30 November: With the help of Spain, Napoleon begins the French occupation of Portugal under
the command of General Junot, which marks the beginning of the Peninular War.
1808
February: J.G. Fichte, a German Romantic philosopher and nationalist, delivers 'Address to the
German Nation' in Berlin hoping to inspire anti-Napoleonic and pro-German Nationalistic
movements.
1 March: Organization of the imperial nobility.
18 March: Ferdinand VII proclaimed king of Spain.
2 May: Revolt in Madrid against Murat's troops marks beginning of Spanish revolt against
French rule, which were immortalized in Goya's set of paintings 'The Disasters of War.'
7 July: Joseph Bonaparte crowned king of Spain; Murat and Caroline Bonaparte become king
and queen of Naples.
30 July: Joseph evacuates Madrid after growing resistance to France's occupation.
8 October: Napoleon's allies, including Alexander I of Russia, meet at Erfurt, Saxony.
5 November: Napoleon assumes command of the army of Spain.
13 December: Napoleon recaptures Madrid.
1809
16 January: Battle of Corunna; Napoleon leaves Spain.
6 April: Fifth Coalition formed by Britain, Austria, and rebel Spain, after Austria declares a 'War
of Liberation' against the Napoleonic Empire.
26 April: British army under Arthur Wellesley (later duke of Wellington) lands at Lisbon.
17 May: France annexes the Papal States.
5-6 July: Napoleon defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram.
14 October: Treaty of Schonbrunn between France and Austria, in which Austria lost some of its
northern land, which was added to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.
15 December: Napoleon divorces Josephine because she does not beget him a male heir.
1810
17 February: Rome annexed to French Empire
1 April: Napoleon marries Marie-Louise of Austria.
1 July: Holland annexed to France; Louis abdicates as king.
13 December: North German territories annexed to French Empire.
31 December: Tsar Alexander I breaks with Continental System because Britain was a major
importer of Russian grain.
1811
January-December: Preparations for Russian Campaign
20 March: Birth of Napoleon II, referred to as the king of Rome.
1812
30 May: Sixth Coalition formed by Russia and Sweden with support from Britain and rebel
Spain; Napoleon takes command of the Grande Armee in East Prussia and Poland.
24-25 June: The Grande Armee crosses the Niemen river, beginning the Russian campaign.
22 July: Battle of Salamanca in Spain
7 September: Battle of Borodino in Russia. Napoleon defeated the Russians making important
territorial gains, but suffered significant losses.
14 September: Napoleon's Grand Armee enters Moscow to find the city abandoned and set
aflame by the inhabitants; retreating in the midst of a frigid winter, the army suffers devastating
losses.
October: Duke of Wellington made allied commander in Spain.
19 October: French begin retreat from Moscow.
19 December: Napoleon, after leaving his army under the command of Murat in early December,
reaches Paris.
1813
26 February: Treaty of Kalisch between Prussia and Russia in which Russia commits to assist
Prussia regain the territory lost in the Treaty of Tilsit (1806).
16 March: Prussia declares war on France, leading to two battles of Prusso-Russian forces
against French forces, namely the Battle of Lutzen and Bautzen, both in May of 1813.
21 June: Wellington, leader of Spanish forces, defeats French forces under the command of
Joseph Bonaparte at Vitoria.
16-19 October: Battle of Leipzig: also known as the 'Battle of the Nations;' Austrian, Prussian,
Russian, Swedish, and Bohemian forces defeat Napoleon's Grande Armee in this town in
Saxony. One of the many civilian casualties in this battle was that of Friedrich Wagner, survived
by his wife and six-year old son Richard.
October-November: Collapse of the Confederation of the Rhine and Napoleon's power in
Germany.
November: Metternich offers Napoleon the 'Frankfurt Proposals,' a provision which gave
Napoleon the opportunity to surrender and remain 'Emperor of France.' Napoleon soon refuses
this deal.
1814
January: Castlereagh, British diplomat, goes to Europe to negotiate the post-Napoleonic peace.
January-March: Campaign of France. Allied army enters France.
11 January: Murat defects to the Allied forces.
9 March: Treaty of Chaumont-the four powers that defeated Napoleon (Britain, Austria, Prussia,
Russia) all agreed to ally for 20 years, promising to fight together to stop France if it ever got too
powerful again.
12 March: Wellington's Allied Army enters Bordeaux.
31 March: French Marshals Marmont and Mortier surrender Paris to the Allies.
2-3 April: The Senate and the Legislative Body proclaim the deposition of Napoleon.
6 April: Napoleon abdicates in favor of his son, and, according to the Treaty of Fontainebleau,
agrees to go into exile on the island of Elba, where he will receive a stipend of 2 million francs a
year (which was never paid) and he could keep the title Emperor.
11 April: Napoleon abdicates unconditionally.
1 May: Treaty of Paris-Louis XVIII proclaimed king of France, and France reverts to her 1792
borders.
4 May: Napoleon begins his exile on Elba, his wife and son take refuge in Vienna.
September: Congress of Vienna begins.
