NAPOLEON'S RISE AND FALL

The Early Years

Born August 1769 of minor nobility on Corsica

LOMBARDY

CORSICA

Napoleon's Early Military Career

• Entered military academy at age 9

• By age 16, he was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the artillery

• He became Brigadier General at age 24

Early Career

Maximilian Robespierre

. . . but a different destiny awaited Napoleon

Napoleon's Tactics

• Swift moves and great mobility

• The ability to change tactics during a battle

• Ability to exploit an enemy’s mistakes

• Surprise attacks to disconcert the enemy

The Italian Campaign

• Command, at age 26, of the French army in Italy (1796-1797)—made Napoleon a national hero

Napoleon at Rivoli—January 14, 1797

Crossing the Alps

In the footsteps of giants. . . or a propaganda picture?

Rivoli

Egyptian Campaign1798-1799

Egyptian Campaign

Napoleon styled himself a

“Neo-Alexander,”

intent on taking his army

all the way to India itself.

Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, July 21, 1798

• Attempt to sever England's lifeline to India

Battle of the Pyramids

Battle for the Nile — August 1, 1798A Reversal of

Fortune

Nelson’s devastation of Napoleon’s fleet at Alexandria left the

French Army trapped in Egypt

Destruction of the French Fleet

Battle at Acre—March 1799The Arabs resisted the French intrusion. . . with a little help from the British under Sidney Smith (left)

Napoleon’s Flight from Egypt

Napoleon found himself bottled up in a hostile environment

His only viable recourse was to cut his losses and run. He hoped to return to France secretly before the news of the Egyptian debacle arrived.

The British caricaturist of the era had, of course, a field day with his retreat

Napoleon Takes Charge, November 10, 1799

Napoleon, at age 30, emerges as 1st Consul and virtual dictator of France

In 1802, he became consul for life

SOME HOLD THAT NAPOLEON IS THE FIRST MODERN DICTATOR

Young. . . and in control. . .

Napoleon as Consul

So Napoleon would soon cover up the power of his two counterparts.

WHY Napoleon Was Accepted

• Frenchmen were exhausted by years of revolution

• They were likewise exhausted by years of economic instability, terror, and revolution

• Napoleon seemed to be the guarantor of both the gains of Revolution and an orderly France

War Against the Coalition of England, Austria, & Prussia, 1799-1801

• Napoleon was largely successful in his campaigns

• Peace of Amiens, 1801

Amiens Peace Medal

A November 1801 James Gillray caricature that captures British fears relevant to the French

Revolution and Napoleon

Napoleon's Domestic

Program, 1801-1805

This was a period of relative peace—major hostilities did not break out until 1805

Napoleon's Reform Program

Legal Reforms Code Napoleon or Civil Code of 1804—Napoleon's legal

advisers compiled a uniform legal code,

which still remains the basis of French law. It included the following KEY PRINCIPLES:

•Equality of men before the law a fundamental principle of the Revolution of 1789

•The authority of the State over people

•Business corporations over their people

•Male heads of families over their wives & children

•Property rights received particularly strong protection

In general, Napoleon's reforms upheld the principal ideas of the French Revolution & the Enlightenment . . . but in practice, they

served to strengthen the new authoritarian state

Additional Reforms• Administrative Reforms & Policy—administration

was a highly centralized departmental • Educational Program—a Nation-wide system of

public education that imbued the young with an exaggerated patriotism and devotion to their leader

• Financial Policy—Napoleon chartered & established a privately owned national bank for a depository of government funds

Relations with the Church

• 1798—French armies occupied Rome—a “Canossa in reverse”

• The French Revolution had left the Church in France under state control

• Napoleon recognized the need to come to terms with the Papacy in order that he might make use of it

Pope Pius VII & the Concordat of

1801 and the reconciliation of

Church-State relations in

France

The accord was more apparent than real

Individual Liberties

• On the whole, these decreased

• Political opposition was punishable by police action

• Strict censorship of the press made Newspapers became little more than organs of government propaganda

It could be argued that Napoleon was one in a long succession of imperial rulers who followed in the line and style of the old Roman Empire

The Sale of Louisiana, 1803

Napoleon anticipated the need of cash to finance an impending war against England. To meet this need,

he sold the Louisiana Territory to the U. S. A. for $15 million

Holy Roman Emperor, December 2, 1804

A Different. . . and very British View

Summation of His Early Reign Napoleon was consecrated by Pope Pius

VII (1800-1823) himself in Paris, at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the following

December. Napoleon had summoned the Pope to come to France for this

responsibility. Napoleon, now aged 34, crowned himself as Holy Roman

Emperor, taking the crown out of the hands of the Pope.

