The Age of Napoleon Chapter 18-3

The Rise of Napoleon Napoleon brought the Revolution to an end with his crowning He was also a product of the Revolution as he would have never come to power without its emergence As a general he was beloved by his men & considered one of the worlds greatest generals It was during the attacks that Napoleons prominence came to the surface He was famous for his speed, surprise, & decisive actions In 1797 he would return to France as a hero after defeating the Papal States & their Austrian allies gaining control of Northern Italy Napoleon did not experience complete success as his forces were defeated by the British in Egypt, the British superior naval forces were to much for the French

The Rise of Napoleon In his rise to Emperor he took part in the overthrow of the Directory He set up a consulate which was in theory a republic, but in fact was a government with himself in control with absolute power Napoleon himself was called the first counsel, a title he borrowed from ancient Rome He appointed officials, conducted foreign affairs, & influenced legislature In 1802 he was made counsel for life & two years later crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I

Napoleon’s Domestic Policies Napoleon would bring stability to France & establish a single law code that would recognize the equality of all citizens before the law One of his first moves was to establish peace with the catholic Church as he realized that most of his French subjects were Catholic Napoleon believed that religion was at most a social convenience & it was just good policy to be at peace with the church In the agreement Napoleon agreed to Catholicism in return for the Pope not asking for church land to be returned that was seized during the revolution This meant that those that had acquired the church land would not have to return it thus became supporters of napoleon

Codification of the Laws Perhaps Napoleon’s greatest achievement was the codification of laws Prior to the Revolution France had some 300 different legal systems Under Napoleon a single system of seven law codes were established The most important was the Civil Code or the Napoleonic Code This preserved the ideals that all citizens were equal before the law, the right to choose a profession, religious tradition, & the abolition of serfdom & all feudal obligations Women, however, lost rights under the codification

A New Bureaucracy When it came to the bureaucracy of the government Napoleon created a system based on skill not hereditary When it came to the aristocracy he created a system that was now open to the middle class Of the new aristocracy 60% were from the military, 22% from the old aristocracy, & the rest from the middle class

Preserver of the Revolution Napoleon did retain some ideals from the Revolution, all citizens equal under the law & opening government careers to more people He also destroyed other concepts of the Revolution 60 of Frances 73 newspapers were shut down, books burned, & mail was opened by government police

Building the Empire Napoleon is better known for his military achievements rather than his domestic policies When Napoleon came to power France was involved in conflict with a European coalition Napoleon soon reached a treaty ending the conflict as well as ending the revolution at home The peace did not last long as he would attack & defeat Britain who would be assisted by Russia, Prussia, & Austria From 1807 to 1812 Napoleon was the master of Europe His Grand Empire consisted of three parts 1. The French Empire-France herself 2. Dependent States-Kingdoms ruled by his relatives 3. Allied States-Those defeated in battle with Britain

Spreading the Principles of the Revolution Within this new Empire Napoleon tried to destroy the old order & institute the principles of the French Revolution Equality & religious toleration were declared Napoleon had hoped that his Empire would last for centuries but it would begin to fall just as fast as it had rose to power Two major reasons for decline was the ability of Britain to resist & nationalism

British Resistance Napoleon first attempted to invade & conquer Britain but was defeated by a superior British navy at Trafalgar He then decided to turn to his Continental system by attacking the British economically By stopping British goods from being sold in Europe he would destroy her ability to wage war This too failed as Allied states resented being told who they could trade with in addition markets in the Middle East & Latin America provided new outlets

Nationalism Nationalism is a sense of great pride in one’s country When Napoleon marched his armies throughout Europe he aroused a new sense of this pride in two ways 1. Hatred of the French invaders 2. The conquered saw the strength of national feeling of pride

The Fall of Napoleon Napoleons fall would begin in 1812 when he decided to invade Russia The Russians refused to remain in the continental System Napoleon had no choice but to invade because if he did not others would follow the Russian lead The Russians fought a war of retreat They retreated for hundreds of miles refusing to fight & burning villages/Cities along the way This prohibited French troops for finding the necessary supplies to survive As winter hit Napoleon led the “Great Retreat” back across Russia losing more than 540,000 of 600,000 soldiers This would inspire others to rise up In 1814 Paris was captured, Napoleon sent into exile, & the monarchy restored

The Final Defeat The new King had little support of the French people & Napoleon was not ready to slip away He would slip back into France where the King would send troops to capture him This failed as the troops were loyal to Napoleon Napoleon was back in power Russia, Great Britain, Austria, & Prussia pledged to defeat him Napoleon raised an army & prepared for battle At Waterloo in Belgium in 1815 he was soundly defeated & again exiled where he remained until his death in 1821