2. Napoleon’s Early Days
Napoleon was born in Corsica (a French
territory) in August 1769.
His family belonged to the high social class
He was sent to military academy in France
Napoleon graduated in 1785, at the age of 16,
and joined the artillery as a second lieutenant.
During the French Revolution he served the
Revolutionary Army.
3. “I am no ordinary man.”
Napoleon rose quickly in the army during
the revolution because so many officers
fled France.
In 1793, Napoleon commanded the French
troops that ousted the British from Toulon.
By age 27, Napoleon was a general.
4. The Directory
It can be argued that the French
Revolution ended in 1795.
A new constitution established a new
government known as the Directory. The
Directory included an elected legislature
and an executive branch with five
directors.
5. The young
general soon
received command
of a French army
for an invasion of
Italy.
He won several
brilliant victories
over the Austrians
who ruled there.
Napoleon’s
successes forced
Austria to withdraw
from the war in
1797.
6. In 1798, Napoleon invaded
Egypt because it was a
vital lifeline to British
outposts in India.
Napoleon quickly defeated
the Egyptian army.
However, the British fleet,
under Admiral Horatio
Nelson, destroyed the
French fleet in the battle of
the Nile. Horatio Nelson (1758-1805)
7. Leaving the army in Egypt, Napoleon
returned to Paris. The French people
were not fully aware of the losses in
Egypt, and they welcomed him as a hero.
In Paris, Napoleon found that many
people were dissatisfied with the
Directory. With the help of troops loyal to
him, he and two directors overthrew the
government in November, 1799.
8. Napoleon as “First Consul”
After returning from Egypt,
Napoleon launched a
successful coup d’ etat on
November 9, 1799.
He proclaimed himself “First
Consul” [Julius Caesar’s title]
and did away with the elected
Assembly.
In 1802, he made himself sole
“Consul for Life.”
Two years later he proclaimed
himself “Emperor.”
10. Napoleon’s Domestic Policy
By 1804, Napoleon had gained almost
absolute power. He knew the French
would never stand for a return to the Old
Regime. Therefore, he continued many
reforms of the revolution.
But at the same time, he kept firm
personal control of the government.
11. Napoleon Established the
Banque de France, 1800
Napoleon enforced a law requiring all citizens to pay
taxes. He also created the national Bank of France,
in which the tax money was deposited. The Bank, in
turn, issued money and made loans to businesses.
12. Lycée System of Education
Established by Napoleon in 1801 as an educational reform.
Lycées initially enrolled the nation’s most talented students [they
had to pay tuition, although there was some financial help available
for poorer student].
Lycées trained the nation’s future bureaucrats.
13. Code Napoleon, 1804
It divides civil law into:
Personal status.
Property.
The acquisition of
property.
Its purpose was to reform the
French legal code to reflect the
principles of the Fr. Revolution.
Create one law code for France.
14. The Napoleonic Code
Napoleon’s greatest achievement in government
was the Napoleonic Code, which influenced
French law to the present.
It recognized that all men were equal before the
law and guaranteed freedom of religion as well
as a person’s right to work in any occupation.
However, it put the interests of the state above
those of individual citizens and it dropped laws
passed during the revolution that had protected
the rights of women and children.
16. In 1804, Napoleon became
“Emperor of the French.”
As Pope Pius VIII prepared
to crown the emperor,
Napoleon took the crown
and placed it on his head
himself. By this gesture,
Napoleon showed that he
did not bow to any
authority.
He then proceeded to
crown his wife, the
Empress Josephine.
Emperor Napoleon
23. Napoleon’s Family Rules!
Jerome Bonaparte King of Westphalia.
Joseph Bonaparte King of Spain
Louise Bonaparte King of Holland
Pauline Bonaparte Princess of Italy
Napoléon Francis Joseph Charles (son) King of
Rome
Elisa Bonaparte Grand
Duchess of Tuscany
Caroline Bonaparte Queen
of Naples
25. The Empire of Napoleon
In the early 1800s, France fought all the
major European powers.
Through shrewd diplomacy, Napoleon
usually kept the European powers divided
so they could not unite against him.
26. Europe under French rule
From 1807 to 1812, Napoleon was at the height
of his power. He controlled an empire that
stretched from France to the borders of Russia
27. While ruling this vast empire, Napoleon
helped spread the ideas of the French
Revolution across Europe.
He introduced religious toleration,
abolished serfdom, made the Napoleonic
Code into law and reduced the power of
the Catholic Church.
However, Napoleon lost much support
when he imposed high taxes to finance his
continuing conflict with Britain.
Europe under French rule
28. The Continental System
Although Napoleon defeated the major powers on the
continent, he was unable to bring Britain to its knees.
Admiral Nelson dashed Napoleon’s plans by sinking most
of the French fleet at Cape Trafalgar, near Spain.
Napoleon then decided to blockade British ports and
ordered all European nations to stop trade with Britain.
This was called the Continental System.
30. The Continental System
Unfortunately for France, the Continental
System backfired. Britain did lose trade,
but France suffered more.
