Napoleon

Defeat and

Legacy

After the disaster in Russia, (500,000 dead) Napoleon is forced to give up power to Louis XVIII (brother of VI)

He is exiled to the island of Elba in 1814

“100 Days” (March-June, 1815)

• Napoleon escapes from Elba and returns to France• Gathers the military• Soldiers are still loyal to Napoleon• King Louis XVIII flees

and Napoleon regains power

100 Days - Battle of Waterloo - June 18, 1815

When Napoleon regained power, many of the countries who had opposed him got back together to form ANOTHER coalition (7th) to try and stop him.

“Best defense is a good offense” He attacked the British General Wellington at Waterloo (Belgium)

Napoleon was defeated for the final time by the combined forces of Britain and Prussia

This time he’s sent to St. Helena, between Africa and South America…permanently.

He died in 1821 of cancer

Actions of Napoleon which upheld

the Ideals of the Revolution • Economic Reform• Equality under the law• No legal distinctions between social classes• Merit based government positions (meritocracy)• Napoleonic (Civil) Code– Unified legal system– Freedom of religion and occupation

• All citizens taxed equally• Lyceés (government-run schools)

Napoleon Wrote About the Civil Code

• “My glory consists not of having won forty battles; that which nothing will erase, that which will live eternally, is my Civil Code

Results of Napoleon and the French Revolution

• In France, it ended the Old Regime permanently– Ended feudalism (can own property)– established a written constitution

• Changed the political boundaries• Sparked nationalism (love, and a will to fight for

your nation) in countries throughout Europe • Ideas of the revolution and spread to every place Napoleon touched (or conquered)

International Legacy of Napoleonand Napoleonic Code

• Influenced other countries to demand:– Constitution– Individual Rights– Liberty and Equality– Strong beliefs in Nationalism– Desire to break away from

foreign ruleStill the foundation of many country’s codes of law TODAY

Think About This Quote---Do You Agree---Why or Why Not?

"I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished feudalism and restored equality to all regardless of religion and before the law. I fought the decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime because the alternative was the destruction of all this. I purified the Revolution.“

– Napoleon Bonaparte