Chapter 21Part 7

The French RevolutionNapoleon

The Empire Period 1804-1814

December 2, 1804 Napoleon crowned himself hereditary emperor at Notre Dame

The Pope was there but did not do the crowning…Why Not?

He was looking to thwart any plans that the royalists might have to return to power

He believed that an empire was necessary for France to expand & maintain its influence in Europe

Napoleon

Saw himself as a liberator…freeing foreign peoples from oppressive absolutist rulers

BUT his dominance over other nations will inspire the rise of nationalism which eventually will lead to his downfall

The Grand Empire

Napoleon will be at war constantly beginning in 1805

Napoleon will create the largest empire since Roman times…but it was temporary

The Empire extended from the Rhine, included Holland and present-day Belgium, the German coast to the western Baltic, and the Italian coast to Rome

Nepotism

Napoleon placed his favorites on the thrones of dependent satellite kingdoms:

Brother, Joseph, became King of Spain

Brother, Jerome, became King of Westphalia

Brother, Louis, became King of Holland (6 yrs.) until it was incorporated into France

His sister, Caroline, became Queen of Naples

The Empire

He will consolidate the German States and create the Confederation of the Rhine

Napoleon’s step-son ruled Lombardy, Venice, and Papal states

He decided not to unify Italy to prevent a future threat

Napoleon

Abolished Feudalism and reformed the social, political, and economic institutions in conquered areas

All countries of the Grand Empire gained some of the main principles of the French Revolution

BUT no self-government

At First

Napoleon was supported by the commercial and professional classes who supported the Enlightenment

BUT his oppression and exploitation eventually turned the conquered people against him

What oppression?

Conscription into the French army High taxes (while taxes in France

were lowered) The Continental System: Berlin and

Milan Decrees

Most believed that Napoleon ended up betraying the ideals of the French Revolution

The War of the Third Coalition

1805-1807 The Third Coalition: Britain,

Austria, Russia

After Napoleon conquered Italy, Austria was concerned about the threat to the balance of power in Europe

As early as 1803 Napoleon began plans to invade England

1805

The Battle of Trafalgar The combined French and Spanish fleets were defeated by the British navy (Horatio Nelson was killed here)

Planned invasion of Britain was no longer possible

The Battle of Austerlitz in Moravia. Alexander I pulled Russian troops out and Austria was forced to give up much territory in exchange for peace

The Third Coalition Collapsed

Napoleon now had western and central Europe

He had the Arc de Triomphe built in 1806 to commemorate his victory at Austerlitz

During Roman times, Caesars would build an arch to commemorate their victories

The Arc de Triomphe

1806

Napoleon defeated Prussia twice at the Battle of Jena and the Battle of Auerstadt

By 1807 Alexander I of Russia sought peace terms

The Treaty of Tilsit 1807

Prussia ceded land to France (included ½ of Prussia’s population)

Russia accepted Napoleon’s dominance of Western and Central Europe

Russia agreed to accept Napoleon’s Continental System (Russia thus allied with France against England)

The Reorganization of Germany

The Confederation of the Rhine Napoleon consolidated the 300 sovereign states into 15

Did not include Austria, Prussia or Saxony

Napoleon named himself “Protector” of the Confederation

The HRE was abolished

French Foreign Policy Undone!

Napoleon will inspire German Nationalism through his dominance and repression AND they were now less divided than before

The Continental System

To wage economic warfare against Britain

Both Countries came to a stalemate in 1805 with the Battles of Trafalgar and Austerlitz

Both decided to starve each other out

The Brits had the orders in Council (2) in 1806

The French had the Continental System: the Berlin and Milan Decrees

The Berlin Decree

Napoleon closed continent’s ports to British ships

He had coerced Russia, Prussia, Spain, (neutral) Denmark, and Portugal to adhere to the Berlin Decree

Brits responded with The Orders in Council: Closing ports under British control to French trade and Neutral ships would be confiscated if they were on the way to trade with the continent

The Milan Decree

Neutral ships on the way to Britain, on the way back from Britain, or having been boarded by the Brits at sea was subject to confiscation

Both the Brits and the French violated U.S. neutral rights at sea. Eventually led to the War of 1812: Brits v the U.S. while the Brits were still fighting the French

The Continental System

Caused hardship in Europe and resentment against Napoleon

Imports from America were in much demand

European industries could not produce like the Brits did

The Continental System was impossible to maintain

The Continental System

Many of the European Bourgeoisie were ruined as a result of the lack of trade

Eastern Europeans who had little industry of their own were especially hard hit

Many could not honor their agreements with Napoleon as to supporting his Continental Sys.

