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NAPOLEON'S RISE
AND FALL
The Early Years
LOMBARDY
Born August
1769 of
minor
nobility on
Corsica
CORSICA
Napoleon's Early Military Career
• Entered military
academy at age 9
• By age 16, he was
appointed 2nd
Lieutenant in the
artillery
• He became Brigadier
General at age 24
Early Career
. . . but a different
destiny awaited
Napoleon
Maximilian Robespierre
Napoleon's Tactics
• Swift moves and great
mobility
• The ability to change
tactics during a battle
• Ability to exploit an
enemy’s mistakes
• Surprise attacks to
disconcert the enemy
The Italian Campaign
• Command, at
age 26, of the
French army in
Italy (17961797)—made
Napoleon a
national hero
Napoleon at Rivoli—
January 14, 1797
Crossing the Alps
In the footsteps of giants. . . or a propaganda picture?
Rivoli
Egyptian Campaign
17981799
Egyptian
Campaign
Napoleon
styled himself a
“NeoAlexander,”
intent on
taking his army
all the way to
India itself.
Napoleon's Egyptian
campaign, July 21, 1798
• Attempt to
sever
England's
lifeline to
India
Battle of the Pyramids
Battle for the Nile — August
A Reversal of
1,
1798
Fortune
Destruction
of
the French Fleet
Nelson’s devastation of
Napoleon’s fleet at
Alexandria left the
French Army trapped in
Egypt
Battle at Acre—March 1799
The Arabs resisted the French intrusion. . .
with a little help from the British under
Sidney Smith (left)
Napoleon’s Flight from Egypt
Napoleon found himself
bottled up in a hostile
environment
The British
caricaturist of the
era had, of course,
a field day with his
retreat
His only viable recourse was to cut his
losses and run. He hoped to return to
France secretly before the news of the
Egyptian debacle arrived.
Napoleon Takes Charge, November 10, 1799
Napoleon, at age 30, emerges
as 1st Consul and virtual
dictator of France
In 1802, he
became
consul for
life
SOME HOLD THAT NAPOLEON IS
THE FIRST MODERN DICTATOR
So Napoleon would soon
cover up the power of his
two counterparts.
Young. . . and in
control. . . Napoleon
as Consul
WHY Napoleon Was Accepted
• Frenchmen were exhausted by years of
revolution
• They were likewise exhausted by years of
economic instability, terror, and revolution
• Napoleon seemed to be the guarantor of
both the gains of Revolution and an orderly
France
War Against the Coalition of England, Austria, &
Prussia, 1799-1801
A November
1801 James
Gillray
caricature
that
• Napoleon was
Amiens
largely
captures British fears
Peace
successful in his
relevant to the French
campaigns
Medal
• Peace of
Revolution
and
Napoleon
Amiens, 1801
Napoleon's Domestic Program,
1801-1805
This was a
period of
relative peace—
major hostilities
did not break
out until 1805
•Equality of men before the law a fundamental
principle of the Revolution of 1789
•The authority of the State over people
•Business corporations over their people
•Male heads of families over their wives & children
•Property rights received particularly strong
protection
Napoleon's
Reform Program
Legal Reforms
Code Napoleon or Civil
Code of 1804—
Napoleon's legal
advisers compiled a
uniform legal code,
which still remains the
basis of French law. It
included the following
KEY PRINCIPLES:
In general, Napoleon's reforms upheld the principal ideas of the
French Revolution & the Enlightenment . . . but in practice, they
served to strengthen the new authoritarian state
Additional Reforms
• Administrative Reforms & Policy—administration
was a highly centralized departmental
• Educational Program—a Nation-wide system of
public education that imbued the young with an
exaggerated patriotism and devotion to their
leader
• Financial Policy—Napoleon chartered &
established a privately owned national bank for a
depository of government funds
The accord was more apparent than real
Relations with the Church
• 1798—French armies occupied Rome—a “Canossa in
reverse”
• The French Revolution had left the Church in France
under state control
• Napoleon recognized the need to come to terms with the
Papacy in order that he might make use of it
Pope Pius VII &
the Concordat of
1801 and the
reconciliation of
Church-State
relations in
France
Individual Liberties
• On the whole, these decreased
• Political opposition was punishable by
police action
• Strict censorship of the press made
Newspapers became little more than organs
of government propaganda
It could be argued that Napoleon
was one in a long succession of
imperial rulers who followed in the
line and style of the old Roman
Empire
The Sale of Louisiana, 1803
Napoleon anticipated the need of cash to finance an
impending war against England. To meet this need,
he sold the Louisiana Territory to the U. S. A. for $15
million
Holy Roman Emperor, December 2, 1804
A Different. . . and very British View
Summation of His Early Reign
Napoleon was consecrated by Pope Pius
VII (1800-1823) himself in Paris, at the
Cathedral of Notre Dame, the following
December. Napoleon had summoned the
Pope to come to France for this
responsibility. Napoleon, now aged 34,
crowned himself as Holy Roman
Emperor, taking the crown out of the
hands of the Pope.
