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Napoleon Bonaparte

By: History.com Editors

Updated: April 24, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2009

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), also known as Napoleon I, was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. Born on the island of Corsica, Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the military during the French Revolution (1789-1799). After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d’état, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. Shrewd, ambitious and a skilled military strategist, Napoleon successfully waged war against various coalitions of European nations and expanded his empire. However, after a disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon abdicated the throne two years later and was exiled to the island of Elba. In 1815, he briefly returned to power in his Hundred Days campaign. After a crushing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, he abdicated once again and was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died at 51.

Napoleon’s Education and Early Military Career

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. He was the second of eight surviving children born to Carlo Buonaparte (1746-1785), a lawyer, and Letizia Romalino Buonaparte (1750-1836). Although his parents were members of the minor Corsican nobility, the family was not wealthy. The year before Napoleon’s birth, France acquired Corsica from the city-state of Genoa, Italy. Napoleon later adopted a French spelling of his last name.

As a boy, Napoleon attended school in mainland France, where he learned the French language, and went on to graduate from a French military academy in 1785. He then became a second lieutenant in an artillery regiment of the French army. The French Revolution began in 1789, and within three years revolutionaries had overthrown the monarchy and proclaimed a French republic. During the early years of the revolution, Napoleon was largely on leave from the military and home in Corsica, where he became affiliated with the Jacobins, a pro-democracy political group. In 1793, following a clash with the nationalist Corsican governor, Pasquale Paoli (1725-1807), the Bonaparte family fled their native island for mainland France, where Napoleon returned to military duty.

In France, Napoleon became associated with Augustin Robespierre (1763-1794), the brother of revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794), a Jacobin who was a key force behind the Reign of Terror (1793-1794), a period of violence against enemies of the revolution. During this time, Napoleon was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the army. However, after Robespierre fell from power and was guillotined (along with Augustin) in July 1794, Napoleon was briefly put under house arrest for his ties to the brothers.

In 1795, Napoleon helped suppress a royalist insurrection against the revolutionary government in Paris and was promoted to major general.

Did you know? In 1799, during Napoleon’s military campaign in Egypt, a French soldier named Pierre Francois Bouchard (1772-1832) discovered the Rosetta Stone. This artifact provided the key to cracking the code of Egyptian hieroglyphics, a written language that had been dead for almost 2,000 years.

Napoleon’s Rise to Power

Since 1792, France’s revolutionary government had been engaged in military conflicts with various European nations. In 1796, Napoleon commanded a French army that defeated the larger armies of Austria, one of his country’s primary rivals, in a series of battles in Italy. In 1797, France and Austria signed the Treaty of Campo Formio, resulting in territorial gains for the French.

The following year, the Directory, the five-person group that had governed France since 1795, offered to let Napoleon lead an invasion of England. Napoleon determined that France’s naval forces were not yet ready to go up against the superior British Royal Navy. Instead, he proposed an invasion of Egypt in an effort to wipe out British trade routes with India. Napoleon’s troops scored a victory against Egypt’s military rulers, the Mamluks, at the Battle of the Pyramids in July 1798; soon, however, his forces were stranded after his naval fleet was nearly decimated by the British at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798. In early 1799, Napoleon’s army launched an invasion of Ottoman Empire -ruled Syria , which ended with a failed siege of Acre, located in modern-day Israel . That summer, with the political situation in France marked by uncertainty, the ever-ambitious and cunning Napoleon opted to abandon his army in Egypt and return to France.

Napoleon’s Life—and Mysterious Death—in Exile

After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the former emperor was placed in a 'wretched' home on a remote island.

The Personality Traits that Led to Napoleon Bonaparte’s Epic Downfall

Sex. Money. Class. You name the inferiority complex, and this thin‑skinned and deeply insecure French leader had it.

How Napoleon Plotted One of History’s Greatest Prison Breaks

The French emperor escaped his island prison in plain sight.

The Coup of 18 Brumaire

In November 1799, in an event known as the coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon was part of a group that successfully overthrew the French Directory.

The Directory was replaced with a three-member Consulate, and 5'7" Napoleon became first consul, making him France’s leading political figure. In June 1800, at the Battle of Marengo, Napoleon’s forces defeated one of France’s perennial enemies, the Austrians, and drove them out of Italy. The victory helped cement Napoleon’s power as first consul. Additionally, with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, the war-weary British agreed to peace with the French (although the peace would only last for a year).

Napoleon worked to restore stability to post-revolutionary France. He centralized the government; instituted reforms in such areas as banking and education; supported science and the arts; and sought to improve relations between his regime and the pope (who represented France’s main religion, Catholicism), which had suffered during the revolution. One of his most significant accomplishments was the Napoleonic Code , which streamlined the French legal system and continues to form the foundation of French civil law to this day.

In 1802, a constitutional amendment made Napoleon first consul for life. Two years later, in 1804, he crowned himself emperor of France in a lavish ceremony at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

Napoleon’s Marriages and Children

In 1796, Napoleon married Josephine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), a stylish widow six years his senior who had two teenage children. More than a decade later, in 1809, after Napoleon had no offspring of his own with Empress Josephine, he had their marriage annulled so he could find a new wife and produce an heir. In 1810, he wed Marie Louise (1791-1847), the daughter of the emperor of Austria. The following year, she gave birth to their son, Napoleon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte (1811-1832), who became known as Napoleon II and was given the title king of Rome. In addition to his son with Marie Louise, Napoleon had several illegitimate children.

The Reign of Napoleon I

From 1803 to 1815, France was engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, a series of major conflicts with various coalitions of European nations. In 1803, partly as a means to raise funds for future wars, Napoleon sold France’s Louisiana Territory in North America to the newly independent United States for $15 million, a transaction that later became known as the Louisiana Purchase .

In October 1805, the British wiped out Napoleon’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar . However, in December of that same year, Napoleon achieved what is considered to be one of his greatest victories at the Battle of Austerlitz, in which his army defeated the Austrians and Russians. The victory resulted in the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine.

Beginning in 1806, Napoleon sought to wage large-scale economic warfare against Britain with the establishment of the so-called Continental System of European port blockades against British trade. In 1807, following Napoleon’s defeat of the Russians at Friedland in Prussia, Alexander I (1777-1825) was forced to sign a peace settlement, the Treaty of Tilsit. In 1809, the French defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram, resulting in further gains for Napoleon.

During these years, Napoleon reestablished a French aristocracy (eliminated in the French Revolution) and began handing out titles of nobility to his loyal friends and family as his empire continued to expand across much of western and central continental Europe.

Napoleon’s Downfall and First Abdication

In 1810, Russia withdrew from the Continental System. In retaliation, Napoleon led a massive army into Russia in the summer of 1812. Rather than engaging the French in a full-scale battle, the Russians adopted a strategy of retreating whenever Napoleon’s forces attempted to attack. As a result, Napoleon’s troops trekked deeper into Russia despite being ill-prepared for an extended campaign.

