Napoleon Bonaparte

Rise of Napoleon  24 years old is made a general by the Committee of Public Safety  At 26, he becomes commander of French armies in Italy  Gains fame for victories in Italy  France wants him to invade Britain  He knows that invasion will fail, so he invades Egypt instead  Invasion of Egypt also fails

Consul and Emperor  1799 Napoleon takes part in coup d’état that overthrows the Directory.  A consulate government is set up  Napoleon is named the first consul  3 years later he gets named consul for life  1804, Napoleon is crowned Emperor

Peace with the Church  Napoleon knows it’s good to mend relationship with the Church  Makes deal with the pope  Catholicism is recognized as the religion of the majority of France  In return, the pope will not ask for the return of seized Church lands from the Revolution  Catholic Church is no longer an enemy of the State  People who seized lands now support the government.

Codification of the Law  Institutes Napoleonic (Civil) Code – unifies all the laws of France  the equality of citizens before the law  the right to choose your own profession  religious toleration  abolition of serfdom + feudal obligations  women less equal than men  No inheritance rights for daughters

A New Bureaucracy  public officials + military officers promoted on ability  Aristocracy (noble class) based on meritorious service to nation

Preserver of the Revolution???  Liberties taken away  newspapers shut down  banned books  government controlled publishing  Mail confiscated + opened by police

Building the Grand Empire  Napoleon builds France and becomes the greatest power in Europe at the time.  Known as the Grand Empire  The Grand Empire would consist of three parts  French Empire  Dependent states  Allied states

Building the Grand Empire….  The French Empire  France and its new extended boundaries  The Dependent States  Kingdoms ruled by relatives of Napoleon  Unified German States  Spain - brother  Holland – brother  The Allied States  Countries defeated by Napoleon  Russia, Prussia, Austria

Building the Grand Empire….  Napoleon spreads the ideas of the French Revolution  Legal Equality  Religious toleration  Economic freedom  Clergy and nobility have all special privileges taken away  Napoleons system of merit instituted in new states  Napoleon hoped to build a long lasting French Empire  Two factors lead to its demise  Britain  Nationalism

Britain  Napoleon wants to invade Britain and conquer.  British navy too strong for Napoleons forces  French defeated trying to invade  Continental System  Napoleons new plan to defeat British  Set up a blockade against importing British goods, try to bankrupt them  System fails  Allied states go behind his back  Too many markets worldwide to try and stop British trade

Nationalism  Sense of identity of a people based on  Common language  Religion  National symbols  Conquered people are not forced to take on French culture  Still unified by their own culture  Resentful of invaders

Russia  Under control of Napoleon, but ignoring Continental system  Must be punished  Set precedent for other countries  Napoleon sets out with 600,000 men  Only brings enough supplies for 26 days  Depending on quick victory  War would last 6 months  Russians strategy baffles Napoleon  Refuse to fight  Retreat further into Russia  Burn fields and homes along the way

Russia…  Napoleon finally reaches Moscow  Russian capital  Finds it set ablaze  Wins two battles along the way, but costly victories  Tens of thousands of men die in battle  Begins Great Retreat  Napoleon makes decision to leave Russia  Still in the dead of winter  Thousands of troops are lost  Starvation  Hypothermia  Suicide  Less than 40,000 out of 600,000 make it back

Downfall of Napoleon  Disaster in Russia leaves France vulnerable to surrounding countries  Napoleon defeated  Exiled to island of Elba  Louis XVIII restored as monarch in France  Brother of Louis XVI  Napoleon escapes Elba and returns to France to claim his empire  Foreign armies rally together to finish Napoleon for the last time  Napoleon defeated at Waterloo in Belgium  Duke of Wellington leads British and Prussian troops  Defeated, Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena  Dies in exile in 1821