AP World History: NapoleonPeriod 5

1750 - 1900

Did you know? Napoleon was 5’6 which was taller than the average Frenchman at the time (5’3). Historians believe that the belief Napoleon was short was due to

British propaganda.

I Napoleon’s Early CareerA) Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. His parents were members of the minor Corsican nobility, but he family was not wealthy. The year before Napoleon’s birth, France acquired Corsica from the Italian city-state of Genoa. Napoleon later adopted a French spelling of his last name.

B) Napoleon attended school in mainland France, learned the French language, and graduated from a French military academy in 1785. He then became a second lieutenant in an artillery regiment of the French army. The French Revolution began in 1789. During the early years of the revolution, Napoleon was largely on leave from the military and home in Corsica, where he became affiliated with the Jacobins. In 1793, following a clash with the nationalist Corsican governor, Pasquale Paoli, the Bonaparte family fled their native island for mainland France, where Napoleon returned to military duty.

"I was born when [Corsica] was perishing. Thirty thousand

Frenchmen spewed on to our shores, drowning the throne of liberty in waves of blood... The cries of the dying, the groans of

the oppressed and tears of despair surrounded my cradle from the hour of my birth.“ –

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon’s Early Career Continued…C) In France, Napoleon became associated with Augustin Robespierre, the brother of revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre, a Jacobin who was a key force behind the Reign of Terror (1793-1794), a period of violence against enemies of the revolution. During this time, Napoleon was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the army. However, after Robespierre fell from power and was guillotined (along with Augustin) in July 1794, Napoleon was briefly put under house arrest for his ties to the brothers.D) In 1795, Napoleon helped suppress a royalist insurrection against the revolutionary government in Paris and was promoted to major general.

Napoleon’s Early Career Continued…E) In 1796, Napoleon commanded a French army that defeated the larger armies of Austria, one of his country’s primary rivals, in a series of battles in the Italian peninsula. In 1797, France and Austria signed the Treaty of Campo Formio, resulting in territorial gains for the French.F) The following year, the Directory, the five-person group that had governed France since 1795, offered to let Napoleon lead an invasion of England. Napoleon determined that France’s naval forces were not yet ready to go up against the superior British Royal Navy. Instead, he proposed an invasion of Egypt in an effort to wipe out British trade routes with India. Napoleon’s troops scored a victory against Egypt’s military rulers, the Mamluks, at the Battle of the Pyramids in July 1798; soon, however, his forces were stranded after his naval fleet was nearly decimated by the British at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798. In early 1799, Napoleon’s army launched an invasion of Ottoman-ruled Syria, which ended with the failed siege of Acre, located in modern-day Israel. That summer, Napoleon opted to abandon his army in Egypt and return to France.

Napoleon in Egypt“On July 1, 1798, Napoleon landed in Egypt with 400 ships and 54,000 men and proceeded to invade the country, as he had recently invaded Italy. But this Egyptian invasion was to be different; it was a military failure but a cultural success. For, in addition to soldiers and sailors, Napoleon brought along 150 savants — scientists, engineers and scholars whose responsibility was to capture, not Egyptian soil, but Egyptian culture and history. And while the military invasion was an ultimate failure, the scholarly one was successful beyond anyone’s expectations. Meticulous topographical surveys were made, native animals and plants were studied, minerals were collected and classified, local trades and industry were scrutinized. Most famously, ancient Egypt was discovered — the temples and tombs of Luxor, Philae, Dendera, and the Valley of the Kings. Each of these sites was measured, mapped, and drawn, recording in meticulous detail a pharaonic Egypt never before glimpsed by the outside world… After their return to France in 1801, they continued to organize materials, and finally, in 1809, the first volumes of the Description de l'Égypte were published. Oh- and the Rosetta Stone was discovered! But… On August 1, 1798, Admiral Horatio Nelson's fleet decimated his forces in the Battle of the Nile. Napoleon's image was greatly harmed by the loss, and in a show of newfound confidence against the commander, Britain, Austria, Russia and Turkey formed a new coalition against France. In the spring of 1799, French armies were defeated in Italy, forcing France to give up much of the peninsula.” –lindahall.org

Napoleon’s Early Career Continued…G) In November 1799, in an event known as the coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon was part of a group that successfully overthrew the French Directory.I) The Directory was replaced with a three-member Consulate, and Napoleon became first consul, making him France’s leading political figure. In June 1800, at the Battle of Marengo, Napoleon’s forces defeated one of France’s perennial enemies, the Austrians, and drove them out of Italy. The victory helped cement Napoleon’s power as first consul. In 1802, he made himself sole “Consul for Life.” In 1804 he crowned himself Emperor of France.

Europe in 1800

II The Reign of Napoleon IA) From 1803 to 1815, France was engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, a series of major conflicts with various coalitions of European nations.

B) In 1803, partly as a means to raise funds for future wars, Napoleon sold France’s Louisiana Territory in North America to the newly independent United States for $15 million, a transaction that later became known as the Louisiana Purchase.