In September, both sides suffered heavy casualties in the indecisive Battle of Borodino. Napoleon’s forces marched on to Moscow, only to discover almost the entire population evacuated. Retreating Russians set fires across the city in an effort to deprive enemy troops of supplies. After waiting a month for a surrender that never came, Napoleon, faced with the onset of the Russian winter, was forced to order his starving, exhausted army out of Moscow. During the disastrous retreat, his army suffered continual harassment from a suddenly aggressive and merciless Russian army. Of Napoleon’s 600,000 troops who began the campaign, only an estimated 100,000 made it out of Russia.

At the same time as the catastrophic Russian invasion, French forces were engaged in the Peninsular War (1808-1814), which resulted in the Spanish and Portuguese, with assistance from the British, driving the French from the Iberian Peninsula. This loss was followed in 1813 by the Battle of Leipzig , also known as the Battle of Nations, in which Napoleon’s forces were defeated by a coalition that included Austrian, Prussian, Russian and Swedish troops. Napoleon then retreated to France, and in March 1814 coalition forces captured Paris.

On April 6, 1814, Napoleon, then in his mid-40s, was forced to abdicate the throne. With the Treaty of Fontainebleau, he was exiled to Elba, a Mediterranean island off the coast of Italy. He was given sovereignty over the small island, while his wife and son went to Austria.

HISTORY Vault: Napoleon Bonaparte: The Glory of France

Explore the extraordinary life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte, the great military genius who took France to unprecedented heights of power, and then brought it to its knees when his ego spun out of control.

Hundred Days Campaign and Battle of Waterloo

On February 26, 1815, after less than a year in exile, Napoleon escaped Elba and sailed to the French mainland with a group of more than 1,000 supporters. On March 20, he returned to Paris, where he was welcomed by cheering crowds. The new king, Louis XVIII (1755-1824), fled, and Napoleon began what came to be known as his Hundred Days campaign.

Upon Napoleon’s return to France, a coalition of allies–the Austrians, British, Prussians and Russians–who considered the French emperor an enemy began to prepare for war. Napoleon raised a new army and planned to strike preemptively, defeating the allied forces one by one before they could launch a united attack against him.

In June 1815, his forces invaded Belgium, where British and Prussian troops were stationed. On June 16, Napoleon’s troops defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny. However, two days later, on June 18, at the Battle of Waterloo near Brussels, the French were crushed by the British, with assistance from the Prussians.

On June 22, 1815, Napoleon was once again forced to abdicate.

Napoleon’s Final Years

In October 1815, Napoleon was exiled to the remote, British-held island of Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean. He died there on May 5, 1821, at age 51, most likely from stomach cancer. (During his time in power, Napoleon often posed for paintings with his hand in his vest, leading to some speculation after his death that he had been plagued by stomach pain for years.) Napoleon was buried on the island despite his request to be laid to rest “on the banks of the Seine, among the French people I have loved so much.” In 1840, his remains were returned to France and entombed in a crypt at Les Invalides in Paris, where other French military leaders are interred.

Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes

• “The only way to lead people is to show them a future: a leader is a dealer in hope.”
• “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
• “Envy is a declaration of inferiority.”
• “The reason most people fail instead of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment.”
• “If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.”

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Early life and education

The jacobin years.

• The Directory
• Consolidation of power
• Program of reforms
• Military campaigns and uneasy peace
• Founding the empire
• War with Britain
• Blockade and the peninsular campaign
• Consolidation of empire
• Disaster in Russia and its aftermath
• Downfall and abdication
• Elba and the Hundred Days
• Exile on St. Helena
• The Napoleonic legend

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Napoleon I, also called Napoléon Bonaparte, was a French military general and statesman. Napoleon played a key role in the French Revolution (1789–99), served as first consul of France (1799–1804), and was the first emperor of France (1804–14/15). Today Napoleon is widely considered one of the greatest military generals in history.

Napoleon first seized political power in a coup d’état in 1799. The coup resulted in the replacement of the extant governing body—a five-member Directory —by a three-person Consulate . The first consul, Napoleon, had all the real power; the other two consuls were figureheads. Napoleon eventually abolished the Consulate and declared himself Emperor Napoleon I of France.

Napoleon served as first consul of France from 1799 to 1804. In that time, Napoleon reformed the French educational system, developed a civil code (the Napoleonic Code ), and negotiated the Concordat of 1801 . He also initiated the Napoleonic Wars (c. 1801–15), a series of wars that carried over into his reign as emperor of France (1804–14/15). As Emperor Napoleon I, he modernized the French military.

After a series of military defeats in 1812–13, Napoleon was forced to abdicate the French throne on April 6, 1814. Napoleon returned to power in early 1815 but was again ousted on June 22, 1815. In October 1815 Napoleon was exiled to the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where he remained until he died on May 5, 1821, at age 51.

No! “Le Petit Caporal” wasn’t petite—at least not by 19th-century standards. The estimated average height of a French man in 1820 was 5 feet 4 inches (about 1.65 meters). At the time of his death in 1821, Napoleon measured about 5 feet 7 inches (roughly 1.68 meters) tall, meaning that he was actually of above-average height.

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Napoleon I (born August 15, 1769, Ajaccio, Corsica—died May 5, 1821, St. Helena Island ) was a French general , first consul (1799–1804), and emperor of the French (1804–1814/15), one of the most celebrated personages in the history of the West. He revolutionized military organization and training; sponsored the Napoleonic Code , the prototype of later civil-law codes; reorganized education; and established the long-lived Concordat with the papacy.

(See “Napoleon’s Major Battles” Interactive Map)

Napoleon’s many reforms left a lasting mark on the institutions of France and of much of western Europe . But his driving passion was the military expansion of French dominion, and, though at his fall he left France little larger than it had been at the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, he was almost unanimously revered during his lifetime and until the end of the Second Empire under his nephew Napoleon III as one of history’s great heroes.

Napoleon was born on Corsica shortly after the island’s cession to France by the Genoese. He was the fourth, and second surviving, child of Carlo Buonaparte , a lawyer, and his wife, Letizia Ramolino. His father’s family, of ancient Tuscan nobility, had emigrated to Corsica in the 16th century.

Carlo Buonaparte had married the beautiful and strong-willed Letizia when she was only 14 years old; they eventually had eight children to bring up in very difficult times. The French occupation of their native country was resisted by a number of Corsicans led by Pasquale Paoli . Carlo Buonaparte joined Paoli’s party, but, when Paoli had to flee, Buonaparte came to terms with the French. Winning the protection of the governor of Corsica, he was appointed assessor for the judicial district of Ajaccio in 1771. In 1778 he obtained the admission of his two eldest sons, Joseph and Napoleon, to the Collège d’Autun.

