Transcript Napoleon Forges an Empire

Napoleon Forges an
Empire
Section 7-3
Napoleon’s Background
Was a very small man 5’3 & he had little
man’s syndrome
 Was a revolutionary hero (protected the
National Convention delegates from
attacking royalists) and defeated Austria &
Serbia
 Could not defeat Britain in Egypt but kept
news of his setbacks there out of the
papers so not many knew of them

Coming to Power
The Directory had lost control of the political
situation and confidence of the people in
France
 Napoleon returned from Egypt and with the
urging of his friends, he staged a coup d’ etat
(military take over of the government) and
took control of France
 He drove out most of the National Legislature
and created a 3 Consul system (he made
himself 1st Consul)
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Coming to Power (cont.)
Napoleon held a plebiscite - a vote by the
people to okay a new constitution that
gave him all of the political power
 He did this to make it appear that he was
achieving power through proper channels
and the people were tired of instability
 He brought peace to France by ending the
war with Britain, Russia, Austria, and other
nations
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Napoleon’s Domestic Issues
Didn’t change much (kept laws that
strengthened the government and upheld
Revolution values)
 Fixed the economy (established a national bank
& began efficient tax collecting)
 Dismissed many corrupt government officials &
set up lycees - government run public schools
 Graduates were appointed to public positions
based on merit rather than family connections
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Domestic Issues (cont.)
Signed a Concordat – agreement that
recognized the church’s influence but did not
allow it to interfere in national affairs
 Napoleonic Code – in his opinion this was
Napoleon’s greatest achievement. It was a
uniform set of laws that ended injustices but
also restricted many personal rights
 Crowned himself emperor in 1804 to show the
people that he was not being controlled by
anyone else
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Napoleon’s Foreign Issues
The Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase – the selling of
French owned land in the US (Jefferson is
the President)
 Did this to get money for France and to
hurt Britain
 “the sale assures forever the power of the
US and I have given England a rival who
sooner or later will humble her pride”
Napoleon
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Napoleon’s Foreign Issues
The Battle of Trafalgar
Napoleon gave up on the new world and
turned his focus to Europe
 He beats up on every European nation around
(England, Spain, Austria, Russia etc…)
 Until the Battle of Trafalgar-a sea battle
between Napoleon’s navy and the British led
by Horatio Nelson
 Nelson split the French up and captured much
of the fleet, this victory ensured the
supremacy of the British navy and stopped all
plans of invading Britain
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Napoleon’s French Empire
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Only areas that were free of Napoleon’s control by
1812 were England, Sweden, Portugal, and the
Ottoman Empire
Split into 3 parts
French Empire-captured by & directly controlled by
Napoleon
Independent nations that were ruled by Napoleon’s
puppets or family members (Spain, Warsaw, and
Germany kingdoms)
Allies – Russia, Austria, and Prussia who were easily
controlled through military threat