Napoleonic Age & Political Revolution

Who is Napoleon and what does he do?

  • Military leader during the Directory

  • Gains control of the Italian Army in 1796

  • Battle of the Nile, 1798 (Defeated by the British)

Napoleon as Leader

Concordat of 1801:

  • Catholicism was the “preferred” religion of France

  • Protected religious freedom for non-Catholics

  • Church could operate in public view

  • Land confiscated from the Church and sold during the revolution would be retained by its purchasers

Legion of Honor:

  • Used state's power to confer status on local individuals

  • “It is with trinkets that mankind is governed.” - quote

Education:

  • He set up elite secondary schools to train future government officials

Civil Code (1807):

  • The right to choose one’s occupation

  • Equal treatment under the law

  • Religious freedom

  • Bank of France and a fair taxation system

Battle of the Nile:

  • Defeat for Napoleon

  • Britain is France’s enemy, French and Indian war & American Revolution

So, how did he deal with Great Britain after the Nile loss in 1798?

Through the Continental System:

  • Tried to close off the continent to prevent Britain from trading with French allies

  • Kept Britain from its markets and ruined their trade and credit

Napoleonic Wars (1805-1815) Results:

  • The peace treaty with Britain falls apart in 1803

  • Battle of Trafalgar 1805, UK wins

  • Battle of Jenna, October 1806, results in the end of the Holy Roman Empire

  • Invades Spain and Portugal in 1807

France befriends Russia through the Treaty of Tilsit (Allies in 1807)

By 1812, Russia resents the Continental System


Invasion of Russia:

  • Czar Alexander withdraws from the Continental System

  • Napoleon’s Grand Army of 600,000 occupies Russia

  • Russians retreat east and burn crops along the way

  • September 14, 1812, Napoleon enters Moscow, it is deserted


End of the Russian Campaign:

Napoleon orders a retreat on.. October 19, 1812 because..:

  • No supplies, lacking in horses, no medical care, and food shortages

  • Only 100,000 troops survive



Russian Campaign Aftermath

1813 – Prussia, Russia & Austria defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Nations in Leipzig, Germany

1814 – Napoleon is captured and is exiled to Elba

Louis XVIII comes to power but people fear the old regime and economic depression, so he flees

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Napoleon escapes from Elba and gains control of France for 100 days

Many of the countries of Europe that defeated Napoleon perceived him as a threat to their security

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At The Battle of Waterloo, the British Duke of Wellington defeats him. He is exiled to St. Helena in the South Atlantic where he died in 1821


Latin and Caribbean Revolutions

Plantations —> Fertile Land —> Main Crops: Coffee and Sugar —> Intense Labor

The Haitian Revolution begins on August 22, 1791 led by Toussaint L ‘Ouverture

The first three weeks of the revolution… slaves burn plantations and execute many of the French and slave owners.

1802 – L’Ouverture retires from public life. He is arrested and sent to France in 1803 where he dies in April of the same year

1803 – Jean Jacques Dessalines takes over for L’Ouverture

How does Haiti become a republic?

  • French troops suffer from yellow fever (from mosquitos) and the use of guerilla warfare results in the surrender of France on November 28, 1803


What about the Jefferson Nickel?

  • Louisiana Purchase

  • France sells land for money for the Napoleonic war, same year as Haiti gained their independence


Europe After Napoleon - C.O.V

Congress of Vienna:

  • European powers looking to maintain or reinstate power and control over much of Europe after Napoleon’s reign

Timeline:

Battle of Nations At Leipzig — Oct 16-19, 1813

Napoleon abdicates, exiled to Elba — April 6, 1814

Treaty of Paris — May 30, 1814

Congress of Vienna — October 1, 1814

Napoleon Returns — March 1816

Close of the Congress of Vienna — June 9, 1815

Battle of Waterloo — June 15, 1815

Second Treaty of Paris — November 20, 1815


Treaty of Paris — 1814

  • Restores France to its original frontier of 1782

Second Treaty of Paris — 1815

  • France loses Savoy and Nice (Ended the Battle of Waterloo)

  • $700 million in war indemnities

  • Army of occupation 150,000 men


COV — Results:

Balance of Power

  • Prevents any one nation from becoming stronger than its neighbor

Restoration

  • The return of royal families to power

Centralization of Government

  • A small group of executives at the highest level of government holds all political authority, and all other political units are subject to it

Political Views in Europe during the COV

Liberal

  • Middle class business people seeking more democratic government

Conservative

  • Aristocrats wanted a slow rate of change. They wanted to preserve their way of life.

Radical

  • Wanted a new form of government, Socialism. The government should regulate the nation’s economy and bring a more even distribution of wealth.


Rulers after Napoleon:

Louis XVIII – he fled when Napoleon came back to power but is restored with the COV and dies in 1824

Charles X – an absolutist, believes in the restorations and issues the…

July Ordinances 1830:

- dismissed the legislative body

- took away voting rights

- the press under government control