Napoleon’s Empire

By Chris AndersonRandolph-Henry High School

Introduction 1804: Napoleon names himself as

emperor of France in a grand ceremony, the French people

witnessed the end of the revolution Pope Pius VII was called to crown Napoleon

as the emperor of France Napoleon took the crown from the pope

and placed it on his own head this act illustrated the power that

Napoleon had over the people of France, and the world

Coronation of Napoleon

The Consulate Napoleon will support the constitution

when he comes to power this constitution set up a republic and, in

essence, allowed for a dictatorship to be established

the constitution stipulated that the executive branch of the government be constructed of 3 consuls

Napoleon will become 1st Consul and take over all power for himself

Napoleon studied many of the

Enlightenment ideas he believed he was a great

reformer and champion of republican traditions

his dictatorship would, however, limit individual rights for the French people

Restoring Order Napoleon’s main

objective: bring order to France

1st: he wanted to restructure the government• he replaced elected

officials with men that he appointed

• education was placed under the control of the national government--this created technical schools, universities, & secondary schools

2nd: Napoleon wanted to change the financial system of France

he created the Bank of France

he required all citizens to pay taxes

the tax money was then used to make loans to businesses

over time, France’s high prices and inflation were brought under control

Napoleonic Code Napoleon also made a

very profound impact on French law

he created a unified system of laws

he would rewrite the old feudal laws to follow the principles of natural law (an Enlightenment idea)

this new law--called the Napoleonic Code made French law more clear

The new law placed the state above the individual

according to the law, all men were equal before the law

the Napoleonic code also limited some rights:• freedom of speech and

the press were limited• books, plays, and

pamphlets were censored• women had fewer rights

Napoleonic Code

The Church Napoleon also tried to fix the problems between

France and the Catholic Church 1801: Napoleon makes an agreement with the

pope (Pius VII) called the Concordat of 1801• this agreement said that Napoleon would acknowledge

Catholicism as the dominant religion of France• however, France would have tolerance for all religions

Napoleon still kept the right to appoint all bishops in France• these bishops had to also be loyal to the state

the pope agreed the Catholic Clergy in France were paid salaries

Building an Empire Napoleon was very

interested in creating an Empire for himself

not long after he took control of France, Napoleon led his troops and defeated both Italy and Austria

he was also able to persuade Russia to drop out of the war

1802: Napoleon talked Britain into signing the Treaty of Amiens

in the following years, Napoleon used his masterful military mind to begin the construction of an empire

1804: he names himself emperor of the French

as emperor, Napoleon will send out his troops to create an empire

One nation proved to

be Napoleon’s largest enemy: Great Britain

the rest of Europe easily fell to Napoleon, except for Great Britain

1805: Napoleon attempts to invade Great Britain--his ships, however, never reach

Oct. 1805: the French navy is defeated at Trafalgar by the British admiral--Lord Nelson

Unable to invade Britain, Napoleon tried to use economic warfare against the British--he wanted to destroy Britain’s trade by creating the Continental System• all nations conquered

by France would end trade with Britain

he issued another law forbidding any British goods from entering Europe through French controlled ports

Lord Nelson

Continental System

In response to

Napoleon’s laws, Britain issued a counter threat--any ship on its way to a continental port had to 1st stop at a British port

Napoleon threatened to seize any ship that did as the British had said

This squabble between France and Britain place neutral nations such as the U. S. in a difficult situation

the U. S. relied heavily on trade with both Britain and France

the U. S. was caught between which country’s shipping laws to follow

this confusion would eventually lead to the War of 1812

Napoleon’s blockades did not work--the British kept control of the seas

Napoleon’s Continental system failed

France’s trade suffered and its economy became worse

however, Napoleon’s empire kept growing

Napoleonic Europe 1812: Napoleon will

have control of nearly all of Europe, stretching to the border of Russia

Napoleon will become king of Italy

his brother Joseph becomes king of Naples and Spain

his brother Louis becomes king of Holland

Napoleon will get rid of the Holy Roman Empire & create the Federation of the Rhine• this was a loose