1815
1 March: Napoleon lands in Southern France, near Cannes, after setting sail from Elba a few
days earlier.
20 March: Napoleon arrives in Paris and takes control, Louis XVIII flees, marking the beginning
of the Hundred Days campaign.
18 June: Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by British and Prussians, led by
Wellington.
22 June: Napoleon's second abdication.
7 July: Allies enter Paris
16 October: Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena, an island in the remote South Atlantic, in which
escape would be virtually impossible.
20 November: Second Treaty of Paris signed, whose provisions are essentially the same as the
first.
1821
5 May: Napoleon dies on St. Helena
THE EURPOEAN COALITIONS AGAINST NAPOLEON
First Coalition (1793-1797): Austria, Great Britain, Naples, Prussia, Sardinia, Spain,
Portugal.
Second Coalition (1798-1800): Austria, Great Britain, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire.
Third Coalition (1805, ending with the Battle of Austerlitz): Great Britain, Austria,
Russia, Naples, and Sweden.
Fourth Coalition (1806-1807, ending with the Battle of Friedland): Great Britain, Prussia,
Russia, Saxony, and Sweden.
Fifth Coalition (1809): Great Britain and Austria.
Sixth Coalition (1812-1814, formed in response to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and
ending with the Treaty of Fontainebleau and Napoleon’s exile to Elba): Austria, Prussia,
Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, and some of the German states.
Seventh Coalition (1815, after Napoleon’s return to power): Austria, Netherlands,
Prussia, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and a number of German States.
WHO'S WHO IN NAPOLEON'S WORLD
Napoleon's Family
Joseph Bonaparte: Older brother of Napoleon, and like him, a professional soldier. He
was named King of Naples and later King of Spain by Napoleon after those countries
were conquered.
Joséphine de Beauharnais: First wife of Napoleon, and Empress of France. When she
and Napoleon failed to have children, she agreed to a divorce. She was previously
married to Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais, with whom she had a daughter, Hortense,
whose son Charles Louis Napoleon became Napoleon III during the Second Empire.
Marie Louise, archduchess of Austria, second wife of Napoleon and mother of his son,
Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte.
Napoleon II, King of Rome. Napoleon’s son and heir, who was referred to from birth as
the King of Rome. Napoleon abdicated in his son’s favor in 1815, and the boy was
recognized as Napoleon II for a few weeks before the Allies restored the Bourbon
monarchy to the throne. He lived the rest of his life in Austria, where he died at the age
of 21.
Caroline Bonaparte: Napoleon’s younger sister, who married Joachim Murat, one of
Napoleon’s generals.
Louis Bonaparte: Napoleon’s younger brother, named King of Holland in 1806.
French Politicians
Jean-Jacques de Cambacérès was Second Consul under Napoleon and trusted advisor in
legal and political matters. He drafted much of the Napoleonic Code, as well as the
petition to annul Napoleon’s marriage to Josephine. He was often ridiculed publicly by
Napoleon because of his homosexuality.
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (referred to as just Talleyrand) was French
foreign minister during the early part of Napoleon’s reign. He left the foreign ministry in
1807, alarmed by Napoleon’s ambition. After Napoleon’s abdication, Talleyrand headed
the provisional government.
Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance was a Royalist and French statesman who
remained on the fence during the Revolution but was a loyal servant of Napoleon from
the coup of 1999. Lebrun was named Third Consul following Napoleon’s coup of 1799,
contributing to Napoleon’s ideas about national finances and central administration of the
provinces.
Joachim Murat was one of Napoleon’s most loyal and powerful generals, and husband to
Napoleon’s sister Caroline. Murat was instrumental in securing some of Napoleon’s
earliest victories, and was named King of Naples after Joseph Bonaparte was sent to
Spain.
Allied Personages
The key players among the Coalition members are listed below:
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Duke of Wellington (British)
Emperor Francis I (Austria)
King Ferdinand VII (Spain)
King Frederick William III (Prussia)
Tsar Alexander I (Russia)
British Politicians
William Pitt “The Younger”: British prime minister during the French revolutionary
wars and the beginning of the Napoleonic wars. Pitt was a powerful Prime Minister who
consolidated the powers of his office in spite of being often at odds by his own Cabinet.
Robert Stewart (Viscount Castlereagh): An Anglo-Irish politician who served as
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies under Pitt, and as Foreign Secretary from
1812 onwards. He represented England at the Congress of Vienna.
Prince Regent (later George IV): Son of George III who controlled the monarchy as
Regent due to the mental illness of his father. At the death of George III, he became
George IV.
William Grenville: Foreign Secretary from 1791-1801 under William Pitt, Prime
Minister from 1806 – 1807, and a powerful member of the Opposition after Pitt’s death.
George Canning: Another Foreign Secretary and short-term Prime Minister, Canning
was responsible for much of the diplomacy during the early Napoleonic Wars. He is
credited with outmaneuvering Napoleon in Copenhagen, when he confiscated the Danish
fleet.