Download PAPER VI: HISTORY OF MODERN EUROPE, 1780-1945

HISTORY
Subject
:
History
Paper No.
:
Paper-VI
History of Modern Europe
Topic No. & Title
:
Topic-1(a)
The French Revolution
Lecture No. & Title
:
Lecture-9
Napoleon and Europe:
The Road to Decline
(For under graduate student)
GLOSSARY
1. The agreement of Reichenbach- Signed on June
27, 1813 between Austria, Russia, and Prussia.
Metternich asserted that he would bring back Austria
into the war if Napoleon refused to agree to peace.
2. Sterling Pound- Official currency of the United
Kingdom; commonly known as the Pound.
3. Czar – Ruler of Russia
4.
Voltaire
-
A
famous
Enlightenment
writer,
philosopher, & historian of French nationality; his
writings were a source of inspiration to French
revolutionaries.
5. Megalomania – A psycho-pathological condition
characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth and
power.
6. Spanish ulcer- Napoleon’s futile and exhausting
campaigns in Spain have been likened to an ulcer as
it bled away the vitality of the French forces just like
a festering wound.
7. Prince Klemens von Metternich (1773 – 1859) –
The foreign minister and Chancellor of Austria who
proposed terms of peace to Napoleon; would in the
following years be the guiding force of European
politics.
8. Battles of Salamanca & Vittoria (1813): Battles
between Napoleon and the Spanish army in which
Napoleon was defeated.
9. Magyars- A nation and an ethnic group native to
and primarily associated with Hungary.
10. ‘War and Peace’- A famous novel by the Russian
writer Leo Tolstoy.
FAQs
1. What was the Continental Blockade?
Napoleon had been unable to domineer over Britain
in spite of his remarkable successes elsewhere in
Europe. He called Britain the ‘nation of shopkeepers’,
and decided to bring the British ‘down on their
knees’ by adopting an economic form of warfare,
known as the ‘Continental Blockade’. He declared
that British ships and British goods would not be
permitted to enter any port on the European coast.
2. Name the proclamations whereby Napoleon
tried to damage British economy?
In order to stop the entry of British goods into the
European market he first issued the Berlin Decree in
Nov. 1806. He followed it up successive declarations
which were the Fontainebleau orders, the Milan
Decrees, the Trianon and St Cloud laws.
3. What was the Luddite Movement?
The Luddite movement was a social movement of
the nineteenth century, which emerged during the
harsh
times
The Luddites were
who
protested
mechanized looms,
of
the
Napoleonic
Wars.
mainly British textile artisans
often
by
destroying
against the changes produced
by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were
leaving them without work and changing their way of
life. The movement was named after ‘General Ned
Ludd’ or ‘King Ludd’, a mythical figure who, like
Robin Hood, was reputed to live in Sherwood Forest.
4.
Explain
Napoleon’s
bitter
experience
in
by
to
Spain.
Napoleon
committed
a
blunder
deciding
interfere in Spain which had all along been an ally of
France. The way he meddled in the succession issue
in Spain and ignored the sentiments of the Spanish
people proved to be disastrous for him. As a
consequence he was dragged into the interior of
Spain. He failed to force them to surrender, as the
Spaniards resorted to guerrilla methods and avoided
open battle. Napoleon had to spend a huge amount
of money, and spare men for this war, while they
were needed elsewhere in Europe, thus weakening
the foundations of his European empire.
5. Why was the ‘Milan Decree’ issued?
The Milan Decree was issued on December, 1807
by Napoleon
I
of
France to
enforce
the Berlin
Decree of 1806, which had initiated the Continental
System.
6. Comment on ‘Battle of Leipzig’?
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–
19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies
of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against
the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also
contained
Polish and Italian troops
as
well
as
Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine. The
battle involved over 600,000 soldiers, making it the
largest battle in Europe prior to World War I.
Defeated, Napoleon was compelled to return to
France
while
the
Allies
hurried
to
keep
their
momentum, invading France early the next year.
Napoleon was forced to abdicate, and was exiled
to Elba that spring.
7. What is meant by ‘the flight of the eagle’?
Napoleon’s escape from Elba where he had been
banished, and his return to France, where he wielded
power again for a hundred days, is often referred to
as ‘the flight of the eagle’.
