Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord wikipedia , lookup
French Revolutionary Wars wikipedia , lookup
Treaty of Amiens wikipedia , lookup
War of the Fifth Coalition wikipedia , lookup
Germaine de Staël wikipedia , lookup
Hundred Days wikipedia , lookup
Napoleon Builds an Empire By 1799, France had gone through ten years of riots, revolution, and war. Many people were unhappy with the weak government of the Directory. They longed for a strong leader who would bring peace and order. They found that leader in Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon rose to power in the French army. He was a general by the age of 27. In 1796, the young general led his troops to victory over Austrian forces in Italy. That victory made Napoleon a hero in France. In 1799, Napoleon overthrew the Directory with the help of loyal troops. For the next 16 years, he ruled France as a dictator. Rebuilding France Napoleon brought peace to France and began to rebuild the country. He set up a fair tax system. He used tax money to build roads, canals, and many beautiful buildings. Napoleon reformed France’s legal system. When he began, each province of France followed different laws. Napoleon had one code of laws written for the entire nation. It was called the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code gave people most of the rights won in the French Revolution. It said all people were equal under the law. It gave people freedom of religion and the right to a jury trial. But the code did not protect freedom of speech. It was against the law to speak out against Napoleon. Conquering an Empire In 1804, Napoleon made himself emperor of France. Then, he set to work to build a French empire in Europe. Napoleon conquered his neighbors one by one. By 1810, he ruled most of Europe. Wherever Napoleon ruled, he replaced local laws with the Napoleonic Code. In that way, he spread the ideas to the French Revolution to other countries. The Fall of Napoleon In May 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with a huge army. He captured Moscow, but he could not force the Russians to surrender. By October, Napoleon’s army was running short of fold. Napoleon ordered his forces to retreat. During the retreat, the bitter Russian winter set in. Thousands of Napoleon’s soldiers died of cold, hunger, and disease. The invasion was a costly failure. The next year Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia united against France. In 1815, Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in present-day Belgium. His empire collapsed. Napoleon was exiled from France, or forced to leave the country. He died in 1821 on a lonely island far from his homeland. Napoleon Builds an Empire 1. How did Napoleon rise to power? 2. What was the Napoleonic Code? 3. How did Napoleon lose his empire?