The Rise and Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon

The Rise and Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Rises to Power • Napoleon entered the French army at the age of 16 as an artillery officer. • In 1795 Napoleon defended members of the French government against royalist rebels, and he was made a general. • From 1796 -1797 Napoleon won a series of victories the led to the collapse of the First Coalition; this cemented his status as a hero to the French people. Napoleon, aged 23

Coup d’Etat • In 1799 the Directory was struggling to maintain order in France. • When Napoleon returned to Paris, many urged him to take control of the government. • In November 1799 he surrounded the national legislature; many members of the government fled, and the remaining lawmakers voted to dissolve the Directory. • Napoleon was made one of three Consuls, but he effectively ruled as a dictator. • In 1800 France adopted a new constitution that gave Napoleon total power as First Consul. Napoleon as First Consul

Napoleon Rules France • Napoleon attempted to strengthen France’s government while keeping some of the reforms from the Revolution. • Established a more efficient system of tax collection and a national banking system. • Fired corrupt government officials and set up public schools to train future officials. • Established the Legion of Honor to recognize military and civilian merit. • Restored many rights to the Catholic Church, but maintained separation between religion and government. • Stabilized food prices. • Introduced the Napoleonic Code, which limited free speech, restricted the rights of women, and reintroduced slavery in France’s colonies. Napoleon awards a citizen with the Legion of Honor

Napoleon as Ruler • The people of France loved Napoleon. • His political reforms brought stability and strength to France. • He restored rights to the former 1 st and 2 nd estates, and improved living conditions for the poor by capping the price of bread, lowering taxes, and creating new jobs in the military. • As a military leader, Napoleon inspired incredible loyalty. • He fought alongside his troops • He promoted people based on merit rather than wealth • He was extremely charismatic, and would praise individual soldiers who fought well

Napoleon Builds an Empire • In 1804 Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France. • Napoleon wanted to rule a vast empire in both Europe and the Americas. • During the French Revolution, Haiti’s slave population rebelled against France and won their freedom. • Napoleon attempted to take Haiti back, but his troops were outmatched by the rebels and devastated by disease. • Napoleon decided to focus instead on Europe, and sold France’s holdings in North America to the United States for $15 million.

Conquering Europe • During the Revolution, Napoleon had conquered Switzerland, the Netherlands, and part of Italy. • Fearing French expansion, Britain formed an alliance with Russia, Austria, and Sweden in 1803. • Napoleon used unpredictable tactics and relied heavily on artillery; he consistently won victories against his enemies. • By 1807 practically every nation of Europe had either surrendered to Napoleon or signed a peace treaty with him. Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz, 1805

Three Costly Mistakes • Despite ruling most of Europe, Napoleon wanted to further expand his Empire. • “Ambition is never content, even on the summit of greatness. ” • He made three major errors that eventually led to his downfall: • The Continental System • The Peninsular War • The Invasion of Russia

The Continental System • In order to weaken Britain, Napoleon placed a blockade between Britain and Europe in 1806. • He hoped to destroy the British economy by cutting off trade. • This is called the Continental System—European nations could only trade with other nations on the continent. • One year before Napoleon’s fleet had suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar • The weakened French Navy was unable to enforce the blockade. • Most European nations relied on smuggling to keep trading with Britain. • Napoleon lost influence in Europe as various rulers defied his orders.

The Peninsular War Joseph Bonaparte • In 1808 Napoleon sent troops through Spain to enforce the Continental System in Portugal. • The Spanish rebelled, so Napoleon declared his brother King of Spain. • Spanish rebels used guerilla tactics to resist the French presence. • Napoleon had never fought a guerilla war before, and lost nearly 300, 000 troops. • The Peninsular War inspired nationalistic feelings in conquered nations, and soon other countries began to resent Napoleon as a foreign conqueror.

The Russian Campaign • Though technically allies with Napoleon, Russia refused to obey the Continental System and continued selling grain to Britain. • In June 1812 Napoleon led 420, 000 soldiers into Russia. • Rather than confront the Grande Armée, the Russian forces retreated. • They used scorched-earth tactics to weaken the French army. • Napoleon marched into Moscow in September of 1812. The city had been burned to the ground. • In October Napoleon decided to return to France. • As the French forces retreated, their lines were attacked by Russian raiders. • An early winter set in, causing many to die of sickness and exposure. • By the time Napoleon made it out of Russia he had only 20, 000 troops remaining.

Charles Joseph Minard's famous graph showing the decreasing size of the Grande Armée as it marches to Moscow (brown line, from left to right) and back (black line, from right to left) with the size of the army equal to the width of the line.

Napoleon’s Downfall Napoleon bids farewell to his Imperial Guard • The nations of Europe took advantage of Napoleons weakened state and formed an alliance against him in 1813. • Napoleon’s army was easily defeated at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. • By April 1814 Paris had been captured and Napoleon was forced to step down. • He was banished to the Island of Elba Napoleon leaves for Elba

The Hundred Days • After Napoleon’s defeat France placed a new King on the throne, Louis XVIII. • Louis quickly became unpopular with the French people who feared he would undo revolutionary reforms. • In 1815 Napoleon escaped from Elba and reclaimed the French throne with the support of the people. • The nations of Europe quickly assembled their armies. • In June 1815 Napoleon attacked the British at Waterloo in Belgium. • After two days, the French army was defeated. • Napoleon’s Hundred Days in power came to an end, and he was exiled to the island of St. Helena. • Napoleon died in 1821. Napoleon returns Louis XVIII Battle of Waterloo

The Legacy of Napoleon • Napoleon helped spread the liberal ideals of the French Revolution to other nations of Europe (Italy, Switzerland, Germany, etc. ) • The Napoleonic Code cemented governmental ideas of merit-based societies, property rights, religious tolerance, secular education, scientific exploration, and financial stability. • Napoleon inspired feelings of nationalism and patriotism in his own people as well as those he conquered, paving the way for modern European politics.