Napoleon Creates an Empire Introduction n Napoleon was

Napoleon Creates an Empire

Introduction n Napoleon was not content to simply be a master of France n He envisioned an empire that included: – Louisiana – Florida – French Guiana – West Indies – Haiti

Napoleon Loses American Territory n In Haiti, a civil war erupted and the Haitians under the leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture took over the colony n In 1801, Napoleon decided to re-take Haiti over n However, the French troops were devastated by diseases, and the Haitians proved to be good fighters

n Napoleon decided to cut his losses in the Americas, and he sold all of the Louisiana Territory to the United States n In 1803, President Jefferson purchased the land for $15 million dollars; this was known as the Louisiana Purchase n He knew this would seal that Britain could never obtain any land in the United States and he made money on it!

Napoleon Conquers Europe n After the loss in the Americas, Napoleon turned his attention on Europe n The British were so fearful of Napoleon’s ambitions that they persuaded Russia, Austria, and Sweden to join them against France n However, Napoleon’s battlefield successes forced the rulers of Austria and Russia to sign peace agreements with France n Now, France’s only enemy was the British

The Battle of Trafalgar n In his drive to control Europe, Napoleon only lost one major battle – the Battle of Trafalgar n It took place in 1805 off the coast of Spain n The British commander Horatio Nelson split the larger French fleet of ships, and capture most of them n This defeat of Napoleon had 2 major results:

n 1. It ensured the supremacy of the British navy for the next 100 years n 2. It forced Napoleon to give up his plan of invading Britain

Results n By 1812, the only areas free from Napoleon’s control were Britain, Portugal, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire n The French Empire was HUGE, but unstable