1. Revolutions: Philosophical, Religious and Political

2. Christianity Expands In the sixteenth century, Catholicism became a world religion. 1. It was also an imperial religion. It was used as a tool to control native populations. 2. Christianity spread via colonization. Individuals who spread the faith were missionaries and religious dissenters seeking to build their own communities 3. Catholic missionaries dominated the first group and found the most success in the New World and the Philippines 4. Protestant pilgrims went to North America and established settler colonies in New England. These colonies held themselves separate from the natives and were not really interested in converting them. 5. The reasons for the success of Christianity in the new regions included: a. An overwhelming European presence in those regions, experienced as military conquest, colonial settlement, missionary activity or forced labor b. The absence of a pre-existing, literate world religion in those regions

4. Spanish America The collapse of the Aztec and Incan empires led many native people to believe that the god of the Christians must be stronger than the traditional gods of the Americas. Some resisted and revived old practices. This promised that the Andean gods would inflict illnesses upon the Spanish and restore the old ways. Native women who had once served as priestesses found themselves forced out of spiritual roles in the new society. The worship of the Virgin Mary spread rapidly because it resonated with notions of Divine Motherhood. Most started practicing syncretic Christianity

5. Syncreticism Syncretism was the religious blending of Catholic and Native traditions. Aspects of Catholicism such as the cult of various saints fused with local traditions, rituals, and spiritual figures The result was a Mexican or Andean variant of Christianity that showed clear distinctions from Christian practices and patterns in Spain. Syncretism was considered heresy and suppressed, particularly among the slaves.

6. Haitian Vodou Voodoo (Vodou) originated in the Caribbean in the 18th century, when African religious practice was actively suppressed, and enslaved Africans were forced to convert to Christianity. Religious practices of Haitian Voodoo are descended from West African Voodoo. It incorporates elements and symbolism from other African peoples. Taíno religious beliefs, Roman Catholicism, mysticism and Freemasonry also influence it.

7. China and the Jesuits The native states in the Americas were weak and easily conquered. *China had two strong and wealthy dynasties, the Ming and Qing *The nation was never in danger of being taken over by the West before 1800. *China’s political strength was a result of its culture. *Confucianism had a spiritual significance for some; *Buddhist and Daoist traditions for others. *Christianity did not really succeed in China in this period.

8. What little success they had was due to Matteo Ricci and the Chinese elite What little success they had was due to Matteo Ricci and the Chinese elite. *Ricci and other Jesuits targeted the elites and the Chinese court. They studied Chinese culture, literature, and traditions and made adjustments so Christianity would be easier to accept. *The Pope did not approve of Jesuit concessions to Chinese ancestor veneration and called it “idolatry.” *This angered Emperor Kangxi who put an end to the tolerance of Christian missionaries and the privileged place of Jesuits in the Chinese court. *The Chinese had really only wanted access to the Jesuits knowledge of astronomy and mathematics in the first place.

9. Islam Changes *Sufis, scholars, and merchants played crucial roles in spreading Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central, South, and Southeast Asia. *Sufi mystics blended Islam with local spiritual practices (syncretism). Traveling scholars offered useful services for courts. *Merchants provided connections to a wider world of commerce.

10. Islam in Southeast Asia *Aceh in northern Sumatra emphasized Islamic orthodoxy(Sharia) *Java had a much looser blend of Islamic practices and local animism. *Javanese women enjoyed much more freedom, and opportunities than others *but Javanese merchants tended to be orthodox because of their Arab trading partners.

11. Puritanical Islam - Wahabism Muhammad ibn Abd al- Wahhab started a campaign to rid the Arabian Peninsula of idolatrous practices such as sacred tombs and tobacco/hashish use. Wahhabi Islam would be associated with resistance to Western penetration of the Dar al-Islam.

12. Mughal India and the Bhakti India’s Mughal Dynasty had practiced religious tolerance, but Aurangzeb sought to purge the empire of this tolerance. The Hindu movement of Bhakti broke with the Brahmans and encouraged lower castes to engage in rituals that would allow union with the divine. Its followers disregarded caste and engaged in social criticism of inequality.

