Napoleon and the End of the HRE pt 1

all right, this is Mr Davis, and I'm here with

your weekly Wednesday zoom.

I'm recording this instead of sharing it with you in

person because I'm at the district office working on something.

All right.

You guys recognize this guy, right?

The little guy Napoleon.

We learned a lot about him in history, but never

in very great depth.

Here in the United States, we often think of Napoleon

is the guy that sold Louisiana to the United States,

doubling the size of the United States on dhe, selling

all of the land on the western side of the

of the Mississippi River and in the Missouri Drainage Basin,

setting in motion things like Lewis and Clark's trip out

to the Pacific Coast and the expansion of the small,

tiny United States that wasn't even 25 years old.

Yet he might be known in this atmosphere is the

guy who lost Haiti.

Haiti was supposed to be a jumping off point should

he choose to conquer North America after his conquests in

Europe were done.

But in Europe and particularly in Germany, he has a

key role in the founding of many many, uh, kingdoms

and nations, including Germany.

Um, he's most known for the today.

He's most known for the battles that he lost at

Waterloo and liked the But I wanted to let you

know some of the greatness, Uh, and some of the

ways that he expanded one of the world's greatest ideas

throughout Europe and really transformed State of Germany.

First, let's take a look at the map of Germany

in 17 89.

Okay, Frederick the Great has just died three years earlier,

and he left behind him this really strong, powerful Kingdom

of Prussia, which now includes this huge swath of Silesian,

which he's taken from the Austrians.

And also he's in the process of encroaching mawr and

mawr on Polish territory to basically control the whole Southern,

for sure of the Baltic Sea.

Pressure also contains valuable territories here in Western Germany on

dhe, um is really on pace to eclipse Austria.

Um, Austria still has a huge kingdom, is in part

of the Holy Roman Empire, which is still ruled by

the Kaisa, the Hapsburg prince of Vienna.

Um, Austria also includes Hungary and huge swaths of Central

and Eastern Europe, as well as what is today Belgium

and some of the lands in the western part of

the empire.

All right, where does Napoleon fall in this?

What does Napoleon do that seems, Thio, that that change

is all about all of this, where sets in motion

a movement which will eventually unite Germany into the second

right. That's our theme for the month of five months

of February and and frankly, from here until spring break.

Well, first, it's important, understand, about two revolutions.

The first revolution is the American Revolution, right?

That's our side.

17 75 of course, is the first battle at Lexington

and Concord, and that war last seven long years until

finally Britain pulls out.

Now, if you didn't know if you hadn't read in

your history books, you know that we had a lot

of friends, especially France.

You see, France had lost seven years war one of

the wars that Frederick fought in Central Europe, to expand

the size of Prussia and bring Australia.

He'll France had joined in that on Austria side.

England had joined on Frederick side, and while they were

helping it with battles in Central Europe, those two powers

were also duking out in North America with the prize

being Canada, and it's and it's huge cities of back

on Montreal.

Uh, the Britain Britain would win that war, but France

would be spoiling for a fight.

And when they saw that the American colonies had a

chance to beat to beat Britain, they joined on our

side and were key in the final victory at Yorktown

in particular.

Now, one of the founding document of the American Revolution,

of course, is the Declaration of Independence.

And it has a statement within it.

That is, that is, uh that is sacrosanct.

Almost all men are created equal.

Okay. Kings were not created better than farmers.

Farmers are not created better than blacksmith.

All men are created equal on that idea continues in

our country and ignited revolutions throughout the world, especially in

Europe. Um, the King of France at the time, Louie

the 16th was they're expensive.

And to send navies over and helped the Americans in

our war against Britain, he had had to borrow some

money. And so when the American Revolution ended, France didn't

wasn't exactly rich, and so he had to get money

by raising taxes.

Now Louis wasn't going to raise taxes on his friends.

No one hates taxes more than wealthy people.

Um, and so he chose to raise taxes on the

common people of France who were deeply in deep, deep

poverty, a zit waas and the some of the economic

realities that ended that came with supporting our revolution ended

up bringing about Revolution France in 17 89 a time

when Thomas Jefferson was our ambassador to France.

At that time, Thomas Jefferson was an eyewitness to many

of the events leading up to the French Revolution.

Now their ideas can best be summarized in the slogan

Legality, Fraternity, Liberty, equality, brotherhood.

This is what united the French.

And it was on there, still on their coins and

amending of their three official documents of the French state.

As you probably know, towards the end of the French

Revolution, the king who had been imprisoned was taken to

the guillotine.

This machine that we see here in the lower right

hand corner and his head was chopped off his print.

His wife, Marie, who had been born in Vienna and

was the daughter of Maria, the the whom Frederick had

defeated on the battlefield many times, um, was also also

lost her head.

And what followed after 17 92 after this crucial year

in which the king of France, his wife, many, many

Royals and bishops and church leaders were executed?

This is era is called the reign of terror, and

a committee took over France, and they ruled, basically, by

scaring everybody in in assassinating, murdering people who had even

once been their allies at this infamous guillotine.

Well, incomes Napoleon.

Now during the French Revolution.

He's an artillery commander, and he wasn't really even from

the mainland.

He was from the small island of Corsica, which lies

probably about a day's sail off the southern coast of

France in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

Now the other powers of Europe weren't too happy with

the French Revolution, and they were especially displeased with the

the idea that population could just cut off the head

of its monarch.

And so the first coalition formed it was Prussia and

Austria. Remember, By this point, Prussia is not lead by

Frederic the Great.

