Napoleonic Wars

War

• Only Britain was at war continually with France during this time

• The four Great Powers (Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia) did not fight France simultaneously until 1813

• Nations were willing to ally with Napoleon for their own foreign policy benefit

• After Napoleon conquered Italy, European countries decided they need to defeat him in order for a peaceful Europe

War of the Second Coalition

• 1798-1801• Napoleon had his navy destroyed by England’s

Lord Horatio Nelson in the Battle of the Nile– Napoleon and the French army isolated in North

Africa• Napoleon was victorious in the war,

nevertheless, but never conquered England

Treaty of Luneville

• 1801• Ended the Second Coalition• Resulted in Austria’s loss of its Italian possessions• German territory on the west bank of the Rhine

incorporated into France• Russia retreated from western Europe when they

saw their ambitions in the Mediterranean blocked by Britain

Peace Interim

• 1802• Treaty of Amiens with Britain in 1802– Hoped to increase trade with the Continent– France remained in control of Holland, Austrian

Netherlands, and most of Italian peninsula• Napoleon reorganized the Confederation of

Switzerland• Sent large army to Haiti to subdue a slave rebellion• Sold Louisiana to US

Empire Period

• 1804-1814• Dec 2, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself

hereditary Emperor of France in Notre-Dame Cathedral– Hoped to stop plans of royalists to return the

Bourbons to the throne– Napoleon viewed himself as a liberator who freed

foreign peoples from their absolute rulers who oppressed them

Grand Empire

• Beginning in 1805, Napoleon engaged in constant warfare

• Achieved the largest empire since the Roman times

Satellite Kingdoms

• Dependant satellite kingdoms (where Napoleon put his appointees to throne)– Spain

• Brother, Joseph Bonaparte– Westphalia

• Youngest brother, Jerome Bonaparte– Holland

• Brother, Louis Bonaparte– Italy

• Sister, Caroline, Queen of Naples• Step son rules Lombardy, Venice, and Papal States

Independent

• Independent but allied states included– Austria– Prussia– Russia

War of the Third Coalition

• 1805-1807• In 1803, Napoleon began preparations to invade

Great Britain• In 1805, Austria signed an alliance with Britain• Coalition was complete with addition of Russia

and Sweden• Napoleon’s conquest of Italy convinced Russia

and Austria that Napoleon was threat to balance of power

Battle of Trafalgar

• October 21, 1805• French and Spanish fleets were destroyed by

the British Navy under the Command of Lord Horatio Nelson, off the Spanish Coast– Established supremacy of British navy for over a

century• French invasion of Britain no longer feasible

Battle of Austerlitz

• December 1805• Alexander I pulled Russian troops out of

battle, giving Napoleon another victory• Austria accepted large territorial losses in

return for peace• Third Coalition collapsed• Napoleon now master of western and central

Europe

Arc de Triumphe

• In commemoration of his victory, Napoleon commissioned in 1806

• Using classical style, the Arc hearkened back to the Roman Empire who built arches to signify victories

• Napoleon was clearly emphasizing the conquest of an empire

Treaty of Tilsit

• June 1807• Provisions– Prussia lost half its population in lands to France– Russia accepted Napoleon’s reorganization of

western and eastern Europe• Height of Napoleon’s success