Napoleons Early Career

Born in Corsica in 1769 the second of eight children

When his father Charles was invited to be part of the French govt as a delegate
from Corsica, Napoleon accompanied him where he enrolled in military school- a
career that suited him perfectly
He spoke with a marked Corsican accent and never learned to spell properly.
Napoleon was trained at Brienne military academy where his focus became artillery-
In 1785 when he was 16 his father died
Napoleon was teased by other students for his accent and applied himself to reading
and proved to have a phenomenal memory, later impressing his generals who were
astonished with his detailed knowledge of where every cannon, horse and soldier
was
In 1793, he helped to recapture Toulon for anti-revolutionary forces and as a result
won a position as the youngest general in the army
In 1795, he shot into a mob with grapeshot and won a command of a French army in
Italy- a major career builder
 Napoleons Italian and
Egyptian Campaigns
Ideas of the FR spread throughout Europe and in Italy and Jacobin clubs
operated secretly who wanted to be rid of their unpopular Austrian rulers
With promises of liberty for Italy, Napoleon defeated the Austrians and
drove them out, but then his armies succumbed to temptations of pillaging
stealing art, jewels, anything of value to pay his troops with from the spoils
of war- in the process Napoleon became wealthy
Brimming with confidence, he asked the govt for permission to take Egypt
in 1798 where he could cut Britain off from her colony in India
Napoleon crushed the Egyptian army, but Frances navy was destroyed by
British Admiral Horatio Nelson, in the battle of the Nile
Shamefully, Napoleon abandoned his stranded army and escaped back to
France more popular than ever
When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1799, he met stiff resistance. On July 25, however, the
French won a decisive victory. This painting of that battle by Baron Antoine Gros (1771
1835) emphasizes French heroism and Muslim defeat. Such an outlook was typical of
European views of Arabs and the Islamic world.
Antoine Jean Gros (17711835). Detail, Battle of Aboukir, July 25, 1799, c. 1806. Oil on canvas. Chateau de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, France. BridgemanGiraudon/Art
Resource, NY
Making France Strong
In 1799, Napoleon played a part in the overthrow of the
Directory which had become inefficient and corrupt despite
success abroad
Napoleon established the rule of one man The First Consul
and set upon a course of improving French life
His first task was to harmonize revolutionary legal reforms with
existing laws creating unified codes of law for France
He became the first modern political figure to use the rhetoric of
revolution and nationalism, to back it with military force, and to
combine these elements into a mighty weapon of imperial
expansion in the service of his own power
Napoleonic Code
After restructuring French law into the Civil Code, Napoleon had
achieved his greatest policies
This guaranteed rights of equality under the law, the right to hold
property, freedom of religion and freedom to pursue work of ones
choice- this still stands as the basis of law in many countries
He then instituted public works and employed many like road
improvements, new harbours and canals and museums filled with
conquered art and established new schools and universities as
well as keeping food staple prices low
However, the economy only seemed stronger because jobs were
created by his wars and new wealth was brought from stolen
goods from defeated powers
While Britain was made Industrially strong, France fell behind
Napoleon the Emperor
While Napoleon recognized the role of the revolution as a career
booster, he was more favorable to the role of his favourite Roman
emperors as role models and tried to suppress the more populist
forms of democracy
Napoleon re-establishes Christianity in France with an agreement
with Pope Pius VII and negotiated the Concordat of 1801 with the
Catholic Church, which sought to reconcile the mostly Catholic
population to his regime.
In 1804 Napoleon crowned himself emperor giving him complete
control of the countrys affairs
Being wary of the importance of popularity, Napoleon censored
media and education to perpetuate his own greatness
This portrait of Napoleon on his throne
by Jean Ingres (17801867) shows him
in the splendor of an imperial monarch
who embodies the total power of the
state.
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), Napoleon on His Imperial Throne,
1806. Oil on canvas, 259 162 cm. Musee des Beaux-Arts, Rennes. Photograph
Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
The Coronation of Napoleon Jacques-Louis David recorded the elaborate coronation of
Napoleon in a monumental painting that revealed the enormous political and religious
tensions of that event, which involved the kind of ritual and ceremony associated with the
monarchy of the ancient regime.
Jacques Louis David (17481825), Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of Empress Josephine, 180607. Louvre, Paris. BridgemanGiraudon/Art Resource, NY
Napoleon and Europe
In the 1800s Napoleon would wage war on most of Europe promising
the fruits of the revolution to conquered peoples
His weapon was the mobilized French nation where he could put 700
000 men in a single battle- no single enemy could match such
resources
British naval supremacy the British under Lord Nelson destroy
French and Spanish forces at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson died in the
battle, but the British lost no ships which guaranteed British control of
the seas
In an attempt to squeeze Britain, he tried to stop all its trade with
Europe in his Continental System with severe punishments with those
who did
Without control of the seas this type of embargo was difficult to
enforce and hurt business for everyone
Map 191 THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM, 18061810 Napoleon hoped to cut off all
British trade with the European continent and thereby drive the British from the war.
