The Age of Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte 1769 1821

The Age of Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte • 1769 – 1821 • From a poor Corsican family of minor nobility • Was a 20 year old French army officer when the French Revolution broke out, rose to rank of general by age 24 • In the wars between France and her neighbors during the Revolution, Napoleon managed many great victories

Rise to Power • 1799: Used the military to seize control of the French government in a “coup d’etat” (French for “strike against the state”) • Initially took the title of First Consul and vowed to give up power after the country had stabilized • 1804: Declared himself “Emperor of the French” • At each of these steps, he enjoyed the overwhelming support of the French people

Economic Reforms • Instituted price controls (especially on food) to stop inflation and help the poor & hungry • Encouraged development of new businesses and industries in France • Built many new roads, canals, and bridges to improve transportation

Social Reforms • Set up a system of free public schools, open to all boys • Allowed the peasants to keep lands they had taken from the Church and stolen from executed nobles during the Revolution • Made all jobs open to anyone and ordered the government to hire based only on merit • Enacted a new legal system called the Napoleonic Code, designed to restore order to France

Napoleon & The Church • Made peace with the Catholic Church by reopening churches and providing Catholics with religious freedoms • However, he did not restore lands taken from the Church during the Revolution or restore the Church’s status as the official religion

Building an Empire • Napoleon sought to restore France as an European power • In a series of strikes, he seized the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Italy and Germany and annexed them to France • Defeated what was left of the Holy Roman Empire and placed the German states under French “protection” • Established his brother Joseph as king of Spain • Many of the conquered peoples did not like being under French rule and sought to free themselves, including the Spanish

Battle of Trafalgar • Napoleon planned to invade England in 1805, but the defeat of the French fleet by British Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar ended any overseas ambitions • 27 British ships defeated a fleet of 33 French • French lost 22 ships, British lost 0 (Britain did, however, lose Adm. Nelson, who was killed in the battle)

Defeat of Austria • Despite his setbacks against the British, Napoleon crushed the Austrian army at the Battle of Austerlitz, forcing peace • To celebrate his victory, Napoleon ordered construction of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

Continental System • Napoleon also defeated Prussia and Russia in military campaigns, forcing nearly all of Europe to enter his Continental System, a European embargo against trade with the British

The Russian Mistake • Russia broke from the Continental System in 1812 and reopened trade with the British • In an effort to enforce his will, Napoleon invaded Russia • The Russians, having a massive amount of land to give up, practiced a patient policy of “scorched earth” – nearly continuous retreat while systematically destroying any resource which might help their enemy

The Russian Mistake • When winter set in, Napoleon found himself far from home and unable to resupply his troops • Napoleon ordered a retreat, but it was too late; out of 400, 000 soldiers he had sent into Russia, only 10, 000 lived to return – the rest mostly starved or froze to death

Napoleon’s Downfall • In 1813, a new alliance of Russia, Britain, Austria, and Prussia defeated the weakened French at the Battle of Leipzig, forcing Napoleon’s surrender • Napoleon was forced to leave power and was exiled to the tiny island of Elba in the Mediterranean

Napoleon’s Downfall • By 1815, however, Napoleon had returned to France to take power a second time, a period known as “The Hundred Days” • Napoleon, however, was defeated in battle once again by the British and Prussians at the Battle of Waterloo • Napoleon was exiled a second time, but this time to the tiny island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died in 1821

Impacts of Napoleon • Ended the Revolution and restored order to France • The final collapse of the Holy Roman Empire paved the way for a new German state • Sold French holdings in North America to the United States (the Louisiana Purchase) to fund his war efforts

The Congress of Vienna • After Waterloo, the leaders of Europe gathered at The Congress of Vienna to decide Europe’s future • Wanted a lasting peace, so they struck a balance of power where no one country was strong enough to fight the others; this peace would last (more or less) until WWI. • Wanted to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas, so they restored the rightful monarchy to France, Portugal, Spain, and Italy

Louis XVIII 1755 – 1824 Brother of Louis XVI Fled France in 1791 Restored to the French throne by the Congress of Vienna • Agreed to the creation of a constitutional monarchy and a moderate government • Died with no children • •

Charles X • 1757 - 1836 • Youngest brother of Louis XVI & Louis XVIII • Ultraconservative who sought to reestablish absolutism in France • Inherited the throne in 1824, but was so unpopular that he held power for only 6 years before a new revolution forced his abdication in 1830

Revolution of 1830 • Charles X had suspended the constitution, dissolved the legislature, and shut down newspapers • The result was an uprising which threw the country into chaos and forced Charles to flee the country

Louis Philippe • 1773 – 1850 • A member of the royal family who had spent most of his life living outside of France • Approved by the French legislature to replace Charles as king due to his more liberal views • Unfortunately, Louis Philippe’s government, which began with great promise, failed to live up to expectations

Revolution of 1848 • Louis Philippe’s regime was plagued by corruption, an economic recession, and a series of poor harvests which led to a rise in food prices • These factors led to another uprising, one which forced Louis Philippe to abdicate throne and flee France

Revolution of 1848 • With Louis Philippe’s abdication, the middleclass won control of the legislature and issued a new constitution which gave all adult males the right to vote, created the office of president and changed the legislature to a unicameral body

Louis Napoleon • 1808 – 1873 • Napoleon Bonaparte’s nephew • Elected first president of France in 1848 • By 1852, had abandoned the new constitution and declared himself emperor Napoleon III