The powerful British navy was able to cut
off overseas imports to France and the
rest of the continent. This weakened the
French economy.
31. Stirrings of Nationalism
During the reign of Napoleon, the concept
of Nationalism began to become popular.
Nationalism is the belief that a people
group can make one great nation
together.
Napoleon used the desire of people to
have their own nation to help him defeat
the Austrian Empire.
32. Haitian Independence,
1792-1804
Haitian slaves revolted against
Britain because of the ideas of
freedom and nationalism.
Napoleon helped them at first, but
then turned against the revolution.
Toussaint L’Ouverture
33. Nationalism turns against Napoleon
Opposition to Napoleon also grew among the
conquered and allied peoples of Europe, who
were developing a sense of nationalism, or pride
and devotion to one’s own country.
They resented paying taxes to France and
sending soldiers to serve in Napoleon’s armies.
They wanted to restore their own governments,
customs, and traditions.
As nationalists feelings grew, revolts broke out
all over Europe.
34. The Emperor’s Downfall
In 1812, Napoleon decided to invade Russia.
Napoleon assembled an army of over 500,000
soldiers, and in May 1812, he led this Grand
Army into Russia.
Napoleon planned to defeat the Russians in a
quick, decisive battle. To his surprise, the
Russians refused to stand and fight. Instead,
they retreated, burning their crops and homes
as they went. They forced Napoleon to lead his
army deeper into Russia.
35. The Russians finally engaged the French near Moscow,
500 miles inside Russia. The French won, but when
Napoleon entered Moscow, he found the Russian capital
in flames. Napoleon soon realized he could not feed and
house his army in Moscow. Thus, in October 1812, he
ordered a retreat.
36. During the retreat, the bitterly cold Russian winter
turned the French victory into a disastrous defeat.
Thousands of Napoleon’s soldiers starved or froze to
death. The Russian army attacked the stragglers.
Fewer than 100,000 escaped from Russia.
37. A powerful alliance
made up of Britain,
Austria, Russia, and
Prussia pounced on the
weakened French army
as it limped out of
Russia.
Napoleon rushed home
to raise a new army,
but his efforts failed.
In March 1814, the
allies captured Paris.
Napoleon abdicated
and went into exile on
the island of Elba, off
the coast of Italy.
39. After Napoleon was exiled, the
monarchy was restored, but
the king was quite different
than his ancestors.
In 1814, Louis XVIII issued a
constitution that provided for
equality under the law for all
citizens, an elected legislature,
and religious freedom. He
also kept the Napoleonic
Code.
When Louis XVIII became
king, many émigrés returned
to France and demanded
revenge on supporters of the
French Revolution.
Napoleon took advantage of
the resulting disturbances to
return to Paris. Louis XVIII (1755-1824)
40. In March 1815, he again
proclaimed himself
emperor. Discontented
soldiers rallied to his side.
For 100 days, he worked
to rebuild the French
army. But the European
allies acted swiftly.
In June 1815, a joint
British and Prussian army
led by the Duke of
Wellington defeated the
French at Waterloo.
Duke of Wellington
(1769-1852)
43. After-Effects: 1815
After Napoleon lost power in 1815, the most
powerful leaders in Europe met to try to restore
order. In other words, to make things the way
they were before the French Revolution.
This was called the Congress of Vienna
Russia, Austria,
Prussia (now part of
Germany) created the
Holy Alliance to
maintain power for
kings and prevent
democracy and
nationalism.
44. After-Effects: 1815
Britain was a much more democratic country than
those of the Holy Alliance. But it preferred
stability in Europe over more revolutions.
It focused on trying to establish a Balance of
Power between the countries in order to prevent
war
45. After-Effects: 1820s-1830s
Revolutions broke out
in Latin America
because Spain was no
longer strong enough
to control its territory.
The most famous
revolutionary was
Simón Bolivar
46. In 1830, revolutions
broke out in several
countries including
France (where a
new king was
appointed) and the
Netherlands, which
split into two
countries – Belgium
and Holland.
After-Effects: 1830
47. Once again, revolutions sprang up in
several places.
In France, the King lost power and was
replaced by a president – Louis Napoleon.
Italians, Czechs and Hungarians all
rebelled against Austria.
Germans attempted to create a parliament
for the first time.
After-Effects: 1848
48. The Unification of Italy
Prior to 1860 Italy was made up of many small
states, some of which were controlled by Austria
or France.
1860 – Piedmont convinced several states in the
north to join together peacefully
1860 – Garibaldi took some states by force –
with an army of 1000 soldiers.
By 1871 – Venetia and Rome had joined and
modern Italy was united.
49.
50. The Unification of Germany
Germany was also divided into a bunch of small
states, the largest and most powerful of which was
Prussia. It was able to gain strength through
industrializing faster than other countries.
1851 – the Zollverein (customs union) joined several
states to Prussia.
1866 – winning a war against Austria gave Prussia
control of more German-speaking territory
1871 – winning a war against France gave Germany
control over Alsace and Lorraine (and helped create
a disagreement that helped lead to World War I)