8. What was the significance of the ‘Battle of
Waterloo’?
Napoleon fought against the combined army of the
Seventh Coalition under the command of the Duke of
Wellington at Waterloo. His defeat sealed the fate of
his empire and he was exiled to St. Helena where he
died six years later at the age of fifty-three.
9. What is ‘Scorched Earth Policy’?
When Napoleon marched to Moscow with his massive
army of 600,000, the Russians adopted the military
tactic termed ‘scorched earth policy’. This meant that
the Russians purposely retreated thus drawing the
invading army deeper into Russian territory, and
avoiding direct confrontation. While abandoning their
settlements they set ablaze to everything that could
be of use as supplies for the advancing enemy
troops. Consequently Napoleon’s army suffered huge
casualties as it could not find any means to replenish
stocks
of
necessities
maintenance
of
the
so
army
essential
and
hence
for
the
became
weakened.
10. What is referred to as the ‘Spanish Ulcer’?
The Peninsular War or the wars that Napoleon waged
against Spain has been referred to as the ‘Spanish
Ulcer’
by
historians,
as
it
was
prolonged
and
damaged the strength of the Napoleonic empire just
like an ulcer.
QUIZ
1. The ‘Nation of Shopkeepers’ was a term used to
refer to
A) France B) Britain C) Italy
2. ‘Czar’ was –
A) Ruler of Russia B) Ruler of Britain C) Ruler of
France
3. ‘War and Peace’ was written byA) Robespierre B) Charles Dickens C) Leo Tolstoy
4. The Decree of Berlin was issued by Napoleon inA)
November
1806
B)
November
1807
C)
1807
C)
November 1808
5. The Milan Decree was issued on
A)
November,
1807
B)
December,
December, 1806
6. The term ‘flight of the eagle’ was associated
with–
A) Robespierre B) Louis XVI C) Napoleon
7. Napoleon was finally defeated at the-
A) Battle of Milan B) Battle of Waterloo C) Battle
of Leipzig
8. The Peninsular War has been called theA) ‘Spanish Ulcer’ B) ‘Russian Ulcer’ C) ‘German
Ulcer’
9. The year of the Treaty of Chaumont isA) 1813 B) 1815 C) 1814
10. The Luddite movement was anA)
Anti-industrialization
Napoleon
movement
movement
C)
movement
--------------------------------------
OBJECTIVES
The students will be able to:
B)
Anti-
Anti-revolutionary
 Know about the expansion of Napoleon’s empire
over Europe.
 Learn about the various reforms introduced by
Napoleon in the territories he conquered
 Understand the events that led to the downfall
of Napoleon
----------------------------------------------------------Assignment
1. What were the mistakes Napoleon committed that
led to his fall?
2. Do you think the Continental System was mainly
responsible for his fall?
3. Why did Napoleon fail in Russia?
4. What was the significance of the Peninsular War?
5. How have historians tried to evaluate Napoleon?
---------------------------------------SUMMARY
Since the late 1700s till the early 1800s, the ideas
of the
French
fraternity
Revolution,
inspired
equality,
many
liberty, and
people.
Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as an important figure
who reestablished order in France. Napoleon was an
opportunist leader and a military genius, who initially
gained the trust and support of his countrymen. But
unfortunately, Napoleon's desire for more and more
power destroyed his original goal to support the
ideals of the French Revolution. He intended to hurt
British economy, by shutting off the continental
markets to British commodities but in the process he
hurt French economy more. In the process he also
managed to enrage the people of Europe who faced
severe hardships as daily necessities became scarce
and expensive.
The British were aware of Napoleon’s growing power
in Europe, and used their naval force to ensure that
Napoleon could not enhance his military by gaining
supremacy in sea power. His desire to become the
greatest power in Europe paved the way for his
downfall. When he invaded Russia, the Russians
retreated and let Napoleon’s army perish due to the
harsh winter there. The Russian winter depleted his
troops and expended valuable resources. On the
Spanish front too he angered the Spaniards by
interfering in their internal matters and then going
on to place his brother as King. The ensuing
Peninsular War proved to be disastrous for Napoleon.
In
the
meantime
the
news
of
his
successive
discomfitures encouraged the European powers to
come together and to defeat him at the Battle of
Waterloo in 1815. Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena
where he remained till his death at the age of fiftythree.
