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The Age of Napoleon
The Age of Napoleon
• Napoleon was born into a family of
minor nobility on the island of
Corsica (1769). He spoke French
with an Italian accent.
• When trying to spread the
Revolution in Corsica, he was
banished from the island (1793).
• He played a major role in expelling
the British from the French port city
of Toulon (occupied during the
Revolution).
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• In 1795 as a junior officer of the
French Army, he saved the
Directory from an attack from an
angry Parisian mob through the
timely use of “a whiff of grapeshot”
(artillery fire).
• For this, and his earlier action at
Toulon, Napoleon was made
France’s youngest general (at the
age of 26).
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• Desperate for military victories
that would take people’s minds off
their dismal conditions at home,
Napoleon was sent to Italy.
• Between 1795-97, in a series of
stunningly quick victories,
Napoleon defeated the combined
Austrian-Piedmontese-Sardinian
armies and drove them from
northern Italy.
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• France (actually Napoleon-since he
negotiated agreements himself) now
controlled northern and central Italy.
• He had wagonloads of Italian art
treasures sent back to the Louve
(opened 1793) including the Mona
Lisa (which actually hung in his
bedroom for several years).
• Napoleon returned to Paris a national
hero.
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• “Napoleon
Crossing the
Alps” by
Jacques-Louis
David (1801)
• Here Napoleon is
heroic, the model
of calm and
composure in the
face of war.
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• Now Great Britain
remained as
France’s only real
threat.
• Napoleon knew he
could not defeat
Admiral Horatio
Nelson or the
British on the seas,
or by crossing the
English Channel
into Britain.
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• In early 1798,
Napoleon chose to
fight the British in
Egypt in order to
cut British ties to
the Middle East,
its colony in India,
and to damage
British trade.
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• The great, and
once wealthy,
Ottoman Empire
was rocked in
1798 by
Napoleon’s
invasion of Egypt.
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• The French
were met by
tens of
thousands of
cavalry bent on
defending the
Mamluk regime
under their
leader Murad.
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• Murad, when told of Napoleon’s
invasion, dismissed the invader as a
“donkey boy” whom he would soon
drive from his lands.
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• Murad’s contempt for Napoleon
and the French was symptomatic
of the profound ignorance of
events in Europe that was typical
of the Islamic world at the time.
• The Mamluks were clad in
medieval armor and used spears
against French artillery, rifles,
and disciplined French legions.
The Age of Napoleon
• This ignorance led
to a series of
crushing defeats to
the French, the
most famous was
fought in the
shadows of the
great pyramids
(Battle of the
Pyramids July,
1798).
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• The defeat of the Mamluks was
traumatic for the Ottoman world
because they were considered
fighters of great prowess.
• It also showed how vulnerable
the Muslim world was to
European aggression, and how far
they had fallen behind Europe in
their capacity to wage war.
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• Like Alexander the
Great, Napoleon took
leading French
scientists on the
expedition.
• Excavating near the
town of Rosetta, his
troops found sticking
out of the ground, the
Rosetta Stone.
• Dating to 196 BCE, it is
a slab of black basalt.
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• The Rosetta Stone
eventually helped
French linguists
decipher Egyptian
hieroglyphics.
• It was inscribed in
Aramaic, Greek,
and in hieroglyphs.
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• Napoleon immediately took all
necessary measures to protect,
inventory, study, and publicize
the archeological treasures of the
ancient Egyptian civilization.
• On August 22, 1798, he founded
the Egyptian Institute, the
starting point of Egyptology.
The Age of Napoleon
• But Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt
also alarmed Russia (which had
its own interests in the region) so
the Russians joined with the
Austrians, the Ottomans, and the
British against the French.
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• Then the British
fleet under Admiral
Nelson caught the
French fleet
anchored in Egypt
and destroyed it,
killing over 3,000
French
soldiers/sailors
(3,000 more were
left on the shore).
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• Even though Egypt ended up
being a disaster for the French,
few in France knew this because
Napoleon was able to have the
press censored (in his favor).
• Napoleon was still hugely
popular with the Directory and
among the French people.
The Age of Napoleon
• By the fall of 1799, the French
war in Europe was falling apart.
• Thousands of French troops were
deserting the various fronts.