13. Sikhism Guru Nanak rejected Hindu ritual and Islamic law, claiming that “there is no Hindu; there is no Muslim; only God.” His monotheistic faith sought a union of all mankind and attracted peasants and merchants from both faiths, primarily in the Punjab. The Guru Granth became the sacred text, and the Golden Temple at Amritsar became Sikhism’s central site. Sikh men adopted distinct dress, including long hair and beards, a turban, and a short sword. Faced with attacks from the Mughal Empire, the Sikh community developed a militant sect (later prized by the British Empire as an elite fighting force).

14. Enlightenment

15. Montesquieu ■ Take power from one king & divide it among 3 branches of gov’t that each can limit other branches Rousseau ■ Let the people make all decisions directly to ensure what the majority wants, the majority gets Montesquieu and Rousseau

16. Political Ideas of the Enlightenment Italian philosophe Cesare Beccaria criticized abuses in the justice system Beccaria was upset with the use of torture, corrupt judges, secret trials, & severe punishments for crimes Beccaria argued that people accused of crimes should be given a fair & speedy trial and that capital punishment & torture should be abolished

17. Who Said this originally?

18. John Locke We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —Declaration of Independence, 1776

19. Cesare Beccaria In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed. —U. S. Bill of Rights

20. Voltaire The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may thus speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law. —Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789

21. Montesquieu All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. The judicial Power shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may ordain and establish. —U.S. Constitution

22. Jean-Jacques Rousseau In 2003, the communities of Freetown and Lakeville, Massachusetts held their annual town meetings and voted on the budget for the school district. Freetown voters approved a budget that reduced their contribution by $100,000 from what the School Committee asked for.

23. Voltaire Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. —U.S. Bill of Rights, 1791

24. Cesare Beccaria As all persons are held innocent until they have been declared guilty, if arrest is considered essential, all harshness not necessary for the securing of the person shall be severely repressed by law. —Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789

25. John Locke Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. —Declaration of Independence, 1776

26. Montesquieu Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall…proceed to reconsider it. —U.S. Constitution

27. Women and the Enlightenment The Philosophes may have been very smart, but they were still very traditionalist in their views of women. In spite of this, there were a number of important women in the Enlightenment that believed women had natural rights that extended beyond obedience to men. Madam de Stael in France and Mary Wollstonecraft in England were two leading women of the Enlightenment. Wollstonecraft in particular was very important. She published Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792 and set in place a furor over the rights of women.

28. De Stael and Wollstonecraft

29. The Physiocrats and New Economic Thinking Physiocrats were philosophers that concentrated on economic reforms. Since everything seemed to concern itself with the rights of the individual, the physiocrats rejected Mercantilism because of the role of government and sided with the idea of Laissez Faire, in which government has no role. The leading economic thinker of this and of all eras was Adam Smith. Smith wrote the Wealth of Nations in which he describes exactly how capitalism was being used in England.

30. Wealth of Nations The Wealth of Nations Smith argued that free markets should be allowed to regulate business activity. He also showed how manufacturing, trade, wages, profits and economic growth were all linked to market forces of supply and demand. Smith was a strong supporter of Laissez Faire, but even he admitted that government had to play a role. Look at the publication date 1776. Big year.

31. Spread of Enlightenment Ideas Needless to say, the ideas of many of the Philosophes were not particularly popular with rulers and aristocracy. These ideas attacked the very basis of their power by saying that God really didn’t put them there. Censorship was widespread, but since literacy rates had gone up since e the Renaissance, there was no stopping them. These ideas even affected some of the rulers known as enlightened despots. Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great and Joseph II of Austria are usually seen as being enlightened despots. Yes, they supported the arts and sciences of the Enlightenment, but don’t ever think they thought power should rest in the people and they absolutely believed in divine right monarchy. So, just how enlightened these people were is open for debate.

32. Describe the progression of an illness like the flu. Describe specific traits that these stages could share with other illnesses? What differences are there between the beginning, the height of the flu, and the end?

33. FEVER MODEL OF REVOLUTION Much like an illness, revolutions can also be studied in stages

34. This stage in an illness is when the cause of the sickness first comes into contact with the individual, infecting them, but not yet causing any symptoms to present themselves. What would this stage be like in a revolution? In a revolution, this stage would involve the political, social, intellectual, or economic causes. In some cases, these causes could fester for many years before showing themselves in the form of actual revolutionary action.

