Napoleon
● studied artillery in Paris
● Joined the Jacobins
● Imprisoned after Robespierre fell from power
● Rejoined the army and pledged his loyalty to the newly established Directory
● Received the position as the artillery commander at the Seige of Toulon in 1793. The
city of Toulon was occupied by British troops. Napoleon forced them out of the port
with his own strategy. His skills were recognized by the leaders of France. At 24
years old he was promoted to the position of brigadier general.
● 1796 - Napoleon was given command of the French army in Italy
● 1798/1788 Egyptians campaign - to weaken Britain's colonial power, Rosetta stone
discovered- Egyptology (is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, religion),
architecture, the supply routes city off by the British Navy under admiral Horatio,
Nelson, French fleet destroyed
● DOMESTIC POLICIES OF NAPOLEON:
- Napoleon formed a new government called The Consulate
- 1799 - directory was replaced by 3 consuls.
- He became first consul, for 10 years - reformed political administration, the legal
system, the Church and education
- Napoleon systematically built a dictatorship (copied from Ancient Roman Republic)
- 1804 - he was crowned the first Emperor of France (in Notre Dame - Paris)(he
crowned himself)(started the Bonaparte dynasty - became Napoleon I.)
● RELIGION:
- Concordat with the Pope 180
- Catholism - religion of the majority of the French.
- Napoleon reestablished the Catholic Church as the official state religion
- He still allowed for freedom of religion
- He also set up non-religious schools
● SOCIETY
- Code Napoleon - 1804 - equality before law, property rights guaranteed, abolition of
serfdom
● ECONOMY
- Napoleon helped to improve the French economy by building new roads and
encouraging business
- Set up tax collection,
- established National Banks,
- Stabilized the currency - stopped inflation and the rise of prices
● CONQUERING EUROPE
- Initially - peace
- Soon - France was at war with Britain, Austria and Russia
● The Battle of Trafalgar - October of 1805
- Admiral Horatio Nelson - defeated the larger joint French-Spanish fleer - gave
Britain control of the seas
- Trafalgar’s square - Statue of Nelson
● The Battle of Austerlitz/SLAVKOV/in1805 ’’The battle of 3 Emperors’’ The
Battle of Austerlitz
- After losing a naval battle against Britain at the Battle of Trafalgar - Napoleon
attacks Austria - defeated the Austrian, Prussian and Russian armie
- Mohyla mieru v Sládkove - in honour of the victims of war
The Continental system - meant to cut of Britain’s trade - GB found new markets
in South and North
America - smugglers from Continental Europe defied the blockade
● The Peninsular War - 1808
- Portugal resisted the Continental system (smugglers activities)
- 1808 - the Spanish and Portuguese rebelled against French rule - Napoleon was forced
to send the army to face the rebellion. 5 years (1808 - 1813) guerrillas caused heavy
losses to Napoleon’s army - damaged its prestige
INVASION OF RUSSIA 1812
-In 1812, the alliance between France and Russia ended because Russia left the
Continental System. Napoleon gathered a huge army of 500 000 men and invaded
Russia in June 1812.
-The Russian army was retreating and practiced a scorched earth policy, burning
fields and killing all livestock, in order to leave nothing that the enemy could find
useful.
-As the French army advanced, its supplies lines were becoming too long. In
September, the two armies finally met in the battle of BORODINO. Even though the
Russian army had higher casualties than Napoleon, it was not a clean victory for
Napoleon. The Grand Armeé entered Moscow, which was burned down and in ruins.
Tsar Alexander ignored his proposal for surrender or a peace treaty.
-The Russian army under the command of M. KUTUZOV forced Napoleon army to
return by the same route as they came. By the time he returned to France, most of
what was left of his army had died from the weather or starved to death. It is
estimated that around 50 000 men of the original 500 000 survived and returned to
France after the Russian campaign.
THE END OF NAPOLEON ´S RULE:
Napoleon´s enemies took advantage of the situation after his unsuccessful campaign
in Russia. They formed – coalition / Russia, Prussia, Austria, GB, Sweden, Spain,
Portugal/ against France. This coalition defeated Napoleon´s new inexperience army
at the battle of LEIPZIG on October 1813. In April 1814, Napoleon surrendered
Exile on Elba
-With much of Napoleon's army decimated from the invasion in Russia, the rest of Europe
now turned on France. Despite winning a few victories, Napoleon had too small an army and
soon was forced into exile on the island of Elba in 1814.
Return and Waterloo
-Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815. The army quickly backed him and he took over
control of Paris for a period called the Hundred Days. The rest of Europe, however, would
not stand for a return of Napoleon. They gathered their armies and met him at Waterloo.
Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 by the British and
Prussian armies led by the Duke of Wellington and were once again forced into exile.
Death
-Napoleon died after six years of exile on Saint Helena on May 5, 1821. It is likely that he
died from stomach cancer. His remains were moved to France in 1840 to Les Invalides in
Paris.
