Transcript Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) - APEH

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
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Origins
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A Noble Corsican Family
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Trained in armies of Ancien Regime
Commissioned 1785
Was in favor of the Revolution.
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Character
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He saw himself as a man of Destiny
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A rationalist and an opportunist
Romantic Streak
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Compared himself to Alexander the Great and Caesar.
Devoted to his family - he made them important all
over Europe.
Coup of 18 Brumaire
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Napoleon Named First Consul 1799
The Coup did not go well.
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Napoleon addressed the Assembly
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Shouted down and became angry.
Saved by his brother Lucien calling in the army
forced away the deputies.
Napoleon's account of this later was distorted
 Failed to mention that Lucien saved him.
 Napoleon become one of three consuls.
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Presents himself as saving the Republic
New Constitution of the Year VIII
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It appealed to republican theory (Checks and Balances)
it included a Council of State (ref. Louis XIV)
It actually made Napoleon ruler
Approved by plebiscite (3,011,077 to 1,567)
May be regarded as then end of the French Revolution
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Declaration to that effect in 1799
 In reality the rev. was over at Thermidor.
Napoleon's Rule in France (1799-1814)
The Consulate (1799-1804)
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Napoleon maintained order in the state by his policies.
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Liberal Policies
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worked out important compromises between competing groups
Employed people from all political groups. (e.g. Talleyrand)
Gains of the peasants were confirmed
Granted an amnesty to nobles
Decreed improved education.
Signed the Concordat of 1801 with Pope Pius VII
 Gave Catholics freedom of worship.
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It said Catholicism is Religion of most Frenchmen.
 State named bishops and paid priests
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The Church gave up its claims on property.
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Clergy swore loyalty to the state.
Conservative Order
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Central government control of the Provinces.
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Stopped the free press and free speech 1800
Ruthless in crushing opposition secret police developed.
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Murdered the Bourbon Duke of Enghien 1804
Stopped free elections - especially when he declared
himself emperor
CIVIL CODE 1804 = Napoleonic Code
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Granted the Middle class equality
Safeguarded property rights
Abolished all Privileges of birth
Made state officials be chosen by merit
Gave men control over their wives
Labor unions forbidden
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Set the tone of all later French life
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legally egalitarian, socially bourgeois, and administratively
bureaucratic.
Napoleon's Rule in France
The Empire (1804-1814)
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Used fears of a Bourbon comeback to get himself
crowned Emperor.
 Also had another new constitution: also approved by
plebiscite.
Pope came to do it but Napoleon crowned himself
 Story of Charlemagne in 800AD being crowned by
pope and then having to support him.
 Restoration of a Quasi-nobility: Legion of Honor.
1809 Napoleon married Archduchess Marie Louise
 A more fitting wife for an emperor than Josephine,
(supposedly she was sexually to much for him).
Coronation of Napoleon
Conquering an Empire
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Peace of Ameins(1802)
Britain was only truce because of Napoleon’s ambitions
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Treaty of Campo Formio:
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Redistribution of territories along Rhine, princes scrambled for
land
Reduction of Austrian influence, emergence of Napoleondependant larger German states
British Naval Supremacy
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Army sent to quell colony of Haiti, aroused British fears of French
American empire because Spain restored Louisiana to France(1800),
also in Swtzerland, Italy, Germany
British sent ultimatum
Napoleon ignored it,
Britain declared war May 1803 – William Pitt Jr. returned as
prime minister(1804), began constructing 3rd Coalition; persuaded
Austria/Russia
Oct. 21, 1805, British Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, destroyed
combined French/Spanish fleets at Battle of Trafalgar:
British lost no ships – ended all hope of French invasion of
Britain, guaranteed Britain control of sea
War against Third Coalition
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(Aus. Russ. Swed. GB)
 Lost Naval dominance to Britain at Trafalgar
1805 (Lord Horatio Nelson killed)(21 Oct)
 Britain now had the dominance of the seas it
was to keep for the next century.
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Napoleon Dominant in Europe
 1805 Austerlitz (Dec 2)(just after Trafalgar) Napoleon gains Italy
 1806 Jena defeats Prussia (supposedly best
army in Europe).
 1807 Treaty of Tilsit
 Signed by Napoleon, by Alexander I of
Russia (secretly)
 Russia becomes part of continental system
 -French Territorial gains confirmed
 Russia reduced in size.
The Grand Empire and the Continental System
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French controlled all of Continental Europe (achievement shows
unrealized possibilities of France under the later Ancien Regime).
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1806 The Holy Roman Empire dissolved.
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French Empire set up including land up to the Rhine
and beyond.
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Germany re-organized July 1806 as The Confederation
of the Rhine.
New Kingdoms set up - Spain, Italy, Holland, Sweden All with Napoleons family or followers on the throne. One
relative became a Cardinal.
All the other state were, for the time being allies.