• The Russians/Austrians defeated
the French in Italy and
Switzerland and threatened to
invade France.
• The former Austrian Netherlands
(Belgium) revolted as well.
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• The Egyptian campaign further
fueled Napoleon’s military and
political ambitions.
• Realizing the time was right and
that the Directory was weak,
Napoleon staged a coup d’ etat,
overthrowing the government of
the Directory.
• He was 30 years old.
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• Napoleon
staging the
coup d’etat
that
overthrew
the Directory
(painted
1840).
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• He set up a new constitution,
proclaimed France a consulate (led
by three consuls), and made himself
the First Consul of the Republic.
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• The Consulate in effect ended the
French Revolution.
• A military victory over the Austrians
cemented his political power (1800).
• Even though Napoleon mandated
universal male suffrage and a system
of checks and balances, his new
constitution (called the Constitution
of Year VIII) established the rule of
one man…him.
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• As First Consul, Napoleon could
pick the members of the Council of
State, which proposed the laws.
• The French government was no
longer representative…the new
constitution eliminated direct
elections.
• Napoleon and his advisors chose
the members of the legislature.
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• Napoleon staged a
plebiscite (a vote by
the people) for his
new constitution to
show popular
support, and it
passed
overwhelmingly.
• People wanted a
strong leader.
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• Napoleon now compared himself to
Caesar and Augustus.
• Napoleon was the first modern
political figure to use the voice of
revolution and nationalism, and
back it with military force, to create
imperial expansion and increase his
own power.
• The dictators of the 20th century
modeled themselves after Napoleon.
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• During the Revolution, the pressures
of constant warfare and
conscription caused the French
government internal instability.
• Napoleon placated the people by
making peace with France’s
enemies (Russia-Austria in 1801 and
Britain in 1802).
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• Napoleon was able to restore order
at home by using generosity,
bribery, and flattery over his
enemies.
• He issued a general amnesty to
deserters and hired men from all
political factions.
• He only required their unconditional
loyalty.
The Age of Napoleon
• No single set of revolutionary
policies created so much domestic
opposition as those regarding the
Catholic Church.
• Though he was not religious,
Napoleon realized the Catholic
Church was a useful tool for
maintaining political stability.
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• In 1801, much to the
shock and dismay of
his anticlerical
supporters,
Napoleon settled the
decade of hostility
between the
Revolution and the
Church (known as
the Concordat).
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• The Concordat established the
authority of the state (i.e.
Napoleon’s) over the church.
• Freedom of faith was extended to
Protestants and Jews.
• The French government retained
church lands seized during the
revolution but agreed to continue
paying clerical salaries.
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• In return, Napoleon agreed to
give up the Revolution’s
calendar (which eliminated
Sundays and religious holidays).
• Catholicism was officially
recognized as the religion of
“the great majority of French
citizens.”
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• The pope was
able to bring the
large French
Catholic
population back
to the fold.
• And Napoleon
received the
pope’s support for
his regime.
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• As First Consul,
Napoleon
promised order
and an end to the
chaos and turmoil
of ten years of
revolutionary
upheaval.
• But it came at a
high price.
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• In order to increase and then maintain
his power, Napoleon instituted the
following measures:
• 1. He created a secret police to root
out and destroy his political
opponents and enemies.
• The police had political adversaries
under constant surveillance, they
were subjected to house arrest, and
they were imprisoned without “just
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• 2. Paris went from having 73
newspapers to four (and those
four were puppets of the
government).
• Government censors had to
approve all operas and plays.
• All “offensive” artistic works were
banned.
• Political debate ceased.
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• In 1802 Napoleon held another
plebiscite naming himself “First
Consul for Life.”
• A new constitution essentially
granted him total power.
• As part of his restoration of
order, Napoleon then set about
reforming the French legal
system.
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• The Civil Code of
1804 (commonly
called the
Napoleonic Code)
provided the
framework for the
French legal system.
• Parts of it are still in
place, 200 years
later.
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• The code created a single legal
system for all of France. Before
this, there were over 300
different localized legal codes
from the monarchy (that the
Revolution hadn’t fixed).
• The code stated the equality of
all men before the law and the
rights of property holders.
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• The advances women had
received from the Revolution
were reversed, stating women
and children were legally
dependent on their husbands and
fathers.
