Rise & Fall of an Emperor The Age of Napoleon Rise & Fall of an Emperor

The Man from Corsica During the revolution he moved up the ranks from Lieutenant to General by defeating the British, Austrians and Hapsburgs

Early Success He became a political figure and overthrew the Directory He created a 3 man governing board called the Consulate, making himself the First Consul for life

A Self-made Man After gaining enough power, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor Rise to power came with the support of the French people because he held a plebiscite Plebiscite ballot allowing voters to vote yes or no, each step of the way

Napoleon Crowning Josephine Empress

Reforms He regulated economy Encouraged industry Placed public schools under his strict control of government Allowed émigrés – nobles & clergy that fled France, to return as long as they took an oath of loyalty Let peasants keep the land they had bought from the church & nobles Created the Napoleonic Code

Napoleonic Code Gave equality of all citizens before the law Religious toleration Advancement based on merit However women were not considered citizens The only people that opposed him were royalists and republicans

The Grand Empire Napoleon conquered most of Europe through annexation or forced alliances from Spain to Russia He placed his family on the thrones of Europe so his heirs would also rule Europe

Napoleon’s Empire

Napoleon’s Family

France Versus Britain Battle of Trafalgar Admiral Nelson defeated the French fleet stopping Napoleon from invading Britain

Successes and Failures Napoleon’s attempts at hurting British commerce failed because much of Europe smuggled goods

Challenges to Napoleon’s Empire The Napoleonic Code spread across Europe as France conquered new lands Brought reforms like: Abolishing titles of nobility Ending serfdom Opening careers to men of talent

Nationalism Nationalism was one of the many ideas that the French Revolution and Napoleon spread to the rest of Europe Caused the countries he conquered to unite and rebel against him

Russian Campaign To avoid fighting Napoleon the Russians retreated eastward Burned crops and villages along the way

Defeat in Russia When winter set in, the troops had no food so Napoleon retreated Out of 600,000 troops only 20,000 survived

Downfall of Napoleon After his defeat Napoleon abdicated from his throne and was exiled to the island of Elba, making Louis XVIII king of France

Napoleon Returns Louis XVIII accepted the Napoleonic code but economic depression occurred once again and people feared that things would revert back to before the revolution Napoleon escaped from Elba, gained the support of the army Louis XVIII fled and he became emperor once again

Waterloo His final defeat causing him to be exiled once more

Legacy of Napoleon The Napoleonic Code secured the changes of the revolution France became a centralized state with a constitution Many people gained the right to vote and own property Napoleon’s conquests spread the ideas of revolution

The Congress of Vienna Kept the balance of power over the next 100 years by surrounding France with countries that were strong They restored the legitimate monarchs, that Napoleon had unseated, back to their thrones Created the Concert of Europe as a peacekeeping organization