35. This stage in an illness is when sickness starts to affect the person in observable ways. Temperature may rise. A cough might present itself. The individual might become weak and queasy. What would this stage be like in a revolution? In a revolution, this stage would be the first to involve direct action resulting from the social, political, intellectual, or economic causes of the incubation stage. This stage might involve the publication of works calling for a change, street level riots by the common people, or more direct attempts at changing the society.

36. Crisis Stage In a revolution, this stage would be the make or break part of the struggle. It may involve conflict where sides for and against the revolution compete. This competition could take the form of debate or full-scale war. Successful revolutions survive this stage. Those that do not are usually considered failed rebellions. This is the critical stage in an illness where two things can happen. The individual either breaks the fever after a heightened stage of illness or the individual gets progressively worse and does not recover. What would this stage be like in a revolution?

37. Convalescence This stage involves recovering from the illness. The individual might be weakened from the experience, but he or she will eventually emerge healthy and with new knowledge and experience that might prevent the illness from occurring again. What would this stage be like in a revolution? In a revolution, this stage would involve recovering from the extreme disruptions of the crisis stage. In general, the political, social, intellectual, or economic causes of the revolution must be addressed in some way, though not necessarily to the satisfaction of all revolutionaries.

38. American Revolution The American Revolution to a large extent was the result of Enlightenment thinking. All of the major ideas of Life, Liberty, Happiness, Natural Rights, Checks and Balances, Separation of Powers, Popular Sovereignty and an elected ruler in a President saw fruition in this Revolution. The single most important Revolution in history.

39. The French Revolution

40. Ancien’ Regime

41. Pre-Revolutionary France 1 & 3 Pre-Revolutionary France was a society that was very top heavy. There were considered to be three classes or estates. The First Estate was the clergy or the Catholic Church. The Church owned about 10% of all the land in France and were exempt from taxation. They supported the Monarchy. The Second Estate was the nobility. They have been discussed many times, but keep in mind that they control everything and are exempt from taxation. They do not like absolutism, but they do support the monarchy. The Third Estate was the rural peasantry and the bourgeoisie or Middle Class. They represented the majority of the people in France. They produced everything and grew all the food and paid all the taxes. As the government grew more and more corrupt, these taxes grew enormously.

42. Causes of the Revolution 2. The causes of the Revolution lie in the economy, the social customs and the government of France. The Third Estate resented the privileges of the upper classes. Rich bourgeoisie could buy titles of nobility, wages were terrible and working conditions were worse. The peasantry paid most of the taxes and were still tied to the land. They were technically free, but they had to work under the Corvee’ which was a law that said they had to do a percentage of work every year for free for the nobility. Eventually the economy would serve as a spark for the Revolution, but the causes were widespread.

43. Economic Disaster 4, 5, 6 & 7 The debts of Louis XIV combined with deficit spending (spending more than you have by borrowing) and a series of bad harvest set the revolution in motion. Louis XVI was not a good king. He was weak and indecisive. He appointed Jacques Necker to try to fix the economy. Necker immediately told Louis that he had to stop spending so much money on his court, they had to get rid of the tariffs and reform both the economy and the government. Needless to say, this was not real popular. When Necker proposed taxing the Nobles and Clergy the nobles and clergy responded by getting him fired. The economy spiraled down and inflation set in. Louis was forced to call a meeting of the French legislature, the Estates General to try to fix this. They hadn’t met in 175 years, but when they did it was a doozy.

44. It Begins 9 & 10 When the Estates General convened in May of 1789, the Third Estate showed up demanding reform. They had all read Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu and were intent on creating a new world When they did convene, the Third Estate wanted the voting procedures to change. Under the old system, each estate had one vote and the Third Estate was always outvoted. Since they represented the majority, they wanted voting power to represent that majority. Stalemate set in. after a few weeks, the Third Estate declared themselves to be the National Assembly and the only legal representative body in France. The other estates locked them out of the meeting hall and the National Assembly met in an indoor tennis court and took the Tennis Court Oath. In this they promised to never leave until a republic was created.