• A woman could not buy or sell
property without the approval of
her husband or father.
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• Divorce was legal but very hard
to get (a woman could only get
one if her husband had a
mistress and he brought her to
live in the family home).
• If a woman was convicted of
adultery, she could be
imprisoned for up to two years.
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• In 1804, a bomb attack on his life
caused him to argue he needed a
dynasty to make his regime
secure and make further
attempts on his life useless.
• Another new constitution was
created making Napoleon
Emperor of the French, not First
Consul of the Republic.
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• “Consecration of the Emperor
Napoleon I” (by David 1806)
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• Napoleon wanted it
to be clear that not
the will of God, nor
accident of birth,
but rather his
merits led to him
being made
Emperor.
• Another plebiscite
overwhelmingly
approved this.
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• Napoleon destroyed one ideal of the
Revolution, that of Liberty.
• But he maintained and preserved
another ideal, that of Equality (for all
citizens (at least male ones) were
equal before the law).
• He also promoted the idea of a
meritocracy (the idea that
merit/talent, not birth, determined
your career path).
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• Napoleon developed a cult of
personality.
• His name or face appeared
everywhere: on coins, stamps,
engravings, paintings, buildings.
• He had France embark on a
massive building campaign.
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• The Arc de Triomphe and the
Paris Stock Exchange.
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• To restore economic prosperity,
Napoleon controlled prices.
• He encouraged industry.
• He had roads and canals built.
• He set up a system of public
schools (under strict government
control) to ensure well-trained
officials and military officers
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• Napoleon
supported work in
science, especially
if it was practical
or it benefited the
military.
• Experiments with
balloons led to
laws about the
expansion of
gases.
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• New techniques
of battlefield
amputation and
medical care
were developed
(from all the
wars he fought).
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• French
research on
fossils helped
prepare the
way for new
theories on
evolutionary
change later
in the century.
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• But constant warfare
was the hallmark of
Napoleon’s reign. He
is considered one of
the geniuses in the
history of warfare.
He became the most
feared person in
Europe and France
became the most
powerful state on the
continent.
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• Napoleon’s “Grand Army” created a
“Grand Empire.”
• Over 1 million men served in the
army, most willingly, because the
Revolution had taught them to
identify the army with the nation (the
idea of nationalism).
• Military service was seen as both
patriotic and a way towards upward
social mobility.
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• This led to an officer
corps that was young
and ambitious and
rose through the
ranks.
• The French military
had better morale
than the armies of
other countries.
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• In any given battle, between
70,000 and 180,000 men fought
for France.
• France had so many soldiers,
heavy losses could be endured
in battle and they could still
overwhelm an enemy.
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• Despite the hardships of the
common soldier, Napoleon inspired
fanatical loyalty among his troops
because he fought alongside them.
• He was a brilliant strategist who
outmaneuvered nearly every
opponent because he developed
new plans for every battle (so
opposing generals could never
anticipate his moves).
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• He fought alongside
his troops in over
60 battles and had
19 horses shot out
from underneath
him.
• It was said that his
presence on the
battlefield equaled
the worth of 50,000
men.
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• His strategy was simple: he
went after the main body of the
opposing army and tried to
crush it in a lightning campaign
(later used by the Nazi’s).
• He then pursued the remnants
of the enemy to completely
break their morale.
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• Napoleon was known for taking
great risks on the battlefield,
and his unpredictability often led
to enormous casualties.
• He once said “I grew up on the
field of battle and a man such as
I cares little for the life of a
million men.”
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• In 1801, Napoleon hoped to
recapture the island of SaintDomingue (today called Haiti)
from the rebellious slaves who
had taken it away from the French
planters ten years earlier.
• It was part of Napoleon’s grander
strategy of having a North
American empire.
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• Haiti was the only completely
successful slave revolt in
history.
• Haiti had declared its
independence (becoming the 2nd
independent republic in the
Americas).
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• Haiti had been France’s most
valuable colony and was considered
the most valuable colony in the
world.
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• The leader of the
revolt, Toussaint
L’Ouverture
proclaimed himself
the Governor –
General (shown
here in the dress of
a French General).
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• It had 8,000 plantations which
produced 40% of the world’s
sugar and 50% of the world’s
coffee.