Napoleon's lust for power proved to be his undoing.
His beneficial motives were overshadowed by his
transformation into a selfish dictator.
---------------------------------------
PAPER
VI:
HISTORY
OF
MODERN
EUROPE,
1780-1945
Lecture - 9
Napoleon: The Road to Decline
6.1.9
After 1808 Napoleon increasingly took questionable
political and military decisions which ultimately led to
his downfall, following his final defeat at Waterloo,
and banishment to the island of St. Helena. In 1807
Napoleon stood at the zenith of his power and had
virtually subjugated or brought all the European
powers into subordinate alliance except for Britain.
Britain proved to be Napoleon’s steadfast enemy
from
the
temporary
early
truce
1790s.
at
Napoleon
Amiens
in
had
1802
made
but
a
had
experienced a shattering defeat at the naval battle of
Trafalgar. Napoleon decided to bring the country he
described as ‘the nation of shopkeepers’ down on
their knees by adopting an economic form of
warfare, known as the ‘Continental Blockade’.
Napoleon promulgated the Berlin Decree in Nov.
1806 when he entered Berlin after defeating Prussia
at the Battle of Jena, whereby he simply declared
that ‘the British Isles are in a state of blockade’. The
idea was to shut off the continental markets to
British industrial products. It is noteworthy that the
British industrialization had virtually ‘taken off’, to
quote Rostow, between the 1780s and early 1800.
Britain was the first European country that had
experienced the Industrial Revolution. Napoleon’s
idea
was
to
stop
both
the
colonial
re-export
(commodities that Britain brought from the colonies
and re-exported it to the continent) as well as the
export of British industrial products. By affecting
their trade Napoleon hoped to produce a glut in
production and to drain away British gold reserves
thus
forcing
them
to
capitulate
to
Napoleon.
Napoleon knew that he would never be able to
defeat Britain on the naval front so he felt that this
was the surest way to ensure that she was humbled.
He said that he intended to conquer the sea by land,
-not
by
direct
warfare,
but
economic
warfare.
Napoleon may not have been mistaken in devising
this economic weapon, but a whole lot of problems
surfaced when Napoleon tried to enforce it.
The Berlin Decree was followed in succession by the
Milan Decree, the Fontainebleau, the Trianon and St.
Cloud
Decrees
Napoleon’s
between
announcements
1806
were
and
1810-11.
countered
by
Britain with the ‘Orders in Council’, which declared
that any ship obeying the Berlin Decree would be
considered as an enemy ship. Implementation was
relatively easier for Britain in the sense that she had
both industrial superiority as well as supremacy over
the seas. She could cut off France’s connections with
her colonies, rather than France forcing the issue on
Britain so far as the high seas were concerned.
Napoleon’s basic idea was not colonial warfare but
simply to shut the continental market to England.
Initially (1808) the continental blockade resulted in a
reduction in the volume of
British exports. In the
first quarter of 1808 British exports went down in
total value from 9000 Sterling Pound to 7000
Sterling Pound. In the next quarter it went down
further. This would undoubtedly have affected Britain
adversely. But this was when Napoleon took the
questionable decision of intervening in Spain. This
somewhat let Britain off the hook, something that
Napoleon was to repeat again in 1810-11.
As Napoleon continued with his efforts to make the
Continental System as stringent as possible there
was even a possibility that France might substitute
Britain as the ‘supplier of the continent’. The biggest
obstacle to the realization of such a possibility lay in
the fact that France was not yet an industrialized
country, and therefore not quite equipped to replace
Britain as the ‘supplier of Europe’. As a result when
the supply of British commodities became scarce in
the continental markets, people all over Europe
started feeling the pinch. Napoleon’s argument that
Europe must unite and suffer temporary deprivation,
did not find favour with the people because they
hardly found any difference between British or
French
domination.
merchants
started
Gradually
suffering,
even
the
because
French
they
had
invested large amounts of money as advance for
commodities which they were not getting.
But what really upset Napoleon’s plans of enforcing
the continental blockade was the gradual emergence
of a large network of smuggling. Napoleon found it
impossible to guard the vast European coastline, as
he did not possess the requisite naval strength.
