Dynamite?

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Napoleon

• Dynamite?

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The Rise of Bonaparte

• By 1799 a number of conservatives had returned to
  power in France
• This had been happening since the fall of
  Robespierre in 1794
• They desperately wanted a strong leader to
  stabilize the Revolution. Bonaparte fit the bill

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Background

• Napoleon was Corsican, born to a noble but
  impoverished family
• He was an artillery officer and rose rapidly
  because of his talent
• By 1796-97 he had won brilliant victories in
  Italy for the French army, enhancing his
  reputation

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Taking Power

• In 1799 he emerged as the head of the government
  through a coup detat
• The current government (called the Directory) was
  overthrown and replaced with a new government
  (the Consulate)
• Napoleon chosen as First Consul

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Napoleon in Battle

• As a military leader Napoleon was exceptional
• By 1802 he had conquered Holland and Belgium, and
  parts of Italy and Germany
• His only early setback occurred at Trafalgar, a
  naval battle off the Spanish coast
• This defeat kept him from mounting an invasion of
  England
• So he turned his attention to Central Europe

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Austria and Prussia

• By 1805 he had whipped the Austrians and had
  reorganized much of German territory
• He basically eliminated the ancient Holy Roman
  Empire
• His meddling in German affairs alarmed Prussia
• They, with Russia, attacked Napoleon in 1805
• He handily defeated them, took half of Prussias
  territory, and then forced them both to sign
  treaties favorable to him
• All of Continental Europe was now under his
  control, the largest European Empire since the
  Romans

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The Grand Empire

• Napoleons conquests were organized into the
  Grand Empire, which had three parts
• Greater France-composed of France itself, plus
  Holland and Belgium.
• Satellite States-Mostly smaller German states
  that he had conquered.
• Dependent States-Countries that he had crushed
  in battle and were forced to sign a treaty with
  him, including Prussia, Austria, and Russia.

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The Continental System

• The only country that opposed Napoleon was Great
  Britain
• Since Trafalgar, they had dominated the seas
• Since he couldnt invade them, he tried to
  strangle their trade with the Continental System
• This was an embargo that prohibited any country
  under his control from trading with Britain (
  i.e. Continental)

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Napoleon Becomes Emperor of France
In 1804 Napoleon had himself crowned Emperor, and
France became an Empire
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The Impact of Napoleon

• The French Revolution did live on in spirit
• Everywhere that French armies went, they took the
  ideals of the Revolution
• They abolished local laws and customs that were
  considered unenlightened
• In their place they enacted French law, abolished
  serfdom
• The most significant was the Napoleonic Code, a
  reformed law code that still forms the basis of
  law across Europe today

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Napoleons Downfall

• Napoleons downfall can be traced to Spain in
  1808
• The Spanish had no desire to be one of his
  satellite states, and there was guerilla
  resistance across the country
• Also in Spain a small British army was operating,
  to tie down Bonapartes troops

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The Invasion of Russia

• Meanwhile, the Continental System was not working
  
• Hurt the economy of the Continent more than the
  British, especially grain markets in eastern
  Europe
• British had simply expanded the overseas markets
  of vast Empire
• Napoleon, blamed Czar Alexander I of Russia for
  failing to uphold the embargo
• In 1812, Napoleon launched the largest invasion
  in history up to that point
• Over 600,000 men marched into Russia

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The Collapse

• As Napoleon left his army and raced back to
  France to raise fresh troops, his allies
  abandoned him
• Austria and Prussia joined with the Russians and
  British
• As his enemies closed in on all sides, Napoleon
  abdicated in 1814 and was sent to a prison on the
  Mediterranean island of Elba

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The Hundred Days

• The victorious Allies reinstalled a Bourbon king,
  Louis XVIII
• They had a Congress in Vienna to divide the
  spoils of Napoleons vast empire
• Napoleon escaped Elba, landed in France, and
  quickly raised an army
• The Allies met Napoleon one last time near a
  village in Belgium called Waterloo, where the
  Duke of Wellington, along with Prussian cavalry,
  crushed him
• Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena where he lived
  under guard until his death in 1821

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Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
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France Under Napoleon

• Napoleon was a smart man. He knew that he was a
  product of the Revolution, so he did nothing to
  go against it
• But gradually he built up his power
• He gained the trust of the peasants and middle
  class
• He invited former nobles to come home if they
  would swear allegiance to the Revolution
• The Revolutionary leaders trusted him because
  of his military success

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France under Napoleon

• Stability returned to France at a price
• Napoleon restricted freedom of speech and womens
  rights.

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The Battle for Russia

• As Napoleon got deeper into Russia, the Czar did
  not meet him in a stand-up fight
• Russians used hit and run attacks and a scorched
  earth policy
• Napoleon finally captured Moscow after a fierce
  battle at Borodino, but the city had been burned
  out
• As summer drew on, Napoleon waited for the offer
  of surrender from the Czar, which never came

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The Retreat from Russia

• Napoleon realized that he could not feed his huge
  army in a burned out city
• He decided to retreat, but the Russian winter set
  in early
• As his men starved and froze, Russian cavalry
  harassed his columns
• Only 30,000 men made it back into Poland
• It was perhaps the greatest military disaster in
  history