• The population was about
500,000 slaves, 40,000 whites
(divided between rich and poor,
and 30,000 free people of color
(black or mixed-race).
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• Initially, Napoleon
sent 20,000 troops
and they quickly got
the upper hand.
• But as they waited
for reinforcements,
the rainy season
came, bringing with
it mosquitoes
carrying Yellow
Fever.
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• Over the next two years, 40,000
French soldiers were sent to
Haiti (and most died from Yellow
Fever-sometimes 50+/day).
• Because of the huge losses
(including his own brother-in-law)
Napoleon gave up on Haiti, and
on having an American empire.
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• In 1803, realizing his dream of
an American empire was over,
he sold the United States the
Louisiana Purchase for $15
million.
• He wanted the territory kept out
of the hands of the British, and
he needed the money to help
offset his enormous war debts.
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• We got over
800,000
square miles
of territory (at
about 5c a
square mile).
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• For perspective, in
2004, 625 Madison
Avenue in New
York City sold for
$231.5 million
(equivalent to $15
million in 1803).
Area: 542,368 sq
ft (17 floors).
The Age of Napoleon
• Before selling the Louisiana
Territory, the British knew
Napoleon was trying to create a
North American empire.
• At this point, he had already
taken over Switzerland, Holland,
most of Italy, and most of
Germany.
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• In October 1805, fearing a
French invasion of Britain, the
British navy, under Admiral Lord
Nelson, met the combined
French/Spanish fleets off the
coast of southwestern Spain
(near Cadiz). This became the
Battle of Trafalgar.
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• The Battle of
Trafalgar is
considered by
military
historians to be
the most
important sea
battle ever
waged.
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• At the Battle of Trafalgar, Lord
Nelson destroyed the
French/Spanish fleets and didn’t
lose a single British ship.
• This ended all French hope of
invading Britain and guaranteed
British control of the seas
(which lasted until WWI).
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• In December 1805 (a year to the day
after his coronation) Napoleon had
his most famous victory…over the
Austrians and their new ally Russia,
at Austerlitz.
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• Not only did Napoleon win here
on the field of battle but in public
opinion.
• He announced in a public speech
that he would adopt the children
of all the French soldiers killed in
the battle—a number that was in
the thousands.
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• To fulfill his promise, he ordered
the state to pay for the children’s
support and education, to arrange
marriages for the girls and to find
jobs for the boys.
• One final provision was probably
the most cherished– he permitted
“his children” to add the name
Napoleon to theirs.
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• From 1801-1812, Napoleon had
defeated the British (on land but
not on the sea), the Austrians,
the Russians, the Swedes, and
the Prussians.
• From 1807-1812, Napoleon
controlled most of continental
Europe (except Britain and
Russia).
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• Napoleon
united all
German states
except Austria
and Prussia
(creating the
Confederation
of the Rhine).
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• Napoleon
consolidated
Italy by annexing
the territories
next to France
and establishing
the kingdoms of
Italy and Naples.
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• By annexing some territories and
setting up others as satellite
kingdoms (controlled by his
friends and relatives), Napoleon
hoped to unite Europe.
• French controlled areas were
subject to French laws and
French-style reforms.
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• Napoleon’s many successes
boosted the spirit of nationalism
in France.
• Great victory parades filled the
streets of Paris with cheering
crowds.
• The masses celebrated the glory
and grandeur that Napoleon had
achieved for France.
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• What ever Napoleon controlled, he
imposed the Napoleonic Code and
abolished hereditary social
distinctions.
• Peasants were freed from serfdom.
• Churches were made subordinate
to the state.
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• Religious toleration replaced
monopoly of religion by an
established (usually Roman
Catholic) church.
• Civil rights were extended to Jews
and other religious minorities.
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• The one power always between
Napoleon and total European
dominance was Great Britain.
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• Realizing he could not defeat the
British navy, he decided to wage
economic war on Britain by
establishing the Continental
System (1806).
• The idea was to ban all British
goods from arriving on the
continent.
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• Virtually no French controlled
territory was to economically
support Britain.
• The Continental System initially
hurt Britain’s trade, but smuggling
was rampant and British industrial
growth continued.
• It backfired on the French (and on
Napoleon).
