napoleon’s rise and fall (chapter 20 sections 3 & 4) objectives: students will explore how...
TRANSCRIPT
Napoleon – General, Tyrant and Reformer
Napoleon’s Rise and Fall (chapter 20 sections 3 & 4)
Objectives:
• Students will explore how Napoleon rose to power through guided lecture.
• Students will identify how Emperor Napoleon came to dominate Europe and change the fabric of France through article investigation.
• Students will explore what events caused disaster and defeat for Napoleon by listening to Victor Hugo, Russia 1812 and guided lecture.
• Students will discover the goals and achievements of the Congress of Vienna through guided lecture.
.
Napoleon promised order and stability, pledging to uphold key reforms. The French gave up some freedoms for peace and prosperity.
Napoleon Bonaparte, ruthlessly ambitious, rose from army captain to ruler of France in a very short time. He took advantage of the turmoil of the French Revolution.
• Napoleon, brilliant military leader
• In charge of French interior at 26
• Invaded Italy and Egypt
• Defeat by Admiral Horatio Nelson kept from newspapers
• Became national hero
Opportunities for Glory Napoleon Seizes Power• Directory weak and ineffective
• Fear of royalists and of European opposition
• November 1799 coup d’état • France to be led by Consulate
• Napoleon voted first consul, in effect a dictator
Napoleon’s Rise to Power
Emperor Napoleon
Once France under control, Napoleon turned to Europe
• Napoleon crowns himself
– Submitted a plebiscite before voters
– Emperor Napoleon I
• Desire for empire
– Wanted to rule Europe and the Americas
– French expedition to Saint Domingue (Haiti today) failed
– Napoleon sold Louisiana Territory to the United States and turned his focus to Europe
Napoleonic Wars• Extension of wars fought during the French Revolution, would last a
decade
• France dominant power in Europe by 1812
• Napoleon defeated Russian and Austrian troops at Austerlitz
• Invaded both Portugal and Spain
• The Peninsular War
• French withdrew due to guerilla warfare and English involvement.
• Unable to subdue English with Continental System
• Designed to stop trade from England to the rest of Europe
• Placed Relatives in charge of conquered territories
Church-State Relations
• Anti-religious nature of French Revolution over
• Concordat recognized influence of Roman Catholic Church
Legal and Educational
• Napoleonic Code developed• Order and authority over
individual rights• Schools for government and
military positions
Economic Reforms
• Established the Bank of France to regulate economy
• More efficient tax-collection system
Legacy—Age of Napoleon
• Democratic ideas
• Equality before law, representative system
• Spread of nationalism
Napoleon’s Policies
Portugal
• Napoleon surprised by inability to control Portugal
• Peninsular campaign was a failure
Costly Mistake
• Napoleon turned east in 1812
• Hoped to teach Russia a lesson
Russia
• Czar Alexander I didn’t like French troops on western border
• Russia hurt by Continental System; country needed imports
Disaster and Defeat
June 1812
• Napoleon and army of 600,000 troops
• Marched across Russian border
No One to Fight
• Russian troops pulled east • French victory at Borodino, but
Russian army still strong• Pushed to Moscow but found city
in flames
French Army
• New recruits with no loyalty
• Supplies lost or spoiled
• Disease, desertion, and hunger
Retreat Homeward
• Ruined city, no winter supplies
• Starvation and freezing temperatures decimated army
• Only 94,000 men survived
The Russian Campaign
• Europe allied against France and Napoleon• Led by England
• Napoleon raised another army, but troops inexperienced• In October 1813 Napoleon defeated at Battle of
the Nations near Leipzig• In March 1814, victorious allies entered Paris.
• Terms of surrender—Napoleon gave up throne and went into exile on tiny island of Elba
Defeat and Exile to Elba
The Hundred Days
• French monarchy restored with King Louis XVIII• King remains unpopular;• Napoleon returns after year in exile• Louis panicked and fled; Napoleon declared outlaw
by allies• Paris cheered Napoleon’s return• Brief period of renewed glory-the Hundred Days
The Last Campaigns
Duke of Wellington led final confrontation
Battle of Waterloo British and Prussian armies Crushing defeat for Napoleon End of the Napoleonic Wars
Battle of Waterloo
Tried to escape capture, sent to exile in Saint Helena
Volcanic island in South Atlantic
Remained imprisoned for six years
Died at 51; cause of death never determined
Best theory stomach cancer
Napoleon’s Final Days
The Last Campaigns
http://youtu.be/tfHnwqtJT9U
Negotiators• Prince Klemens von Metternich of Austria leader of
Congress of Vienna
Goals for Other Decision Makers• Make sure France could not rise again to such power• Put down revolution wherever it might appear• Remove traces of French Revolution and Napoleon’s rule
Metternich• Distrusted democracy and political change
• Wanted to reestablish the old order (absolute monarchy)
• Continue the power of the Hapsburgs in Austria
• Dominated the congress, wanted to restore the balance of power
The Congress of Vienna
• France was not allowed to keep any conquered territory
• Boundaries back to 1792
• Forced to pay indemnity, or compensation for damages
Metternich’s Influence
• His reactionary attitudes influenced politics and society.
• Wanting a return to absolute monarchy, he despised constitutions, voting rights, and freedom of religion and the press.
• Liberal ideas were suppressed in Austria, the German states, and northern Italy.
Restoring Monarchies
• Napoleon had eliminated royal control in many countries.
• Members of the old Bourbon royal family were returned to the thrones of Spain and Sicily.
• Monarchies were restored in Portugal and Sardinia.
The Revolution’s Legacy
Was the French Revolution a failure? After Congress of Vienna, monarchs ruled againCitizens’ rights restricted
Nobles returned to their previous lifestyles
French Revolution changed Europe Monarchies no longer secure
Common people learned they could change the world
Ideals of human dignity, personal liberty, and equality
Enlightenment crossed the Atlantic to Latin America, eventually inspired political movements in Asia and Africa
General Tyrant Reformer