C) In October 1805, the British wiped out Napoleon’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar off the coast of Spain. However, in December of that same year, Napoleon achieved one of his greatest victories at the Battle of Austerlitz, in which his army defeated the Austrians and Russians. The victory resulted in the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine.

In 5 hours of fighting, the British destroyed 19 enemy ships at the

Battle of Trafalgar!

The Confederation of the RhineThe Confederation of the Rhine was formed in 1806 when 16 German minor states decided to throw their nations' futures in with Napoleon Bonaparte and ally themselves with France. A further 19 joined later. The more than 15 million people living within the Confederation provided both a physical barrier against enemies on France's eastern borders and also sent large contingents of troops to join its armies. Key members included Bavaria (3.5 million subjects), Saxony (2 million), and Westphalia (2 million).

The Reign of Napoleon I Continued…D) Beginning in 1806, Napoleon sought to wage large-scale economic warfare against Britain with the establishment of the Continental System of European port blockades against British trade.

The Reign of Napoleon I Continued…E) Napoleon reestablished a French aristocracy (eliminated in the French Revolution) and began handing out titles of nobility to his loyal friends and family across much of western and central continental Europe.F) Social Reforms:1. Napoleon established the Banque de France in 1800 to foster renewed economic growth2. The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII that reestablished the Roman Catholic Church in France. 3. Lycées were established by Napoleon in 1801 as an educational reform. They were divided into three types having different areas of specialization: classical studies, modern studies, and scientific-technological studies.

4. The Code Napoleon of 1803 reformed the French legal code to reflect the principles of the French Revolution, and to create one law code for France. It divided civil law into:Personal status.Property.The acquisition of property.

Napoleonic Code

Napoleon’s Family Napoleon’s Family Jerome Bonaparte King of Westphalia.Joseph Bonaparte King of SpainLouise Bonaparte King of HollandPauline Bonaparte Princess of ItalyNapoléon Francis Joseph

Charles (son) King of Rome

Elisa Bonaparte Grand Duchess of Tuscany

Caroline Bonaparte Queen of Naples

III The Downfall of NapoleonA) In 1810, Russia withdrew from the Continental System. In retaliation, Napoleon led a massive army into Russia in the summer of 1812. Rather than engaging the French in a full-scale battle, the Russians adopted a strategy of retreating whenever Napoleon’s forces attempted to attack. As a result, Napoleon’s troops trekked deeper into Russia despite being ill-prepared for an extended campaign. Napoleon’s forces marched on to Moscow, only to discover almost the entire population evacuated. Retreating Russians set fires across the city in an effort to deprive enemy troops of supplies. After waiting a month for a surrender that never came, Napoleon, faced with the onset of the Russian winter, was forced to order his starving, exhausted army out of Moscow. Of Napoleon’s 600,000 troops who began the campaign, only an estimated 100,000 made it out of Russia.

Napoleon Gets His Butt Kicked In Russia!

The Downfall of Napoleon Continued…B) At the same time as the catastrophic Russian invasion, French forces were engaged in the Peninsular War (1808-1814), which resulted in the Spanish and Portuguese, with assistance from the British, driving the French from the Iberian Peninsula. This loss was followed in 1813 by the Battle of Leipzig (or the “Battle of Nations”), in which Napoleon’s forces were defeated by a coalition that included Austrian, Prussian, Russian and Swedish troops. Napoleon then retreated to France, and in March 1814 coalition forces captured Paris.C) On April 6, 1814, Napoleon, then in his mid-40s, was forced to abdicate the throne. With the Treaty of Fontainebleau, he was exiled to Elba, a Mediterranean island off the coast of Italy. He was given sovereignty over the small island, while his wife and son went to Austria.

Napoleon in Exile on ElbaNapoleon in Exile on Elba

The Downfall of Napoleon Continued…D) On February 26, 1815, after less than a year in exile, Napoleon escaped Elba and sailed to the French mainland with a group of more than 1,000 supporters. On March 20, he returned to Paris, where he was welcomed by cheering crowds. The new king, Louis XVIII (1755-1824), fled, and Napoleon began what came to be known as his Hundred Days campaign.E) Upon Napoleon’s return to France, a coalition of allies–the Austrians, British, Prussians and Russians–who considered the French emperor an enemy began to prepare for war. Napoleon raised a new army and planned to strike preemptively. In June 1815, his forces invaded Belgium, where British and Prussian troops were stationed. On June 18, at the Battle of Waterloo near Brussels, the French were crushed by the British, with assistance from the Prussians. On June 22, 1815, Napoleon was once again forced to abdicate.

The Downfall of Napoleon Continued…In October 1815, Napoleon was exiled to the remote, British-held island of Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean. He died there on May 5, 1821, at age 51, most likely from stomach cancer. Napoleon was buried on the island despite his request to be laid to rest “on the banks of the Seine, among the French people I have loved so much.” In 1840, his remains were returned to France and entombed in a crypt at Les Invalides in Paris.

