Napoleon Bonaparte I 1790 - 1814

Just Some Facts About Napoleon

� Born in Corsica in August 15, 1769 and died May 5, 1821.

� Emperor of France 1804 - 1815

� He was not rich; he went to military school on a scholarship.

� Joined the French army and quickly rose through the ranks.

� Became a General and returned to France as a hero.

� Helped overthrow the Directory and made himself First Consul.

Map of Europe in 1800

Map of Europe 1810

Little Man Syndrome?

� Every heard of little man syndrome?

� Napoleon suffered from Fröhlich’s syndrome.

� It is a rare childhood metabolic disorder characterized by obesity, growth retardation and retarded development of genital organs.

The Age of Napoleon Begins

� Napoleon fought in the French Revolution as a military officer and general.

� He eventually revolutionized the way war was to be fought – in essence he started the first form of Modern War

� In doing so, Napoleon built a large empire by annexing lands, making alliances, and placing family members on the thrones of Europe

The Age of Napoleon Begins

� When the French Revolution started, Napoleon was a lieutenant in the National Assemblies French Army.

� Napoleon Bonaparte began to earn rapid promotions because of his swift and profound victories.� Most notably he led the French army in victories

over Britain and Austria

Overthrow the government

� A general by 1799, Napoleon helped to overthrow the French government� He did not like the Directory (the new government that

followed the National Assembly).� He found it frustrating how much of a disarray it was in� He led a coup d’etat on November 9, 1799 to take down the

directory. � He then organized a new government and put himself in

charge.� Five years later (1804) he took the title Emperor of the

French� At each step of his rise of power, the French voted to

support Napoleon

Napoleon’s Popularity

� The policies that Napoleon set up show why he was so popular� He strengthened the French government and restored

order� He improved the economy and encouraged new

industry� He built roads and canals � He supported public education� He modernized the mechanisms of war and brought

home vast amounts of success and money

Reforms that he kept

� Some of Napoleon’s reforms continued the spirit of the revolution� Peasants could legally keep the Church lands they

bought� Careers were opened to anyone with the ability and

skills (i.e. you didn’t have to be an Aristocrat to have good paying jobs, if you had the skills you can be hired to any job you wanted).

� If you were proven to be effective and efficient you were hired on a merit base instead of a class base.

Napoleonic Code

� One of his most important reforms was a new set of laws called the Napoleonic Code� He created a new legal system in France, one that was

similar to Britain’s, with a few modifications.� His Code instilled the idea that everyone is equal

before the law. � The laws that he created included many

enlightenment ideas from the revolution – freedom, equality, and liberty.

� However he un-did some of the ideas from the enlightenment, such as women equality – he loathed women equality quite a bit.

A vast empire

� From 1804 to 1814, Napoleon defeated the greatest nations of Europe an built a vast empire� He conquered the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Italy

and Germany� He ended the Holy Roman Empire and divided up Prussia� He took over all of continental Europe – except Russia.

� Ultimately:� Napoleon replaced the monarchs in Europe, defeated

nations with his friends and family and the only country that was left outside of Napoleon’s empire was Britain.

Why study Napoleon?

� If only we could study Hitler and Napoleon at the same time – because if you understand the past, you can understand the present and are able to predict the future.� This unit will discuss how Napoleon created a roadmap on

how to conquer (and then eventually lose) all of Europe –especially on a military front.

� We can see and compare how Hitler used this roadmap to conquer (and then eventually lose) all of Europe.

� Brief similarities that occurred during the Napoleonic era and The Nazi Régime –� Taking over the current government, instilling a new

government, making fake alliances with Europe countries, taking bits and pieces of Europe one strategic step at a time, attacking countries you made alliances with, re-defining modern warfare with shock tactics (blitzkrieg), and then making the mistake of attacking Russia, and ultimately losing to Britain.

� Video of Napoleon

� http://www.history.com/topics/napoleon/videos#napoleon

� Second video of Napoleon

� http://www.history.com/topics/napoleon/videos#the-rise-of-napoleon