The Napoleonic Era Final

Prepared by Bisrat Alemu (MBA – Addis Ababa university) Join Practical dream YouTube channel
10.6. The Napoleonic Era (1799-1815) and Its

Consequences
Military Dictatorship
Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, on
the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea.
Napoleon's parents were members of noble Italian
families.
 He had received his education in a military school
and had become a second lieutenant in the French
army at the age of 16.
 He had won favor with the
revolutionary government by a
victory against the English (at Toulon
when the British and the French rebels
against the revolutionary government in
1793) and the Spanish and by
successfully defending the National
Convention from attack by a bomb.
 In 1796. Napoleon was given
command of an army fighting the
Austrians in northern Italy. With
astonishing speed he conquered the
little republics and kingdoms of
northern Italy and smashed the
Austrian army sent against him.
 He persuaded the Austrians to make
peace by allowing them to have Venice.
But Austria agreed to surrender the
Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) to France and to permit most of northern
Italy to be divided into little republics under Frances ''protection''. Prussia
and Holland had already made peace. Great Britain remained Frances'
only powerful enemy.
 France lacked the sea power needed to make a direct attack upon the British
Isles. So Napoleon persuaded the Directory that the next best thing for
France would be to conquer Egypt and Syria in the eastern Mediterranean
region. Such a move would strike a blow at the British trade in the East.
 But Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt and Syria were not successful entirely.
He won victories by land, but the British fleet, under Admiral Nelson,
destroyed his fleet and forced him to return to France.
Napoleon Bonaparte
 On his return to France, however, Napoleon was hailed as a hero. The French people had
heard much about his victories and little about his defeats.
 In 1799, Napoleon overthrew the Directory and proclaimed a new constitution for France.
Napoleons own title was to be First Consul. Two other
consuls were to aid him as advisers. There were several
government bodies including a legislature and a
council, but Napoleon, as First Consul could control
this membership.
 Outward by France remained a republic, but actually it
was a military dictatorship with the real power in the
hands of the First Consul, Napoleon.
Napoleon filled the position of First Consul of France from
1799 to 1804. During this period, called the consulate Emperor Napoleon
Napoleon showed a genius in both military and governmental affairs.
 A new alliance of Russia, Austria, Great Britain and certain smaller states had been
formed to drive the French from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. But Napoleon
smashed the alliance against the French and gained all Germany west of the Rhine
River. He extended Frances influence over all Italy and strengthened Frances grip on
Holland and Switzerland. He even forced Great Britain to make peace in 1802.
In 1804, Napoleon cast aside his title of First Consul of French Republic and became Emperor
of the French. Shortly after Napoleon became Emperor, war broke out again. Still another
alliance was organized against Napoleon. Great Britain, Austria, Russia and Sweden were the
principal members.
 In the campaigns that followed, Napoleon displayed his greatest genius and owns his greatest
victories. The result was to bring most of the continent of Europe directly or indirectly under his
control.
 By 1810, the French Empire itself had been
extended to include Belgium, Holland, western
Germany, northwestern Italy, and part of
what is now Yugoslavia. A large part of Europe-
Spain, most of Poland, the rest of Italy,
Switzerland, and a group of German states
known as the Confederation of the Rhine-though
not annexed to the Empire, was under the French
Emperor's control. States such as Austria,
Prussia, Denmark and Norway (which belongs
to Denmark) had been forced against their will to
become allies of France. Even the Russian Czar
had been obliged to promise aid to Napoleon. To
help in the control of Europe, Napoleon had
given thrones to his relatives and favorites
generals.
But Great Britain remained undefeated. This was due to its

