napoleon's rise and fall. the early years born august 1769 of minor nobility on corsica...
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NAPOLEON'S RISE AND FALL
The Early Years
Born August 1769 of minor nobility on Corsica
LOMBARDY
CORSICA
Napoleon's Early Military Career
• Entered military academy at age 9
• By age 16, he was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the artillery
• He became Brigadier General at age 24
Early Career
Maximilian Robespierre
. . . but a different destiny awaited Napoleon
Napoleon's Tactics
• Swift moves and great mobility
• The ability to change tactics during a battle
• Ability to exploit an enemy’s mistakes
• Surprise attacks to disconcert the enemy
The Italian Campaign
• Command, at age 26, of the French army in Italy (1796-1797)—made Napoleon a national hero
Napoleon at Rivoli—January 14, 1797
Crossing the Alps
In the footsteps of giants. . . or a propaganda picture?
Rivoli
Egyptian Campaign1798-1799
Egyptian Campaign
Napoleon styled himself a
“Neo-Alexander,”
intent on taking his army
all the way to India itself.
Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, July 21, 1798
• Attempt to sever England's lifeline to India
Battle of the Pyramids
Battle for the Nile — August 1, 1798A Reversal of
Fortune
Nelson’s devastation of Napoleon’s fleet at Alexandria left the
French Army trapped in Egypt
Destruction of the French Fleet
Battle at Acre—March 1799The Arabs resisted the French intrusion. . . with a little help from the British under Sidney Smith (left)
Napoleon’s Flight from Egypt
Napoleon found himself bottled up in a hostile environment
His only viable recourse was to cut his losses and run. He hoped to return to France secretly before the news of the Egyptian debacle arrived.
The British caricaturist of the era had, of course, a field day with his retreat
Napoleon Takes Charge, November 10, 1799
Napoleon, at age 30, emerges as 1st Consul and virtual dictator of France
In 1802, he became consul for life
SOME HOLD THAT NAPOLEON IS THE FIRST MODERN DICTATOR
Young. . . and in control. . .
Napoleon as Consul
So Napoleon would soon cover up the power of his two counterparts.
WHY Napoleon Was Accepted
• Frenchmen were exhausted by years of revolution
• They were likewise exhausted by years of economic instability, terror, and revolution
• Napoleon seemed to be the guarantor of both the gains of Revolution and an orderly France
War Against the Coalition of England, Austria, & Prussia, 1799-1801
• Napoleon was largely successful in his campaigns
• Peace of Amiens, 1801
Amiens Peace Medal
A November 1801 James Gillray caricature that captures British fears relevant to the French
Revolution and Napoleon
Napoleon's Domestic
Program, 1801-1805
This was a period of relative peace—major hostilities did not break out until 1805
Napoleon's Reform Program
Legal Reforms Code Napoleon or Civil Code of 1804—Napoleon's legal
advisers compiled a uniform legal code,
which still remains the basis of French law. It included the following KEY PRINCIPLES:
•Equality of men before the law a fundamental principle of the Revolution of 1789
•The authority of the State over people
•Business corporations over their people
•Male heads of families over their wives & children
•Property rights received particularly strong protection
In general, Napoleon's reforms upheld the principal ideas of the French Revolution & the Enlightenment . . . but in practice, they
served to strengthen the new authoritarian state
Additional Reforms• Administrative Reforms & Policy—administration
was a highly centralized departmental • Educational Program—a Nation-wide system of
public education that imbued the young with an exaggerated patriotism and devotion to their leader
• Financial Policy—Napoleon chartered & established a privately owned national bank for a depository of government funds
Relations with the Church
• 1798—French armies occupied Rome—a “Canossa in reverse”
• The French Revolution had left the Church in France under state control
• Napoleon recognized the need to come to terms with the Papacy in order that he might make use of it
Pope Pius VII & the Concordat of
1801 and the reconciliation of
Church-State relations in
France
The accord was more apparent than real
Individual Liberties
• On the whole, these decreased
• Political opposition was punishable by police action
• Strict censorship of the press made Newspapers became little more than organs of government propaganda
It could be argued that Napoleon was one in a long succession of imperial rulers who followed in the line and style of the old Roman Empire
The Sale of Louisiana, 1803
Napoleon anticipated the need of cash to finance an impending war against England. To meet this need,
he sold the Louisiana Territory to the U. S. A. for $15 million
Holy Roman Emperor, December 2, 1804
A Different. . . and very British View
Summation of His Early Reign Napoleon was consecrated by Pope Pius
VII (1800-1823) himself in Paris, at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the following
December. Napoleon had summoned the Pope to come to France for this
responsibility. Napoleon, now aged 34, crowned himself as Holy Roman
Emperor, taking the crown out of the hands of the Pope.
SO FAR . . . SO GOOD
Napoleon appeared the realization of the
18th century dream of the Enlightened
Despot • He preserved property of those who had gained from the Revolution
• He satisfied the social ideal of the Revolution of 1789 by maintaining a society open to all men of talent
• He restored economic stability to France • He established a network of administrative
institutions, which gave coherence & uniformity to the work of his government
The Napoleonic Empire, 1805-1807
Napoleon inherited an aggressive foreign policy of imperialism from the National Convention & the Directory
War began anew in 1805 because
Napoleon's ambition to extend the French sphere of influence—this involved his intrigues in Germany and Italy
Napoleon's enmity toward England who determined to keep France from being the dominant economic and political power on the Continent
Trafalgar – October 21,
1805
An old nemesis. . .
British Admiral Horatio Nelson
Nelson defeated the combined Franco-Spanish navies. . .
. . . but lost his life in the process
Nelson’s funeral. . .
His diary entries prior to Trafalgar evidence a prescient sense of impending death.
He has been immortalized by his countrymen. . .
. . . in London’s Trafalgar Square
Although Napoleon’s greatest land victories were about to come. . .
The ghost of Nelson would haunt him.
In practical terms, Napoleon’s loss at Trafalgar guaranteed the failure of any French invasion of British soil.
Battle of Austerlitz, December 2, 1805
The most spectacular of his victories defeating the combined Austrian and
Russian armies. It left France the indisputable leading power on the
Continent
1806 -- A Very Good Year for Napoleon The re-organization of
Germany
The abolition of the Holy Roman Empire—August 6, 1806, Francis II, Austrian Emperor, resigned the imperial office and gave up the imperial crown. 1,006 years after the crowning of Charlemagne at St. Peter's in Rome (A. D. 800), the Holy Roman Empire officially came to an end
Battle of Jena, October 1806
Napoleon's victory here enabled him to impose a humiliating peace settlement on King Frederick William III
1807 — France & Russia
Battle of Friedland—June 1807
Marks the PEAK OF NAPOLEON'S POWER—in 3 successive years, he had defeated the three most powerful nations on the Continent.
Treaties of Tilsit
A Less Than
Flattering
Interpre-
tation by
Contem-
poraries
The Continental System
• The imposition of heavy penalties on any Continental nation trading with England and the forbidding of importation of English goods (England produced the cheapest manufactured goods in the world)
• GOAL: the system sought to wreck English commerce and promote a revolution instigated by the resulting unhappy business middle class
• Effect: It was impossible for the European economy to function properly without English trade
The Continental System Continued
• England added to the heavy strain already on the Continental economy by blockading all countries subscribing to the French system
• Continental System particularly hurt Russia, which needed English markets for her grain
• Alexander couldn't enforce the system and Napoleon couldn't tolerate a breach within it
• The upshot of it all was Napoleon's invasion of Russia The Romanov
Double-Headed Eagle
A Failure of Nerve
In the end, Napoleon abandoned his plan to invade England and turned to an even
more devastating plan.
The Daunting Cliffs of Dover
The Crumbling of the Napoleonic Empire, 1812-
1815• Underlying Weaknesses
• Disillusioned Idealism
• It soon became evident that imperialism was a more important component of the Napoleonic system than was liberation
• Offensive features of his administration high taxes, conscription, Tight police surveillance
Napoleonic tutelage, even at its most benevolent, appeared
incompatible with the libertarian and
nationalistic ideals of the French Revolution
Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827
Beethoven’s original symphonic celebration of
Napoleon, the Enlightened despot, became simply
Heroica after the composer perceived
Napoleon’s true agenda
Growing Nationalistic Sentiment— Napoleon's Flagging Popularity &
the Growth of Resistance to French Imperialism
• German cultural movements
• The same thing happened in Italy
• In Spain, resistance to Napoleon was more violent
Wellington’s Peninsular War
Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington—
1769-1852
Spanish resistance to the rule of Joseph, Napoleon’s brother, marked the 1st great revolt against Napoleon's rule
Joseph Bonaparte, King of
Spain
Guerilla Warfare—a New Kind of Challenge
This was the first serious failure for Napoleon on the Continent, the initial fissure in his record of invincibility—inspired others who felt Napoleon could, in fact, be beaten
Napoleon could execute rebels. . . but in the end, he could not kill them all.
