Transcript File
Age of Revolutions
Napoleon and the Congress System
The Terror Begins
• The “Reign of Terror’ filtered out of
the second wave of the
revolution…Jacobins!
• Main goal was to protect the new
Republic
• The Committee’s job was to over see
affairs of France.
Vive la France!
• The Committee of Public Safety led
the way in the protection of the
Republic.
- Maximilien Robespierre
- Jacques Danton
- Lazare Carnot
Robespierre
• 1758-1794
• Left-wing Jacobin
• Supported the
sans culottes
• Ruler during the
Terror
• Festival of the
Supreme Being
To Arms!!!
• Robespierre and the Committee of
Public Safety issued the levee en
masse.
• Revolutionary expectations--protect
the REPUBLIC!
• Robespierre answer was put terror
into their hearts!
The Policies
• Exclusion of Women from politics
• De-Christianization of France
- Supreme Being
• Revolutionary Tribunals against
enemies of the republic
- Guillotine
Thermidorian Reaction
• July 27, 1794 a tempering of the
revolution began.
– Goal was to quell the heated battles of
the “Terror”
• Institute rule and law:
– Ban violent groups like the
“Commune”
– Restructure the government
The Directory
• Constitution of the Year III (1795)
• Legislature of two houses: (Bicameral)
- Council of Elders
- Council of Five Hundred
• Executive Body was a five person
directory.
Napoleon’s Rise to Power
• The Directory under
the new Constitution
gave a lot of power to
the military.
• Assisted in putting
down the monarchist
coup d’etat in 1795
and saved the
Republic.
Military Victories
• Early on Napoleon
was very successful.
• 1797 - Treaty of
Campo Formio
controlled
Switzerland and
Italy.
• 1798 - Invaded Egypt
State of France
• The Directory encounters problems
- Economic Crisis
- The International War
• Constitution of Year VIII - Abbe Sieyes
employed Napoleon to stage a coup d’etat on
November 9, 1799 (18 Brumaire).
• “confidence from below, power from above.”
The Consulate
• 1799 - Napoleon became First Consul
• 1799-1804 - Napoleon secured power
as the ruling figure in France.
• Napoleon began his consulate by
establishing peace among his enemies.
• He weeded out any opposition and
took absolute rule.
Protector of the Republic?
•
Quickly Napoleon established a balance of power by applying democratic
principles, such as:
– Destroyed Feudal Privileges
– Security of Property for the Middle Class
– Universal Male Suffrage
Treaties
• 1801- Treaty of Luneville took Austria
out of the war.
• 1802- Treaty of Amiens brought peace to
Europe, including Britain.
• 1802 - Concordat in Rome brought peace
with the pope and the church.
Napoleonic Code
• 1802 - Napoleon became “Consul for
Life” and then led France into a
codification of laws.
• 1804 - Napoleonic Code helped
establish a Dynasty.
• Emperor Napoleon I - December 2,
1804.
An Upstart Soldier
• Between 1804 -1807, Napoleon
wraps the European Continent in
war.
• Very successful on land, but no
match for Britain on the sea.
• October 21, 1805 – Battle of
Trafalgar … Horatio Nelsen
Conquering Europe
• On land, Napoleon’s army was
brilliant.
• Battle of Austerlitz 1805 made
Napoleon master of all German
lands.
• Treaty of Pressburg made Napoleon
the king of Italy.
Battle of Austerlitz
Political Changes
• In July 1806, Napoleon organized the
Confederation of the Rhine and dissolved
the HRE.
• Battle of Jena 1806, he defeats the Prussians
• By 1807, Napoleon was master of all
German Lands.
• Treaty of Tilsit – July 7, 1807 made Prussia
and Russia allies of Napoleon.
A Dictator of Sorts
• Napoleon transformed Europe into a
Continental System.
• Instituted Reforms wherever he ruled.
-Napoleonic Code
-Freed serfs and peasants
-social distinctions
Pyrrhic Dance
• Several factors led to the war
between France and Russia
1. Breaking the Treaty of Tilsit
2. Failed marriage negotiations
3. The Continental System
• By 1810, Tsar Alexander declared
war on the French Empire.
A Dead End War
• Napoleon’s Grand Army greatly
outnumbered the Russians.
• The invasion, however, did not favor
Napoleon.
• Russians employed a “scratch and
burn” tactic.
Russian Preparation
Battle of Borodino
Moscow, 1812
European Coalition
• Metternich rounded up a coalition to
rid Napoleon of European
dominance.