island position and to its command of the seas. In 1805, the
British fleet, commanded by the great Lord Nelson had
crushed the French fleet in the important sea battle of
Trafalgar off the coast of Spain. This victory not only saved
England from a French invasion but gave conquered Europe
new hope.
Meanwhile, Napoleon had problems of his own. He had not
only the British army and navy to contend with, but the populations of the countries he had
overrun. At first the French armies had been welcomed as ''liberators'' by the common people
of Holland, Belgium, Germany and Italy. These people thought that French armies would free
them form unpopular rulers and unjust laws.
 But as time went on, the people of the conquered territories began to wonder about the
high price they had to pay for the ''benefits'' of French rule.
 Napoleon plundered captured cities of their works of art and shipped them to France to
beautify the city of Paris.
 He forced conquered peoples to contribute soldiers to swell his armies and money to pay
his wars.
The people of Europe came to hate and fear Napoleon. Discontent turned into rebellion as the
people of different countries banded together to throw off French control. So long as Napoleon
had merely to over throw kings or defeat
professional armies, he was victorious. But
when he had to fight conquered peoples who
were stirred by national patriotism, Napoleon
began to lose. He did not have armies strong
enough to hold them down.
 In 1812, Napoleon made the mistake of
invading Russia. At first he was
successful. He defeated the Russian army
and captured Moscow. But he had failed to
reckon on two things-the spirit of the
Russian people and the cold of the
Russian winter. Finding it impossible to
remain in Moscow, much of which the
Russians had burned, Napoleon began one
of the most disastrous retreats in Napoleon retreats from Moscow/Russia
military history.
 The Russians cut off supplies of food, destroyed roads and bridges and captured
stragglers. And always there was the terrible, biting cold. When Napoleon reached German
soil again, little was left of his army.
 Meanwhile, all his enemies had turned on him. Rebellion breakout among the Germans,
while French armies were defeated in Portugal and Spain. In 1813, in the battle of the
nations near Leipzig, Germany, Napoleon suffered a disastrous defeat. He was driven
back to France and finally forced to surrender.
In 1814, the victories allies sent Napoleon into exile on the island of Napoleon at Elba
Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. They restored the monarchy; put Louis
XVIII, brother of the guillotined. King, on the throne of France, and
turned to the problems of bringing peace to Europe.
But suddenly the peacemakers were interrupted by startling rumors.
Napoleon had escaped from Elba! He was in France! He was marching
on Paris! The French troops sent to capture Napoléon on joined his
army instead. To one of his old regiments he said. ''Here I am. You
know me. If there is a soldier among you who wishes to shoot his Emperor, he can do it''.
King Louis XVIII fled the country, and for 100 days (March to June, 1815) Napoleon was again
in control of France.
The master of France, however, was no longer the master of Europe.
Napoleon's enemies untied in a last campaign in 1815. On the field of
waterloo, in Belgium, the British led by the Duke of Wellington, and the
Prussians under Blucher defeated Napoleon.
This time the British found a safe place for Napoleon the faraway little
island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Then he died a few years
later at the age of 52. His body now rests in a magnificent tomb in
Paris.
What effects did Napoleon's rule have upon France?
While Napoleon was in power, he had two main goals-
1. To replace the confusion of Revolution with law and order
and
2. To keep those achievements of Revolution which were dear to most Frenchmen.
Napoleon set up a centralized efficient government for France. Taxes were collected
properly. Roads, canals, and bridges were built which helped to unite France.
Napoleon appointed lawyers to finish organizing French law into a uniform code for all France.
The new law codes-seven in number-incorporated some of the freedoms gained by the people of
France during the revolution including religious toleration and the abolition of serfdom. To
this code of laws he gave his own name, the Code Napoleon. This code has had wide use in
Belgium, western Germany, and Italy, as well as in France.
 Napoleon set up a whole system of
o public schools-elementary schools, high schools, military academies, and
universities-all under the supervision of the central government.
o French men continued to have complete freedom to worship as they wished, but
an agreement was reached with the pope in 1801 whereby the Catholic Church
became the established Church of France. The Church agreed to give up claims
to its former lands, but regained ownership of church buildings. The government
agreed to pay the salaries of the clergy. You can see that this agreement, while it
restored the Catholic Church in France, kept it under the close control of the
government.

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Prepared by Bisrat Alemu (MBA – Addis Ababa university) Join Practical dream YouTube channel

10.6. The Napoleonic Era (1799-1815) and Its

But Great Britain remained undefeated. This was due to its

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