Napoleon’s Empire Collapses

KEY IDEA Napoleon’s conquests aroused nationalistic feelings across Europe and contributed to his downfall.

“I love power as a musician loves the violin”

Napoleon loved power. He took steps to make his empire larger. However, these steps led to mistakes that brought about his downfall.

Napoleons 1st Mistake:The Blockade of Great Britain

Napoleon’s first mistake was caused by his desire to crush Britain. He wanted to hurt the British economy.

In 1806 he tried stopping all trade between Britain and the lands he controlled by ordering a blockade. Napoleon called this policy the Continental System. The effort failed, because some Europeans secretly smuggled in British goods.

Great Britain Responds British smugglers were able to

bypass the blockade. In addition, France’s allies did not enforce the blockade

In response to the French blockade, the British put their own blockade around Europe. Because their navy was so strong, it worked very well. Soon the French economy, along with others, began to grow weak. The British navy

began to stop all neutral ships from sailing to French ports, forcing them to sail to British ports.

The War of 1812

Great Britain was stopping all neutral ships including American ships. This angered the United States. In reaction to this aggressive action, the U.S. Congress declares war on Great Britain.

Napoleon’s 2nd Mistake: The Peninsular War

Portugal was ignoring the blockade imposed by Napoleon against Great Britain.

Napoleon sends an army through Spain in order to invade Portugal. The Spanish people did not welcome Napoleon’s army and the people began to riot in protest of the French occupation.

All Hail King Joseph!!!

In order to gain control of the people of Spain, he deposed the king and put his brother Joseph on the throne.

The Spanish people were outraged.

Impact of the Peninsular War

The Spanish people were loyal to their own king. With help from Britain, they fought a guerilla war against Napoleon for five years. Over this five year period, Napoleon lost 300,000 troops.

Nationalism in Spain proved to be a powerful weapon against Napoleon; other countries that had fallen under French control began to see Napoleon as a foreign conqueror and they began to turn against Napoleon.

Napoleon’s 3rd Mistake: The Invasion of Russia

Russia refused to stop selling grain to Great Britain. This was a clear violation of Napoleon’s blockade. Napoleon also suspected that Czar Alexander had plans to invade Poland, an area that he wanted for himself.

In 1812, he invades Russia. He entered Russia with more than 400,000 soldiers.

Scorched-Earth Policy

As his troops moved into Russia,the Russian army began to destroy the grain fields and slaughter the livestock so that nothing was left for the French soldiers.

Moscow Burns

When Napoleon’s army reached Moscow, the city was on fire. Napoleon and his troops stayed in the burned-out city waiting for Czar Alexander to surrender- he never did.

By this time, Napoleon’s troops were starving and cold as winter set in. Their only choice was to try to return to France.

A Stunning Defeat- The Beginning of the End

As the soldiers marched west, bitter cold, hunger, and spot attacks killed thousands.

Thousands more deserted. By the time the army exited Russian territory, only 10,000 of its men were able to fight. He took 400,000 men to Russia and returned with only 10,000!

Napoleon is Defeated Other leaders

saw that Napoleon was weaker now, so they came together in the Fourth Coalition and they moved to attack. All of the major powers of Europe were now at war with Napoleon.

The Battle of Leipzig

At the Battle of Leipzig in Germany in 1813, he was defeated. The armies of the coalition continued to push toward Paris.

Napoleon Is Exiled

In 1814, Napoleon was forced to give up his throne and was exiled to a tiny island of Elba off the coast of Italy.

Absolute Monarchy is Reestablished in France

The coalition recalls the brother of Louis XVI- Louis XVIII- a Bourbon, to reclaim the throne of France.

The people of France began to rebel because Louis XVIII began to undo the Revolution’s land reforms.

Napoleon Returns to France

Napoleon gets word of the political upheaval in France and escapes the island of Elba and returns to France. He is welcomed back by the French people.