Its military has started to decline in comparison with other

militaries, and the Austrians still haven't won since Frederick started

kicking their tails all around Central Europe.

So the war of the first Coalition brings these two

formidable armies.

But in reality, once Napoleon takes over, he's able to

beat them on the battlefield, whether they outnumber him or

whether he outnumbers them.

In fact, he's known for this Anak Shin that's mortal

ized in this painting here, where, in order to get

back once he has blocked their invasion of France, he

lead troops against Austria through the underbelly through Italy, which

at that time much of northern Italy was controlled by

Austria. And he led a huge army over the Alps,

surprised the Austrian defenders, Um, and took over much of

northern Italy on, then made his way on up into

Austria until they had to sue for peace.

Napoleon became so powerful through these wars that when he

returned to France in September of 17 97 he declared

a he removed the leaders of the reign of terror,

and he took over absolute power for himself and for

the army generals who had been so successful.

Keep in mind at this point, Napoleon is defended France

against these foreign invasions, and he's very, very popular in

France as well.

Among the common people now think about this.

Napoleon isn't just motivated by being a great general or

knowing how to use artillery and formations in a way

that's never been done before.

Napoleon is also, uh, the in the vanguard of a

powerful idea, and that idea is Republicanism Now Republicanism.

To me, it's best encapsulated in the Declaration of Independence

statement that all men are created equal right.

That means that all men should follow.

The same laws should get the same punishment if they

break, those laws should get the same opportunity if they're

willing toe work on sacrifice for themselves and for their

families. A Republican nation is a nation that's ruled by

a constitution and not by one monarch.

Keep in mind that at this time, the Onley republic

that existed in the world was the United States and

the French who had helped us to gain our independence

and to build a republic.

They wanted Republican a republic for themselves as well.

Now what Republican?

What Republican ideals allowed France to do was to go

to the people of the countryside and say, You're fighting

for France.

You're not fighting for the king or for a monarch.

And so the French were able to rally huge troops

of armies of 100,000 plus Okay, Frederick had had mobilized

armies of 30 or 40,000 soldiers.

Thes people are ableto these are these French armies air

huge. And this right this spirit of the troops is

also vicious Because these people thes French soldiers now have

almost a missionary complex that they're defending their freedom of

their own country during the war of the first Coalition.

But they're also willing to go to their brothers and

sisters in Germany and in Italy and in Spain, and

help them to get freedom and Republicanism for themselves.

This is a tremendous motivating factor because the people the

soldiers fighting for the Austrians had been hired.

They were mercenaries.

They were fighting for a person.

Not for an idea.

Ah, second coalition comes and goes.

England gets in on the fight.

They had been allied with Prussia.

Now they're allied against France.

Every king in Europe is in Desperate is desperate because

they know that this idea that's been launched in France.

If it gets out there, it's not going to be.

They're not gonna be able to put the genie back

in the bottle.

The third coalition is the last gasp of the monarchy,

and this is a really powerful alliance.

Russia, Prussia and Austria, basically all of Central Europe unite

against, uh, Napoleon, Um, and Napoleon Outnumbered still takes the

fight to Austria at the battle of Austerlitz, just west

of Vienna.

He takes on two huge armies, the Russians and the

Austrians. And it doesn't matter.

He crushes them.

In fact, the picture that you see here on on

on this painting is Napoleon's.

Zoom in on this a little bit.

Here's Napoleon on the left hand side and he is

accepting the surrender of of the the General of the

armies of Austria and the general of the armies of

Russia in this epic sweep.

Still, it's would end the Austria Austria's rule over Germany,

and frankly, it would Harbin, Harbin, JJ, the end of

the Holy Roman Empire within the next within the next

year. Now, there was one power that wasn't at, uh

at Al.

Still, it's and that was that was Prussia.

And that led to the battle here of you know,

our stop.

Let's see if this works here.

Well, There's a video that normally would run here, but

some recording of Prezi video.

That's probably what it is.

What's the problem?

Alright, the Prussian Army approaches.

The French army is coming from our let's they wanted

just a few months earlier on Dhe, the French army,

no matter how are outnumbered.

They are they, um And that you, uh, the resistance

in Germany, at least by the main German army, the

Prussian Army would would be gone.

Prussia would sue for peace.

It would.

It would give up all of its territories in western

Germany. Germany?

Uh, the King of Prussia would leave the Holy Roman

Empire and flee to the ancient Prussian lands further up

the coast of the Baltic Sea.

It would end feudalism in Prussia.

So these large landholders that had held men in their

sway would would give up their rights and it would

lead Thio.

And it would lead to Prussia and any kingdom needing

to grant rights to humanity to its citizens in order

to raise armies of men's powerful enough to fight against

the French.

We'll close this section with this.

Really? Um I'm sorry.

After our this was the end of the Holy Roman

Empire. The guy that we see in this image front,

the second would be the very last Holy Roman Empire.

He resigned that post.

He is the Austrian territory.

Territories in Western Germany were given up.

Pressure gave up Cologne invaluable.

Dutch is there.

And the smaller states in western Germany were all lumped

together by the French into into entity called the Confederation

of the Rhine.

What did this bring to an end?

Well, Charlotte Main, who have been the first emperor of

the Holy Roman Empire, had been crowned in 800.

Frantz would step down in 18 06 That ended 1000

year. Kingdom does.

Elster, right of the German people, will continue on the

next recording.

Napoleon and the End of the HRE pt 1

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