-
Birth & Childhood
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the mediterranean island of Corsica. He was sent to the military school at the age of 9. At the age of 16 he graduated and became lieutenant in artillery. He joined the army in the Revolution. -
Loss of American Territories Pt.1
Ideas of the Revolution reached planters in Saint Domingue; they demanded that the National Assembly give them the same privileges as the people of France, and so did the enslaved africans (they wanted their freedom). Civil war erupted, and enslaved Africans under leadership of Toussaint L’ouverture seized control of the colony. -
Hero of the Hour
Napoleon first became known and a hero in October 1795, when loyalist rebels marched on the National Convention, and he defended the delegates by throwing a cannonade and fleeing them away. In 1776 he led the French army against Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia where he had many victories. Things didn’t go as well in an expedition of trade to Egypt where his army was defeated, but he still managed to keep his image as a hero. -
Coup d’État
In early November 1799, to seize political power in Egypt, his troops surrounded the national legislature; this is known as a coup, from French “coup d’état.” Most lawmakers left, but the ones who stayed voted to dissolve the directory, and three consuls were established; one of them being Napoleon. Britain, Austria, and Russia joined forces to drive Napoleon from power. Later, all three nations signed peace agreements with France. In 1802, Europe was at peace for the first time in ten years. -
Napoleon Rules France Pt.1
A plebiscite, or vote of the people, was held to approve or reject a new constitution. People voted in favor of the constitution, since people were desperate for strong leadership. This gave all power to Napoleon as first consul. Napoleon did not try to return the nation to how it was with King Louis XVI. He set up an efficient method of tax collection and established a taxing system, which promoted financial management and better control of the economy. -
Napoleon Rules France Pt.2
He ended corruption and inefficiency in government by dismissing corrupt officials and bring ones trained by lycées. With religion, clergy & peasants wanted to restore position of the Church, so Napoleon signed a concordat with Pope Pius VII. He also established the Napoleonic Code which gave the country a uniform set of laws and eliminated injustices, but limited liberty. -
Napoleon Creates an Empire
He was not happy as only the master of France; he wanted to control the rest of Europe too, and reassert French power in the Americas. His dream western empire included: Louisiana, Florida, French Guiana, and the French West Indies. The key to this area was the sugar-producing colony of Saint Domingue (now called Haiti) on the island of Hispaniola. -
Loss of American Territories Pt.2
Napoleon decided to take back the colony and restore its productive sugar industry. French forces were devastated by disease, and rebels proved to be fierce fighters. Napoleon decided to cut his losses in the Americas. He offered to sell all of Louisiana to the United States, and the 1803 President Jefferson’s administration agreed to purchase the land for $15 million. Napoleon saw a twofold benefit to the sale: he gained money to finance operations in Europe, and punished the British. -
Napoleon Crowned as Emperor
In 1804, Napoleon decided to make himself emperor, and the French voters supported him. In December 2, 1804, he walked down the long aisle of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris where he took the crown from the pope and placed it on his own head. Napoleon signaled that he was more powerful than the Church, which had traditionally crowned the rulers of France. -
Conquering Europe Pt.1
Napoleon turned his attention to Europe; he annexed the Austrian Netherlands and parts of Italy to France and set up a puppet government in Switzerland. He wanted to expand his influence further, but the British persuaded Russia, Austria, and Sweden to join them against France. Napoleon crushed the opposition in a series of battles, since the commanders of the enemy armies could never predict his next move, and they often took heavy losses. -
Conquering Europe Pt.2
After the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Napoleon issued a proclamation expressing his pride in his troops. Napoleon’s battlefield successes forced the rulers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia to sign peace treaties. It enabled him to build the largest European empire. France’s only major enemy left undefeated was the great naval power, Britain. -
The Battle of Trafalgar
Napoleon lost the Battle of Trafalgar, in 1805 off the southwest coast of Spain. The British commander, Horatio Nelson, was brilliant in warfare at sea, as Napoleon was in warfare on land. He split the larger French fleet, capturing many ships. The destruction of the French fleet ensured the supremacy of the British navy for the next 100 years, and forced Napoleon to give up his plans of invading Britain. Eventually, Napoleon’s efforts to crush Britain would lead to his own undoing. -
The Continental System
Napoleon set a blockade (a forcible closing of ports) to prevent trade between Great Britain and other European nations, and called the policy the Continental System. He wanted it to make continental Europe more self sufficient and he wanted to destroy Great Britain’s comercial economy. Many people defied the policy, and the British managed to make one of their own and made it work more. They searched and taxed ships, which caused the US to declare the 1812 War that lasted 2 years. -
The Peninsular War
In 1808, he sent an invasion force through Spain in order to get Portugal to accept the Continental System. The Spanish people protested, which ended up in Napoleon removing the king and and placing his own brother on the throne instead. The Spanish were enraged, and worried that Napoleon would attach the Catholic Church. Guerrillas struck french armies in Spain for six years. Plus, the British sent troops to aid the Spanish. Napoleon lost about 300,000 men during this Peninsular War. -
The Invasion of Russia
Alexander I became Napoleon’s ally, but refused to stop selling grain to Britain and both were competing designs on Poland. Napoleon invaded Russia on June with the Grand Army of 420,000 soldiers. On September 7, they finally met in the Battle Borodino, and the Russians stepped back knowing Napoleon would go to Moscow. 7 days later Napoleon arrived, but Alexander I had burned everything. By December, the Grand Army had decreased to only 10,000 soldiers, due to hunger, cold and killing. -
Napoleon Suffers Defeat Pt.1
Napoleon managed to raise another army in only a few months. Most of the troops were untrained and ill prepared for battle. He faced the allied armies of the European powers outside the German city of Leipzig in October 1813. They easily defeated his inexperienced army and French resistance crumbled quickly. -
Napoleon Suffers Defeat Pt.2
By January of 1814, the allied armies were pushing steadily toward Paris. Two months later, King Frederick William III of Prussia and Czar Alexander I of Russia led their troops in a triumphant parade through the French capital. Napoleon wanted to fight on, but his generals refused. In April, he accepted the terms of surrender and gave up his throne. The victors gave Napoleon a small pension and exiled him to Elba. The allies expected no further trouble from Napoleon, but they were wrong. -
The Hundred Days Pt.1
Louis XVI’s brother assumed the throne as Louis XVIII, but by the start became unpopular since people believed he would undo the Revolution’s land reforms. Napoleon used this opportunity to regain power and escaped Elba to France on May 1; the french welcomed him and within days he was again emperor of France. -
The Hundred Days Pt.2
In response, Wellington led the British troops to prepare for battle near Waterloo. On June 18 Napoleon attacked, but the Prussians joined the British and two days later the french gave away and were defeated. This last defeat was the end of Napoleon’s bid of power, called the Hundred Days. -
End of Napoleon
Taking no chances, Napoleon was shipped to St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic. He lived there 6 years, but died in 1821 a stomach ailment, perhaps cancer.
