The Age of Napoleon 18.4

Napoleon Bonaparte Rises to Power Born in Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte was sent to Italy at age 9 to study for a military career. During the French Revolution he won several battles as a lieutenant, eventually became a general, helped overthrow the French Directory, and established a 3 man governing board known as the Consulate. In 1801 Napoleon became the Emperor of France. At each step in his career he won the popular vote as a plebiscite.

Napoleon Reforms France To restore economic prosperity he set prices, supported new industries, issued public works projects, and with the Concordat of 1801 made peace with the Catholic Church. Encouraged émigrés to return to France Peasants were given lands they bought from the Church. Napoleonic Code- equality among citizens, religious tolerance, and abolished feudalism. women lost rights as a result of this

Napoleon Builds An Empire Napoleon’s conquests caused the map of Europe to be redrawn. Developed a new plan for each battle to keep opposing generals off balance. He annexed, or added, the empires of the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Italy and Germany. Friends and relatives were placed on the thrones of defeated nations. Bonaparte was unable to defeat Britain in battle so he attacked their economy. The Continental System was designed to blockade British goods from European ports. The system failed due to Britain’s navy protecting non-European trade routes to India and the U.S.

Napoleon’s Empire Faces Challenges Nationalism helped rally the French people behind Bonaparte, but also caused the citizens of other European nations to resent French influence. Spanish patriots conducted guerilla warfare through hit-and-run attacks. France invaded Russia in the winter of 1812 Once allies, Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I agreed to divide Europe if the tsar backed the Continental System. To avoid fighting France, the Russians retreated and practiced scorched earth policy, burning crops and villages as they went east.

Napoleon Falls From Power In 1815 the British and Prussians defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon was forced to abdicate. The Congress of Vienna was a meeting of European diplomats. They met to restore stability to Europe by establishing hereditary monarchs through legitimacy. This group met periodically as the Concert of Europe to discuss issues.