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• The resentment the Continental
System created galvanized
support against the French.
• Initially French troops brought
with them the ideals of the
Enlightenment and the French
Revolution.
• But the French were occupiers
and increasingly harsh ones.
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• Goya’s Third of May (1808):
Spanish rebels were fighting for
Spain’s independence against the
French.
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• Nationalism eventually defeated
Napoleon, as those under French
rule began to want their own
sovereignty.
• Pockets of resistance and
rebellion flared up all over the
continent.
• People love liberators…they hate
occupiers.
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• Josephine (Napoleon
called her Rose), was
a widower with two
small children when
they met.
• Her previous husband
died on the guillotine
(she was also marked
for death but outlasted
Robespierre).
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• Napoleon and Josephine married in
March 1796, just before he took
command of the army in Italy.
• She was hesitant at first to marry
him, because he was "silent and
awkward with women…though
altogether strange in all his person."
• His wedding present to her was a
gold medallion inscribed “To
Destiny.”
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• During the First Italian Campaign
Napoleon began to hear rumors
that Josephine was being
unfaithful.
• The affair was found out (to
another army officer)—Josephine
called this the “day of the
catastrophe.”
• From this point on, Napoleon
knew he couldn’t trust her and his
love turned to resentment.
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• He took a mistress in retaliation
(known among his troops as
“Napoleon’s Cleopatra”).
• Napoleon wrote a letter to his
brother Joseph about his
relationship with Josephine. It
was intercepted by the British
and published by the British
press. Now all of France knew
about their marriage in “crisis.”
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• When Napoleon returned from Italy
and didn’t find Josephine at home
(she had gone to meet him but they
missed each other), he ordered the
servants to remove all her
possessions.
• When she returned, he had locked
himself in his room. The accusations
and her crying outside his door
lasted for hours. By dawn, they were
in each others arms again.
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• From that point on, Josephine
never took another lover, but
Napoleon felt free to do as he
pleased with other women.
• In February 1800 Napoleon
became First Consul, and the
couple moved into the Tuileries
Palace. Napoleon began to flaunt
his mistresses.
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• "I am not a man like others and
moral laws or the laws that
govern conventional
behavior do not apply to
me. My mistresses do not in
the least engage my feelings.
Power is my mistress."
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• After they had been
crowned Emperor
and Empress,
Josephine
accompanied
Napoleon on his
Prussian Campaign.
• But Napoleon’s latest
mistress was
pregnant.
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• Until this time Napoleon had
thought Josephine’s barrenness
during their marriage might be
his fault, but the birth of his son
to his mistress changed
everything.
• He began to think very seriously
again about the possibility of
divorcing Josephine.
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• Josephine’s fate was sealed
when her grandson Napoleon,
son of her son Eugene, who had
been declared Napoleon’s heir,
died of croup in 1807.
• Napoleon began to create lists
of eligible princesses.
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• At dinner on November 30, 1809, he
let Josephine know that — in the
interest of France — he must find a
wife who could produce an heir.
From the next room, Napoleon’s
secretary heard her screams.
• “No, I can never survive it!” she
cried and then collapsed.
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• The premiere candidate in
Napoleon’s mind was the 15
year-old sister of the Russian
Tsar. But a deal fell through.
• Next on the list was the 19 yearold Marie-Louise, daughter of his
enemy, the emperor of Austria
(Marie-Antoinette was her greataunt).
The Age of Napoleon
• Marie-Louise was horrified at the
thought of marrying the 41 year-old
Napoleon but bowed to the will of
her father.
• In March 1811, a year after their
wedding, Marie-Louise gave
Napoleon his long awaited heir.
• Napoleon proclaimed his son to be
“the King of Rome.”
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• The Emperor
in His Study at
the Tuileries
(by David
1812).
• Note the
symbolism
within the
painting.
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• By 1812, only Britain
and Russia were
independent of
Napoleon.
• In June 1812
Napoleon took his
“Grand Army” of
600,000 men to
Russia where he fully
expected to defeat the
Russians in open
battle.
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• In early September, thinking he
could defeat the Russian army in
one day, Napoleon engaged the
main Russian force at Borodino
(85 miles from Moscow), and
there were heavy casualties on
both sides.
