Napoleon Early Life Born 1769 in Corsica to

Napoleon

Early Life • Born (1769) in Corsica to poor family • Character traits from the Enlightenment – Creative, scientific, non -traditional, liberal

“The truest conquests, the only ones that give rise to no regrets, are those gained over ignorance. The most honorable as well as the most useful activity of nations is to contribute to the advancement of human knowledge. The real strength of the French Republic should henceforth lie in its determination to possess every new idea, without a single exception. ” — Napoleon Bonaparte (upon his election to the National Institute of France)

The Wars • Joined French artillery • Appointed commander at Toulon (1793) – British ships destroyed – Appointed general • Counter-revolution (1795) – "Whiff of Grapeshot" • Commander of small army (17961797) in Italy • • – Defeat of 4 armies in Austria – 1 st coalition collapsed – Hero status Military strategy (reserve, timing) Egypt invaded (1798) 2 nd coalition formed (1799 -1801) Napoleon returned to France

"A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights. " – Napoleon, quoted in Thorpe, Scott, How to Think Like Einstein, Barnes & Noble Books, Inc. , 2000, p. 167.

First Consul (1799 -1804) • Directory wanted stronger government – "Confidence from below, authority from above. " – Abbé Sieyès • Defeated 2 nd coalition • Napoleon tried to copy Caesar Augustus

"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

Domestic Policy as First Consul • Code of Napoleon • Bank of France • Centralized state government • Relations with Catholic Church • Education system • Support of science

Emperor (1804 -1814) • French senate made him their emperor – Disappointment for some • Attempts to increase presence in America • Territorial expansion and war – 3 rd Coalition (1805 -1807) • Establishing an empire – Spain – Blockade of England – Trafalgar – Austerlitz • 3 rd Coalition ends – 4 th Coalition (1806 -1807) • Confederation of the Rhine

Napoleon's Coronation – Jacques Louis David

Defeat – 5 th Coalition (1809 -1815) • Russian campaign – 1812 – Lost 400, 000 men – Abdicated in 1814 and sent to Elba

The Hundred Days (1815) • Escape from Elba • King Louis XVIII fled France • Ruled for short period • Battle of Waterloo • Sent to St. Helena • 1840—Napoleon’s remains moved to Paris

Congress of Vienna • Restructuring Europe after Napoleon – Conference in Vienna – 6 heads of states • Guiding principles – Legitimacy – Restore boundaries – Hedge-in France

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