SO FAR . . . SO GOOD

Napoleon appeared the realization of the

18th century dream of the Enlightened

Despot • He preserved property of those who had gained from the Revolution

• He satisfied the social ideal of the Revolution of 1789 by maintaining a society open to all men of talent

• He restored economic stability to France • He established a network of administrative

institutions, which gave coherence & uniformity to the work of his government

The Napoleonic Empire, 1805-1807

Napoleon inherited an aggressive foreign policy of imperialism from the National Convention & the Directory

War began anew in 1805 because

Napoleon's ambition to extend the French sphere of influence—this involved his intrigues in Germany and Italy

Napoleon's enmity toward England who determined to keep France from being the dominant economic and political power on the Continent

Trafalgar – October 21,

1805

An old nemesis. . .

British Admiral Horatio Nelson

Nelson defeated the combined Franco-Spanish navies. . .

. . . but lost his life in the process

Nelson’s funeral. . .

His diary entries prior to Trafalgar evidence a prescient sense of impending death.

He has been immortalized by his countrymen. . .

. . . in London’s Trafalgar Square

Although Napoleon’s greatest land victories were about to come. . .

The ghost of Nelson would haunt him.

In practical terms, Napoleon’s loss at Trafalgar guaranteed the failure of any French invasion of British soil.

Battle of Austerlitz, December 2, 1805

The most spectacular of his victories defeating the combined Austrian and

Russian armies. It left France the indisputable leading power on the

Continent

1806 -- A Very Good Year for Napoleon The re-organization of

Germany

The abolition of the Holy Roman Empire—August 6, 1806, Francis II, Austrian Emperor, resigned the imperial office and gave up the imperial crown. 1,006 years after the crowning of Charlemagne at St. Peter's in Rome (A. D. 800), the Holy Roman Empire officially came to an end

Battle of Jena, October 1806

Napoleon's victory here enabled him to impose a humiliating peace settlement on King Frederick William III

1807 — France & Russia

Battle of Friedland—June 1807

Marks the PEAK OF NAPOLEON'S POWER—in 3 successive years, he had defeated the three most powerful nations on the Continent.

Treaties of Tilsit

A Less Than

Flattering

Interpre-

tation by

Contem-

poraries

The Continental System

• The imposition of heavy penalties on any Continental nation trading with England and the forbidding of importation of English goods (England produced the cheapest manufactured goods in the world)

• GOAL: the system sought to wreck English commerce and promote a revolution instigated by the resulting unhappy business middle class

• Effect: It was impossible for the European economy to function properly without English trade

The Continental System Continued

• England added to the heavy strain already on the Continental economy by blockading all countries subscribing to the French system

• Continental System particularly hurt Russia, which needed English markets for her grain

• Alexander couldn't enforce the system and Napoleon couldn't tolerate a breach within it

• The upshot of it all was Napoleon's invasion of Russia The Romanov

Double-Headed Eagle

A Failure of Nerve

In the end, Napoleon abandoned his plan to invade England and turned to an even

more devastating plan.

The Daunting Cliffs of Dover

The Crumbling of the Napoleonic Empire, 1812-

1815• Underlying Weaknesses

• Disillusioned Idealism

• It soon became evident that imperialism was a more important component of the Napoleonic system than was liberation

• Offensive features of his administration high taxes, conscription, Tight police surveillance

Napoleonic tutelage, even at its most benevolent, appeared

incompatible with the libertarian and

nationalistic ideals of the French Revolution

Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827

Beethoven’s original symphonic celebration of

Napoleon, the Enlightened despot, became simply

Heroica after the composer perceived

Napoleon’s true agenda

Growing Nationalistic Sentiment— Napoleon's Flagging Popularity &

the Growth of Resistance to French Imperialism

• German cultural movements

• The same thing happened in Italy

• In Spain, resistance to Napoleon was more violent

Wellington’s Peninsular War

Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington—

1769-1852

Spanish resistance to the rule of Joseph, Napoleon’s brother, marked the 1st great revolt against Napoleon's rule

Joseph Bonaparte, King of

Spain

Guerilla Warfare—a New Kind of Challenge

This was the first serious failure for Napoleon on the Continent, the initial fissure in his record of invincibility—inspired others who felt Napoleon could, in fact, be beaten

Napoleon could execute rebels. . . but in the end, he could not kill them all.