Moreover Portugal was in close alliance with Britain
and it virtually acted as a subsidiary economy of
England, with goods coming to Portugal and reaching
European consumers through Spain. British goods
could also enter through the Italian coast, the
Adriatic and the Baltic, and then be transported via
land or riverine routes to the interior of Europe.
Prevention of smuggling proved to be something that
Napoleon could hardly tackle.
One reason that prompted Napoleon to intervene in
Spain was that he needed to go to Portugal by the
land route through Spain. Later in the Trianon and
St. Cloud Decrees, Napoleon ordered public burning
of contraband goods. Napoleon’s efforts to enforce
the blockade made him undertake such extreme
measures that produced a great deal of discontent in
European cities; particularly in parts of Germany.
Marcel Dunan feels that the Continental Blockade
was simply a blockade, or merely an attempt to cut
off the European market from British commodities.
But it was later enlarged to what he calls the
Continental System, which was more comprehensive
and sought to use the entire European economy,
(economy of the conquered and unconquered areas)
as subservient to French economy. This is where
Napoleon failed miserably. His failure to control
smuggling
introducing
commented
smuggling,
made
a
him
licence
that
relax
the
system.
A
Napoleon,
assumed
the
in
role
blockade
historian
order
of
the
to
by
has
avoid
smuggler
himself. He was even forced to import much needed
British boots for his Grand Army. In 1810-11 when
Britain was suffering from a reduction in exports,
Napoleon, for reasons known best to him, decided to
export wheat to her, as there was an abundant
supply in France.
So there were loopholes and logical inconsistencies
in
the
way
the
Continental
Blockade
or
the
Continental System as it later came to be known,
was being implemented in Europe. Ultimately it acted
more as a boomerang than as a weapon aimed at
targeting the enemy. Britain did suffer, as there
were gluts in production, as goods could not be sold,
and
were
being
dumped
in
warehouses.
The
industries were experiencing recession and there
were
social
disturbances,
of
which
the
most
significant were the Luddite riots. People started
blaming
the
new
machines
for
their
economic
hardships and began to destroy machines.
In 1808 Napoleon intervened in Spain, and then in
1812 he attacked Moscow, when the Czar decided to
open Russian ports to British goods. This signalled
the beginning of the end. It was as a consequence of
his Continental blockade that the Peninsular War
took place In 1808. He intervened in Spain, on the
pretext of solving a dispute regarding succession to
the Spanish throne, although his real motive was to
enter Spain in order to go to Portugal which was an
ally of the British. When he perceived that there was
a possibility of change in government in Spain,
instead of supporting Ferdinand [1784 – 1833] who
was the popular choice, Napoleon chose to espouse
the right of Charles VIII, the Bourbon King of Spain,
and conspired with Manuel de Godoy [1767 – 1851]
the unpopular but powerful minister by promising
him
a
principality
in
Southern
Portugal.
He
summoned Ferdinand to meet him at Baylen, and
when Charles abdicated decided to place his brother
Joseph on the throne of Spain. (Joseph [1768-1844]
was brought from Naples to Spain and Joachim
Murat [1767 – 1815] was made the King of Naples).
This proved to be a disastrous decision. Napoleon
came to Spain and was involved in a war that
dragged on for four years ending finally in his defeat.
As early as July 1808 Napoleon and his forces were
defeated at Baylen by the Spaniards. This created a
tremendous
impact
on
Europe,
as
It
was
unbelievable that this powerful Grande Army could
be defeated after all. Napoleon experienced logistical
difficulties in Spain. His earlier military tactics were
not working because the Spaniards receded and
resorted to guerilla forms of warfare. The Spanish
peasants, clergy and army were involved in fighting
off French troops. Napoleon derisively called it the
‘insurrection of the monks’. Spain was a Catholic
country, and Napoleon and the Revolution were
perceived by the Spaniards as an attack on the
Church.
It also signified a popular resistance that involved
the entire population of Spain. Napoleon failed to get
the enemy to face him in open battle. He did make
some headway in the beginning, but ultimately failed
to cross the whole of Spain and reach Portugal,
which in the meanwhile was being reinforced by
British assistance. Finally after four years, having
suffered enormous losses in terms of men and
money Napoleon was defeated at the battles of
Salamanca and Vittoria in 1813 and was obliged to
withdraw from Spain. By then it was too late.
