Napoleon Bonaparte/Nationalism
Napoleon Bonaparte
• Early Life
- Born on the island of Corsica
- Came to France to receive an education
- Was an officer in the artillery when the revolution broke
out
- Given credit for defeating a counter-revolution which
helped start his popularity
• Military Conquests
- regarded as one of the greatest military leaders of all
time
- Given command of an army in southern France where
he defeated larger armies and went on the offensive
Napoleon Continued
- Eventually conquers most of Europe for the
French Empire including Italy, the Germanic
territories, Spain, Poland etc
- Spread the ideas of the French Rev. to the
conquered areas: ended serfdom, took away
class privilege, law was applied = to everybody
- Two European countries not conquered by
Napoleon: England and Russia
- He attempted to defeat England through a plan
called the Continental System. This forbid all
countries under his control to trade with Great
Britain
Napoleon Continued
- Napoleons greatest military mistake came when he
decided to invade Russia
- Invaded with 600,000 troops and returned to France with
roughly 40,000 troops
• Political Career
- First gained control of the French government when he
carried out a coup de tat against the Directory.
- His first title was 1st consul
- At the height of his political/military career he had himself
crowned Emperor
- Had no tolerance for political opposition
Napoleon continued
- After his defeat in Russia he was exiled to Elba
- He returned from his exile to once again seize
control of the government from the French King.
- He was defeated for the final time by the Duke of
Wellingon at the Battle of Waterloo and exiled to
St. Helena where he died
• Legacy left by Napoleon
- A modern well written system of laws known as
the Napoleonic Code
- Feudalism was ended in most of Europe
- The beginning of public education
Unification Overview
• Unification definition: The bringing together of smaller states or
territories into 1 state
• Napoleon had unified much of Europe under the French Empire.
Eventually most of these countries turned against Napoleon and
hoped to control their own governments. People wanted to get rid of
Napoleon and form their own state (nationalism)
• After Napoleon was sent into exile the Congress of Vienna put
Europe back together 1n 1815
- Was run by conservatives who wanted to see Europe as it had been
before Napoleon
- Prince Von Metternich shaped the decisions of the Congress to do
the following: make sure France was surrounded by powerful
nations, leave the Germanic and Italian territories divided up into
small territories, give Austria a lot of influence and power
The Unification of Germany
• The Germanic states had sometimes been referred to as
the Germanic Confederation. Examples: Prussia,
Saxony, Bavaria
• In 1848 many of the Germanic States got together at the
Frankfurt Assembly to discuss unification. It did not work
• The Germanic states formed the Zollverein which
brought the economies into close cooperation. Tariffs
were dropped and a common currency was now used.
- The Zollverein was an economic success
- Austria never became a member even though it has a
Germanic culture
Unificaton of Germany Continued
• Prussia becomes the strongest of the Germanic states
- Very strong economy and military
- Other Germanic states look to Prussia for leadership
- William the 1st is the Kaiser of Prussia
- Otto Von Bismark becomes the Prime Minister of
Prussia. He is most responsible for eventually unifying
Germany
- Bismark was a very smart politician. He believed that
the ends justified the means which is called Realpolitik
- Bismark believed that Germany could be unified through
a series of wars or what he called “Blood and iron”
policies
Unification of Germany Continued
• Germany was unified after 3 wars
- A war was fought with Denmark over 2 Germanic
territories: Schelsweig & Holstein. Austria and Prussia
defeated Denmark easily
- After the war with Denmark,Austria and Prussia fought a
war over how the new territories should be governed.
Prussia defeats Austria and emerges as the strongest of
the Germanic states
- All of the North Germanic states are now joined together
under the leadership of Prussia. This is called the North
German Confederation
- The Southern Germanic states are mostly Catholic and
do not want to join the mostly Protestant north
Unification of Germany continued
• Bismark then provokes a war with France. This war was
called the Franco-Prussian War and was easily won by
Prussia
- The Catholic South joins with the North during the
Franco Prussian War
- Napoleon III gives away large territories to Prussia
including a rich industrial area called Alsace-Lorraine.
France was disgraced by the treaty and never forgave
Germany
- William I is then crowned Kaiser of a unified Germany at
Versailles
- Bismark becomes chancellor of Germany
Unification of Germany continued
• The New Germany has a government with 2 houses of
parliament
- The Reichstag was the lower house of parliament
- The more powerful Bundersat was the upper house.
Made up of militarists opposed to democracy
- The government is truly run by the Kaiser who controls
foreign policy and can manipulate parliament
- William II becomes Kaiser and sends Bismark into
retirement. He is an aggressive militarist
Unification of Italy
• After the Congress of Vienna the Italian
city states were split up into separate
territories just like in Germany. Examples:
Sardinia, Venetia, Rome
- Most of the Italian territories were
dominated by Austria. Italians resented
the foreign rule and wanted to unify.
- In 1820 an attempt to unify Italy is crushed
by the Austrians
Unification of Italy continued
- Sardinia (also known as the kingdom of
Sardinia becomes the leader of Italian
unification. Prime Minister Cavour is the
leader of the fight.
- Sardinia builds up a modern economy with
railroads and industries, improves its
agriculture and builds up the army – now
ready to take on Austria in fight for and
independent and unified Italy
Unification of Italy continued
- With help from England, France, and other Italian states,
Sardinia wins a number of battles against the Austrians
and begins to unify Italy
• In Southern Italy an Italian nationalist group called the
Redshirts is formed by Guiseppi Garibaldi. The
Redshirts drive the Austrians out of Southern Italy
Unification if Italy Continued
• Southern Italy joins Sardinia and a new
unified Italy is born
• In 1871 Victor Emmanuel is crowned King
of a United Italy