A Corsican by birth, heredity, and childhood associations, Napoleon continued for some time after his arrival in Continental France to regard himself a foreigner; yet from age nine he was educated in France as other Frenchmen were. While the tendency to see in Napoleon a reincarnation of some 14th-century Italian condottiere is an overemphasis on one aspect of his character, he did, in fact, share neither the traditions nor the prejudices of his new country: remaining a Corsican in temperament, he was first and foremost, through both his education and his reading, a man of the 18th century.

Napoleon was educated at three schools: briefly at Autun , for five years at the military college of Brienne, and finally for one year at the military academy in Paris. It was during Napoleon’s year in Paris that his father died of a stomach cancer in February 1785, leaving his family in straitened circumstances. Napoleon, although not the eldest son, assumed the position of head of the family before he was 16. In September he graduated from the military academy, ranking 42nd in a class of 58.

He was made second lieutenant of artillery in the regiment of La Fère, a kind of training school for young artillery officers. Garrisoned at Valence , Napoleon continued his education, reading much, in particular works on strategy and tactics. He also wrote Lettres sur la Corse (“Letters on Corsica”), in which he reveals his feeling for his native island. He went back to Corsica in September 1786 and did not rejoin his regiment until June 1788. By that time the agitation that was to culminate in the French Revolution had already begun. A reader of Voltaire and of Rousseau , Napoleon believed that a political change was imperative , but, as a career officer, he seems not to have seen any need for radical social reforms.

The Revolutionary period

When in 1789 the National Assembly , which had convened to establish a constitutional monarchy , allowed Paoli to return to Corsica, Napoleon asked for leave and in September joined Paoli’s group. But Paoli had no sympathy for the young man, whose father had deserted his cause and whom he considered to be a foreigner. Disappointed, Napoleon returned to France, and in April 1791 he was appointed first lieutenant to the 4th regiment of artillery, garrisoned at Valence. He at once joined the Jacobin Club , a debating society initially favouring a constitutional monarchy, and soon became its president, making speeches against nobles, monks, and bishops. In September 1791 he got leave to go back to Corsica again for three months. Elected lieutenant colonel in the national guard, he soon fell out with Paoli, its commander in chief. When he failed to return to France, he was listed as a deserter in January 1792. But in April France declared war against Austria , and his offense was forgiven.

Apparently through patronage, Napoleon was promoted to the rank of captain but did not rejoin his regiment. Instead he returned to Corsica in October 1792, where Paoli was exercising dictatorial powers and preparing to separate Corsica from France. Napoleon, however, joined the Corsican Jacobins, who opposed Paoli’s policy. When civil war broke out in Corsica in April 1793, Paoli had the Buonaparte family condemned to “perpetual execration and infamy,” whereupon they all fled to France.

Napoleon Bonaparte, as he may henceforth be called (though the family did not drop the spelling Buonaparte until after 1796), rejoined his regiment at Nice in June 1793. In his Le Souper de Beaucaire ( Supper at Beaucaire ), written at this time, he argued vigorously for united action by all republicans rallied round the Jacobins, who were becoming progressively more radical, and the National Convention , the Revolutionary assembly that in the preceding fall had abolished the monarchy.

At the end of August 1793, the National Convention’s troops had taken Marseille but were halted before Toulon , where the royalists had called in British forces. With the commander of the National Convention’s artillery wounded , Bonaparte got the post through the commissioner to the army, Antoine Saliceti, who was a Corsican deputy and a friend of Napoleon’s family. Bonaparte was promoted to major in September and adjutant general in October. He received a bayonet wound on December 16, but on the next day the British troops, harassed by his artillery, evacuated Toulon. On December 22 Bonaparte, age 24, was promoted to brigadier general in recognition of his decisive part in the capture of the town.

Augustin de Robespierre, the commissioner to the army, wrote to his brother Maximilien , by then virtual head of the government and one of the leading figures of the Reign of Terror , praising the “transcendent merit” of the young republican officer. In February 1794 Bonaparte was appointed commandant of the artillery in the French Army of Italy . Robespierre fell from power in Paris on 9 Thermidor, year II (July 27, 1794). When the news reached Nice, Bonaparte, regarded as a protégé of Robespierre, was arrested on a charge of conspiracy and treason. He was freed in September but was not restored to his command.

The following March he refused an offer to command the artillery in the Army of the West , which was fighting the counterrevolution in the Vendée . The post seemed to hold no future for him, and he went to Paris to justify himself. Life was difficult on half pay, especially as he was carrying on an affair with Désirée Clary, daughter of a rich Marseille businessman and sister of Julie, the bride of his elder brother, Joseph. Despite his efforts in Paris, Napoleon was unable to obtain a satisfactory command, because he was feared for his intense ambition and for his relations with the Montagnards , the more radical members of the National Convention . He then considered offering his services to the sultan of Turkey .

Napoleon Bonaparte

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Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a Corsican-born French general and politician who reigned as Emperor of the French with the regnal name Napoleon I from 1804 to 1814 and then again briefly in 1815. He established the largest continental European empire since Charlemagne and brought liberal reforms to the lands he conquered at the cost of the destructive Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815).

Born to a family of minor Corsican nobility, Napoleon rose to prominence in the French army during the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802), leading military campaigns in Italy and Egypt . He seized control of the French Republic in the Coup of 18 Brumaire of 1799 and crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804. Napoleon and his famed Grande Armée fought against several coalitions of European powers; by the time of the Treaties of Tilsit of July 1807, his authority covered most of Western and Central Europe .

However, after the disastrous failure of Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, most of Europe turned against him. He was defeated and exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba in April 1814, only to make a triumphant return to France the following year, beginning the period of his second reign known as the Hundred Days . He was soon defeated once again at the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815), after which he was exiled for a final time to the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died on 5 May 1821.

Napoleon is best remembered for his military career, over the course of which he fought 60 battles and lost only seven. His military innovations changed European warfare ; he utilized conscription, popularized the implementation of corps as an army's largest unit, and pioneered certain military tactics that have been studied ever since. He is often ranked alongside Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar as one of history's most brilliant generals. He also implemented a set of civil laws, best known as the Napoleonic Code, that was adopted throughout much of continental Europe and influenced the judicial systems of many modern nations. Alternatively viewed as a reformer and an autocrat, a warmonger and a defender of liberties, Napoleon enjoys a controversial reputation but remains one of Western history's best-known figures.

The future French emperor was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Ajaccio, Corsica, on 15 August 1769. The Buonaparte family had originated in Italy before emigrating to Corsica in 1529, where they established themselves amongst the minor nobility; Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, was a lawyer, prosperous enough to own the three-story Casa Bonaparte in Ajaccio as well as a countryside house, a vineyard, and a flock of sheep. Napoleon was the second surviving child of Carlo and Maria-Letizia Bonaparte; he had an older brother, Joseph, and younger siblings Lucien, Elisa, Louis, Pauline, Caroline, and Jerôme.