confederation of German states

Napoleon set himself up as protector of the Federation of the Rhine

Nations such as Spain,

Italy, and the Federation of the Rhine were under the control of France

the leaders of these nations would have to follow the orders of Napoleon

soon, major unrest will develop in these nations

people living in the French occupied nations did not like paying taxes to France

These nation will also resent having to send troops to serve in Napoleon’s armies

a feeling of nationalism began to develop in many of the occupied areas• these areas wanted to

rule themselves, to restore their customs and traditions

this developing nationalism caused many revolts against French rule in Europe

Trouble Ahead The 1st trouble for

Napoleon began to occur in Spain

the people of Spain were tired of living under French rule

the Spanish will try to bring their king back to power• these Spanish

nationalists attacked many French soldiers stationed in Spain

1812: the Spanish will overthrow Napoleon

the Spanish receive help from British troops led by Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington)

the Spanish king again takes over Spain under a limited monarchy

Prussia, too, will revolt against the French and Napoleon

The Duke of Wellington

Downfall of the Empire

The end of the empire was near when Russia joined against Napoleon

the leader of Russia, Alexander I, saw Napoleon’s control of Europe as a threat to Russia

1811: Alexander will break the Continental system and reinstate Russia’s trade with Britain

Napoleon was furious when Russia broke from his Continental System

Napoleon decided to invade Russia

he gathered 600,000 soldiers from Europe and in May of 1812, began his march toward Russia

the Russians would not fall to Napoleon

Alexander I

The Russians retreated

to the interior, burning everything so nothing would be left behind for Napoleon

Sept. 14, 1812: Napoleon’s troops were in sight of Moscow

the next day, the French enter Moscow

Sept. 16, 1812: Moscow is destroyed by a huge fire--probably started by the Russians

The long Russian winter began to set in on Napoleon and his troops

the French could not stay in Russia unless they had some shelter

Napoleon delayed too long before ordering his troops to retreat from the interior of Russia

when the French began to retreat, they were brutally attacked by the Russians

Napoleon’s Defeat Napoleon was furious

over Russia’s attack on his troops

now all of Europe began sending troops out against Napoleon• England, Spain, Italy,

and Prussia Russia & Prussia

announce they are in a War of Liberation against France

Oct. 1813: Russia, Prussia, & Austria defeat Napoleon @ Leipzig, Germany

March 1814: the allied European powers had marched into Paris forcing Napoleon to surrender and step down as emperor

Louis XVIII takes over the throne of France--• he was the brother of

Louis XVI

Napoleon will be sent

into exile on the island of Elba--an island just off the coast of Italy

France was reduced to its 1792 size

many in France wanted Napoleon to return to power because he represented the desire for order and national pride

March 1, 1815: Napoleon will return to France

Once in France, Napoleon will have lots of support

king Louis’ XVIII troops desert the king and follow Napoleon

this begins the Hundred Days• a period when Napoleon

again becomes emperor• Napoleon will announce

that he will not set out to gain any new territory

• the nations of Europe, however, still fear Napoleon’s power

The nations of Europe, fearing Napoleon will again try to conquer Europe, begin to amass troops

Prussia, Britain, and the Netherlands all send troops marching to France--these were led by the Duke of Wellington

Napoleon’s and Wellington’s troops meet at Waterloo in 1815

At Waterloo, Napoleon and his troops are defeated by Wellington

Napoleon will be arrested and placed under house arrest on the island of St. Helena located in the Atlantic

1821: Napoleon will die on St. Helena

Waterloo

The Man & His Legacy Napoleon helped spread the ideas of the

French Revolution in Europe in all of the areas he conquered, new

constitutions were created• also in these areas, the basic principles of the

Napoleonic Code were followed (freedom of religion and equality before the law)

the last remnants of feudalism in Europe were destroyed

his many reforms helped to modernize many European nations

the absolute monarchy in Europe also died