Transcript Age of Napoleon - Westerville City Schools

Age of
Napoleon
Early Life
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Napoleon Bonaparte dominated French and
European history from 1799-1815.
Brought the French Revolution to an end in 1799
Born in Corsica 1769
Son of a lawyer who came from Florentine
nobility
Studied at a military school in France
1785 became lieutenant in the French army
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Studied philosophes and military campaigns of great
military leaders
Early Life
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1792 captain of French army
1794(25 yrs old) brigadier of Committee of
Public Safety
1796 commander of French army in Italy
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Won confidence from his men
ability to make quick decisions
intelligence
ease with words
confidence in himself
Early Life
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1797 returned to France as a hero
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Given job to command and train an army to invade
Britain
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He proposed to invade Egypt and threatening India
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Major sources of British wealth
1799 took part in Coup d'état and set up the
consulate
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New government
Napoleon controlled entire government as first consul
Made himself consul for life
Crowned himself Emperor
Domestic Policies
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Created peace with the catholic church
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Took the role of a different religion depending on
where he was
Created seven codes of law
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Civil Code (Napoleonic code) - recognized equality of
all citizens
Choose their profession
Religious toleration
Abolition of serfdom and feudalism
Made it more difficult to get divorce if you were a
woman
Bureaucracy
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Hired officials
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Didn’t matter if they were royal or
revolutionary officials
Based on ability
Created new aristocracy
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Only 22% were from old regime
60% were middle class
Bureaucracy
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Napoleon preserved ideas of the revolution
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Civil code
Government careers to people on ability
Changed ideas as well
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Shut down 60 of 73 newspapers in France
All manuscripts were subject to government scrutiny
Mail was opened by government police
Napoleon’s Empire
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When he became consul in 1799 France
was at war with Russia, Great Britain and
Austria
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Signed a peace treaty in 1802
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1803 war began with Great Britain
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But didn’t last long
Great Britain was joined by Austria, Russia
and Prussia
Napoleon’s army defeated Austria, Prussia
and Russia
French Empire
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1807-1812 France was composed of 3
major parts
French Empire
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Enlarged France (Rhine to the east and
western half of Italy North of Rome)
Dependent States
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Kingdoms under rule of Napoleon’s relatives
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Spain, Holland, Italy, Swiss Republic, Grand Duchy
of Warsaw, Confederation of Rhine (Germany)
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Allied States
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Defeated by Napoleon and forced to join the
struggle against Britain
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Prussia, Austria Russia, and Sweden
Principles of the Revolution
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Napoleon wanted to spread the ideas of
the French Revolution
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Legal equality, religious tolerance, and
economic freedom
He tried to destroy the old order within
the Empire
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Nobility and clergy lost their privileges
European Response
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Napoleon wanted his empire to last for
centuries
It collapsed as quickly as it was formed
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Britain survival
Nationalism
Britain’s Survival
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Because Britain had a great Navy they
could not be attacked
Napoleon wanted to attack but British
Navy defeated a French-Spanish navy in
1805
Napoleon turned to his continental system
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Goal was to stop British goods from being
sold in Europe
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By weakening their economy he would destroy
their ability to wage war
Nationalism
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A unique cultural identity of people based
on common language, religion, and
national symbols
Napoleon’s spread of French ideals made
nationalism spread elsewhere
Hated by their oppressors
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Stirred patriotism in opposition to French rule
Showed nations what nationalism could do
Fall of Napoleon
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Russia refused to be apart of the
continental system
Napoleon had no choice but to invade
June 1812 a Grand Army of 600,000 men
invaded Russia
Napoleon needed a quick victory
But Russians retreated for hundreds of
miles burning everything
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When they reached Moscow everything
was burnt and there was no food or
supplies
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This began the great retreat.
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This led to other European nations to
attack France
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Paris was captured in 1814
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Only 40,000 troops returned home
Napoleon was exiled to Elba
Monarchy was restored to Louis XVIII
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Brother of King, Louis XVI
The Final Defeat
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The new king had little support
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Napoleon made his way back to France
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He raised another army and attacked the
nearest allied forces in Belgium
At Waterloo in Belgium he was met by the
Duke of Wellington
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Announced he was emperor
Led a British and Prussian Army
He was defeated and exiled to St. Helena