45. The Storming of the Bastille 11. In much the way the “Shot Heard Round the World” at Concord and Lexington started the American Revolution, the storming of the Bastille really starts the French Revolution. The Bastille was an ancient prison that represented oppression and privilege to the lower classes. On July 14, 1789, a crowd in Paris stormed the prison, killed the commander and set the prisoners free. When he was told about it, Louis XVI asked “is it a revolt?”. The answer famously was “no sire, it is a revolution”

46. Phases of the Revolution 12 The French Revolution is usually seen as having three distinct phases: 1. the National Assembly – the National Assembly met to reform the government, was locked out and took the Tennis Court Oath. This led to the storming of the Bastille and the beginning of the Revolution. 2. The Terror – seen as the most destructive period. The revolution turned on itself and started destroying its own leaders. The Jacobins, a very radical group seized control of the Revolution and initiated a series of trials of leaders thought “not revolutionary enough”. 3. The Directory – after the Terror, the only way to get control of the people again was to institute some sort of order. The Directorate was composed of 5 very conservative leaders. Eventually the Directorate was replaced by their first military leader - Napoleon

47. The Great Fear 13 Paris may have been the site of the storming of the Bastille, but the revolution really didn’t get going until a wave of rumor and panic swept the countryside. The Great Fear was a period in which the peasants began to fear that there were going to be attacks by the government on all the Third Estate. They heard rumors of the army seizing crops and executing peasants. None of these were true, but rumor is a powerful revolutionary weapon. The peasants responded by invading the ancient centers of feudal France, the manor houses, and seizing them. They destroyed all the records of the Corvee and of any feudal debts. This was unusual in that the peasants tended to be conservative and support the monarchy. After the Great Fear they returned to their previous role. The peasantry never trusted the radicals in Paris and were usually very Catholic and Conservative.

48. Paris and the National Guard 14 Paris was the center of the Revolution. The king sent troops to restore order But the presence of royal troops caused the people of Paris to rally behind the Revolutionaries. They urged Lafayette, the hero of the American Revolution, to take command and form an army of their own called the National Guard. The National Guard was made up primarily of middle class people and were the first to wear the tricolor of red, white and blue. They then formed a government called the Paris Commune. This makes two governments in Paris. The formation of the Commune made the National Assembly start to act. They revoked all titles of privilege, all exemption from taxation and all luxuries enjoyed by the other Estates.

49. Declaration of the Rights of Man 15. In August of 1789, the National Assembly wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. This was their first step to writing a constitution. This document detailed the right s of the people and why the Revolution was taking place. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was heavily influenced by both the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

50. Men Talk, Women Do In October of 1789, the price of bread skyrocketed and the women of Paris rioted. They stormed the Tuileries, the old palace in Paris and then started marching toward Versailles. In the process of marching they somehow came into possession of cannon. This mob was dangerous. They arrived at Versailles and demanded the king do something about the price of bread. When the king wouldn’t or couldn’t do anything, they demanded the king return with them to Paris. Louis XVI didn’t want to go, but he really didn’t have much choice. The crowd put them in the Tuileries and the royal family was kept prisoner for the next three years.

51. The Constitution of 1791 19. The National Assembly attacked the ancient privileges of the Church by making all the priests in France employees of the French government. The Pope condemned it and most priest refused to go along, but it was a serious blow to the church. The Constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy and a legislature called the National Assembly that had all the power to write and enforce the law, raise taxes and go to war. The legislature was to be elected by the people, but only about 50,000 people in all of France was eligible to vote. It reorganized the old royal system of government by dividing France into 83 departments. They abolished guilds and protected private property. Again, the influence of the American Constitution is obvious. Like the American Constitution, the French Constitution was a triumph of the moderates.

52. Continental Reaction 17 & 18 The rest of the monarchs of Europe were not pleased by what was going on in France. Louis XVI tried to escape from France, but was captured at the border in a royal coach dressed as a servant. Émigrés’, nobles that fled France at the beginning of the Revolution spread rumors and fostered opposition to the Revolution in other countries. The King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria issued the Declaration of Pilnitz in which they threatened to intervene to save the king. This represented the first real outside threat to the revolutions. The newly formed Legislative Assembly formed an army and prepared for war with the rest of Europe.