SO FAR . . . SO GOOD
Napoleon appeared the realization of the
18th century dream of the Enlightened
Despot
• He preserved property of those who had
gained from the Revolution
• He satisfied the social ideal of the
Revolution of 1789 by maintaining a society
open to all men of talent
• He restored economic stability to France
• He established a network of administrative
institutions, which gave coherence &
uniformity to the work of his government
The Napoleonic Empire, 1805-1807
Napoleon
inherited an
aggressive foreign
policy of
imperialism from
the National
Convention & the
Directory
Napoleon's enmity toward England
who determined to keep France
from being the dominant economic
and political power on the Continent
War began
anew in 1805
because
Napoleon's
ambition to
extend the
French
sphere of
influence—
this involved
his intrigues
in Germany
and Italy
Nelson’s funeral. . .
Trafalgar – October 21, 1805
His diary entries prior to
Trafalgar evidence a prescient
. . . but lost his life in the process
sense of impending death.
An old nemesis. . .
British Admiral
Horatio Nelson
Nelson defeated the
combined FrancoSpanish navies. . .
He has been immortalized by his
countrymen. . .
. . . in London’s
Trafalgar Square
Although
Napoleon’s
greatest land
victories were
about to come. . .
The ghost of Nelson
would haunt him.
In practical terms,
Napoleon’s loss at
Trafalgar guaranteed
the failure of any French
invasion of British soil.
Battle of Austerlitz, December 2, 1805
The most spectacular of his victories
defeating the combined Austrian and
Russian armies. It left France the
indisputable leading power on the
Continent
1806 -- A Very Good Year for Napoleon
The re-organization of
Germany
The abolition of the Holy
Roman Empire—August 6,
1806, Francis II, Austrian
Emperor, resigned the
imperial office and gave up
the imperial crown. 1,006
years after the crowning of
Charlemagne at St. Peter's
in Rome (A. D. 800), the
Holy Roman Empire
officially came to an end
Battle of Jena, October 1806
Napoleon's victory here enabled him to impose a humiliating
peace settlement on King Frederick William III
1807 — France & Russia
Battle of Friedland—
June 1807
Marks the PEAK OF
NAPOLEON'S POWER—in
3 successive years, he had
defeated the three most
powerful nations on the
Continent.
Treaties of Tilsit
A Less
Than
Flattering
Interpretation by
Contemporaries
The Continental System
• The imposition of heavy penalties on any
Continental nation trading with England and the
forbidding of importation of English goods
(England produced the cheapest manufactured
goods in the world)
• GOAL: the system sought to wreck English
commerce and promote a revolution instigated by
the resulting unhappy business middle class
• Effect: It was impossible for the European
economy to function properly without English
trade
The Continental System
Continued
• England added to the heavy strain already on the
Continental economy by blockading all countries
subscribing to the French system
• Continental System particularly hurt Russia,
which needed English markets for her grain
• Alexander couldn't enforce the system and
Napoleon couldn't tolerate a breach within it
• The upshot of it all was Napoleon's invasion of
Russia
The Romanov
Double-Headed
Eagle
A Failure of Nerve
In the end, Napoleon abandoned his plan
to invade England and turned to an even
more devastating plan.
The Daunting Cliffs of
Dover
The Crumbling of the Napoleonic
Empire, 1812-1815
• Underlying Weaknesses
• Disillusioned Idealism
• It soon became evident that imperialism was
a more important component of the
Napoleonic system than was liberation
• Offensive features of his administration
high taxes, conscription, Tight police
surveillance
Napoleonic tutelage, even at its most benevolent, appeared
incompatible with the libertarian and
nationalistic ideals of the French Revolution
Ludwig van Beethoven, 17701827
Beethoven’s original
symphonic celebration of
Napoleon, the Enlightened
despot, became simply
Heroica after the
composer perceived
Napoleon’s true agenda
Growing Nationalistic Sentiment— Napoleon's
Flagging Popularity & the Growth of
Resistance to French Imperialism
• German cultural
movements
• The same thing
happened in Italy
• In Spain, resistance to
Napoleon was more
violent
Wellington’s Peninsular War
Spanish resistance to the rule of
Joseph, Napoleon’s brother,
marked the 1st great revolt against
Napoleon's rule
Sir Arthur Wellesley,
Duke of Wellington—
1769-1852
Joseph Bonaparte,
King of Spain
Guerilla Warfare—a New Kind of
Challenge
This was the first
serious failure for
Napoleon on the
Continent, the
initial fissure in his
record of
invincibility—
inspired others
who felt Napoleon
could, in fact, be
beaten
Napoleon could execute rebels. . . but in the end, he could not
kill them all.