For centuries, Corsica had been controlled by the Republic of Genoa but allowed to effectively govern itself. However, in 1768, Genoa sold Corsica to the Kingdom of France, which was interested in a more direct administration style. This was met with resistance, and an initial French expeditionary force was checked by a group of Corsican freedom fighters led by the charismatic Pasquale Paoli. At the decisive Battle of Ponte Novu in May 1769, the French defeated Paoli's Corsicans, who were forced into hiding. Carlo Buonaparte had initially supported Corsican independence, but after the Corsican defeat, Carlo swore allegiance to his new French overlords. In return, the new French administration awarded the Buonaparte family with new titles and honors.

In April 1779, Carlo used his new French connections to send his two eldest sons to school in France. Nine-year-old Napoleon was enrolled in the Royal Military School of Brienne-le-Château near Troyes to begin studying for a military career. Napoleon spent the next five years at this boarding school, where his strong Corsican accent, strange-sounding name, and fierce Corsican patriotism set him apart from the other students; lacking friends, Napoleon turned to the company of books. For a time, he considered embarking on a writing career and penned no fewer than 60 essays, novellas, and pamphlets, including a history of Corsica. In the classroom, Napoleon was intellectually gifted, particularly in the field of mathematics. Despite being educated by monks, he was skeptical of the divinity of Jesus Christ; this skepticism led him to view religion as a political tool, which he would wield effectively during his career.

In February 1784, Carlo Buonaparte died. Two years later, Napoleon graduated from the prestigious École Militaire as an artillery lieutenant but spent most of the subsequent months on leave in Corsica. Napoleon and his siblings enthusiastically supported the French Revolution when it began in 1789, with Napoleon winning election as a lieutenant colonel in the revolutionary National Guard in April 1792. Their support of the new French government put the Bonaparte siblings at odds with Paoli, who still championed Corsican independence. Rising tensions between the Bonapartes and Paoli's supporters soon forced Napoleon's family to flee to mainland France in 1793. Exiled from his homeland, Napoleon was no longer a Corsican nationalist but was now committed to the French cause.

The Revolution

In the spring of 1792, Revolutionary France went to war with Austria and Prussia, kicking off the Revolutionary Wars. After the stunning French victory at the Battle of Valmy (20 September 1792), the First French Republic was proclaimed, and King Louis XVI of France was guillotined on 21 January 1793. As the French Republic became more radical and belligerent, additional nations joined the war against it, including Great Britain , Spain, and the Dutch Republic. On 28 August 1793, a fleet of British and Spanish ships occupied the harbor of Toulon; since Toulon housed the entire French Mediterranean Fleet, it was vital for the Republic.

Meanwhile, Napoleon published a pro-Jacobin pamphlet entitled Le Souper de Beaucaire , where he argued for the necessity of the extreme measures pursued by the revolutionary government. This pamphlet impressed several powerful Jacobin leaders, which led to Napoleon's appointment as commander of the French artillery at the Siege of Toulon . Napoleon displayed valuable leadership abilities during the siege, and his cannons were crucial to the French victory on 19 December 1793; though he was wounded during the final assault, Napoleon was promoted to brigadier general after the battle, aged only 24.

In July 1794, the Reign of Terror ended, and the Jacobins fell from power; Napoleon was briefly arrested but was ultimately released. With the downfall of his benefactors, it appeared that Napoleon's brief career may already be over. This changed on 4 October 1795, when the Republic's government was scrambling to defend Paris from an impending royalist insurrection. Since Napoleon was one of the few qualified officers in the capital, he was put in charge of the defense, a task he carried out with ruthless efficiency; after requisitioning some cannons, Napoleon's troops fired grapeshot into the crowd.

By suppressing the Revolt of 13 Vendémiaire , Napoleon won the attention of Paul Barras, one of the leaders of the new government called the French Directory . In 1795, Barras introduced the young general to Joséphine de Beauharnais , a 32-year-old widow with whom Napoleon quickly fell in love. Additionally, Barras secured Napoleon's appointment to the command of the French Army of Italy. On 9 March 1796, Napoleon married Joséphine in a civil ceremony before leaving for Italy two days later; it was at this point that he began spelling his name in a Frenchified way, as "Napoleon Bonaparte".

Italy, Egypt, & Brumaire

When Napoleon first arrived in Italy, his officers did not think much of him. He was a small, thin man, only 26 years old with no experience leading an army. But this opinion quickly changed; after whipping the undisciplined Army of Italy into shape and procuring much-needed supplies, Napoleon embarked on a lightning campaign against the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, knocking it out of the war within a month. He then campaigned against the Austrians, capturing Milan, and setting up several French client states in northern Italy. He went on to besiege the Austrian stronghold of Mantua, defeating Austrian armies at the Battle of Castiglione (5 August 1796), the Battle of Arcole (15-17 November), and the Battle of Rivoli (14-15 January 1797). When Mantua finally fell in February 1797, Napoleon's army was poised to threaten Vienna; the Austrians asked for an armistice and signed the Treaty of Campo Formio in October, ending the War of the First Coalition .

The brilliant success of Napoleon's Italian Campaign won him the love of his troops, who referred to him affectionately as 'the Little Corporal'. It also launched him to political superstardom in France; tales such as his heroic charge across the Arcole bridge became well-known and formed the basis for the Napoleonic legend. In 1798, Napoleon secured permission to lead an army to Egypt to threaten British dominance in the region. After beating the Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids (21 July) and capturing Cairo, Napoleon advanced into Syria where he was halted by an Anglo-Ottoman force at the Siege of Acre (20 March-21 May 1799). He was forced to withdraw to Alexandria and slipped out of Egypt in August 1799. Although Napoleon's campaign in Egypt and Syria was a military failure, it greatly advanced the field of Egyptology with the discovery of the Rosetta Stone .

In October 1799, Napoleon landed in France and was approached by several disgruntled French officials such as Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès who wanted to use him as the 'sword' of a coup. Napoleon accepted and, on 9-10 November 1799, overthrew the government in the bloodless Coup of 18 Brumaire. Napoleon then outmaneuvered Sieyès to become the leading figure of the new government, called the French Consulate . His rise to power marked the end of the French Revolution and ushered in the Napoleonic era.

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First Consul & Emperor

The Consulate lasted for four years, during which time Napoleon accomplished some of his longest-lasting political achievements. He negotiated the Concordat of 1801, which reconciled France with the Catholic Church, and established the Napoleonic Code, which echoed some of the liberal reforms of the Revolution. He sent an invasion force to reclaim Haiti and reestablish slavery there; this invasion force failed, and Haiti gained its independence in 1804. Additionally, as First Consul, Napoleon made the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States. Militarily, he crossed the Alps and defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800) and secured an end to the Revolutionary Wars two years later with the Treaty of Amiens. Around this time, he was confirmed First Consul for life by a plebiscite.