53. Internal Divisions 21 Every revolution suffers from dissension. The problem the French had was both internal and external. Inside the Revolution itself, the radicals called Jacobins seized power. The Jacobins wanted to get rid of the king and establish a republic. After they had seized power, the Jacobins declared war on Austria, Britain, Prussia and the rest of Europe. They also created the Levee en Masse. This was a huge draft of all available people to fight. This huge mob numbered over a million. In the beginning it looked as though they would be slaughtered, but their belief led them to initial victories.

54. Death of the King 20. The Radical Assembly abolished the monarchy and created a republic based on universal suffrage. This meant that all male citizens could vote. They then put Louis XVI and his family on trial and sentenced them to death. In January of 1793, the King of France was beheaded in the Guillotine, along with the rest of his family. This act made France a pariah amongst nations of Europe. Nobody was now going to support them. Along with this problem came internal dissension. In the Vendee region of France, royalists and priests led a revolution against the revolution. It was put down, but it gave the radicals an excuse to put in place The Terror under the control of Maximillian Robespierre.

55. The Committee of Public Safety 20, 21, 23 & 24 If there has ever been a good argument for limiting the power of the mob it is the Terror. The Terror was instituted by the Jacobins and shepharded by the Girondists (more moderate revolutionaries. Maximillian Robespierre led a group called the Committee for Public Safety. This 12 member committee essentially operated as a dictatorship while France was at war. And, like all dictators, they got out of control. The Reign of Terror lasted from July 1793 to July 1794 and in that time they executed 40,000 “enemies of the Revolution”. Many of these so called enemies had done nothing more than not be liked by members of the committee. The guillotine was used daily and hurried trials ended in executions. After a year of this bloodshed, the people of France rejected the Committee of Public Safety and executed them.

56. The Directory 25. The third stage of the French Revolution was the Directory which took over control of the government from the Committee of Public Safety. A new Constitution was written in 1795 that set up a five man committee to run the country. The Directory was run mainly by wealthy middle class lawyers and the Legislative Assembly reflected this. The radicals were either pushed out or executed and the moderates were back in command. The Directory was in trouble. They were at war with most of Europe, the émigrés were retuning home and stirring up problems and the failure of the government to do anything about the price of food led to widespread rioting. To deal with this the Directory employed a young Corsican military man, Napoleon.

57. Revolutions in Latin America

58. Latin America Latin America in the mid 1800’s was both changing and unchanged. The social system had essentially been unchanged since 1492. 1)Peninsulares (Spaniards) being the ruling class 2)Creoles (native born but descended from Spanish blood) owning most of the land while occupying second place 3)Merchants were controlled by the old mercantile policy and were unhappy about it 4)Mestizos and Mullatoes made up the majority of the lower classes and didn’t like the racial barriers to advancement 5)African slaves occupying the lowest rung. One of the major reasons this system had not changed in 300 years was that the classes below the Peninsulares hated each other as much as they hated the rulers.

59. Enlightenment Ideas and Napoleon Enlightenment ideas of natural rights, freedom of speech and economic opportunity really resonated in Latin America. These people wanted to participate in this new life. Napoleon, surprisingly, plays a huge role in creating the revolutions in Latin America. The Peninsular War, when Napoleon’s forces invaded Spain was seen as the perfect opportunity for the revolutionary forces to strike because they knew the Spanish authorities would be preoccupied.

60. Haiti The struggle for Haitian independence starts with the Slave Revolt of 1790 led by Toussaint L’Ouverture. He was a self educated former slave that proved to be not only a brilliant orator, but a very good military commander. It was a very tough fight. The relationships between the slaves was complex and many sided with their masters against the other slaves, but in the end the Slave Revolt was successful. Napoleon sent a force to retake Haiti. This force of over 20,000 men was decimated by Malaria. A truce was called and the Haitians had their independence in 1820. In the meantime though, the French captured L’Ourverture and sent him to prison in France, where he died.

61. Mexican Revolution of 1810 The Mexican Revolution started in a very poor rural village called Dolores. Father Hidalgo was a creole priest in the village. One day, Father Hidalgo called the people together and gave a speech called El Grito de Dolores (the Cry of Dolores). He called for the poor to revolt against their foreign masters and take control of their lives. This so inspired the people that they started to organize a rebellion. The had a little success in the beginning, but they were opposed by both royal forces and the middle class. Father Hidalgo was captured and executed and the revolt seemed over.