He easily established a new army with a renewed sense of purpose, to restore the republic of France.

European Powers React

The European allies quickly gathered their armies. They prepared for battle in Belgium near the village of Waterloo.

Napoleon’s Final Defeat

Napoleon’s army attacked but he was met with tremendous force. The battle raged for two days. On the afternoon of the second day, Napoleon’s army was chased from the field of battle in retreat. Napoleon had lost his final battle.

Gone For Good The European’s did

not want to risk another attempt by Napoleon to wage war so this time, Napoleon was taken by a British ship to the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, far way from Europe.

The Death of Napoleon

Napoleon dies in 1821 of a stomach illness, possibly cancer. He spent the last years of his life trying to justify all of the things that he had done in his life.

The Congress of ViennaConvenes

KEY IDEA After exiling Napoleon, European leaders at the Congress of Vienna tried to restore order and reestablish peace

The Congress of Vienna

After Napoleon’s first defeat, in 1814, leaders of many nations met for months. They tried to draw up a peace plan for Europe that would last many years. They called the meeting the Congress of Vienna.

The key person there was the foreign minister of Austria, Klemens von Metternich. He shaped the peace conditions that were accepted.

Klemens von Metternich

Three Goals of the Congress of Vienna

Metternich insisted on three goals : First, he wanted to make sure that the

French would not attack another country again.

Second, he wanted a balance of power in which no one nation was too strong.

Third, he wanted to put kings back in charge of the countries from which they had been removed

The leaders agreed with Metternich’s ideas. They implemented his plans to surround France with strong neighbors and old monarchs returned to the throne

An age of European peace began. Across Europe as kings and princes reclaimed their thrones. Most of them were conservatives and did not encourage individual liberties.

They did not want any calls for equal rights.

Klemens von Metternich Metternich was a

very educated man who spoke 5 languages. He saw himself as a European, not as a citizen of a single country.

He became the foreign minister for Austria in 1809.

Distaste for Democracy

Metternich distrusted democratic ideas because he believed that Napoleon’s expansionist aspirations were a natural outcome of the experiment of democracy.

He wanted to return Europe to its traditional past which included absolute monarchies.

At the Congress of Vienna, Metternich help to craft a fair and lasting peace by advocating moderation and cooperation among the countries of Europe.

Metternich was opposed to the liberal enlightenment ideas of the French Revolution and spent 30 years trying to put an end to them in Europe.

He established a permanent committee with spies and informers to punish any liberal or radical organization. He advocated the ruthless suppression of any ideas promoting liberty or equality.

Peace Lasts For 40 Years

By agreeing to come to each others aid in the case of treats, the European nations temporarily assured that there would be a balance of power on the European continent.

Under Metternich’s plan, came a peace that lasted for nearly 40 years. None of the five great European powers waged war on one another until the Crimean War in 1853.

The Holy Alliance

Czar Alexander of Russia and King Frederick William III of Prussia entered into the “Holy Alliance” which was an agreement that loosely bound these nations together. Metternich called this arrangement the Concert of Europe.

Long Live the Revolution!

Despite the efforts of the Congress of Vienna, many people still believed in the ideals of the French Revolution.

They thought that all people should be equal and share in power. Later they would fight for these rights again.

Latin America Revolts

People in the Americas also felt the desire for freedom. Spanish colonies in the Americas revolted against the restored Spanish king. They feared an end to their encomienda systems (a feudal system established in the colonies)

A series of revolutions spread across Latin America. Between 1815 and 1821, nearly all of the Latin American nations won their independence from Spain.

Latin America Revolts

A series of revolutions spread across Latin America. Between 1815 and 1821, nearly all of the Latin American nations won their independence from Spain.

The Legacy of the French Revolution

National feeling grew in many places in Europe, too. Soon people in areas such as Italy, Germany, and Greece would rebel and form new countries. The French Revolution had changed the politics of Europe and beyond.