Napoleon knew his budding regime would not be secure unless he could establish a hereditary empire. So, on 18 May 1804, Napoleon proclaimed the French Empire with himself as Emperor of the French. The Coronation of Napoleon I was held at the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral on 2 December, where Napoleon took the crown and placed it on his own head. By this point, the Napoleonic Wars had already begun, as Britain had declared war on France in May 1803. However, after Napoleon's coronation first as Emperor of the French, then as King of Italy in March 1805, Britain was joined by Austria, Russia, and Naples in the War of the Third Coalition (1805-1806) against France. Napoleon wasted no time marching into Germany at the head of his new Grande Armée, which was subdivided into eight semi-autonomous corps to allow for more speed and flexibility.

This corps system proved greatly effective and allowed Napoleon to force the capitulation of an Austrian army at the end of the Ulm Campaign . He then captured Vienna on 13 November and decisively defeated an Austro-Russian army at the Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805), largely regarded as one of his greatest victories. After Austria's surrender, Napoleon reorganized several German states into the Confederation of the Rhine under his own protection; this directly led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in July 1806. Napoleon also deposed the Bourbon king of Naples and installed his brother Joseph on its throne; Louis Bonaparte would be made King of Holland in 1806, while Jerôme got the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807. An attempt to establish a dynasty, Napoleon has often been criticized for giving too much power to his less competent brothers.

In October 1806, Prussia joined with Russia and Britain in the War of the Fourth Coalition (1806-1807). Napoleon smashed the Prussian army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt (14 October) and entered Berlin only days later. Pushing on into Prussian-occupied Poland, he created a new client state, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, before fighting the Russians to a standstill at the bloody Battle of Eylau (7-8 February 1807). On 14 June, Napoleon beat the Russians at the Battle of Friedland , after which he met with Tsar Alexander I of Russia (r. 1801-1825) on a raft in the middle of the Niemen River to negotiate peace. In the ensuing Treaties of Tilsit, a Franco-Russian alliance was established, and Alexander agreed to join Napoleon's large-scale embargo against Britain, known as the Continental System . The treaties also saw Prussia lose half its territory. This was arguably the peak of Napoleon's power, his influence stretching across Western and Central Europe.

Spain & Russia

In 1807, Napoleon ordered an invasion of Portugal to punish it for not complying with the Continental System. Lisbon fell quickly, but Napoleon was unsatisfied; ever the opportunist, he took advantage of a quarrel within Spain's royal family to invade Spain and install his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne in 1808. The Portuguese and Spanish were quick to resist French occupation and launched the Peninsular War (1807-1814). Aided by British soldiers, the Portuguese and Spanish put up stubborn resistance that included brutal guerrilla warfare; before long, 200,000 French soldiers were tied down in the region, putting a strain on French military resources.

Meanwhile, the initial successes of the Iberian rebels emboldened the Austrian Empire to launch the War of the Fifth Coalition in April 1809. It was during this war, on the banks of the Danube, that Napoleon suffered his first defeat as emperor at the Battle of Aspern-Essling (21-22 May). Though he eventually regrouped and defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram (5-6 July), Aspern-Essling proved to Europe that Napoleon could be defeated. In the aftermath of the war with Austria, Napoleon married the Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise, daughter of the Habsburg emperor, in April 1810; he had divorced Joséphine the previous January because she failed to produce an heir. On 20 March 1811, Marie Louise gave birth to a boy, Napoleon II, who was styled as the King of Rome .

By 1811, the French and Russian empires were on a collision course; Russia viewed the existence of the French-controlled Duchy of Warsaw as a threat while Napoleon felt betrayed when Tsar Alexander exited the Continental System. On 24 June 1812, Napoleon's invasion of Russia began, as over 615,000 French and allied troops crossed the Niemen River, the largest invasion force Europe had yet seen. The Russians, however, refused to give battle, luring the French deeper into their territory and engaging in scorched-earth tactics along the way. This was greatly effective, as the French lost over 100,000 men to attrition before the first major battle was even fought. On 7 September, the French and Russians fought the bloody Battle of Borodino , and Napoleon entered Moscow a week later. However, the city was deserted and was soon engulfed in flames, rendering it useless to the occupying army.

After realizing the Russians were not about to make peace, Napoleon ordered a retreat in October. However, the onset of a brutal winter and the pursuing Russian armies decimated Napoleon's Grande Armée; by the time the French crossed back over the Niemen River in December 1812, they had lost half a million men. The great powers of Europe leaped at the chance to finally defeat Napoleon. In the subsequent War of the Sixth Coalition (1813-1814), Russia was joined by Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden. After Napoleon suffered another crushing defeat at the Battle of Leipzig (16-19 October 1813), many of his German allies defected, and the Confederation of the Rhine was dissolved. The Coalition then invaded France, leaving Napoleon with no choice but to abdicate on 11 April 1814. He was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba, and King Louis XVIII of France ascended the throne.

On 1 March 1815, Napoleon took advantage of the political unrest caused by the Bourbon Restoration and landed on the coast of southern France with 1,000 soldiers. On 20 March, he entered Paris in triumph , beginning the period of his second reign known as the Hundred Days. His enemies wasted no time branding him an outlaw and raising new armies. By late May, the Seventh Coalition had sent two armies to Belgium to threaten northeastern France including an Anglo-Dutch-German army led by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. On 15 June 1815, Napoleon marched into Belgium to meet this new threat but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815). He abdicated again four days later and was exiled to the lonely island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Here, he was kept under close guard by his British captors. His health steadily deteriorated until he died on 5 May 1821, at the age of 51.

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Bibliography

• Bell, David A. Napoleon: A Concise Biography. Oxford University Press, 2015.
• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. Scribner, 1973.
• Furet, Francois. The French Revolution 1770-1814. John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
• Gates, David. The Spanish Ulcer. Da Capo Press, 2001.
• Lefebvre, Georges & Anderson, J. E. Napoleon. Columbia Univ Pr, 1990.
• Lieven, Dominic. Russia Against Napoleon. Penguin Books, 2011.
• Mikaberidze, Alexander. The Napoleonic Wars. Oxford University Press, 2020.
• Roberts, Andrew. Napoleon. Penguin Books, 2015.
• Strathern, Paul. Napoleon in Egypt. Bantam, 2009.

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BELL RINGER 1)Who was George Danton? 2)Who was Maximilien Robespierre? 3)What was the Reign of Terror? 4)How did Napoleon come to power?

Napoleon Bonaparte: The End of the French Revolution

The Rise and Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte

The Age of Napoleon. Napoleon’s Rise to Power Born in 1769 as Napoleon Bonaparte in Corsica Born in 1769 as Napoleon Bonaparte in Corsica At the age of.

Napoleonic Era Coup d’etat made Napoleon dictator.

Napoleon Bonaparte. Rise of Napoleon  24 years old is made a general by the Committee of Public Safety  At 26, he becomes commander of French armies.

18.3. THE AGE OF NAPOLEON Big Idea: Napoleon spreads revolutionary ideas. We all know that Napoleon was short ( 5” 3”-7”) but he did caste a very long.

Chapter 11 The French Revolution Section 4- Napoleon’s Empire Chapter 11 The French Revolution Section 4- Napoleon’s Empire.

