Napoleon Bonaparte

Scoundrel or Saviour?From a variety of sources

• Napoleon Bonaparte 1769-1821 • Born on French ruled island of Corsica (in the

Mediterranean) • Minor aristocrat (noble).

– Poor noble but attended schools with the privileged.

– Discouraged he could not find acceptance by the upper class students.

– He struggled with the idea that he was brighter than most of his classmates but did not receive the recognition due to his lack of status. This drove him to study harder and fueled his ambitions.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon’s Rise to Power• Early Success• 1789 Napoleon was a French lieutenant during the

French Revolutionary war.

• Fought the British in 1793 and helped drive them out of France (Toulon). The French Revolutionary War years proved to be successful ones for Napoleon. He finds himself on the battlefield. VERY POPULAR

• Promoted to General and given an army.

• Defeated the Austrians in multiple battles, forcing the Hapsburg emperor to make peace.

EmpressJosephine

1796Napoleon’s first wife,

Josephine de Beauharnais,

aided her husband’s careerthrough her interpersonal

skills and political connections.

• then invades Egypt. • 1798 - Egyptian expedition (Rosetta stone discovered) –

Ends in Defeat due to Nelson´s victory at “The Nile”

http://www.grimshaworigin.org/Webpages2/JohnGwBattleNile.htm

1799 - Snuck past British blockade in Mediterranean and took control of the Directory by coup d’état

● Set up three-man consulate with himself as First Consul

● 1802 - Consul for life

● 1804 - Crowned himself emperor

● Plebiscite - Napoleon always held these popular votes (done by ballot) and everyone always voted for his policies

● Democratic despotism - he had absolute power regardless of the fact that he held plebiscites

France Under Napoleon

• Reforms and the Napoleonic Code– Controlled prices, encouraged

industry and built roads and canals to restore economic prosperity.

– Made peace with the Catholic Church.

France Under Napoleon

• Napoleonic Code– Enlightenment

Principles• Equality of all

citizens, religious toleration.

• However, women lost most of their newly gained rights.

Building an Empire• A New European Empire

– Napoleon annexed, or added outright to France lands including the Netherlands, Belgium, parts of Italy and Germany.

• The Battle of Trafalgar 21 Oct 1805

– French naval defeat at the hands of the British.

– SEE NEXT SLIDE

• The Continental System– Economic warfare waged against the British

by closing European ports to British goods. The British responded with its own blockade.

– This plan did not defeat the British, instead resentment grew as prices throughout Europe rose.

Napoleon meets “General Winter” and “General Mud”

Spanish Guerrilla

This Continental

System Stinks!

The End of an EraDownfall of Napoleon

Russia• Czar Alexander I withdraws from the

Continental System due to economic and political frustrations.

• Napoleon responds by sending 610,000 troops to Russia. Instead of fighting, Russians retreat East, burning crops and villages (scorched earth) as they went. (up to 400,000 soldiers died!!)

• When Napoleon entered Moscow he realized he could not feed his troops so he returned home with only 10,000 troops.

• 1812 Russia

– Big Mistake

– Note to – Would be conquerors of

Britain and the World

– Never invade Russia while you are doing it!!

– WHY?

Oops• Too Far from France --- Supply lines stretched

•Thousands of soldiers die - 422,000 enter ……………10,000 leave

• Russians use “scorched Earth policy”No food, supplies or shelter - All houses burned

•Winter sets in - Harsh temperatures -40° F (-40° C )

• Napoleon must retreat

Defeated and Exiled• Napoleon can not defend

France

• Allies gang up - Defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Nations

• 1813 - Quadruple Alliance of Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, defeated Napoleon at the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig

• Napoleon Exiled to Elba

“Able was I ere I saw Elba”• Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled by the Allied governments to

Elba following his abdication at Fontainebleau and landed on the island on 4 May 1814.

• He was allowed a personal escort of some 1000 men, a household staff and was even given the title Emperor of Elba and rule over its 110,000 people.

• Bonaparte began his exile with a reform of the governmental system on the island, which is Italy's third biggest and lies just off the coast of Tuscany.

• Soon, however, the former French emperor's thoughts turned towards Paris - now under the restored rule of the Bourbons - and he began to plan his return.

• The time came faster than he imagined and only nine months later, on 26 February 1815, he escaped with his miniature army and landed in France. The 100 Days Campaign had begun

Main Napolionic Battles

The 100 Days – The Return of Napoleon

Napoleon escapes exile

June 18, 1815 – Battle of Waterloo

• Largest battle up to that time

• Finally defeated by The British “Duke of Wellington”

The End of an Era

• Waterloo– After returning from exile Napoleon fought the

British and Prussian armies at Waterloo, Belgium. The French lost in a day long battle and Napoleon was forced into exile again.

Waterloo – the end

Sent to exile again on St. Helena

Where he dies – possibly of arsenic poisoning in 1821

The French loved him

… well most of them

St. Helena

The Congress of Vienna

• Gathering of Leaders– Dignitaries from Austria, Russia, Britain and France

met after the battle of Waterloo.

• Goals of the Congress– Create a lasting peace between the four nations. By

legitimacy, or restoring monarchies, Europe was returned to the “status quo.”

• Balance of Power– A policy that no one state should be in the position to

threaten the independence of another.

The Congress of Vienna

• Problems of the Peace– Defeating Napoleon led to tremendous nationalism

within the victorious countries. The Congress however redrew national boundaries without concern for national cultures. This angered European countries and eventually caused the Quadruple Alliance to break apart.

Next the Industrial Revolution