62. Father Morelos Father Morelos, a mestizo priest, picked up where Father Hidalgo had left off. He led the guerilla forces against the government. His forces supported universal manhood suffrage, an end to slavery and a better life for the poor. Morelos was successful for about four years but was captured and shot in 1815.

63. Iturbide and Independence Augustin Iturbide was a very conservative creole politician that opposed liberal reforms. When liberals in Spain forced the king to accept a constitution in 1820, Iturbide was afraid that they would do the same in Mexico. He started fighting furiously against the revolutionaries. Until 1821 In 1821, Iturbide suddenly changed sides and started to ally with the forces of change and then attacked the government. His success later leads to his declaration as the new Emperor of Mexico. It seems the same things keep happening.

64. Revolutions in South America Americans tend to see South America as simply one big blob and don’t differentiate one country from the other. South America as a continent has all the diversity of North America along with a lot more history. The Spanish feudalism that ruled Mexico and South America for 400 years was starting to wear thin. The Native Americans and Mestizos were starting to feel the effect of the Enlightenment. The first Native American revolutionary leader was Tupac Amaru of Peru. He led a revolution in 1780 that was immediately crushed. The effects of this beginning was felt throughout Latin America. The effect in Peru was immediate. The Spanish authorities started investigating brutality in the forced labor system and eventually abolished it.

65. Simon Bolivar stands head and shoulders above all others in the struggle for independence in South America. Many times referred to as the “George Washington of South America”, Bolivar differs from Washington in that he led the revolutions in many different countries in South America. Bolivar leads a revolution in his native Venezuela. Conservative forces quickly toppled his new republic. The fighting raged for years and twice Bolivar was exiled to Haiti. In 1821, Bolivar had established a successful republic in Venezuela. He then moved to Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. He joined forces with another hero of South America Jose de San Martin. Together the two men led rebellions Argentina and Chile. their ideas were too different so they split and San Martin left the armies of liberation. Bolivar was left to deal with the problems created by the revolutions. Bolivar tried to create a single nation from all the smaller republics called Gran Colombia, but rivalries split the new country apart before it was even formed. Another problem was a series of civil wars that raged continually in the new republics. These civil wars guaranteed that they would develop slowly

66. The Age of Napoleon

67. Napoleone Buonoparte Napoleon Bonaparte was an opportunist. He was absolutely ruthless in pursuit of power. He was driven by nothing much more than this. In our time, we need complexity in public figures’ personalities. We need for there to be a deeper reason for the things that people do. We think that it makes them more human. In reality, most public figures are not particularly complex. They possess ambition and a certain amount of talent and these things suffice to get them to the top, whatever and wherever that is. Complex emotions like mercy, a sense of honor and justice or unbending loyalty merely get in the way. Napoleon was a perfect example of this personality type. He is thoroughly modern. He even changed his name like a modern movie star.

68. Rise to Power 1. Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica off the Northwestern coast of Italy. Corsica was traditionally controlled by Italy, but came under control of the French supposedly on the date of Napoleon’s birth. Napoleon’s father, Carlo, was a lawyer and became a rebel leader against the French occupation. He sided with the rebels until it became apparent that they were going to lose and then proceeded to change sides and become, in essence, a local viceroy for the French. Perhaps Napoleon’s ruthlessness was inherited. By becoming a member of the French ruling caste, Carlo was able to get his son enrolled in the French version of West Point, Brienne. According to the stories, Napoleon was arrogant and unpopular. He was probably shunned by the upper class sons at Brienne, but he became very popular whenever there were war games to be played. His brilliance as a tactical commander was apparent from the beginning. He graduated and resigned from the army and went back to Corsica. He sided with the rebels against the French occupation until he fell out with Paoli, the leader. He then left Corsica and re-enlisted in the French army.

69. The Directory’s Hit Man 1, 2, 3 & 4 The French Revolution was good for Napoleon. He was able to rise through the ranks and eventually proved his worth to the Directory by using troops to put down a rebellion. For the Directory, he then drove the British out of Toulon and defeated the Austrians. Conquered Northern Italy by emulating Hannibal, forced the Hapsburgs to surrender. He was absolutely brilliant. Most of his military brilliance can be summed up in three traits: swift movement on the battlefield, intense concentration on the task at hand and a complete lack of romance about the process of killing. He wanted to disrupt the British trade routes to India, so he invaded Egypt. This proved to be one of the very few of his military failures. He was too far from his supplies and even though he delivered one of the great speeches of history in the shadow of the Pyramids. While mired down in Egypt and the Middle East, he got word that the Directory was weakened by internal fighting. He left his army, just deserted them and went back to France to overthrow the government.