Conquering Europe
Napoleon was well aware that his power arose from his military victories and
he would have to continue fighting to stay strong
He knew that other countries would try to stop him so a string of victories was
paramount to Napoleon's power
On December 2, 1805, defeats Austria and Russia at Austerlitz becomes
King of Italy north of Rome
On October 14, 1806, defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Jena to
control all of Germany-two weeks later he was in Berlin
On July 13, 1807, Napoleon defeats the Russians at Friedland and occupies
East Prussia- he was now master of all of Germany
The signing of the Treaty of Tilsit of 1807 saw the height of Napoleons power
and the map of Europe had completely changed with many of his family
members becoming monarchs in Italy, Naples, Spain, Sweden, Germany and
Holland
His code would be implemented in conquered territories
The Rise of Nationalism
Napoleons armies brought the fruits of the revolution to
conquered peoples like liberty, equality and fraternity
People who shared common language, culture, history and
ethnic background became more connected and led to
nationalism
Napoleon used this to divide and conquer Austria- Hungary
which was multi-ethnic but once people felt connected by
nationality it became an unstoppable force
When it became too strong it can become a form of racisim
when one group claims they are greater than others
By the 20th century WW 1 and 2 were brought on by
Nationalism which also led to the rise of Nazi Germany
leading many to feel that nationalism is a destructive force
Map 193 THE GERMAN STATES
AFTER 1815 As noted, the German
states were also recognized.
Loss in Spain
Napoleons success could not last forever, and the forces of
nationalism he unleashed would eventually be his undoing
Resentment to Napoleons family monarchy began to boil and
was particularly strong in Spain
When Napoleons brother Jerome was appointed Spanish King
in 1808 the people rebelled
In spite of cruel punishments and terror tactics by the French,
the Spaniards resorted to guerrilla warfare, not the traditional
pitched battles Napoleon excelled at
When the British sent troops, accompanied by the duke of
Wellington, to help Spain, the French found themselves
fighting a 5 year war that they could not win
French morale plummeted and Napoleon lost many soldiers
Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de Goya, recorded Napoleons troops executing Spanish
guerilla fighters who had rebelled against the French occupation in The Third of May,
1808.
Francisco de Goya, Los fusilamientos del 3 de Mayo, 1808. 1814. Oil on canvas, 86
Map 192 NAPOLEONIC EUROPE IN LATE 1812 By mid-1812 the areas shown in
peach were incorporated into France, and most of the rest of Europe was directly
controlled by or allied with Napoleon. But Russia had withdrawn from the failing
Continental System, and the decline of Napoleon was about to begin.
The Russian Campaign
Although an ally, Russia refused to abide by Napoleons continental
system leading to a declaration of war in 1812 by Napoleon
Napoleon hoped to draw Russia into a decisive battle where they could
be defeated in 1812
Napoleon assembled an army of 600 000 with many different
nationalities whom he promised their own countries after the war and
he exploited the language of the revolution to spur them on
Napoleon hoped to trap the Russian army and draw them out, but the
sheer vastness of the country made that very difficult
At two key battles in Smolensk and Borodino, the French were
victorious but the Tsar refused to surrender
Weakened but still fighting, the Russians retreated burning all food and
shelters leaving nothing for the French army who lived off the land and
far from home- the scorched earth policy was deadly
Arrival in Moscow
When Napoleon finally arrived in Moscow he hoped Russia would give
up but the city was deserted and no Russians their to surrender
In addition, Russia burned the city down leaving nothing for the French
and with winter approaching as it was in October, Napoleon ordered a
retreat before the terrible winter began
The retreat destroyed the Grand Armee and many died of the elements
or starvation and resorted to eating their own dead horses
The Russian armies attacked the retreating French and Cossacks, fierce
Ukrainian fighters, raided them at will
As the winter deepened many deserted for their homes in various parts
of Europe as the Russians continued to jab at them
In the end only 9000 out of the original 600 000 were left to fight and
by December the army ceased to exist and Napoleon abandoned them
for Paris making the campaign a complete disaster
Abdication and Exile
The Russian defeat was a major blow to Napoleons empire which began to
crumble
After a lost battle in Paris, Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to Elba, an
island off Italy while the former Kings brother Louis XVIII was invited to be King
of France
Louis was at a loss as to how to rule and became very unpopular
After 10 months on Elba, Napoleon left for France with a small force of 1000
and convinced royal troops sent to stop him, to join him
The King fled as Napoleon returned to France to rebuild his army
He would rule France for 100 more days enlisting more than 300 000 soldiers
and marched to Belgium hoping to defeat separate armies of the allies before
they could join up
At Waterloo, 130 ooo soldiers fought for a whole day, seeing British and
Prussian troops led by Wellington defeat France with concentrated musket fire-
this was Napoleons last gamble
 St. Helena and
The Congress of Vienna
For fear of yet another return, European leaders agree to send Napoleon
to a far away island in the South Atlantic where Napoleon remained until
his death in 1821
Britain , Russia, Austria and Prussia redrew the map at the Congress of
Vienna which first met in 1814, a year before Waterloo, but France was
allowed to retain her old borders but Britain took over many of its
overseas colonies
Belgium and Holland became one new kingdom and much of Italy given
back to Austria
Britain encourage the idea of a balance of power making the four main
players equally strong to prevent foreign wars while Tsar Alexander
spoke of preventing war through charity, peace and love
However, the forces of nationalism were well developed and within a
few years, Europe was once again thrown into revolution
Map 194 EUROPE 1815, AFTER THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA The Congress of
Vienna achieved the post-Napoleonic territorial adjustments shown on the map. The most
notable arrangements dealt with areas along Frances borders (the Netherlands, Prussia,
Switzerland, and Piedmont) and in Poland and northern Italy.
In this political cartoon of the Congress of Vienna, Tallyrand simply watches which way
the wind is blowing, Castlereagh hesitates, while the monarchs of Russia, Prussia, and
Austria form the dance of the Holy Alliance. The king of Saxony holds on to his crown and
the republic of Geneva pays homage to the kingdom of Sardinia.
Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz
In this early-nineteenth-century cartoon, England, personified by a caricature of William
Pitt, and France, personified by a caricature of Napoleon, are carving out their areas of
interest around the globe.
Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz