The Age of Napoleon

Standard 10.2

Just Some Facts About Napoleon

• Born in Corsica in 1769.• He was not rich; he went to

military school on a scholarship.

• Joined the French army and quickly rose through the ranks.

• Became a General and returned to France as a hero.

• Helped overthrow the Directory and made himself First Consul.

He Wasn’t Necessarily Humble…

• “… let that impatiently awaited savior give a sudden sign of his existence, and the people’s instinct will divine him and call upon him… a whole great nation, flying to see him pass, will seem to be saying: ‘Here is the man’…. A consecutive series of great actions never is t he result of chance and luck; it always is the product of planning and genius.”

• Napoleon

Napoleon changed the name of the Directory to the Consulate (borrowed from Rome) and named himself First Consul – two years later he crowned himself Emperor of France.

Those who did not agree that he was the savior, saw him more as the devil.

Napoleon’s ReformsPeace with the Catholic Church

• Peace with the church: Concordat of 1801

– The State got to keep the church lands that were confiscated by the first phase of the Revolution.

– Catholicism was recognized as the majority religion in France.

Crowning of Empress Josephine by Napoleon

Reforms Cont…

• Napoleonic (Civil) Code: made one standard law code for everyone.– Based on the principles of

everyone being equal under the law.

– Religious toleration.– Advancement based on a

job well-done and the ability to perform the job rather than a person’s social class.

Napoleon’s Military Accomplishments

• 1. France expanded all the way to the Rhine.

• 2. Napoleon put his relatives on the thrones of Spain, Holland, Kingdom of Italy, Swiss Republic, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and the Confederation of the Rhine.

• Confederation of the Rhine: An alliance of all of the German states except Austria and Prussia.

Napoleon the hero!

Napoleon’s Empire

Legacy of Napoleon

• Everywhere he went, he spread the revolutionary ideas of equality, liberty and fraternity, economic reforms and religious toleration.

• However, he also raised taxes on the people he conquered, making them view Napoleon as an outsider and a tyrant.

• Nationalism – people who feel pride in their country and will fight to defend it to the death.

However, when he left, there were always piles of dead bodies left behind.

Why Didn’t His Empire Last?

• 2 reasons– The British were able

to create an alliance with Russia, Prussia, and Austria and fight against Napoleon.

– Nationalism – people didn’t want to be taken over by a foreign country.

The Grand Alliance

• Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria

• Napoleon saw the British as his greatest threat.– He started the

Continental System: a blockade of British goods.

– Britain responded by finding new markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Oops!

• Napoleon made a mistake when he attacked Russia and got stuck in the infamous Russian Winter.– Scorched Earth Policy.– 560,000 men died or were taken prisoner.

Napoleon’s Army Entering Russia…

Napoleon’s Army Leaving Russia.

The Defeat of Napoleon

• Paris was taken in 1814, and Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba (Italy).

• While he was gone, the European powers put a weak king on the French throne. The French people wanted Napoleon back.

• Napoleon slipped back into France and raised an army to fight.

Waterloo

• Napoleon marched on to Waterloo, Belgium where he met a Prussian and British army. He was defeated.

• They sent him to a small island in the Atlantic called St. Helena where he lived until he died, young, in 1821.

• Very sad.

Congress of Vienna

• Point: to restore stability and peace to Europe after years of war and revolution

• The Players: Clemens von Metternich of Austria, Czar Alexander I of Russia, Lord Robert Castlereagh of Britain and Prince Charles Maurice Talleyrand of France.

Congress of Vienna

The Goals of the Congress

Establish a balance of power in Europe: Changed the boundaries of Europe in order to contain certain ambitious countries.

• Restore the Kings! They restored the monarchs that Napoleon had unseated.

• Quadruple Alliance – pledged to stick together to fight against any future revolutions.

Future Problems

• They redrew the map of Europe without thinking about ethnic groups or nationalism.

• They underestimated the power of Nationalism that had spread.

• Germany wanted to be a strong unified nation.

• The spirit of the revolution didn’t die! The people wanted to move forwards, not backwards!