Losses at Home• France, like the rest of the Continental
nations, suffered from economic and internal crises, and consequently, conditions in France became increasingly repressive
• Napoleon's marriage to the daughter of the Austrian Emperor in April 1810 (in order to gain support among fellow-European monarchs) actually lost him support at home
The Grand Amrée and the
Invasion of Russia, June
1812The army was composed of 600,000 men, the largest army ever assembled in modern times
Napoleon's Goal—strike a quick and
decisive blow which, because of his overwhelming
superiority in numbers, would be
successful
Napoleon’s finest
Versus a determined Russian foe
Tsar Alexander I
Battle of Borodino, September 7, 1812
What Napoleon considered a skirmish. . .
. . . proved to be the decisive engagement.
The Carnage of Battle
The Burning of Moscow
The Russians burned Moscow about 3/4th of the city burned) shortly after Napoleon's arrival, September 14, 1812
The Disastrous Retreat
• On October 19, 1812, he headed for home
• He had massive desertions by German, Austrian, and Polish conscripts
• Disease killed many
• Starvation killed many
• Severe cold weather killed many
• Cossacks continually nipped at Napoleon's flanks
By the time he reached the German border, he had only 100,000 of his original army.
Had the Austrians & Prussians chosen this time to launch an attack on him, they could have crushed him . . . but his legend and aura of invincibility, coupled with a lack of information
about his vulnerability, prevented such a maneuver
That reverence did not extend to the caricature
artists of the day.
An Echo of Egypt
. . . and of future things to come
Straddling the corners of Europe
As Napoleon undermined his future by an ill-advised invasion of Russia. . .
. . . so would Adolf Hitler 130 years later
The Final Struggle—"Battle of the
Nations" or Battle of Leipzig, October 16-
18, 1813Combined armies of Austria, Prussia, & Russia defeated Napoleon badly in this 3 day conflict
He lost about 40% of his men and then retreated back across the Rhine
Contemporary Caricaturist View
Prussian General Gebhard von Blucher—”Blucher the Brave”—
capturing the “Corsican Blood Hound”
Trapped in Paris,1814
By the spring of 1814, these combined Allied armies entered Paris -- April 11, 1814
Napoleon Formally Abdicates
Napoleon Exiled to Elba The abdication. . .
bidding the troops farewell. . .
and a desolate new domicile.
An Honorable Exit
Or exile outside
of France
One More Time. . .
Death dances yet again. . .
An English view of “The Corsican’s Last Trip”
. . . and welcomed back by his veterans
Return of Napoleon – The "Hundred Days” March 20 -
June 29, 1815
Not the man he used to be
The Final Flourish at
Waterloo—June 8, 1815
Wellington
and Blucher. . .
carried the day
French novelist Victor Hugo
“blamed it on the rain.”
An Inelegant Retreat
Napoleon beat a fast path back to Paris. . . and hoped to find
sanctuary among the Americans.
An English Point of View
At stake was dominance of the 19th century world
To Many Frenchmen,
Napoleon Was a Savior
The English had a different view
Napoleon's Capture and Final Exile -- St. Helena
A Second Abdication
Captured and Exiled. . . Again
Banishment to St. Helena
Napoleon’s New Home
The Final Hours
Napoleon died on St. Helena on May 5, 1821
Meanwhile, Back at the Peace Table in Vienna
From chaos. . .
. . .to conservative reconstruction
Crafting a lasting peace
Assessment of Napoleon: Lasting achievements
• The Napoleonic Administrative System, which divided France into departments
• The Concordat of 1801, which became the blueprint used by other European nations in their relations with the Roman Catholic Church
• The great ideas of the Revolution of 1789 lived on
Great Ideas of the Revolution
• No absolute ruler came to the throne, even though Louis XVIII was "restored"
• Nationalism and ideas of national pride & glory were a counter-poise against an older pride in the king
• Notions of liberty, equality, and nationalism became the smoldering coals of revolution, which would burst periodically into flames throughout the 19th century
The political balance of power was permanently altered
• There was no restoration of the petty states of Germany
• Neither in the feeble republics of Italy • Russia, for the 1st time, now had a major
voice in the affairs of Western Europe • England made great strides in industrial &
commercial development during the wars • England made great strides in industrial &
commercial development during the wars
Finis