70. The Consulate 5, 6, & 7 Napoleon was smart enough to understand that the French people were not in a mood to put up with a king after the chaos of the Revolution and the Terror, so he took a position in a three man governing group called the Consulate. The other members of the Consulate were neither strong enough or smart enough to stop Napoleon and by 1802, he had staged a nationwide election, called a Plebiscite, that made him Consul for life. By 1804, the other Consuls were gone and Napoleon held a plebiscite that declared him to be Emperor. When crowning himself emperor, Napoleon had the Pope and all the old dignitaries present as he placed the crown on his own head. The reason is obvious, everyone was to know who was in charge. Napoleon completely understood modern politics. He was always careful to hold elections to support whatever he wanted. He knew that the people would follow him as long as he stayed popular. To do this he relied on the thing that rulers have always relied on to keep their popularity, war.

71. Emperor 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 Napoleon knew that the French society, culture, political and economic systems had to be reformed and he did this by introducing meritocracy into French life. Men (always men) could rise in French life by virtue of their abilities, not their ancestry. He reformed the economy by controlling prices and encouraging the new industries He instituted a system of free public schools to ensure well educated military men. He repaired relations with the Catholic Church by signing the Concordat with the Vatican. The church remained under government control, but the Catholics had religious freedom. But he also appealed to the peasants by guaranteeing that land seized from the church during the revolution would not be taken away. He encouraged the emigres to return and laid the foundation for his relationship with the French middle class by getting rid of the old laws that restricted professions by estate. His army was always a meritocracy, you rose on ability, not on birthright. Probably his most lasting reform was the Napoleonic Code, a comprehensive law code that he instituted throughout Europe after he conquered it. The Napoleonic Code featured equality before the law, religious tolerance and advancement based on merit. It also featured a repressive attitude toward women. Women lost the rights they won during the Revolution and the male head of the family was now essentially a dictator.

72. Master of Europe 12, 13 & 14 From 1804 to 1815 Napoleon was, without a doubt, one of the greatest military minds of history. He redrew the map of Europe. He annexed the Netherlands, Belgium, parts of Italy and Germany. He got rid of the Holy Roman Empire and replaced it with the Confederation of the Rhine. He conquered Prussia and was getting ready to turn it into a pasture when the Czar of Russia convinced him not to. He conquered Poland and renamed it the Duchy of Warsaw. He put his family members on the ancient thrones of Europe. The French people worshipped him and Nationalism became a huge force. This nationalism also carried the seed of his later destruction. As he conquered the old kingdoms of Europe, his soldiers brought with them the ideas of the Enlightenment and the Revolution. All of this proved something very important. As long as you are popular, you can do anything you want. Later events also prove the other side: if you fail, everyone will desert you.

73. The Continental System 15, 16 & 17 England still was unconquered and tried to block Napoleon at every turn. Napoleon thought about invading England and started collecting ships to do this until the British Navy under Lord Nelson destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. This led to his first mistake. The defeat at Trafalgar so enraged him that he called for a reverse blockade of England called the Continental System. He didn’t have a navy now, so he couldn’t surround England. So the best he could do was to forbid anyone in Europe from trading with England. For a time it worked, but it ruined the European economy The other rulers of Europe, those not related to him, were scumbags that only allied with Napoleon when it became apparent that he was going to win. They now publically agreed to abide by the Continental System while all the while, secretly trading with England. The worst offender was Russia under Czar Alexander.

74. The Peninsular Campaign 18 Napoleon believed the best insurance against betrayal was blood, so he put as many members of his family as possible on the thrones of Europe. Generally, this was accepted everywhere but Spain. When he put his brother, Joseph, on the throne of Spain and tried to get the Catholic Church under control, the Spaniards rebelled. The Peninsular Campaign, as it came to be known, was a bloody and drawn out affair. It drained France of men and money and led eventually to much of the disaster in Russia. The Spanish formed guerillas, groups of irregular troops to fight the French. The French responded by using mass executions of civilians to stop the guerilla war. Eventually the British became directly involved by putting troops under Wellington into the Spanish campaign.

