Download Chapter 23 Section 4,5

Napoleon’s Empire Collapses
Chapter 23 Section 4
Big Idea
• Napoleon’s conquests aroused nationalistic
feelings across Europe and contributed to his
downfall.
Napoleon’s Costly Mistakes
• 3 Disastrous Mistakes
1.The Continental System
(Blockade)
2.The Peninsular War
3. The Invasion of Russia
The Continental System
• Napoleon ordered a blockade of Britain from
mainland Europe
• Goals: Make Europe more self-sufficient and
Crush International/ European British Trade
• Blockade
– A forcible closing of ports
Napoleon’s Empire
The Continental System Breaks Down
• Blockade was a disaster
• British were still able to trade through smugglers,
even in French Controlled Europe
• British set up their own blockade of the entire
continent of Europe which was more effective
• This British blockade led to the War of 1812 with
the US, a possible international ally of France
The Blockades
The Peninsular War
• Portugal did not want to take
part in Continental System
• Napoleon sent troops
through conquered Spain to
attack Portugal
• The Spanish protested/
fought against these actions
• In response, Napoleon
placed his brother Joseph on
the throne
Guerilla Warfare
• Fearing the Catholic Church
would decline under the
new leadership, the
Spaniards fought back
• Resorted to guerilla warfare
against the French
• Small scale attacks (Hit and
Run attacks)
• Armies were made up of
Spanish peasants (not
regular soldiers)
• War drained French
resources and morale
The Invasion of Russia
• By 1812, France and
Russia disagreed about
issues over British trade
and Poland
• 420,000 French troops
invaded Russia in 1812
• Russians employed a
scorched-earth policy
as well as a feigned
retreat tactic.
Scorched-Earth Policy
• When a retreating army
burns grain fields and
slaughters livestock
• Leaves nothing for
invading army
• Goal is to make them
starve and retreat
• Russians even burned
“holy city” of Moscow
rather than let the French
have it
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
French Retreat
• Stayed in Moscow for about a
month
• Retreated in October through
the deadly Russian winter
• Russians now used guerilla
tactics
• French Grand Army reduced to
10,000 soldiers
• Most died from hunger,
disease, and exposure
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
The Battle of Leipzig
• October 1813
• Napoleon faced off against
the allied armies of Europe
• The alliance against
Napoleon, included allies
who betrayed him and now
forced to give up his throne
• Exiled to tiny island of Elba
Napoleon’s First Exile
The Hundred Days
• Napoleon escaped from his
captivity within months
and returned to France
• Met with joyous crowds
due to the unpopularity of
King Louis XVIII
• Was able to reform
another army
• GB, Russia, Austria, and
Prussia all agree to provide
150,000 men each to fight
The Battle of Waterloo
• Another alliance of European powers sought to
stop Napoleon’s momentum
• The alliance was able to gain a significant
victory at Waterloo in Belgium, led by Great
Britain’s Duke of Wellington and Prussa’s
Blücher
• In the aftermath, Napoleon was sent to St.
Helena in the South Atlantic where he died
about a decade later
Napoleon’s Second Exile
St Helena is a small and windswept island almost 2000 kilometres west of
Africa. It measures only 122 square kilometres (47 square miles).
The Congress of Vienna
Chapter 23 Section 5
Big Idea
• After exiling Napoleon, European leaders at
the Congress of Vienna tried to restore order
and reestablish peace.
The Congress of Vienna
• Goal was to establish a “new” European order, which was
Old…
• Wanted to ensure security and stability for the whole
continent…
3 Goals of Klemens von Metternich
1. Check French
aggression by surrounding
it with strong nations
2. Restore a balance of
power in Europe
3. Wanted to restore
royal families to the
thrones they held before
Napoleon’s actions
The Containment of France
• Austrian Netherlands and Dutch Republic
united to form Kingdom of the Netherlands
• 39 German states loosely joined as German
Confederation
• Switzerland was recognized as an independent
nation
• Kingdom of Sardinia strengthened with
addition of the Italian City-State of Genoa
Europe After The Congress of Vienna
Balance of Power
• Did not want to leave France
powerless with this new idea
• Balance of Power was a belief
that no country in Europe
should be more powerful
then the rest
• Thus, they did not exact a
great price from the defeated
France
• France remained a major, but
diminished power
Idea of Legitimacy
• Restoring royal families to
power
• Needed to be recognized
as legitimate rulers
• Ruling families in France,
Spain, several states in
Italy and Central Europe
came back into power
• Thought this would
restore order
Successes
1. Demonstrated cooperation of an entire
continent
2. European powers were at peace for 40 years
Political Changes Beyond Vienna
1. Victory for conservatives as kings and princes
returned to power
2. A return and strengthening of absolute
monarchs
Conservative Europe Reigns After
Napoleon
• Holy Alliance: agreement
between Prussia and Austria
that based their relationship
on Christian principles
(conservative)
• Concerts of Europe:
ensured nations would help
one another if revolutions
broke out in a nation
(Balance of Power)
Liberals and Radicals in a Conservative Era
• Bided their time to try and undo the conservative
era established at Congress of Vienna
• Revolutions broke out in the early to mid 1800’s
that supported people wanted changes
• Revolutions and upheavals in Latin America against
royal control supported the influences of the
French Revolution, which would return to Europe
by the mid 1800’s
Long-Term Legacy
• The Congress of Vienna influenced world
politics for 100 years, showed Europe could
work together for common goals
• British and Prussian power increased
• Promoted spread of nationalism in Italy,
Greece, and Germany (countries to be unified
in the 1800’s)
• Eventually, Europe would be rocked by
revolutions again in the mid 1800’s
• All out total war in Europe would not be seen
again until World War I (1914-1918)