Losses at Home• France, like the rest of the Continental

nations, suffered from economic and internal crises, and consequently, conditions in France became increasingly repressive

• Napoleon's marriage to the daughter of the Austrian Emperor in April 1810 (in order to gain support among fellow-European monarchs) actually lost him support at home

The Grand Amrée and the

Invasion of Russia, June

1812The army was composed of 600,000 men, the largest army ever assembled in modern times

Napoleon's Goal—strike a quick and

decisive blow which, because of his overwhelming

superiority in numbers, would be

successful

Napoleon’s finest

Versus a determined Russian foe

Tsar Alexander I

Battle of Borodino, September 7, 1812

What Napoleon considered a skirmish. . .

. . . proved to be the decisive engagement.

The Carnage of Battle

The Burning of Moscow

The Russians burned Moscow about 3/4th of the city burned) shortly after Napoleon's arrival, September 14, 1812

The Disastrous Retreat

• On October 19, 1812, he headed for home

• He had massive desertions by German, Austrian, and Polish conscripts

• Disease killed many

• Starvation killed many

• Severe cold weather killed many

• Cossacks continually nipped at Napoleon's flanks

By the time he reached the German border, he had only 100,000 of his original army.

Had the Austrians & Prussians chosen this time to launch an attack on him, they could have crushed him . . . but his legend and aura of invincibility, coupled with a lack of information

about his vulnerability, prevented such a maneuver

That reverence did not extend to the caricature

artists of the day.

An Echo of Egypt

. . . and of future things to come

Straddling the corners of Europe

As Napoleon undermined his future by an ill-advised invasion of Russia. . .

. . . so would Adolf Hitler 130 years later

The Final Struggle—"Battle of the

Nations" or Battle of Leipzig, October 16-

18, 1813Combined armies of Austria, Prussia, & Russia defeated Napoleon badly in this 3 day conflict

He lost about 40% of his men and then retreated back across the Rhine

Contemporary Caricaturist View

Prussian General Gebhard von Blucher—”Blucher the Brave”—

capturing the “Corsican Blood Hound”

Trapped in Paris,1814

By the spring of 1814, these combined Allied armies entered Paris -- April 11, 1814

Napoleon Formally Abdicates

Napoleon Exiled to Elba The abdication. . .

bidding the troops farewell. . .

and a desolate new domicile.

An Honorable Exit

Or exile outside

of France

One More Time. . .

Death dances yet again. . .

An English view of “The Corsican’s Last Trip”

. . . and welcomed back by his veterans

Return of Napoleon – The "Hundred Days” March 20 -

June 29, 1815

Not the man he used to be

The Final Flourish at

Waterloo—June 8, 1815

Wellington

and Blucher. . .

carried the day

French novelist Victor Hugo

“blamed it on the rain.”

An Inelegant Retreat

Napoleon beat a fast path back to Paris. . . and hoped to find

sanctuary among the Americans.

An English Point of View

At stake was dominance of the 19th century world

To Many Frenchmen,

Napoleon Was a Savior

The English had a different view

Napoleon's Capture and Final Exile -- St. Helena

A Second Abdication

Captured and Exiled. . . Again

Banishment to St. Helena

Napoleon’s New Home

The Final Hours

Napoleon died on St. Helena on May 5, 1821

Meanwhile, Back at the Peace Table in Vienna

From chaos. . .

. . .to conservative reconstruction

Crafting a lasting peace

Assessment of Napoleon: Lasting achievements

• The Napoleonic Administrative System, which divided France into departments

• The Concordat of 1801, which became the blueprint used by other European nations in their relations with the Roman Catholic Church

• The great ideas of the Revolution of 1789 lived on

Great Ideas of the Revolution

• No absolute ruler came to the throne, even though Louis XVIII was "restored"

• Nationalism and ideas of national pride & glory were a counter-poise against an older pride in the king

• Notions of liberty, equality, and nationalism became the smoldering coals of revolution, which would burst periodically into flames throughout the 19th century

The political balance of power was permanently altered

• There was no restoration of the petty states of Germany

• Neither in the feeble republics of Italy • Russia, for the 1st time, now had a major

voice in the affairs of Western Europe • England made great strides in industrial &

commercial development during the wars • England made great strides in industrial &

commercial development during the wars

Finis