Losses at Home
• France, like the rest of the Continental
nations, suffered from economic and
internal crises, and consequently, conditions
in France became increasingly repressive
• Napoleon's marriage to the daughter of the
Austrian Emperor in April 1810 (in order to
gain support among fellow-European
monarchs) actually lost him support at
home
The Grand Amrée and the
Invasion of Russia, June 1812
The army was
composed of
600,000 men,
the largest
army ever
assembled in
modern times
Napoleon’s
finest
Versus a
determined
Russian foe
Tsar
Alexander I
Napoleon's Goal—
strike a quick and
decisive blow
which, because of
his overwhelming
superiority in
numbers, would be
successful
Battle of Borodino,
September 7, 1812
. . . proved to be the decisive
engagement.
What
Napoleon
considered a
skirmish. . .
The Carnage
of Battle
The Burning of Moscow
The Russians burned Moscow
about 3/4th of the city burned)
shortly after Napoleon's
arrival, September 14, 1812
The Disastrous Retreat
• On October 19, 1812, he headed
for home
• He had massive desertions by
German, Austrian, and Polish
conscripts
• Disease killed many
• Starvation killed many
• Severe cold weather killed
many
• Cossacks continually nipped at
Napoleon's flanks
By the time he reached the
German border, he had
only 100,000 of his original
army.
Had the Austrians & Prussians chosen this time to launch an
attack on him, they could have crushed him . . . but his legend
and aura of invincibility, coupled with a lack of information
about his vulnerability, prevented such a maneuver
That reverence did not
extend to the caricature
artists of the day.
. . . and of future
things to come
An Echo
of Egypt
Straddling the corners of
Europe
As Napoleon undermined his
future by an ill-advised invasion
of Russia. . .
. . . so would
Adolf Hitler 130
years later
The Final Struggle—"Battle of the
Nations" or Battle of Leipzig, October
16-18, 1813
Combined armies of Austria, Prussia, &
Russia defeated Napoleon badly in this 3
day conflict
He lost about 40% of his men
and then retreated back across
the Rhine
Contemporary Caricaturist View
Prussian General Gebhard von
Blucher—”Blucher the Brave”—
capturing the “Corsican Blood
Hound”
Trapped in Paris,1814
By the spring of 1814, these combined Allied armies
entered Paris -- April 11, 1814
Napoleon Formally Abdicates
Napoleon Exiled to Elba
The abdication. . .
bidding the troops farewell. . .
and a desolate new domicile.
An Honorable Exit
Or exile
outside
of
France
One More Time. . .
An English view of “The
Corsican’s Last Trip”
Death dances yet again. . . . . . and welcomed back by his veterans
Return of Napoleon – The
"Hundred Days” March 20 June 29, 1815
Not the man he used
to be
The Final Flourish at
Waterloo—June 8, 1815
and Blucher. . .
Wellington
French novelist
Victor Hugo
“blamed it on the
rain.”
carried
the day
An Inelegant Retreat
Napoleon beat a fast path back
to Paris. . . and hoped to find
sanctuary among the
Americans.
An English Point of View
At stake was dominance
of the 19th century world
To Many Frenchmen,
Napoleon Was a Savior
The English had a
different view
Napoleon's Capture and Final Exile -- St. Helena
A Second Abdication
Captured and Exiled. . . Again
Banishment to St. Helena
Napoleon’s New Home
The Final Hours
Napoleon died on St. Helena on May 5, 1821
Meanwhile, Back at the
Peace Table in Vienna
. . .to conservative
reconstruction
Crafting a
lasting
peace
From chaos. . .
Assessment of Napoleon: Lasting
achievements
• The Napoleonic
Administrative System,
which divided France into
departments
• The Concordat of 1801,
which became the blueprint
used by other European
nations in their relations
with the Roman Catholic
Church
• The great ideas of the
Revolution of 1789 lived on
Great Ideas of the Revolution
• No absolute ruler came to the throne, even
though Louis XVIII was "restored"
• Nationalism and ideas of national pride &
glory were a counter-poise against an older
pride in the king
• Notions of liberty, equality, and nationalism
became the smoldering coals of revolution,
which would burst periodically into flames
throughout the 19th century
The political balance of power was
permanently altered
• There was no restoration of the petty states
of Germany
• Neither in the feeble republics of Italy
• Russia, for the 1st time, now had a major
voice in the affairs of Western Europe
• England made great strides in industrial &
commercial development during the wars
• England made great strides in industrial &
commercial development during the wars
Finis