Napoleon’s Early Life Napoleon’s Early Life –Born in 1769 – Corsica –Studied at a military school in France –Lieutenant in the French Army 1785 –Studied.

Day 3: The Age of Napoleon Napoleon takes power Seen as national hero.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. Napoleon Born in Corsica Family was minor nobility.

THE RISE OF NAPOLEON AND IMPERIAL FRANCE

Napoleon Bonaparte Forging an Empire. Early Life Born in 1769 on the island of Corsica Born in 1769 on the island of Corsica Sent to military school in.

The Age of Napoleon Early Life Born in Corsica Age 9 – Military School Age 16 – Lieutenant Joins the French Army when the Revolution breaks.

PHASE 4: Consulate toEmpiretoExile! Napoleon Bonaparte: Napoleon Bonaparte:

Good Afternoon!!!! 1.NVC 2.Rise and Fall of Napoleon’s Empire Essential Question: What happened to cause the rise and fall of Napoleon’s Empire?

The Napoleonic Empire Chapter 11, Section 3.

The Age of Napoleon World History I.

The Age of Napoleon Section 18-4 pp Napoleon’s Rise to Power Rose to power during the French Revolution – Defended National Convention from.

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The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte

Let us begin with a warm-up!

• In your groups, answer the question below
• Why do many people argue that Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power ends the French Revolution?
• Once everyone is done, we will review everyone’s answers as a class

The Transitions of the French Governmental Bodies During the French Revolution

Let us take a look!

Napoleon’s Initial Rise to Power Reading and Questions:

• Using the QR Code to the right answer the questions below
• 1.) Where was Napoleon Bonaparte born? Was this part of France?
• 2.) What was Napoleon’s educational background?
• 3.) What role did Napoleon play in the early years of the French Revolution?
• 4.) What did Napoleon do in 1795?
• 5.) How successful was he against European forces? Explain.
• 6.) What was the Directory’s military plan in 1798? What was Napoleon’s plan in 1798?
• 7.) Why did Napoleon return to France in 1799?

Napoleon Seizes Power:

• By 1799, people had lost confidence in the Directory, due to corruption
• But the directors control of the army kept them in power
• On November 9, 1799, Napoleon seized power
• He sent troops to drive out elected members of the one chamber of the national legislature
• The other chamber gave up power

Stage Three is complete! Stage Four has begun!

End of Stage Three and the Beginning of Stage Four:

• With Napoleon’s coup the fourth and the final stage of the French Revolution has begun
• After giving up power, the Chamber turned power over to three consuls
• Napoleon was one of the consuls
• He assumed dictatorial powers as the First Consul of the French Republic

The Rise of Napoleon Video

https://app.discoveryeducation.com/learn/videos/0234990a-8aa5-48fb-a54d-c74cccd47a01/

Second Coalition Attacked France:

• Napoleon had defeated the First Coalition in 1797
• Great Britain did not want to give-up and formed another coalition in 1799
• This was called the Second Coalition
• Britain, Austria, and Russia
• Napoleon led his troops over the Alps into northern Italy and beat Austria
• Britain fought on but eventually negotiated a peace with France in 1802
• With this negotiated peace, Europe at peace for the first time in 10 years but would not last long

Napoleon Became Emperor:

• Napoleon acted as a constitutionally chosen leader of France
• But he was not. ..at least not yet
• He and his other consuls asked the people to approve a new constitution
• People vote yes or no
• This is called a plebiscite election

Group Discussion:

• In your groups, answer the questions below
• What power level do you think Napoleon would ask for in this constitution?
• Why would the people give him this power?
• This would be the fourth constitution in eight years
• People desperate for strong leadership
• In 1800, the people of France voted yes and gave all real power to Bonaparte as the First Consul
• In 1802, he asked the French people to vote him in for life
• In 1804, he declared himself emperor
• The French people supported this
• A massive ceremony was held at the Notre Dame Cathedral
• The ceremony was officiated by the Pope, who made him emperor

Napoleon Becomes Emperor Video

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Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte, also known as Napoleon I, was a French general and emperor who conquered large parts of Europe in the 19th century. 

Famed for his tactical brilliance and quick thinking in desperate situations, he went down in European history as one of the foremost military strategists of the time.

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Early Life of Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica, an island located on the Mediterranean Coast, on August 15, 1768,  to Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Romalino Bonaparte. Despite being part of the Corsican nobility, Napoleon’s family were of modest means. 

Napoleon did his schooling in mainland France, graduating from the military academy in 1785. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant of an artillery detachment in the French Army. He was on leave when the French Revolution broke out in 1789, during which he became involved with the Corsican branch  of the Jacobins , one of many pro-democratic parties in France at the time. At the time, the Bonaparte family had gotten into a dispute for their pro-democratic leanings with the monarchy supporting the governor of Corsica. The result was them fleeing Corsica for mainland France in 1793, where Napoleon returned to active military duty

Napoleon came into contact with Augustine Robespierre, the brother of the infamous Maximilien Robespierre. Maximilien Robespierre would herald the Reign of Terror, a period of anarchy marked by violence against and execution of those considered the enemies of the French revolution .

But when the Robespierre brothers fell from power and were guillotined in July 1794, Napoleon was placed under house arrest for a brief period of time due to his association with them. In 1795, he suppressed a monarchy-backed uprising against the revolutionary government, being promoted to a major general as a result.

Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte

The French government was fighting against other European monarchies since 1792. In a series of battles taking place in Italy during 1796, Napoleon led a French army to victory over the much better equipped and larger armies of Austria. The Treaty of Campo Formio signed between France and Austria led to territorial gains for France.

The Directory, a five-member group that governed France since the Reign of Terror ended in 1795, directed Napoleon to lead an invasion of Great Britain. Knowing the French Navy was inadequate to deal with the far more superior British Royal Navy, Napoleon instead proposed an expedition to Egypt, then a British Protectorate. Taking Egypt from the British would effectively cut them off from their vital trade with India, causing widespread economic hardship on the British Isle. Landing in Egypt in 1798, the French army won the Battle of the Pyramids in June of that year.

But during the Battle of the Nile in August, the French Navy was nearly wiped out following the engagement with the British Navy. Later, Napoleon would launch an invasion of Syria in 1798. Syria was then a province of the Ottoman Empire. This campaign would be a failure as well.

With the political situation in France deteriorating, Napoleon decided to return to France. He then became part of the group that overthrew the Directory in 1799.

Now a three-member group called the Consulate ruled France with Napoleon becoming first consul, a position consolidated by his victory over Austria at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800.

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Napoleon I, Emperor of France

A constitutional amendment made in 1802 made Napoleon first consul for life. In 1804, he crowned himself, emperor of France, during a lavish ceremony at the Cathedral of Notre Dame

Seeking to restore stability in post-revolutionary France, he centralized the government by introducing reforms in banking and education, supporting science and art. His most significant accomplishment was the creation of the Napoleonic Code, which transformed the French legal system and continues to be the be basis of the legal system in France and most of Western Europe to this day.

