Age of Napoleon

Chapter 3

Section 4

Video

• Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eVfqcPT6EY

• Watch this introductory video about the life of Napoleon

• Continue reading this Powerpoint

Napoleon Bonaparte

•Born in Corsica on August 15, 1769

•He was a lieutenant in French army when French Revolution erupted

Corsica

The arrow is pointing to the island of Corsica, located SE of France in the Mediterranean Sea and due north of the island of Sicily.

Egypt

Napoleon led a disastrous military expedition to Egypt to defeat the British who occupied Egypt. However, the British defeated Napoleon’s forces. Napoleon cleverly hid the defeat from France through spies and censoring the press.

Napoleon

• Napoleon was young lieutenant when the French revolution first broke out

• Battle victories fueled his ambitions and his rise through the army ranks

• By 1804, Napoleon acquired enough power to assume the title Emperor of France

• At each step on his rise to power, Napoleon had held a “plebescite”, which essentially is a vote of the people

• However, he still had absolute power, although he was legally elected

Napoleon’s Power

• Napoleon consolidated his power by strengthening the central government

• His economic and social reforms won support across classes

• Among his most lasting reforms was the Napoleonic Code, a new code of laws.

• The Napoleonic Code embodied Enlightenment principles of equality, religious tolerance, and abolition of feudalism

How did Napoleon restore economic prosperity to France?

• He controlled prices• Encouraged new industry• Built roads and canals• Established public school system under strict

government control to train officials and military officers

• Made peace with Catholic Church with the Concordat (agreement) of 1801

• Concordat of 1801 kept Church under state control but recognized religious freedom for Catholics

What French social classes supported Napoleon?

• Émigrés allowed to return upon taking an oath of loyalty

• Peasants because Napoleon recognized the lands peasants bought from Church and nobles during the revolution

• Middle class approved of his economic reforms and restoration of order after so much chaos

Expansion of French Empire

• From 1804 to 1812, Napoleon battled the European powers and created a vast French empire

• A brilliant general, before each battle Napoleon developed a new strategic, military plan

• In this way, opposing generals could never anticipate what Napoleon would do next because his battle plans were always different – very unpredictable

• Napoleon rarely lost a battle

Territorial Expansion

• Napoleon annexed the Netherlands, Belgium, parts of Italy and Germany to build his Grand Empire

• However, Britain remained outside the grasp of Napoleon

• His attempt to impose an economic blockade of Britain (Continental System) failed

• Under the Continental System, Napoleon tried to block imports from Great Britain

• Although British exports declined, Britain’s powerful navy kept vital trade routes open

Territorial Expansion

• Europeans resented the scarcity of goods• Growing nationalism in other countries led

to resistance against French influence and domination

• In Spain, patriots waged guerilla warfare (hit-and-run raids) against the French

Napoleon’s Power in Europe in 1812

• Click on www.phschool.com

• Enter the web code, mzp-1841, in the box

• Listen to the presentation

Napoleon’s Mistakes

• Napoleon invaded Russia (1812) with 600,000 soldiers

• To avoid battling Napoleon’s forces, Russian troops retreated, burning crops and villages as they went (scorched-earth policy)

• Most of Napoleon’s Grand Army was destroyed• Fewer than 20,000 soldiers survived the invasion• Soldiers died from disease, starvation/malnutrition,

and froze to death• Brutal Russian winter contributed to Napoleon’s

shattering defeat

Invasion of Russia

• Go to www.khanacademy.org• In the search box, type “French Invasion of

Russia”• Watch the video and learn about Napoleon’s

disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812

Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia

Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia Failed His

invasion of Russia failed miserably, leaving a trail of corpses from Moscow all the way to Paris. Soldiers froze to death or died from starvation and disease.

End of Napoleon

• Napoleon returned to Paris to raise another army• But the British and Prussian forces were

determined to crush Napoleon permanently• Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.• Enemy forced captured Napoleon and exiled him

to island of Elba• Napoleon was given 1,000 men to rule over a

population of 110,000 people with the title Emperor of Elba

• Napoleon escaped Elba, returned to France, and staged a daring comeback!!

Napoleon Exiled to Elba

Elba – off the coast of Italy

End of Napoleon

• Napoleon’s forces met the king’s forces on the road to Paris

• The king’s forces surrendered and Napoleon marched into Paris and assumed the throne once again as the king fled

• Napoleon’s second rule lasted another 100 days• He was captured and defeated a second time, and

exiled to island of St. Helena (farther away)• Napoleon later died on St. Helena

Battle of WaterlooBritish and Prussian forces finally defeated Napoleon’s army on June 18, 1815. Napoleon was captured and exiled to St. Helena. He never returned.

St. Helena – an island in the South Atlantic

British forces captured Napoleon and exiled him for the 2nd time to St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Napoleon died on St. Helena in 1821.

Bye bye, Napoleon!!

Legacy of Napoleon

• Elections with limited suffrage• More citizens had rights to property• Greater access to education• He spread the ideas of the Revolution• Failed to make Europe into a French

empire• He sparked nationalist feelings across

Europe – other Europeans demanded changes in their countries

• He sold Louisiana Territory to USA in 1803

Congress of Vienna

• European leaders met in Vienna, Austria to restore stability/order in Europe after Napoleon’s defeat

• Leaders included Emperor Francis I (Austria), Alexander I of Russia, Lord Robert Castlereagh (Britain), Prince Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (France)

• The dominant leader of the Congress of Vienna was Prince Clemens von Metternich of Austria

Goals of Congress of Vienna

• 1. Create a lasting European peace

• 2. Establish a Balance of Power in Europe

• 3. Protect the system of monarchy in Europe

Why did European leaders re-draw the map of Europe?

• European leaders re-drew European boundaries• The main goal was to surround France with

strong countries to prevent future French territorial ambitions

• European leaders feared that France would someday seek another French empire and wage war to acquire territory again

Principle of Legitimacy

• The principle of legitimacy was to restore the monarchies that the French Revolution or Napoleon had overthrown – to make the monarchies “legitimate” once again

• The monarchies in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italian states were restored

How to Protect this New European Order

• Quadruple Alliance – Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, and Russia

• These four countries pledged 1) to act together to maintain the balance of power and 2) suppress future revolutions (particularly France)

• European powers promised to meet periodically to discuss problems affecting European peace – this became known as the Concert of Europe

• The legacy of the Congress of Vienna was that European peace was maintained for nearly 100 years until 1914 when World War I erupted

Powerpoint Questions

1. Where was Napoleon born?

2. What is a plebescite?

3. What Enlightenment ideas were embodied in the Napoleonic Code? (3 points)

4. What is the name of the economic system that closed European ports to British goods to hurt Great Britain?

5. Hit-and-run raids are known as ___.

6. Name the strategy when a retreating army burns crops and villages as they go to leave nothing behind.

Powerpoint Questions

7. Which country did Napoleon invade in 1812?

8. Where was Napoleon exiled the first time?

9. How long did Napoleon’s second period of rule last?

10. In what battle was Napoleon finally defeated?

11. Where was Napoleon exiled the second time?

Powerpoint Questions

12. What were the three goals of the Congress of Vienna? (3 points)

13. Who was the dominant leader at the Congress of Vienna?

14. What is the principle of legitimacy?

15. What was the pledge behind the Concert of Europe?

16. How many soldiers began the Russian invasion? How many soldiers survived?