• The battle ended in a tactical
draw (Russia lost 44,000/France
35,000 men).
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• As he headed towards Moscow,
to his great annoyance, the
Russians merely retreated before
him.
• When he got to Moscow, the
retreating Russians set the city
on fire and he found it a smoking
ruin (scorched earth strategy)
and the Tsar refused to negotiate
a surrender.
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• Almost out of supplies and winter
quickly approaching caused the
Napoleon to begin his retreat in
October.
• In France, rumors began
circulating that Napoleon had
been killed in battle.
• Winter hit in November and the
French were unprepared.
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• The winter was brutal, with
temperatures reaching -40
below.
• In their desperation to find
shelter from the blinding snow,
French troops resorted to
building huts using the frozen
corpses of their fallen comrades,
stacking them like logs to create
walls.
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• In one of the most famous retreats
in military history, the brutal winter
made this a disaster; by December,
less than 100,000 troops returned
to France alive.
• The Russian defeat was the
beginning of the end for Napoleon.
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• By the spring of 1813 Napoleon had
replenished his army but a coalition
of Russian, Prussian, Austrian, and
Swedish armies, backed by British
financial support, decided to fight
together until Europe was freed
from French control.
• At the Battle of the Nations (Leipzig,
Germany) Napoleon was defeated.
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• The French
Senate forced
Napoleon to
give up his
emperorship as
key generals
abandoned him.
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• He was exiled to
the tiny island of
Elba (in the
Mediterranean off
the west coast of
Italy).
• His young wife
and son did not go
with him and he
never saw them
again.
The Age of Napoleon
• While Napoleon was exiled to Elba,
Josephine caught a bad cold and
died of pneumonia two weeks later.
• When told of the news, Napoleon
was so despondent he stayed
locked in his room for two days,
refusing to see anyone or eat.
• Josephine’s favorite flowers were
roses and violets, so Napoleon wore
some in a locket until the day he
died.
The Age of Napoleon
• Through her son, she was
the great-grandmother of
the royal houses of
Sweden and Denmark, and
the royalty of Belgium,
Luxembourg and Norway
also descend from her.
• Through her daughter, she
was the maternal
grandmother of the future
Napoleon III, who ruled
France (1848-1870).
The Age of Napoleon
• In 1814-1815, the victorious allies
met in Vienna for a general peace
conference (Congress of Vienna)
and tried to undo the ideals of the
French Revolution (nationalism,
equality, and liberalism).
• The kings in Europe were
restored, peace re-established,
and one of Louis XVI’s brothers
became Louis XVIII.
The Age of Napoleon
• Louis XVIII (r 18141824) was caught
between émigré
nobles who
demanded their
lands and power
back, and those who
benefited from the
Revolution or
Napoleon’s reign.
The Age of Napoleon
• This chaos gave Napoleon the
opportunity to escape from Elba
(with some help) and return to
France.
• Word quickly spread of the escape
and in March 1815, with 1500 loyal
men, he marched on Paris as
crowds cheered and as Louis XVIII
fled.
The Age of Napoleon
• Napoleon retook the French
government and immediately
rebuilt his army with former
soldiers still loyal to him.
• A new Napoleonic era, known as
the “Hundred Days,” had begun.
The Age of Napoleon
• The allies immediately
reassembled their forces to take
Napoleon on again.
• In June 1815, the opposing armies
met south of Brussels (Waterloo),
with the allies throwing over
150,000 troops at Napoleon’s
forces of 75,000.
The Age of Napoleon
• After a day-long
battle,
Napoleon was
defeated for the
last time and
he surrendered
to the British
(the Duke of
Wellington).
The Age of Napoleon
• He was forced to give up
power and asked the
English to give political
asylum.
• They instead sent him
as a British prisoner of
war into permanent exile
to the South Atlantic
island of St. Helena,
where he died of
stomach cancer in 1821.
The Age of Napoleon
• His last words were:
“France, the Army, head of the
Army, Josephine…”
The Age of Napoleon
The Age of Napoleon
• Napoleon’s wars killed over 750,000
French soldiers and an additional
400,000 from territories France
controlled.
• But his unification of Europe, the
spread of French reforms, and the
nationalism created by his
occupations set the agenda for
modern European history.