The Peninsular War has sometimes been termed the
‘Spanish Ulcer’ by historians. It destroyed Napoleon.
In Spain Napoleon experienced a different kind of
war which did not suit his strategy. The Grande Army
now had Poles, Italians, Germans, and Magyars from
all over the conquered parts of the Grand Empire,
and it proved to be difficult to get the best out of
them at this stage. An Italian poet referring to this
situation, wrote how unsavoury and tragic it was for
an Italian to die in Spain for Napoleon.
Napoleon had so long financed his war by the
resources he collected from the conquered areas.
Spain made all the difference between receiving and
spending. Here Napoleon had to bring in money from
France. It was around 1810 that for the first time he
was forced to impose new taxes in order to raise
resources to continue his war. That was indeed a
tragedy. In 1811-12 Napoleon made fresh attempts
to quell Spain in 1809-10 and again in 1811.
In the meantime he defeated Austria, married the
Austrian princess by divorcing his long time wife
Josephine, to satisfy his quest for legitimacy. By
marrying into royalty Napoleon desired to get rid of
his usurper status and be considered as part of the
dynastic principle. This also provides an insight into
the manner in which he sought to satisfy his
megalomania.
In 1812, even before the Spanish War had been
brought
to
an
end
Napoleon
decided
on
the
campaign against Russia. Czar Alexander I had
virtually opted out of the Continental System or the
Blockade because the Russians merchants were
jittery. They had lost a whole lot of money, and
wanted trade with Britain to be resumed. Napoleon
decided to teach the Russians a lesson, and got
together a massive army of 600,000 and made his
famous march towards Moscow. He went through the
north European terrain, and tried to force the
Russians to battle but they retreated, according to
the strategy of ‘the scorched earth policy’. They
destroyed everything before they retreated, so that
Napoleon’s army was denied the basic amenities that
an advancing army required. The basic reason for
Napoleon’s success in war so far had been speed,
but now Napoleon was obliged to carry a huge
baggage
train
to
keep
his
army
supplied.
At
Borodino, there was a skirmish with the Russians,
with heavy losses on either side but Kutusov, the
Russian general succeeded in retreating not only to
Moscow but beyond.
By the time Napoleon reached Moscow, winter had
set in. He found Moscow deserted. The Czar was
away in St. Petersburg and the whole of Moscow was
burning. One gets a graphic description of this in
Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’. Napoleon waited in vain.
The whole campaign which cost him so much in
terms of loss of human lives and money ended in a
fiasco. Napoleon had no alternative but to withdraw,
but by then the harsh Russian winter had set in.
Napoleon lost a good part of his army for want of
food, coming through more than knee deep snow in
many places, and as a result of attacks by the
Cossack Brigades.
By the time Napoleon returned in 1813 he had only a
third of his huge Grande Army left. Napoleon knew
he had committed a mistake but felt he would be
able to rectify it. At the same time he had to
withdraw from Spain. Spain was lost, so was
Portugal. This provided the opportunity for the Duke
of Wellington to come via Spain and attack France
from the southern side. Napoleon felt he could still
recover his grounds, and stated to his aides that, ‘I
know I have made a mistake but I know I have ways
of rectifying it.’ He again got together an army, but
at a tremendous cost. Conscription was reaching
absurd proportions. After 1811 it was not uncommon
to see young people in the countryside with selfinflicted wounds, to avoid being conscripted into
Napoleon’s army.
Napoleon nevertheless got together an army of
around 300,000 and decided to march on Europe
again. He decided to go as far as Germany. It was
here that he was now to confront an aroused people
of Germany. The Battle of Leipzig or the
Battle of
Nations resulted in the defeat of Napoleon.
Jerome reported unrest from Westphalia. Holland
under Louis had very clearly indicated dissent about
the Continental Blockade, which was followed by
Louis being ousted and Holland being incorporated
into France. Napoleon had the Austrian ruler as his
relative on account of his marriage to an Austrian
princess. So Prince Klemens von Metternich (1773 –
1859) the foreign minister and Chancellor of Austria
proposed
terms
of
peace
to
Napoleon,
which
declared that if Napoleon desisted from further war
and made peace he would be allowed to keep some
of his conquests.