• Russia, Prussia, Austria, & Britain
• Battle of Nations, in 1814 forced
Napoleon to abdicate and flee to
Elba.
The Congress of Vienna
• Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh &
Prince Metternich headed the congress.
• Treaty of Chaumont – March 9, 1814
- Restoration of Bourbons
- Quadruple Alliance
The Hundred Days
• On March 1, 1815, Napoleon returned to
France and seized power.
• The Congress of Vienna declared him an
outlaw and went after him.
• June 18, 1815 - Napoleon was defeated at
Waterloo and sent into exile on St.
Helena.
Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon’s Legacy
• Napoleon’s reign following the
revolutionary government showed the
power of the nationhood, which inspired
Europe.
• Birth of the Age of Ideologies
– Romanticism, Nationalism, Liberalism
Bourbon Restoration
• Louis XVIII political realist
• Constitutional
Monarchy
established
• The “Charter”
• Ultraroyalism White Terror
Nationalism
• The belief that a nation is composed
of people who are joined by common
bonds.
• Opposed the Congress of Vienna
• The notion of “popular sovereignty”
• The Nation and Nationhood.
Nations on the Rise
• Developed a “national” language
that did away with dialects.
• The Printed Word
• Nationhood as way to bridge
together people of an ethnic group.
• Nationalists put pressure on Empires
Liberalism
• Liberalism grew out of the
nineteenth century political turmoil.
• Seeped in Enlightenment ideals.
• Wanted Constitutions and political
freedom.
• Responsible Government
Political & Economic
Goals
• Wanted boarder political
participation, but not democracy.
• Privilege based on wealth and
property.
• The rising middle-class
• Laissez-faire Economics
Conservatism
• The domestic political order among
European countries tended to be
conservative in form & principle.
• Pillars of conservatism were
legitimate monarchies, landed
aristocracies, and established
churches.
Epitome of Conservatism
Conservative Tenets
• Opposed the rule of popular
sovereignty and economic liberty.
• Limited constitutions - power
control by monarchies &
aristocracies.
• The alliance system
Universities
• Several student groups rise up
supporting the cause of nationalism.
• Burchenschaften - Germany
• Karl Sand – 1819-20 became a
martyr for the student nationalist
groups.
Sand murders Kotzebue
Sand’s Execution
Carlsbad Decrees
1. Government officials appointed to each
University
2. No teacher/professor allowed to serve as a
government official
3. Banned secret societies and organizations
4. Rule of expulsion
Problems in England
• Lord Liverpool’s Ministry &
Popular Unrest
• Poor Law and Unions
• The Peterloo massacre 1819
• The Six Acts & Parliamentary
Reform
St. Peter’s Field 1819
Six Acts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Forbade large public meetings
Raised fines for seditious libel
Speedy trial for political agitators
Increased newspaper tax
Prohibited the training of armed groups
Allowed local officials to search homes
on suspicion.
The Congress System
• 1815-1822 European international relations
were controlled by congresses.
• 1815: Vienna “Concert of Europe”
• 1818: Aix-la-Chapelle
• 1820: Troppau
• 1821: Laibach
• 1822: Verona
Congress of Vienna
• Metternich wanted to assure that
peace in Europe was maintained.
• Authority of the monarchies and
aristocracies.
• Mutual consultation of politics.
Problems
• The aftermath of the Congress of
Vienna sparked a number of
opposition uprisings.
• Crisis, Revolt, and Revolutions
• Reform Movements on both sides
liberal and conservative
Russian Dismay
• In 1825, Russia began to encounter a
series of problems.
• Army developed reformist
sympathies
• Secret Societies spring up and echo
the liberal doctrine
• Change Russia --- Free the Serfs.
The Decembrist Revolt
• Two crisis breakout in 1825.
• The First was Tsar Alexander died
with no direct heir to the throne.
• Secondly, Moscow regiment of the
Russian Army refused to swear
allegiance to Nicholas.
Tsar Nicholas I
• “Orthodoxy, Autocracy, &
Nationalism”
• Refused to abolish serfdom
• Reform Movements:
- Official Nationality
- Codification of Russian Law
Revolt in Poland
• In 1830, Poland began to ride the
coat-tails of the revolutionary
movements across Europe.
• Nicholas suppressed the revolt and
issued the Organic Statute in 1832.
• Poland remained apart of the
Russian Empire.
Next Week
• Why did the revolutions of 1848 fail
throughout Europe?
• What roles did liberals and
nationalists play in the revolutions?
• Why did they sometimes clash?