Napoleon Bonaparte/Nationalism

Napoleon Bonaparte Early Life - Born on the island of Corsica -Came to France to receive an education -Was an officer in the artillery when the revolution broke out -Given credit for defeating a counter-revolution which helped start his popularity Military Conquests -regarded as one of the greatest military leaders of all time -Given command of an army in southern France where he defeated larger armies and went on the offensive

Napoleon Continued -Eventually conquers most of Europe for the French Empire including Italy, the Germanic territories, Spain, Poland etc -Spread the ideas of the French Rev. to the conquered areas: ended serfdom, took away class privilege, law was applied = to everybody -Two European countries not conquered by Napoleon: England and Russia -He attempted to defeat England through a plan called the Continental System. This forbid all countries under his control to trade with Great Britain

Napoleon Continued - Napoleons greatest military mistake came when he decided to invade Russia -Invaded with 600,000 troops and returned to France with roughly 40,000 troops Political Career -First gained control of the French government when he carried out a coup de tat against the Directory. -His first title was 1 st consul -At the height of his political/military career he had himself crowned Emperor -Had no tolerance for political opposition

Napoleon continued - After his defeat in Russia he was exiled to Elba - He returned from his exile to once again seize control of the government from the French King. -He was defeated for the final time by the Duke of Wellingon at the Battle of Waterloo and exiled to St. Helena where he died Legacy left by Napoleon -A modern well written system of laws known as the Napoleonic Code -Feudalism was ended in most of Europe -The beginning of public education

Unification Overview Unification definition: The bringing together of smaller states or territories into 1 state Napoleon had unified much of Europe under the French Empire. Eventually most of these countries turned against Napoleon and hoped to control their own governments. People wanted to get rid of Napoleon and form their own state (nationalism) After Napoleon was sent into exile the Congress of Vienna put Europe back together 1n Was run by conservatives who wanted to see Europe as it had been before Napoleon -Prince Von Metternich shaped the decisions of the Congress to do the following: make sure France was surrounded by powerful nations, leave the Germanic and Italian territories divided up into small territories, give Austria a lot of influence and power

The Unification of Germany The Germanic states had sometimes been referred to as the Germanic Confederation. Examples: Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria In 1848 many of the Germanic States got together at the Frankfurt Assembly to discuss unification. It did not work The Germanic states formed the Zollverein which brought the economies into close cooperation. Tariffs were dropped and a common currency was now used. -The Zollverein was an economic success -Austria never became a member even though it has a Germanic culture

Unificaton of Germany Continued Prussia becomes the strongest of the Germanic states - Very strong economy and military -Other Germanic states look to Prussia for leadership -William the 1 st is the Kaiser of Prussia -Otto Von Bismark becomes the Prime Minister of Prussia. He is most responsible for eventually unifying Germany -Bismark was a very smart politician. He believed that the ends justified the means which is called Realpolitik -Bismark believed that Germany could be unified through a series of wars or what he called “Blood and iron” policies

Unification of Germany Continued Germany was unified after 3 wars -A war was fought with Denmark over 2 Germanic territories: Schelsweig & Holstein. Austria and Prussia defeated Denmark easily -After the war with Denmark,Austria and Prussia fought a war over how the new territories should be governed. Prussia defeats Austria and emerges as the strongest of the Germanic states -All of the North Germanic states are now joined together under the leadership of Prussia. This is called the North German Confederation -The Southern Germanic states are mostly Catholic and do not want to join the mostly Protestant north

Unification of Germany continued Bismark then provokes a war with France. This war was called the Franco-Prussian War and was easily won by Prussia -The Catholic South joins with the North during the Franco Prussian War -Napoleon III gives away large territories to Prussia including a rich industrial area called Alsace-Lorraine. France was disgraced by the treaty and never forgave Germany -William I is then crowned Kaiser of a unified Germany at Versailles -Bismark becomes chancellor of Germany

Unification of Germany continued The New Germany has a government with 2 houses of parliament -The Reichstag was the lower house of parliament -The more powerful Bundersat was the upper house. Made up of militarists opposed to democracy -The government is truly run by the Kaiser who controls foreign policy and can manipulate parliament -William II becomes Kaiser and sends Bismark into retirement. He is an aggressive militarist

Unification of Italy After the Congress of Vienna the Italian city states were split up into separate territories just like in Germany. Examples: Sardinia, Venetia, Rome -Most of the Italian territories were dominated by Austria. Italians resented the foreign rule and wanted to unify. -In 1820 an attempt to unify Italy is crushed by the Austrians

Unification of Italy continued -Sardinia (also known as the kingdom of Sardinia becomes the leader of Italian unification. Prime Minister Cavour is the leader of the fight. -Sardinia builds up a modern economy with railroads and industries, improves its agriculture and builds up the army – now ready to take on Austria in fight for and independent and unified Italy

Unification of Italy continued - With help from England, France, and other Italian states, Sardinia wins a number of battles against the Austrians and begins to unify Italy In Southern Italy an Italian nationalist group called the Redshirts is formed by Guiseppi Garibaldi. The Redshirts drive the Austrians out of Southern Italy

Unification if Italy Continued Southern Italy joins Sardinia and a new unified Italy is born In 1871 Victor Emmanuel is crowned King of a United Italy