“Napoleon’s Empire Collapses”
23-4
The European Response
• Napoleon’s Grand Empire collapsed
almost as rapidly as it had been
formed
• Two major reasons for the collapse
of Napoleon’s Grand Empire are:
the survival of Great Britain & the
force of nationalism
Britain's Survival
• Britain’s survival was due
primarily to its naval power
• The British navy’s decisive defeat
of a combined French-Spanish
fleet at Trafalgar in 1805
destroyed any thought of an
invasion of Britain
Britain's Survival
• The aim of the Continental System
was to stop British goods from
reaching the European continent to
be sold there
• It failed, Allied States resented being
told not to trade with Britain, others
began to cheat, others resisted
Nationalism
• Nationalism is the unique cultural
identity of a people based on
common language, religion & national
symbols
• Indirectly help spread nationalism to
other European countries
Napoleon’s Costly Mistakes
• The Continental System
• Napoleon strikes Britain through blockade-forced
closing of ports
• Continental System-economic plan to strengthen
Europe, weaken Britain
• Smugglers and uncooperative allies make
France’s blockade fail
• Britain responds with blockade of its own, led by
stronger navy
The Continental System
The Peninsular War (Iberian)
• Napoleon sends troops
across Spain to Portugal,
causing protest
• Napoleon tricked the
Spanish king and prince to
come to France, where he
imprisoned them
• He proclaimed his brother,
Joseph, to be the new
king of Spain
• This makes things worse
The Peninsular War (Iberian)
• Spanish fight as guerillas-small groups that
attacked then disappear
• British aid Spanish guerillas
• He stationed over 100,000 Fr troops in Madrid.
• On May 2, 1808 [Dos de Mayo] the Spanish rose
up in rebellion
• Fr troops fired on the crowd in Madrid the next
day [Tres de Mayo]
“Third of May, 1808” by Goya (1810)
The Invasion of Russia
• 1807 - Czar of Russia
had agreed not to trade
with Britain, but due to
poor economic
conditions he continued
the trade in timber
• Russians refused to
remain in the
Continental System
leaving Napoleon with
little choice but to
invade Russia
Scorched Earth Policy
• June, 1812 -
Napoleon’s army
marches into Russia
with 420,000 men
• 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
Moscow
• September 1812- Russians retreat from Moscow
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after Battle of Borodino
Napoleon finds Moscow abandoned and burning
The day after Napoleon took Moscow it went up in
flames
Napoleon waits 8 weeks for the Czar to surrender.
He refuses.
Napoleon abandoned Moscow late in October 1812
and began the “Great Retreat”
Moscow
Conditions on the Journey Home
• 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
• 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
Heavy Losses
• 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 horses lost in the
battle would cost
Napoleon a victory in
the next battle
Napoleon Abdicates
• Britain, Prussia, Sweden, Russia, Austria join forces against
France
• Napoleon raises another army, but meets quick defeat by
allied powers
• Allied forces occupied Paris on March 31, 1814
• Napoléon abdicated on April 6 in favor of his son, but the
Allies insisted on unconditional surrender.
• Napoléon abdicated again on April 11
• Treaty of Fontainebleau  exiles Napoléon to Elba with an
annual income of 2,000,000 francs
Napoleon in Exile on Elba
Monarchy Restored
• 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.
The Hundred Days
• Louis XVIII, new king, is soon overthrown and
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Napoleon returns from exile
Waterloo-British, Prussian forces defeat Napoleon’s
army
This defeat ends The Hundred Days-Napoleon’s last
attempt at power
Napoleon exiled to island of St. Helena, in South
Atlantic
Dies six years later
On the Way to St. Helena
Napoleon’s Residence on St. Helena
Napoleon’s Tomb
Hitler Visits Napoleon’s Tomb
June 28, 1940