Napoleon and Congress of Vienna TEST

fabs

coup d’état

“blow to the state” or a sudden seizure of power Significance- Phrase used by the French to describe Napoleon’s sudden gain of power and dictatorship, one person with all the power over a country

Plebiscite

vote of the people Significance- Napoleon held a vote of the people to declare him the person who held the most power as he pretended to be the chosen leader of the new republic. People voted in his favor as they thought they needed a strong leader after the fall of the Directory.

Lycée

government-run public schools Significance- got rid of corrupt government leader and put in place these types of schools for trained officials for the government.

Concordat

an agreement Significance- People of France wanted to restore the Catholic Church, so Napolean signed a concordat with Pope Pius VII, establishing a relationship with church and state.

Napoleonic Code

comprehensive system of laws created by Napoleon, thought it was his greatest accomplishment. Significance- Limited liberty in some cases, but got rid of some injustices. Gave him all the power. Freedom of speech and press were restricted, restored slavery in French colonies in Caribean, promoted order/authority over individual rights.

Battle of Trafalgar

only lose Napoleon faced, the british commander, Horatio Nelson, was amazing at warfare at sea and successfully captured many of the french fleet. Significance- This destruction of the french fleet caused the British to have lasting power over the French for the next 100 years and caused Napoleon to forget about invading Britain because he now needed another way to control his powerful enemy.

Blockade

a forcible closing of ports Significance: Napoleon did this to attempt to weaken Great Britain's economy by using ships to not let the British ships out.

Continental System

the policy Napolean gave for cutting off Great Britian from trade Significance: Napoleon claimed the it would make continental Europe more self-sufficient. But many states disobeyed, Great Britain could trade elsewhere, and they started a counter blockade.

guerrilla warfare

type of warfare that was surprise based and very disorganized Significance: Napoleon tried to invade Spain, but Spanish nationalism led them to fight back and use guerilla warfare because the spanish were out numbered and would lose indefinitely if they fought in the organized way often used during the time period.

Peninsular War

the name of the war fought between the spanish and french in 1808-1814 Significance: there was no decisive victory and the war was caused because the spanish were trading with Britian breaking Napoleon’s Continental System rules. It lasted for 5 years and Napoleon fighting back in Guerrilla warfare lost 300,000 men.

Nationalism

a person’s love for their country and their countries culture Significance: The Spanish fought against Napoleon because of this and several countries like states in Italy were given foreign rulers because of the congress of Vienna so because of their nationalism they revolted against these foreign rulers.

scorched-earth policy

A policy made by the Russians that meant they surrender to the French, but burn any food or anything the French army could use to survive, including burning Moscow. Significance: The Russians were out numbered by the French so they used the Scorched-Earth Policy. Then Napoleon made the bad decision to stay in Moscow for 5 weeks, which ultimately caused him to lose his chances of beating the Russians.

Hundred Days

Napoleon’s last bid of power as he regained his position of emperor of France. Significance: When Napoleon regained power the european allies sought to destroy him and succeeded yet again finally shipping him to a remote island where he died.

Waterloo

The British attack led by Duke of Wellington on Napoleon in Belgium. Prussia joined thhe British and together they defeated Napoleon and captured him. Significance: After napoleon gave up the throne, Louis XVIII came to power but the French didn’t like him because they thought he was trying to get rid of the revolutions accomplishments, so Napoleon escaped from Elba and regained power because the people of France liked him better than Louis. This led to the battle of Waterloo because the european allies wanted him off the throne and the end of Napoleon’s last bid for power.

Congress of Vienna

The meetings of European heads of government to establish peace and stability for Europe that lasted for 8 months. Significance: The congress was held by Russia, Prussia, Austria, France, and Great Britain to weaken the French power by making the countries around France stronger. By forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the German Confederation, making Switzerland an independent country, and strengthening the Kingdom of Sardinia, France was left unable to overpower smaller countries.

Quadruple Alliance

An alliance between Great Britian, Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Significance: These were the main countries that attended the Congress of Vienna and France was the one other country allowed to attend.

Containment

The steps/strategy used to weaken France. Significance: They didn’t want a repeat of France or any country being insanely overpowered, so Netherlands and Dutch Republic formed the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 39 German states made the German Confederation, Switzerland became an independent nation, Kingdom of Sardinia gained Genoa.

balance of power

No country is a threat to the others. Significance: One of the goals of the Congress of Vienna, they did this by strengthening the countries around France. They knew they only needed to make France more equal in power with other countries and not severely punish France because France might seek revenge if they do.

Legitimacy

principle that as many as possible of the rulers Napoleon took from their thrones and changed the rulers would be restored to their throne. Significance: The congress of Vienna believed it would stabilize political relations with nations. France, Spain and other states in central europe and italy regained their original rulers.

Holy Alliance

Czar Alexander 1, Emperor Frances I of Austria, and King Fredrick William III of Prussia signed an agreement that made them base their relations with other countries on Christian principles. Significance: They thought that the Holy Alliance would make sure people didn’t get any ideas of liberty or equality from the French Revolution and revolt against their own leaders.

Concert of Europe

Metternich created this series of alliances. It was an agreement that said that countries part of this alliance would help other countries if a revolution broke out. Significance: This was another act of making europe conservative and forcing countries to stay an absolute monarchy.

Napoleon Bonaparte

One of the world’s greatest military generals, came to power of France in 1795-1799. Significance- When the Directory lost control of the government, Napoleon seized control of the government and crowned himself emperor. He fixed the economy, brought back religion, and took away citizens rights like freedom of speech. Wanted power very badly.

Duke of Wellington

Excellent British general. Significance: Defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Trafalgar and led the battle of Waterloo.

Klemens von Metternich

minister of Austria. Significance: He was part of the Congress of Vienna and wanted the democratic ideals of the french revolution gone. He wanted to prevent future French aggression, restore a balance of power, and wanted to restore the family of royalty before Napoleon to the French throne. He felt that things needed to be kept the way they were before Napoleon and the revolution.