The tragedy of Napoleon is summed up in what he
told Metternich at Dresden in June 1813: ‘I would die
before I ceded one inch of territory. Your sovereigns
born on the throne can be beaten twenty times and
still return to their capitals. I cannot do that because
I am an upstart soldier. My domination will not be
able to survive from the day I cease to be strong and
consequently to be feared.’ This was undoubtedly an
untenable and unsustainable situation. Napoleon
knew how to make war but he did not know how to
bring it to an end and to make peace.
His moment of destiny came very soon. Before the
Battle of Leipzig in October, he was seen by one of
his generals as reciting from Voltaire: ‘I have served,
commanded, conquered forty years of the world in
my hands, I have seen the fortunes and I have
always known that on every occasion the destiny of
states depends on a single moment.’ Napoleon’s
moment of destiny had arrived at Leipzig, when he
was defeated by a combined army of European
powers. Napoleon’s defeat at Leipzig also known as
the Battle of the Nations was followed by the Treaty
of Reichenberg which had brought Russia, Prussia
and Austria together. By early 1814 the Treaty of
Chaumont
would
bring
Britain
into
the
Fourth
coalition that would defeat Napoleon ultimately.
In 1814 Austrians, Russians, Prussians and the Duke
of Wellington started the invasion of France by
converging on Paris. The Allies in their Manifesto said
that they were inside French territory not to make
war
on
France,
but
simply
to
eliminate
the
domination of Napoleon, which had been wrongly
imposed on Europe for a long time. They even said
that France would be allowed to retain its natural
frontiers,(1792 frontier, not 1789). The bourgeoisie
in France who were already totally disillusioned with
the way things had turned out under Napoleon took
note of this implication and dismissed Napoleon.
Talleyrand was made the head of a provisional
government and he now suggested the application of
the Principle of Legitimacy to bring the brother of
Louis XVI back to the throne of France. Napoleon
was banished to Elba.
But after nine months Napoleon escaped from Elba
and returned to France. This development has been
termed as ‘the flight of the eagle’. He returned for a
hundred days. On his way towards Paris he was
confronted by a group of soldiers, to whom Napoleon
declared that, ‘I have come back, I am your
emperor. You can kill me if you want, or you can
follow me if you want.’ Napoleon’s charismatic charm
and appeal was still alive. The crowds shouted ‘Long
live the Emperor’. Napoleon marched to Paris, but
before long he was defeated at the ‘Battle of
Waterloo’ with which the name of the Duke of
Wellington is associated. Napoleon was banished to
St. Helena where he died six years later at the age of
fifty-three only.
As Frédéric Masson in his Napoleon inconnu has said
- ‘in a disordered imagination lies the source of
human unhappiness. It makes us wander across the
seas, from one fantasy to another and if its spell
leaves us in the end, it is by then too late. The hour
strikes and the mind dies detesting life.’ This is an
apt observation on Napoleon.
While at St. Helena Napoleon took, in a way, a
revenge on his victors. In his memoirs Napoleon
painted a picture of himself as the saviour of France,
and the protector of Liberty. He made himself appear
nobler than he had been. But Lefebvre and Tulard,
and
many
Napoleon
other
was
historians
indeed
a
have
part
of
opined
the
that
French
Revolution, and that he grew from the Revolution,
and
one
cannot
understand
him
without
the
Revolution. His tenure was not as Bergeron said ‘a
mere episode in French history’. It was intrinsic to
the entire quarter century whose history we have
tried to read so far.
Bibliography:
1.
F M H Markham, Napoleon and the Awakening
of Europe ( London,1958)
2.
P.Geyl,
Napoleon:
For
and
Against
(
Harmondsworth,1986)
3.
G.Rude, Revolutionary Europe ( London,1985)
4.
F.Furet, The French Revolution, 1770-1814
(Oxford,1996)
5.
J.Tulard, Napoleon: The Myth of the Saviour (
London,1984)
6.
Martyn Lyons, Napoleon Bonaparte and the
Legacy of the French Revolution ((London, 1994)
7.
Louis Bergeron, France under Napoleon (
Princeton,1990)
8.
Michael
(London,1996)
Broers,
Europe
under
Napoleon