The Age of Napoleon Chapter 3 Section 3

Question What are some things that you have learned which France tried to accomplish in the French Revolution?

The Rise of Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte started as a lieutenant in the French army In 1794, he became a general of the Committee of Public Safety In Italy he won many battles and became well-known and respected by his men

In Paris, he participated in the coup de’ etat of and overthrew the government He established a consulate, in theory it was a republic, but Napoleon had absolute power He was called the first consul and he appointed officials, controlled the military, and influenced legislature In 1804, he crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I of France

Napoleon’s Domestic Policies Napoleon’s first order of business is to mend relations with the Catholic Church Napoleon was a believer of reason himself, but knew most of France was Catholic He made a deal with the Pope -he said that the Catholic church was allowed to be the major religion -in return, the Pope would not ask for lands taken during the revolution to be returned This won Napoleon great support

Codification of the Laws Because of the revolution, there were several confusing law systems Napoleon codified the laws and made one system called the Napoleonic Code -it represented many things the revolution had fought for -equality of all citizens, religious toleration, no monarchy -women’s rights took a step back under the Napoleonic code

A New Bureaucracy Napoleon was well-known for his capable officials People in office were there because they were qualified He also created a new kind of nobility New nobles were intelligent, hard-working people from the middle class

Preserver of the Revolution? Napoleon believed he preserved the Revolution 1. He did make all citizens equal before the law 2. He made gov’t careers open to more people Ways he did NOT preserve the union: 1. censored the freedom of press 2. shut down 60, of the 73 French newspapers 3. also censored private mail

Napoleon’s Empire When Napoleon took power, he was at war w/ Russia, Britain, and Austria Napoleon’s Grand Army won many battles From 1807-1812, Napoleon ruled a large empire Dependent States Kingdoms ruled by Napoleon’s relatives Spain, Italy, Holland, Prussia and others Allied State Countries Napoleon defeated and forced to join his fight against Britain

Spreading the Principles of Revolution Every territory conquered, Napoleon replaced all rules and laws w/ French Revolution ideas Legal Equality, religious toleration, economic freedom, etc Napoleonic / Civil Code In doing so, he destroyed traditions and customs of conquered nations This will anger many countries

The European Response to Napoleon Two reasons why Napoleon ultimately failed: 1) Great Britain 2) Nationalism Britain had most powerful navy in the world Defeated Napoleon at Trafalgar Napoleon attempted to make all of his empire cut of trade w/ Britain Called the Continental System This angered the allied states who began to smuggle

Most people didn’t like being ruled by Napoleon Resented him trying to change their cultures (Nationalism) Soon, the conquered people will unite against Napoleon

The Fall of Napoleon Russia says “no” to continental system, so Napoleon decides to invade (VERY BAD IDEA) 1812, Grand Army enters Russia w/ 600,000 troops Russians refused to fight, instead retreated and burned their country to the ground As winter set in, Napoleon could find no food/supplies Then, Russians began to attack and French began to retreat Only 40,000 made it out alive

Napoleon’s army now decimated, Britain and others joined the attack, defeated, and exiled Napoleon to the island of Elba France puts Louis XVI’s brother Louis XVIII on the throne Napoleon snuck out of Elba and returned to France and his army joined him in 1815 However, he tried again to fight the British, but a coalition of British and Belgium troops defeated him at the Battle of Waterloo He was then exiled to St. Helena, where he died of Syphilis