75. The King of Rome and Attendant Miseries 19 Napoleon needed an heir to his throne. Josephine was now much too old to bear children, so he divorced her and arranged a marriage to the 18 year old Princess Maria Louisa of Austria. The union was successful and soon Napoleon’s son, called The King of Rome, was born. Not everyone was happy with the marriage. Czar Alexander of Russia had been trying to marry his sister Anna to Napoleon to cement his own alliances. Alexander was a typically paranoid Russian ruler. He believed that Napoleon married Maria instead of Anna to create an alliance that would be used to conquer Russia. He was probably right. Just because he was paranoid doesn’t mean he wasn’t right. He knew that war was coming, so he needed as much money as possible, so he started to openly defy Napoleon by violating the Continental System. Alexander was also very unpopular in Russia at this point because he had spent so much time publically sucking up to Napoleon, so he needed to repair his popularity in the most efficient manner for a ruler. Oh, you know.

76. The Nightmare in the Snow 20 In 1812, Napoleon gathered his Grand Army for the invasion of Russia. As they moved eastward into Russia, the Russians retreated and practiced a “scorched earth” policy. They burned any fields that could provide food for the invaders and poisoned the wells. Napoleon entered Moscow in October and realized he couldn’t hold it, Winter was coming and he couldn’t maintain his lines of supply, so he started the great retreat from Moscow. This was an epic and tragic event. The winter, known as “General Winter” to the Russians, was brutal. The Russian troops harassed the supply lines. The Retreat took months and destroyed Napoleon’s Grand Army. 400, 000 troops entered Russia. 10,000 came out. This event, the destruction of his veteran army, led to Napoleon’s downfall more than any other thing.

77. All That Rises Must Converge 21 Like vultures, the other nations of Europe saw an opportunity when Napoleon was defeated in Russia. They formed a new alliance and defeated him at the Battle of the Nations in 1813. Napoleon knew that it was over, so he abdicated and was exiled to Elba, a pleasant little island in the Mediterranean. The victorious nations of Europe led by Czar Alexander (Napoleon’s old ally and friend) met in the Congress of Vienna. Their primary aim to reestablish monarchy, legitimate monarchy in Europe. They represented the ancien regime. The Congress of Vienna was a unique collection of vicious reactionaries and opportunists. While they were meeting and carving up Europe to fit their fantasies, Napoleon found Elba to be boring. He decided to change his address.

78. The 100 Days 22 & 23 The Congress of Vienna put Louis XVIII n the Bourbon throne of France, but it didn’t work too well. Louis was weak, spoiled and not too bright. The economy fell into ruin and, face it, following Napoleon is a tough second act. Napoleon escaped from Elba and landed in the south of France. The people and what was left of the army rallied to Napoleon. Louis XVIII, being a true aristocrat, fled like a coward. The Congress of Vienna decided to put an end to this drama. An enormous army under Lord Wellington of England and Blucher of Prussia defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. With this defeat, the Age of Napoleon was well and truly over. He was exiled to St. Helena, a desolate island deep in the Atlantic where he eventually died in 1821.

79. The Congress of Vienna and the Victory of Reaction The Congress of Vienna was led by the Austrian Count Metternich. Metternich was a brilliant negotiator and a firm believer in divine right monarchy. He pretty much reflected the rest of the men there. The Congress redrew the map of Europe that Napoleon had redrawn. The old ancien regime boundaries were put in place except where it suited them to change it. The national boundaries were redrawn without a thought for one very important thing, Europe after the French Revolution and Napoleon was a very different place. The nations created and conquered by Napoleon had been living under Enlightenment ideals and Napoleonic Codes for close to 20 years. The Congress of Vienna decided to pretend that none of the preceding events had happened. They were going to go back to 1770. you cannot change the past nor can you put the toothpaste back in the tube. The only way for this fantasy to be realized was to use censorship, repression and secret police. The efforts of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 led directly to later revolutions and to continuing class war with the coming Industrial Revolution. They prepared the soil for Marxism. The world would not see such a collection of idiots and reactionaries again until today.