Download The Age of Napoleon

The Age of Napoleon
Test 4 Questions
• 1. What personal qualities did Napoleon possess that gained
him popular support?
• 2. What was the significance of Napoleon’s Civil Code?
• 3. What were the three parts of Napoleon’s Grand Empire?
• 4. Why did Napoleon invade Russia?
The Rise of Napoleon
The Rise of Napoleon
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Napoleon Bonaparte dominated French and European history from 1799 to 1815.
Napoleon brought the chaos of the French Revolution to an end.
He told the French people “I am the French Revolution”.
He spread revolutionary ideas throughout Europe.
The Rise of Napoleon
• Napoleon was born in Corsica, a son of a lawyer of nobility.
• He earned a scholarship to French military schools and was commissioned an
officer in 1785.
• He studied military history and became an expert in military tactics.
• He became a captain in 1792 and a general by age 24.
The Rise of Napoleon
• By 1796, Napoleon was commander of the French armies in Italy.
• In Italy, Napoleon earned many victories based upon his confidence of his men,
his energy, charm, and ability to make quick decisions.
• These qualities combined with his keen intelligence, ease with words, and
confidence in himself, won him support.
The Rise of Napoleon
• In 1797, Napoleon returned to France a conquering hero.
• He was given command of an army to invade England.
• He invaded British controlled Egypt and abandoned his army and returned to
France in 1799.
• In Paris, Napoleon took part in the overthrow of the French government.
The Rise of Napoleon
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He was 30 years old at the time.
A new government was formed, called the consulate.
Although the consulate was a republic, Napoleon held absolute power.
As First Consul, Napoleon controlled the entire government.
In 1802, he became Consul for life.
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies
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Napoleon claimed he preserved the gains of the revolution for the French people.
Napoleon made peace with the Catholic Church.
In 1801, he made a deal with the pope.
The Catholic Church was recognized as the majority religion in France.
In return, the government kept church land that was seized during the
revolution.
• This strengthen Napoleon’s grip on power.
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies
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Napoleon’s most famous domestic achievement was his codification of the laws.
He created the Seven Codes of Law.
The most important code was the Civil Code or Napoleonic Code.
It was based upon equality of all citizens before the law, the right for an individual to choose a
profession, religious toleration, and total elimination of feudalism.
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies
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Property rights were protected.
And unions were outlawed.
But women were given less rights than men in the Civil Codes.
In lawsuits, women were treated as “minors” in courts.
They were considered less reliable than men as witnesses.
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies
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Napoleon also developed a powerful, centralized administrative machine.
Promotion was based upon the quality of performance only.
He created a new aristocracy based upon merit in the state service.
But individual liberties were limited.
Napoleon shut down newspapers that wrote bad stories about him.
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies
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Even the mail was opened by the government.
All books were read by governmental officials before being published.
Most of the rights gained through the revolution was removed by Napoleon.
Napoleon was a absolute dictator.
Napoleon’s Empire
Napoleon’s Empire
• When Napoleon came to power in 1799, France was already at war with Russia,
Great Britain and Austria.
• He signed a peace treaty in 1802.
• And broke the peace treaty with Great Britain in 1803.
• And gradually Great Britain was joined by Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Prussia.
Napoleon’s Empire
• In a series of battles between 1805-07, Napoleon defeated the Russians, the
Austrians, and the Prussians.
• Napoleon had conquered all of mainland western Europe.
• His Grand Empire was composed of three major parts:
• 1. dependent states
Napoleon’s Empire
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2. the French Empire
3. Allied nations
Dependent states were kingdoms ruled by his relatives.
Allied states were defeated nations forced to join the war against Prussia, Russia,
Austria, and Sweden.
• Everywhere Napoleon gained control, he would impose his laws, thereby
spreading religious toleration, property rights, and equality of all citizens before
the law.
European Response
European Response
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Napoleon (like Hitler) believed his empire would last a 1000 years.
But it failed quickly because of two major reasons…
1. Great Britain
2. the growing force of nationalism
Britain’s survival was due to its great sea power.
European Response
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As long as Great Britain ruled the waves, Napoleon’s Empire could be attacked.
And Great Britain’s navy was invulnerable to military attack.
Napoleon tried to invade England in 1805 but failed at the battle of Trafalgar.
He then tried to bankrupt Great Britain with the Continental System.
But this failed too.
European Response
• Also defeating Napoleon was nationalism.
• Nationalism is the unique cultural identity of a people based on common
language, religion, and national symbols.
• By invading so many different cultures, Napoleon had aroused a common hatred
against the aggressor.
• Plus, by example, Napoleon had shown the European nations what a united
people/nation could do.
The Fall of Napoleon
The Fall of Napoleon
• The beginning of Napoleon’s downfall began in 1812 with his invasion of Russia.
• The Russians had refused to obey the Continental System and Napoleon was
forced to invade.
• He invaded with 600,000 French troops.
• He was hoping for a quick victory.
• But Russia kept retreating east, dragging the French troops deeper into Russia.
The Fall of Napoleon
• When the French finally entered Moscow, they found the city burning and
lacking all supplies.
• Napoleon finally abandoned Moscow and started the “Great Retreat” home to
France in October 1812.
• Only 40,000 French troops made it out of Russia by January 1813.
• This military defeat caused many European defeated nations to rise up against
France.
The Fall of Napoleon
• Many armies attacked France and Paris was captured in March 1814.
• Napoleon was captured and sent to the island of Elba, and the old French royal
family was reinstated. (the Bourbon monarch Louis XVIII, brother of the
beheaded Louis XVI.)
• This new French king had little support and Napoleon slipped back into France.
The Fall of Napoleon
• Napoleon enters Paris in a grand parade March 20, 1815.
• He raised an army and attacked British forces stationed in Belgium.
• At Waterloo in Belgium, Napoleon suffered his final defeat by a brilliant British
general named Wellington. (Duke)
• This time, Napoleon was sent to St. Helens island in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Fall of Napoleon
• Napoleon never left the island alive.
• Many say he was murdered, some say he fell ill.
• For sure Napoleon Bonaparte died on St. Helena island.
The End