Download Napoleon Builds and Empire

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?