The Napoleonic Code was imposed everywhere. -end
of Feudalism + Local town oligarchies
Continental System
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After Treaty of Tilsit,
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The Milan Decree of 1807:
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Napoleon needed to defeat British to feel safe
Couldn’t defeat navy, so tried to cut off British trade and
drive Britain from the war
Attempted to stop neutral nation from trading w/Britain
British economy survived
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Continental System hurt European economies
Napoleon rejected suggestions to make empire trade-free
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Tariff policies favored France
Increased foreign resentment
less willing to enforce system, more likely to smuggle
Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808 in part to prevent
smuggling, helped bring his ruin
Prussian Reform
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Prussian admin./social reforms
 Baron vom Stein and Count von Hardenberg
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Wanted to keep power of Prussian monarch/nobles
Tried to fight French w/revolution
Reforms came from top,
changed social scene
Broke Junker land monopoly/serfdom abolished
Some manorial labor) /new problems created by landless labor
force w/population explosion
Military reforms:
abolished inhumane military punishments
Embraced patriotism
Opened officer corps to commoners/based on merit/war colleges
Reforms soon let Prussia regain former power
 Limited army to 42,000 men, universal conscription not introduced
until 1813(trained reserves)
The Wars of Liberation
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Spain: resistance had deep social roots
 Napoleon used a revolt to dispose of
Spanish Bourbons
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replace with brother, Joseph
attacks on church enraged peasants
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General rebellion – new guerilla warfare, British
helped out,
long campaign would drain French strength
elsewhere, big role in Nap’s defeat
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Austria:
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Spanish troubles encouraged Austrians, renewed war
1809; since defeat at Austerlitz, sought war of revenge,
counted on Nap’s distraction
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French Army marched to Austria, won Battle of Wagram
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French weariness
German princes (none happened)
Peace of Schoenbrunn: Austria lost territory/3.5 million
Marie Louise
spoil of Nap’s victory, Austrian archduchess, daughter of
emperor – old wife was 46, no children; divorced her,
married 18-yr-old Marie
considered marrying sister of Tsar Alexander
The Invasion of Russia
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March on Moscow
1810 Russians withdrew from the Continental system. and
resume contact with GB.
1812 Napoleon Attempts to march on Moscow, as his major
continental opponent.
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Defeated by the Cold and snow and lack of supplies
 Russians used scorched earth policy.
 Also defeated by the resistance put up by the entire
Russian people - from the Tsar to the serfs.
 Tsar did not allow for any one decisive battle which
was Napoleon's forte (Borodino 1812 not decisive)
The Retreat from Moscow - 1812/1813
 Napoleon was unable to get together another army for six
months. About 100,000 out of 600,000 survived.
 Raised 350,000
The Opposition Becomes Effective
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1813
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Prussia after defeat at Jena reorganized and
modernized
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Some land reform. end of serfdom, calls to patriotism.
42,000 men trained each year
By 1813 it was strong again - army of 270,000
Napoleon still put down opponents in Paris/raised another
350K men
Other countries hesitant to attack,
 Austrian foreign minister, Prince Klemens von Metternich
would have settled reasonably,
 Nap didn’t consider compromising
Patriotic pressure/national ambition brought together most powerful coalition v. Napoleon(1813)
European Coalition
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The Fourth Coalition, (Russia, Prussia,
Austria, GB)
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Russians drove westward, joined by Austria/Prussia
w/vast amounts of British $;
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Wellington marched peninsular army into France from west
New army was inexperienced/poorly equipped; still,
waged skillful campaign in central Europe, defeated
allies at Dresden
In Oct. Nap decisively defeated at Leipzig in “Battle of
Nations”
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a few days later, Nap abdicated/went into exile on island of
Elba, of coast of northern Italy
The Congress of Vienna
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Fear of Nap/hostility to ambitions had held coalition
together;
 Split apart, seeking separate goals
 Agreement reached through Robert Stewart,
Viscount Castlereagh, British foreign secretary;
 Treaty of Chaumont (March9,1814)
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restored Bourbons to French throne/contracted French
frontiers
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final deal at Vienna Congress
HRE, dissolved since 1806, left untouched/established
legitimate monarchs/rejected republican/democratic
politics that came from French Rev
Brought agreement that Britain, Austria, Russia,
Prussia would from Quadruple Alliance for 20 yrs to
preserve settlement
Territorial Adjustments
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Settlement of Eastern Europe divided victors
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Alex. I of Russia wanted Poland/ Prussia would
trade for Saxony
Austria unwilling to give up share of Poland or see
Russian/Prussian power grow (Polish-Saxon
Question)
Talleyrand, representing France,
 suggested that leak of “secret treaty” between
France, Britain, Austria would bring Alexander to
his senses
Russia accepted smaller Poland,
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Prussia settled for ½ of Saxony,
France was included as 5th great power in all
deliberations
The Hundred Days
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Nap returned from Elba(March1,1815) army
still loyal;
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Promised liberal constitution
peaceful foreign policy
Allies declared him outlaw and went to crush him
Wellington with help of Prussians under
Field Marshal von Bluecher,
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defeated Nap at Waterloo in Belgium
(June18,1815)
Nap abdicated, sent to exile on Saint Helena,
died there in 1821
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the Quadruple Alliance
Alexander proposed Holy Alliance
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Quadruple Alliance renewed(Nov20,1815)
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New diplomacy in European affairs; determined to prevent
upheaval
purpose of treaty to secure peace,
Vienna Settlement, powers framed good relations
Congress of Vienna achieved goals
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monarchs promised to act with Christian ideals,
Austria and Prussia signed
Britain- Castlereagh didn’t
France accepted situation/new legal framework
Criticized for failing to recognize/provide for
nationalism/democracy (inappropriate) general desire was for
peace
virtually unprecedented to produce settlement intact for 100 yrs
Changed Political Map of Europe
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Holy Roman Empire Goes
 Austria now its own nation
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300 German States reduced to 39.
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More Catholic states than Protestant ones disappeared
no Habsburg would again be elected emperor
France becomes less important for 30 years
Britain's mastery of the seas now total