The Napoleonic Wars broke out in 1803, lasting until 1815. It was a series of conflicts between the French Empire and a coalition of European nations.

On October 1805, the French fleet was annihilated during the battle of Trafalgar, nullifying the threat of invasion of the British Isles. The Battle of Austerlitz in December of that year, however, solidified his reputation as one of the greatest generals in European History.  A combined army of Austrians and Russians was defeated by the French and the termination of the Holy  Roman Empire that resulted would be a catalyst for the unification of Germany in 1871

Seeking to defeat his British rivals through economic means, Napoleon devised the Continental System in 1806, which blockaded Europeans ports from British Trade. Subsequent victories in 1807 and 1809 against the Russians and Austrians resulted in French territorial gains in central and Eastern Europe

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Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte

The Russian withdrawal from the continental system gave Napoleon  casus belli for Napoleon to launch an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. It proved to be a costly mistake as the Russians switched to scorched-earth tactics to deny the French army any hope of preparing for the brutal winter that would follow. By September of that year, both sides had suffered enormous casualties.

The French Army did eventually take Moscow but all they found was an empty city, with its population having evacuated further east. Seeing little point in residing in Moscow, Napoleon retreated back towards the west under constant attack by the Russians. Only 100,000 of the original 600,000 managed to reach the safety of the empire.

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Further setbacks for Napoleon awaited him with the defeat of his armies in Spain. Napoleon’s forces were again defeated in 1813 during the Battle of Leipzig by a coalition force of Austrian, Prussian, Russian and Swedish troops. He was forced to abdicate his throne when the coalition forces captured Paris. He was exiled to the island of Elba off the coast of Italy while his wife and son were sent to Austria

On February 26, 1815, Napoleon escaped to mainland France, where he was welcomed to Paris by cheering crowds. He began a campaign to reconquer lost French possessions in Europe shortly after. 

The French Army invaded Belgium in 1815 in order to defeat a combined British and Prussian army. In the engagement that followed the Prussians were defeated at Ligny but on June 18, at the Battle of Waterloo, the  French were crushed by the British through Prussian support. The battle permanently ended Napoleon’s threat to Europe.

In June 1815, Napoleon was dethroned once again.

Napoleon Bonaparte: UPSC Notes – Download PDF Here

Final years of Napoleon Bonaparte

In October 1815, Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. He passed away while there on May 5, 1821. He was 51 at the time. The likely cause of his demise is said to be stomach cancer, although it was speculated with no sufficient evidence that he was poisoned. Although his last wish was to be buried on the banks of the Seine, he was buried on the island. In 1840 his remains were returned to France and given a state funeral. 

Frequently Asked Questions  about Napoleon Bonaparte

Why is napoleon famous, who defeated napoleon.

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The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte

Nov 09, 2019

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The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. 1799-1815. Napoleon’s character. Intelligent Witty Charming Depressive Childish Decisive. Life Under the Directory. Directory was corrupt, economy was poor Following Robespierre, people went wild

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The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte 1799-1815

Napoleon’s character • Intelligent • Witty • Charming • Depressive • Childish • Decisive

Life Under the Directory • Directory was corrupt, economy was poor • Following Robespierre, people went wild • Populace tires of revolution, war, high taxes, high prices, new constitutions, and directors! • People begin to look for strong leadership • War in 1795: • Prussia accepts French annexation of Rhineland, the Austrian Netherlands, “Batavian Republic” • War compounds political/social instability • 5 October 1795: Bonaparte puts down Royalist uprising • 18thFructidor 1797: Coup d’Etat

Napoleon’s early days • Born in Corsica (1769)—Family supports Paoli • Military school in France • Commissioned in artillery • Supports Revolution: • Curtail abuses of Old Regime • End Corsica’s status of conquered territory • Opportunity for promotion • Helps take royalist Toulon in 1793 • Age 24: brigadier general • 1795: Suppresses revolt in Paris • 1796: Commander of Army of Italy (Josephine) - Sweeps through Italy • Treaty of Campo Formio (17 Oct 1797) • Austrians recognize Rhineland, Austrian Netherlands, Cisalpine Republic

Egyptian Campaign • Director Barras wants to harness Napoleon’s popularity • 1798-1799: Sets off on Egyptian Campaign • Purpose: Attack British route to India • “Civilizing mission” – Scientific • Battle of the pyramids (1798) • Battle of the Nile (1 August 1798) • Second Coalition (1799-1802) • Britain, Russia, Austria • Pope sent into exile • French losses in Italy, Switzerland • Irish revolt—French send troops, fleet defeated • Russians withdraw in late 1799 – British naval rights • 1799: Napoleon flees to Paris

Consulate • Abbe Sieyes wants stronger executive • Organized, through Talleyrand, a coup • 18th Brumaire1799: Napoleon overthrows Directory (coup d’etat)—Napoleon only 30 • Fake plebiscite: 99 % approval; “authority from above, confidence from below” • Constitution of 1799 • Universal suffrage, but reflects authoritarianism • Brings stability • Serves as First Consul • Quickly takes dictatorial powers • Presents self as continuing Revolution • 1802: Consul for Life

Concordat of 1801 • Pius VII seeking to end turmoil • Napoleon’s aim: Detach Church from monarchist cause • Catholicism “religion of the majority of the people” • Pope appoints bishops, but on Nap.’s recommendation • Abandons new calendar • Organic Articles: • Church under state administration • Napoleon must approve all papal bulls • Church gains freedom of religious practice, but at the expense of independence • Protestants and Jews get freedom to practice religion • Alienates some on left, but very popular with the masses

Victories • Austria defeated, Russia tied up in war with Ottomans • Peace of Amiens (1802): • Britain returns all French colonies • Recognizes France’s conquests • Begins to dismember HRE • Absorbs left bank of Rhine • Pays off Prussia & Austria with small German states • Napoleon president of Cisalpine Republic • Helvetic Republic

Emperor 1802: Declares self Consul for Life (plebiscite) Duke d’Enghien tried and executed for conspiracy Tribunate, Senate, and plebiscite approve changing from Consulate to Empire Napoleon crowns self as Emperor on 2 December 1804 “The government of the republic is entrusted to an emperor”

Civil Code of 1804 (Napoleonic code) • Most lasting legacy of Napoleon • Single legal system • Equality under law • Makes property rights sacrosanct • Choose profession • Religious tolerance • End to serfdom/feudalism • “Free” public education • Basis for modern laws

Civil Code and Women • Reflects traditional attitudes toward family and women – “Social order” • Reaffirms patriarchal nature of family • Women & children legally dependent on husband • Women need husbands’ permission to buy/sell property – income pass to his descendants • More about cattle than women • Risk more severe penalties for adultery • Could jail offspring • Ends primogeniture • Authority over marriage

Changes in society and government • Centralized administration • Meritocracy • Creates new social hierarchy based on merit • 3,600 titles • Legion of Honor • “My motto has always been a career open to talents”

