Chapter 7.3-7.5 Review: Key Concepts, Ideologies, and Chronology

Vocabulary practice cards focusing on key ideologies, institutions, diplomatic concepts, and historical events from the Napoleonic era and the Congress of Vienna.

Napoleonic Code

A legal system that codified revolutionary principles like the equality of all male citizens before the law and security of wealth and private property, while limiting individual liberty (especially for women) and prioritizing order and authority over individual rights.

The Continental System

A form of economic warfare against Great Britain begun in 1806 aimed at closing all European ports to British goods, which ultimately failed due to smuggling, Russian resistance, and British naval power.

Nationalism

The belief that one's primary loyalty should be to a nation of people who share a common culture and history; spread by Napoleon's armies and later used to unite peoples against French rule.

Balance of Power

A core principle of the Congress of Vienna designed to prevent any single nation from dominating Europe by surrounding France with stronger buffer states like the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Legitimacy

The principle supported by conservatives at the Congress of Vienna stating that monarchs driven from their thrones by Napoleon should be restored to power to reestablish stability through traditional dynastic rule.

Conservatism

A political philosophy that values tradition and stability, seeking to suppress the ideas of liberalism and nationalism and preserve the old order of absolute monarchy and aristocracy.

The Concert of Europe

The system of alliances created after the Congress of Vienna where the great powers agreed to intervene to crush revolutions and uphold the conservative order.

The Peninsular War (1808-1814)

A long, brutal guerrilla war fought in Spain that drained French resources and constituted one of Napoleon's three costly mistakes.

Invasion of Russia (1812)

A disastrous military campaign that served as the catastrophic turning point for Napoleon, resulting in the destruction of his Grande Armée.

Scorched-earth Policy

The defensive tactic used by the Russians during the 1812 invasion that, combined with the brutal winter, destroyed Napoleon's Grande Armée.

Grande Armée

Napoleon's massive military force that was decimated during the 1812 invasion of Russia by harsh winter conditions and Russia's scorched-earth strategy.

Elba

The island where Napoleon was initially exiled in 1814 after being defeated by the Fourth Coalition.

Louis XVIII

The monarch under whom the Bourbon dynasty was restored to power in France in 1814 after Napoleon's first defeat and exile.

The Hundred Days (1815)

The brief period in 1815 during which Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba, returned to France, and temporarily regained power.

Battle of Waterloo (1815)

The final battle in 1815 where Napoleon was definitively defeated by British and Prussian forces.

St. Helena

The remote island where Napoleon was sent for his final exile after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, and where he died.

The Congress of Vienna (1814-1815)

A diplomatic gathering where the Big Four met to establish a lasting peace settlement, suppress revolutionary ideas, and restore traditional political order.

The "Big Four"

The four dominant allied powers at the Congress of Vienna: Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia.

Klemens von Metternich

A conservative leader at the Congress of Vienna who championed legitimacy, seeking to turn back the clock to the pre-revolutionary era and restore traditional dynastic rule.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

A stronger buffer state situated around France by the Congress of Vienna to aid in maintaining the European balance of power.