IV Congress of ViennaA) Emperor Napoleon was defeated (for the first time) in May 1814. The victorious Great Powers (Russia, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia) met at the Congress of Vienna to restore a balance of power.B) The first priority of the Congress of Vienna was to deal with territorial issues: a new configuration of German states, the reorganization of central Europe, and the borders of central Italy. Other matters included: the rights of German Jews, the abolition of the slave trade, the restoration of the Bourbon royal family in France, Spain and Naples, the constitution of Switzerland, and the foundation of a new German confederation to replace the defunct Holy Roman Empire. The main policy governing the Congress was that of compensation.

Congress of Vienna Continued…C) Results: Nations and rulers were "punished" or "rewarded" according to the part that they played in the Napoleonic Wars. The Congress recognized the earlier transfer of Norway from Denmark (which had not opposed Napoleon sufficiently) to Sweden (which joined in several alliances against Napoleon). Austria received Lombardy-Venetia and part of Poland. The Congress recognized Russia's right to retain Finland (seized from Sweden in 1809) and most of Poland. Prussia retained part of Poland and was awarded territory in the Rhineland and part of Saxony (which had supported Napoleon). Great Britain was permitted to keep its colonies of South Africa and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), which it had seized from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars. Italy remained divided. The various German states were loosely joined in the German Confederation under the leadership of Austria. D) In March 1815, in the midst of these negotiations, Napoleon escaped from his exile on Elba and re-occupied the throne of France, starting the Hundred Days. The allies defeated him at Waterloo on June 18th, 1815, nine days after having signed the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna. Napoleon was shipped to St Helena where he died.

Europe After the Congress of Vienna

V The Haitian RevolutionA) Two months after his defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte’s colonial forces, Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed the independence of Saint-Domingue, renaming it Haiti after its original Arawak name.B) In 1791, a slave revolt erupted on the French colony, and Toussaint-Louverture, a former slave, took control of the rebels. Toussaint organized an effective guerrilla war against the island’s colonial population. In 1795 he made peace with revolutionary France following its abolishment of slavery. Toussaint became governor-general of the colony and in 1801 conquered the Spanish portion of island, freeing the slaves there.

“I was born a slave, but nature gave me a soul of a free man….”“In overthrowing me, you have done no more than cut down the trunk of the tree of the black liberty in St-Domingue-it will spring back form the roots, for they are numerous and deep.” Toussaint Louverture

The Haitian Revolution Continued…C) In January 1802, an invasion force ordered by Napoleon landed on Saint-Domingue, and after several months of furious fighting, Toussaint agreed to a cease-fire. He retired to his plantation but in 1803 was arrested and taken to a dungeon in the French Alps, where he was tortured and died in April.D) Soon after Toussaint’s arrest, Napoleon announced his intention to reintroduce slavery on Haiti, and General Dessalines led a new revolt against French rule. With the aid of the British, the rebels scored a major victory against the French force there, and on November 9, 1803, colonial authorities surrendered. E) In 1804, General Dessalines assumed dictatorial power, and Haiti became the second independent nation in the Americas. Later that year, Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor Jacques I. He was killed putting down a revolt two years later.

The Haitian Revolution Continued…

The Restoration of Slavery in the French Colonies under Napoleon“In the colonies restored to France in fulfillment of the treaty of Amiens of 6 Germinal, Year X, slavery shall be maintained in conformity with the laws and regulations in force prior to 1789. The same shall be done in the other French colonies beyond the Cape of Good Hope. The trade in the blacks and their importation into the said colonies shall take place in conformity with the laws and regulations existing prior to the said date of 1789. Notwithstanding all previous laws, the government of the colonies is subject for ten years to the regulations which shall be made by the Government.”

“My decision to destroy the authority of the blacks in Saint Domingue (Haiti) is not so much based on considerations of commerce and money, as on the need to block for ever the march of the blacks in the world.” Napoleon Bonaparte

HW Questions1. How did Napoleon become dictator of France? Describe the key

events that led to his power claim.2. Describe any two of Napoleon’s reforms. How did they impact

France?3. In your opinion, what were two of Napoleon’s greatest victories?

Explain your answer.4. Why did Napoleon try to invade Russia? Why did it fail? Do you

think Napoleon made a key mistake or was just unlucky? Explain your answer.

5. How did Napoleon’s empire crumble?6. Describe and explain Napoleon’s involvement in Haiti.7. Do you think Napoleon’s reign was positive or negative for France?

Explain your answer. 8. How did Europe change after the Congress of Vienna? 9. Fill in your period 5 chart for Napoleon and the Haitian Revolution.

Key Vocabulary100 Days CampaignAugustin RobespierreBanque de FranceBattle at TrafalgarBattle of AusterlitzBattle of LeipzigBattle of the NileBattle of the PyramidsBattle of WaterlooCode NapoleonConcordat of 1801Confederation of the RhineCongress of ViennaCorsicacoup of 18 BrumaireDirectoryElbaEmperor Jacques IFirst Consul

General DessalinesHaitiHaitian RevolutionJean-Jacques DessalinesKing Louis XVIIILouisiana PurchaseLyceesMamluksMaximilien RobespierreNapoleon BonaparteNapoleonic WarsPeninsular WarRosetta StoneSaint-DomingueSt. Helenathree-member ConsulateToussaint-LouvertureTreaty of Campo FormioTreaty of Fontainebleau