The Peninsular War 1808-1814

Portugal violated the Continental System and had to be taught a lesson

Napoleon sent an army through Spain to get to Portugal

The Spanish resented their “King” (Napoleon’s brother) and Napoleon’s domination

The Peninsular War

The Spanish waged a guerrilla war against French troops. All classes involved

The Brits sent the Duke of Wellington with troops to aid the Spanish

The Peninsular War was the first great revolt against Napoleon’s power

As the fighting in Spain continued

Napoleon turned against Russia

But first, married Marie Louise (18) She was the daughter of the

Austrian emperor and the niece of Marie Antionette

So, Napoleon was now nephew (by marriage) of Louis XVI and he began to show more consideration to the nobility of the Old Regime

The Russian Campaign 1812

Napoleon invaded Russia in June of 1812 with an army of 600,000.

Only 2/3 of his army was French

The Russians had withdrawn from the Continental System due to economic hardship

The Battle of Borodino 1812

Ended in a draw with the Russians retreating in good order

The Russians used a “scorched earth” tactic

As they retreated further into the Russian interior, they destroyed EVERYTHING so that the enemy army could not feed itself or even keep warm…they even burned Moscow down!

After 5 weeks

Napoleon was forced to retreat from Moscow

Napoleon returned to France with only 30,000!

400,000 had died in battle or starved or froze to death

100,000 had been taken prisoner

And then…

Napoleon, in France, raised another army: 600,000 strong

At the same time, Austria and Prussia deserted Napoleon and joined Russia and England in the Fourth Coalition

Also…remember the Treaty of Ghent?

The War of the Fourth Coalition

1813-1814 The Battle of Leipzig October 1813 AKA The Battle of Nations The largest battle in world history

until the 20th century Napoleon lost 500,000 but refused

to accept peace terms offered by Austrian minister, Metternich

The Frankfort Proposals

The Peace offer was generous:

France to be reduced to its boundaries of 1792 and Napoleon could remain on the throne

Since Napoleon refused to give up, Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria formed the Quadruple Alliance in March 1814

April 4, 1814

Allied armies entered Paris Napoleon abdicated

The Bourbons were restored to the French throne

Louis XVIII

Brother of Louis XVI The new king issued a constitution

for the French Called the Charter of 1814 The first constitution in European

history issued by a monarch

Provided for a constitutional monarchy

The Charter of 1814

Maintained most of Napoleon’s reforms:

The Code Napoleon The Concordat of 1801 (with the

Church) The abolition of feudalism

The First Treaty of Paris

May 30, 1814 France surrendered all territory gained

since 1792 No indemnities or reparations were

imposed (they WERE proposed but Louis XVIII refused to pay so they let it go)

Napoleon was exiled to Elbe as a sovereign with an income from France

The Quadruple Alliance agreed to meet in Vienna to work out a general peace settlement

The Congress of Vienna

Sept. 1814-June 1815 The Big Four: Austria, England,

Russia, Prussia

What did they want?

England

Represented by Lord Castlereagh

Wanted to surround France with larger and stronger states in order to maintain the balance of power

Prussia

Wanted to get back the land lost to France in 1805 and wanted additional territory in northern Germany (Saxony)

Austria

Klemens von Metternich: very conservative

Was opposed to liberal and reformed ideas because the impact of such ideas on Austria would be devastating

NOTE: Austria would be particularly vulnerable to nationalistic movements because of the many different ethnicities in the Empire

Russia

Czar Alexander I

Demanded a “free” and “independent” Poland…with himself as king!

A bit later

France became involved in the deliberations

Was represented by minister Tallyrand

(remember the XYZ Affair?)

The Dancing Congress

Much pageantry, parties, balls, banquets

First to keep the junior diplomats busy and out of the way

Also to win support for the peace settlement from the general population…they loved broohaha

The Principles of Settlement:

Legitimacy Compensation Balance of Power

Legitimacy

Restore the deposed ruling families to power:

Bourbons restored to France, Spain, Naples

Dynasties restored in Holland, Sardinia, Tuscany, Modena

Papal states were restored to the Pope

Compensation

Rewards in the form of territory to those states who sacrificed to defeat Napoleon

England got naval bases: Malta, Ceylon, Cape of Good Hope

Austria recovered Lombardy (in Italy) and got Venetia, Galicia (part of Poland), and Illyrian Provinces along the Adriatic

Compensation continued

Russia was given most of Poland (the Czar was King) and Finland and Bessarabia (Moldova) and western Ukraine

Prussia was given the Rhineland, 3/5 of Saxony and part of Poland

Sweden got Norway

Balance of Power

The effort to arrange territory so that never again would one power threaten the Balance of power

Encirclement of France: Gave the Austrian Netherlands to Holland to form the Kingdom of the United Netherlands to the north of France

The Balance of Power continued

Prussia received Rhenish lands bordering the eastern French frontier (the left bank of the Rhine)

Switzerland was guaranteed perpetual neutrality

The HRE was NOT restored BUT the German States were reorganized once again

The German Confederation

AKA the Bund…now to 39 states With Austria the President of the

Diet (assembly) of the Confederation

Maintained most of Napoleon’s reorganization

A loose confederation…the states were sovereign

Sardinia

Had its former territory restored with the addition of Genoa

Britain

The only country to remain a growing power

Began their century of world leadership here (1814) lasted to the end of WWI (1918)