Steps back… • Despotic rule: • Shuts down most newspapers • Censorship • Secret police • Militarism • Legislature rubber stamp

Victory and Empire (1803-1810): • Creates largest empire since Rome • War & diplomacy rest on revolutionary tactics (artillery concentration, speed, pursuit), fervor & loyalty of soldiers, and weakness of unstable alliances of distrusting allies • Divides & isolates enemies and defeats (militarily or diplomatically) one-by-one • Defeats Austria (1801); Austria and Russia (1805); Prussia (1806); Prussia and Russia (1807) • Only UK remains constant and undefeated

Rule under the Empire • Represents dual ideological and geopolitical threat – Combination of revolutionary ideals and traditional expansionism • By 1810, conquers all ruling families on continent • Vassal, dependent states ruled by Napoleon’s relatives (Spain (brother = king), Holland (annexed), Italy (Napoleon declares himself king), Westphalia (brother = king), and G.D. of Warsaw) • Many revolutionary ideals, civil code spread • Nobility, clergy lose privileges • Equal opportunity, religious toleration, equality before law

Wars: 1803-1805 • War resumes with Britain in 1803 • War vs. Third Coalition (UK, Russia, Austria, Sweden) • Pitt the Younger leads coalition • Crushing defeat for Russia & Austria at Austerlitz (two emperors defeated) • Peace of Pressburg (Bratislava) Dec 1805 reduces Austria • Emperor Francis I dissolves HRE after c. 750-800 years of existence

Nemesis: The British • Defeated states forced against Britain • Britain survives because of sea power • Battle of Trafalgar (21 Oct 1805) • Continental System (1806): Shut Britain off from European trade

Wars: 1806-1807 • War of the Fourth Coalition (1806-1807) • Ill-timed Prussian entry • Prussia crushed at Battles of Jena and Auerstaet • Outmatched • Outmoded • Germany further reorganized into Rhineland Confederation • Russia plunges against France • Bloody battles, including Friedland • Treaty of Tilsit (June1807): Napoleon charms Alexander • Alexander I (1777-1825) and Napoleon meet on a raft • Prussia = May exist, but loses much territory • Polish state will be established—eventually • Russia to join France in Continental system and reorganization of “Orient” • Napoleon at height-38 & rules/directs all of Europe outside of UK, Spain, and Russia

War of the Fifth Coalition (1809) • Austria & UK go to war in spring 1809 • Quickly defeats Austria at Battle of Wagram and captures Vienna • Treaty of Schoenbrunn (Oct 1809): Austria gives up territory and loses access to sea • Count Klemens von Metternich becomes Austrian foreign minister • Knew Talleyrand • Pursues policy of appeasing Napoleon • Leads to marriage with Marie-Louise (1810) and eventual birth of sole heir: Napoleon II

Problems and Changes • Talleyrand resigns as Foreign Minister in 1807, secretly plays against Napoleon • Divorces Josephine in 1809 • “I want to marry a womb.” • Marries Marie-Louise Habsburg; Importance? • Resentment building in conquered territories • Resent high taxes and conscription • Resent French police state and censorship • Resent French troops, language, culture

Fall of Napoleon • Two great mistakes: • Russia • Spain • Spain (Peninsular war): (1808-1814) • Russian invasion: • Grande Armee • Moscow

The Peninsular War (1807-1814) • France invades Portugal through Spain in 1807 • Touches off nationalist revolt • Spanish fight “little war”: guerillas • Mutual atrocities • UK intervenes from 1808-1814 • Plays role as offshore balancer • Spain bleeds France slowly, but constantly, to the end

Prelude to Invasion • 1807: Defeated Tsar Alexander I joins Continental System • Russia continues trade with Britain • June 1812: Napoleon invades Russia • Like Charles XII and Hitler = Disaster

Grande Armée • 450,000-600,000 men • Only half French • Ten corps vs. Russia’s two • Objectives: • Bring “brother the Tsar” back into the fold • Choke off Britain

March on Moscow • Russians retreat • Napoleon dragged into endless Russia – Thousands of casualties • “Scorched earth” • Russians avoid pitched battle • Battle of Borodino • Moscow captured • Napoleon waits five weeks • Tsar counts on “General Winter”

Generals Famine and Winter • Two-month retreat • Fewer than 20,000 of original 600,000 return • Napoleon rushes to Paris • Napoleon on defensive against Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia

Fall of Napoleon & Rise Again • Napoleon's aura shattered • Metternich tried to negotiate at Dresden • Napoleon rejects • Austria joins allies • Spring of 1813, Napoleon defeated at Leipzig (“Battle of Nations”) by Russian, Austrian, and Prussian forces • Also in 1813, British and Spanish cross into France • Paris captured March 1814 • 12 April 1814: Senate (summoned by Talleyrand) forces Napoleon to abdicate • Exile to Elba: “Emperor of Elba” • Louis XVIII replaced on throne

Return & 100 Days • 26 February 1815, Napoleon escapes from Elba • Rallies the Imperial army • Returns to Paris • Launches a campaign to split allied forces in Belgium • Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815)

Waterloo & St. Helena Launch Internet Explorer Browser

Final Exile and Legacy • Asks for retirement “near London” (!) • Shipped in exile to St. Helena • Dies there in 1821 • Forces of nationalism, ideology, and mass politics that he exploited would now continue

Napoleon’s Legacy Positive Negatives Nationalism = Secular religion Unintentionally in Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland Reestablished slavery in Haiti Merely replaced one king with his king Dictatorship, censorship, police state Guts Europe of treasures Two million serve in Napoleon’s army 90,000 die in battle; 3x as many 600,000 as prisoners or “disappeared” • “Every Frenchman could say during my reign,--”I shall be minister, grand officer, duke, count, baron, if I earn it—even king!” • Napoleonic Code: freedom, property, equality, religion • Careers open to talent • Eliminates serfdom

Congress of Vienna • Congress of Vienna (1814-15) • Klemens von Metternich • Obsession: legitimacy • Balance of power • Conservatism: based on tradition & social stability • Also government control

Objectives and Achievements of the Congress • Establish legitimacy of kings and the aristocratic social order • Roll back the liberalism and nationalism that arose under the French Revolution and Napoleon • Restore Bourbon monarchy (Louis XVIII) • Austria, Prussia, Russia form Holy Alliance, based on Christian principles, which England does not join • Quadruple Alliance reformed in 1815 to maintain peace in Europe • New Congress of Vienna remains intact for half a century and prevents general war for a hundred years

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Social Studies Subject for High School: Napoleon

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Napoleon Bonaparte was an iconic historical figure, known for his military conquests, diplomatic genius, and extensive reforms that marked a significant turning point in French and European history. And he had normal height, contrary to the urban legend that has been around for ages. In order to dive deeper into the life of this historical figure, you can use our template and prepare a slideshow for class. It's full of images generated by AI (and it's done a pretty good job), so there will be no doubts about who's the lesson about!

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