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The Napoleonic Era

The Napoleonic Era. 1799 to 1815. Napoleon Who?. Born in Corsica – a Mediterranean island that had passed from Genoese to French control in the 18 th century – in August 1769. His family was upper-middle class. He entered a military academy at age 10 in Brienne, France.

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The Napoleonic Era

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  1. The Napoleonic Era 1799 to 1815

  2. Napoleon Who? • Born in Corsica – a Mediterranean island that had passed from Genoese to French control in the 18th century – in August 1769. • His family was upper-middle class. • He entered a military academy at age 10 in Brienne, France. • Married the widow, Josephine de Beauharnais, whose aristocratic husband had been a victim of the Terror.

  3. Napoleon and the French Revolution • Napoleon approved of the Revolution in general, but did not agree with the violence of the common people. • He witnessed the August 10 1792 uprisings at Tuileries, the arrest of the king, and the slaughter of the Swiss Guards that followed. • After this, Napoleon both feared and, in a way, hated the common people of France.

  4. By 1799, his military victories had won him much praise and fame. • In 1795, he ordered troops guarding the Convention to fire on a Parisian crowd. • Successful Italian campaign of 1796-1797, where he invaded Egypt in an attempt to strike at British influence and trade connections in the eastern Mediterranean (the Egyptian campaign failed in its goals, but individual victories during the campaign ensured Napoleon’s military reputation.)

  5. Napoleon’s coup d'état • In 1799, members of the Directory conspired with Napoleon to take over the French government by means of a coup d'état (a sudden, decisive change of government illegally or by force.) • Napoleon was to be the first among equals in a three-man executive – named himself “First Consul.” • By 1802 he had full power (elected first consul for life.) • By 1804, he proclaimed himself Emperor Napoleon I.

  6. Some of Napoleon’s Achievements • Between 1800 and 1804, he imprisoned, executed, or exiled dozens of individuals for alleged Jacobin agitation or royalist sympathies. • Civil Code (“code napoleon”): guaranteed equality before the law, taxation of all social classes. Fathers’ control over families was enhanced. Divorce was no longer permitted except in rare instances. Women lost all property rights when they married and faced legal domination by fathers/husbands.

  7. Achievements, continued… • Concordat of 1801: This treaty ended the rift between the church and state. • The agreement allowed for the resumption of Catholic worship and the continued support of the clergy by the state. • Church lands that had been sold were guaranteed to their new owners. • Protestant churches were also allowed, even though Catholicism was the “religion of the majority of Frenchmen.” • Napoleon later granted new rights to Jews, as well.

  8. Military Achievements • December 1805, Napoleon’s army defeated Austrian and Russian forces at Austerlitz, north of Vienna. • This battle was one of Napoleon’s most spectacular victories. • In further battles in 1806, French forces defeated Prussian as well as Russian armies once again. • Wanted Russia to be France’s ally; his hold on Europe would not be secure with a hostile Russia.

  9. Military Achievements, continued… • In 1808, Napoleon fully subdued Austria. Like Russia, Austria accepted French political and economic supremacy in a sort of alliance. • By 1810, Napoleon had transformed most of Europe into allied or dependent states – the only exceptions were Britain and parts of Spain and Portugal (See Map 19.1.) • Napoleon’s Continental System – the Continent was virtually closed to all British shipping and goods. • Regions which were heavily involved with trade with Britain suffered.

  10. Military Failure:The Russian Campaign • June 1812, Napoleon led his army into Russia. • His army was made up of soldiers (roughly 600,000 men) from the several nations now under his control. • The Russians simply kept retreating every time Napoleon's forces tried to attack – something Napoleon was not used to. • The Russian campaign dragged on for much longer than Napoleon imagined, weakening his men and running out of necessary supplies.

  11. The Russian Campaign, continued… • By the time the French faced the Russians at the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon’s Grande Armée had been on the march for two and a half months and stood at less than half its original strength. • After the bloody battle, France occupied Moscow. • In Moscow, there was scarce food and supplies to sustain Napoleon’s troops. • Napoleon’s forces retreated back to France. • Of the original 700,000 troops of the Grande Armée, fewer than 100,000 made it out of Russia.

  12. Napoleon left his army before it was fully out of Russia to counter a coup attempt in Paris (rumours spreading that Napoleon had died in Russia, so his position was “up for grabs.”)

  13. Napoleon’s Defeat and Death • In early 1813, he raised a new army in France, around 300,000 strong. • However, by 1813, Napoleon had lost almost all of Europe. • During October 1813, at the Battle of Leipzig, nearly every nation in Europe joined in a massive army against the French – in some parts of Europe, the battle is known as "The Battle of Nations." • Napoleon's new army was crushed.

  14. With this defeat, the allies forced Napoleon to abdicate on April 6, 1814. • Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba, off France’s Mediterranean coast. • On Elba, Napoleon was given an income drawn on the French’s treasury. • He eventually became almost penniless in his “island kingdom.” • Louis XVIII (he took the number eighteen out of respect for Louis XVI’s son, who had died in prison in 1795) became the new monarch of France. • Problems: Louis XVIII had been out of the country for a while and been out of touch with the situation in France.

  15. Napoleon returned to France on February 26, 1815, taking advantage of the bad situation in France under Louis XVIII. • Louis XVIII abandoned Paris to the returned emperor. • Napoleon’s return only lasted 100 days – the elite and ordinary French citizens did not believe he should have his position back, especially after the defeat in Russia.

  16. His Final Days… • Napoleon tried to strike first, but lost against English and Prussian troops in his first major battle at Waterloo (modern-day Belgium) on June 18, 1815. • Napoleon was again exiled – this time to the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died in 1821.

  17. Class Discussion • Differences between Napoleon and King Louis XVI? • Which leader do you think the people of France liked/admired more, and why?

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