MWH 2.B

Unit II Part C: Napoleon

& His Empire

Napoleon's Empire

The wars between the French and

the rest of the European Powers still raged, and although a peace was signed for a year, eventually Napoleon had to fight back.

Napoleonic Empire: Napoleon

ruled over...

1. Spain

2. Holland

3. Kingdom of Italy

4. All German States except

Austria and Russia

Consul and Emperor

In 1799 Napoleon returned to Paris after an

unsuccessful military campaign in Egypt and overthrew the corrupt French Government.

Consulate: The replacement government,

Napoleon headed it as the First Consul.

Great Brain and Nationalism

Napoleon's Legacy

A New Bureaucracy

Never able to conquered Britain,

Napoleon turned to his Continental Plan: a plan to block british imports and weaken them economically. This failed however, because allied states did not want to be told not to trade with Britain.

Nationalism(the unique cultural

identity of a people) was the true downfall of Napoleon. Conquered nations saw the power in French Nationalism and knew it was the true power of the army. Their leaders knew it too.

One of his first acts as Consul

was to patch things up with the Catholic Church, gaining a peace between the Pope and France for the

Bureaucracy: a system of

government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Early on the new regime proved that it

did not care much about rank and birth, but rather ability.

Napoleonic Code: preserved many of

the rights the revolutionists fought for

1. Religious Toleration

2. Abolition of Slavery

3. Equality Before Law

Between 1815 and 1830 the old guard of Europe

worked to maintain their way of order in the world by using the Principle of Intervention: the idea that great powers can send their armies into other countries to stop revolutions.

Working against them however were two new

forces for change...

Liberalism: The political philosophy that people

should be as free as possible, with governments protecting their rights.

Going hand in hand with Liberalism was

Nationalism, the force that united the French and helped destroy Napoleon's Empire.

The Fall of Napoleon

Exile and Return

Napoleon's downfall began when he

decided to invade Russia. The Russian army kept retreating, burning villages and stores of food along the way.

Finding Moscow ablaze and no food

insight Napoleon issues the Great Retreat: returning to France during the rough Russian winter left Napoleon with less than 40k of the original 600k.

The Most Famous Classic Blunder:

Never start a land war in Asia

Upon Napoleon returning to France, the

european powers saw a chance for attack. by 1814, the already crippled French Army is defeated, Paris captured, and Napoleon is exiled - permanently kicked out of ones home country - to the island of Elba.

The French People did not rally behind the

new king, Louis XVIII, and Napoleon escaped exile and with the aid of the military, retook France.

With Europe taking up arms again to beat

him, Napoleon rallied an army and prepared to attack Belgium...

Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo: Belgium, 1821, Napoleon suffered a major defeat, leading to his second exile to St. Helena, where he died.