Napoleon – General, Tyrant and Reformer

Main Idea

Napoleon Bonaparte rose through military ranks to become emperor over France and much of Europe. After Napoleon defeat, the European allies sent him into exile and held a meeting in Vienna to restore order and stability to Europe.

Napoleon’s Rise and Fall (chapter 20 sections 3 & 4)

Objectives:• Explore how Napoleon rose to power.• Identify how Emperor Napoleon came to dominate Europe.• Explore what events caused disaster and defeat for Napoleon.• Discover the achievements of the Congress of Vienna achieve.

Napoleon promised order and stability, pledging to uphold key reforms. The French gave up some freedoms for peace and prosperity.

Napoleon Bonaparte, ruthlessly ambitious, rose from army captain to ruler of France in a very short time. He took advantage of the turmoil of the French Revolution.

• Napoleon, brilliant military leader• In charge of French interior at 26• Invaded Italy and Egypt• Defeat by Admiral Horatio Nelson kept

from newspapers• Became national hero

Opportunities for Glory Napoleon Seizes Power• Directory weak and ineffective

• Fear of royalists and of European opposition

• November 1799 coup d’état • France to be led by Consulate

• Napoleon voted first consul, in effect a dictator

Napoleon’s Rise to Power

Emperor Napoleon

Once France under control, Napoleon turned to Europe

• Napoleon crowns himself

– Submitted a plebiscite before voters

– Emperor Napoleon I

• Desire for empire

– Wanted to rule Europe and the Americas

– French expedition to Saint Domingue (Haiti today) failed

– Napoleon sold Louisiana Territory to the United States and turned his focus to Europe

Napoleonic Wars• Extension of wars fought during the French Revolution, would last a

decade

• France dominant power in Europe by 1812

• Napoleon defeated Russian and Austrian troops at Austerlitz

• Invaded both Portugal and Spain

• The Peninsular War

• French withdrew due to guerilla warfare and English involvement.

• Unable to subdue English with Continental System

• Designed to stop trade from England to the rest of Europe

• Placed Relatives in charge of conquered territories

Church-State Relations

• Anti-religious nature of French Revolution over

• Concordat recognized influence of Roman Catholic Church

Legal and Educational

• Napoleonic Code developed• Order and authority over

individual rights• Schools for government and

military positions

Economic Reforms

• Established the Bank of France to regulate economy

• More efficient tax-collection system

Legacy—Age of Napoleon

• Democratic ideas

• Equality before law, representative system

• Spread of nationalism

Napoleon’s Policies

Portugal

• Napoleon surprised by inability to control Portugal• Peninsular campaign was a failure

Costly Mistake

• Napoleon turned east in 1812• Hoped to teach Russia a lesson

Russia

• Czar Alexander I didn’t like French troops on western border • Russia hurt by Continental System; country needed imports

Disaster and Defeat

June 1812

• Napoleon and army of 600,000 troops

• Marched across Russian border

No One to Fight • Russian troops pulled east • French victory at Borodino, but

Russian army still strong• Pushed to Moscow but found city

in flames

French Army

• New recruits with no loyalty • Supplies lost or spoiled• Disease, desertion, and hunger

Retreat Homeward

• Ruined city, no winter supplies• Starvation and freezing

temperatures decimated army• Only 94,000 men survived

The Russian Campaign

• Europe allied against France and Napoleon• Led by England

• Napoleon raised another army, but troops inexperienced• In October 1813 Napoleon defeated at Battle of

the Nations near Leipzig• In March 1814, victorious allies entered Paris.

• Terms of surrender—Napoleon gave up throne and went into exile on tiny island of Elba

Defeat and Exile to Elba

The Hundred Days

• French monarchy restored with King Louis XVIII• King remains unpopular;• Napoleon returns after year in exile• Louis panicked and fled; Napoleon declared outlaw

by allies• Paris cheered Napoleon’s return• Brief period of renewed glory-the Hundred Days

The Last Campaigns

Duke of Wellington led final confrontation

Battle of Waterloo British and Prussian armies Crushing defeat for Napoleon End of the Napoleonic Wars

Battle of Waterloo

Tried to escape capture, sent to exile in Saint Helena

Volcanic island in South Atlantic

Remained imprisoned for six years

Died at 51; cause of death never determined

Best theory stomach cancer

Napoleon’s Final Days

The Last Campaigns

http://youtu.be/tfHnwqtJT9U

Negotiators• Prince Klemens von Metternich of Austria leader of

Congress of Vienna

Goals for Other Decision Makers• Make sure France could not rise again to such power• Put down revolution wherever it might appear• Remove traces of French Revolution and Napoleon’s rule

Metternich• Distrusted democracy and political change

• Wanted to reestablish the old order (absolute monarchy)

• Continue the power of the Hapsburgs in Austria

• Dominated the congress, wanted to restore the balance of power

The Congress of Vienna

• France was not allowed to keep any conquered territory

• Boundaries back to 1792

• Forced to pay indemnity, or compensation for damages

Metternich’s Influence

• His reactionary attitudes influenced politics and society.• Wanting a return to absolute monarchy, he despised constitutions, voting

rights, and freedom of religion and the press.• Liberal ideas were suppressed in Austria, the German states, and northern

Italy.

Restoring Monarchies

• Napoleon had eliminated royal control in many countries.• Members of the old Bourbon royal family were returned to the thrones of

Spain and Sicily.• Monarchies were restored in Portugal and Sardinia.

The Revolution’s Legacy

Was the French Revolution a failure? After Congress of Vienna, monarchs ruled againCitizens’ rights restricted Nobles returned to their previous lifestyles

French Revolution changed Europe Monarchies no longer secure Common people learned they could change the worldIdeals of human dignity, personal liberty, and equality Enlightenment crossed the Atlantic to Latin America, eventually inspired political movements in Asia and Africa

General Tyrant Reformer