Napoleonic Era
Thermidorian Reaction Rejection of the Reign of Terror and revolutionary sentiment Led to the establishment of the Constitution of the Year III (1793) and Directory No more guillotines The removal of the sans-culottes from public life; white terror against terrorists Rejection of both constitutional monarchy and democracy Rise of Catholic royalists An attempt to return to normal Bicameral legislature: Council of Elders (40+) and Council of 500 Executive: 5 person Directory who the Council of Elders would choose from the Council of 500 Power of property owners and the middle class Two-Thirds Law: 2/3rds of the Council of 500 had to have served in the National Convention- led to great social unrest 1796: Gracchus Babeuf led the Conspiracy of Equals: call for democracy and equality of property; did not believe the Revolution was over; suppressed Directory became dependent on power of army to establish control; allowed for rise of Napoleon
Counter-Revolution during the Directory Many domestic troubles: Rebellion in the Vendee Religious schism as the Directory started persecuting refractory priests Low food supplies and bread riots
1797 Elections Catholic royalists hoped to restore the Bourbon monarchy in order to establish stability; many aristocratic emigres returned to France Elections replaced many of the incumbents from the Convention with constitutional monarchists and their sympathizers (majority) In response, the Directory staged a coup d etat to put their own supporters into the legislative seats and had a young general, Napoleon Bonaparte, ensure that they were successful by his assistance
Background Born in 1769 to a minor noble family in Corsica, off the coast of Italy Corsica had been under the rule of Sardinia (and Italy as a whole) but submitted to French control the year Napoleon was born Left Corsica @ 9 to be trained at various military academies in France; had a career path to the army Very severe (took after mother); picked on for being Corsican; could not speak French well Considered from a young age to be quite mean, serious, quiet and solitary, egotistical, disobedient, stubborn, domineering, condescending Studious: excelled in mathematics, geography, and ancient history; pushed himself to grow in knowledge Fiery Corsican patriot- desired to free Corsica from French tyranny and slavery
The Rise of Napoleon 1785, given control over an army artillery 1786, his father died so he returned to Corsica to assist his destitute mother; got caught up in the revolutionary spirit there; sided with the Jacobins and vied for Corsican independence 1789, took the oath to Louis XVI but still praised the Revolution Revolutions are ideal times for soldiers with a bit of wit and the courage to act. Attempted to guarantee greater Corsican representation in the National Assembly; caused many problems in Corsica 1792, returned to France which by then was the Legislative Assembly Checkered and intermittent military career up to that point, but still promoted in the army due to the loss of aristocratic emigres
Rise of Napoleon Cont. Resourceful, possessing a deep knowledge and understanding of artillery, and excellent at strategy, Napoleon became useful 1795- put down a royalist rebellion at Tuileries which made him famous throughout France In honor of this triumph, Napoleon was made the commander of the Italian Army War of the First Coalition against Britain, Austria, and Sardinia was still raging on Won almost every battle and conquered the Italian peninsula and its Austrian allies in a year war hero 1797- ensured the success of the Directory s coup d etat 1798- began an expedition to Egypt to fight British interests there (especially in terms of trade) As a scientific expedition it was very successful (found Rosetta Stone) Militarily, it was a failure; defeated by British Admiral Horatio Nelson and the Second Coalition (Britain, Austria, Russia, and Ottomans)
Cont. Hearing of domestic troubles stemming from the Directory s desire for a new constitution, Napoleon abandoned his army in 1799 to facilitate the coup d etat 1799-Constitution of the Year VIII- behind a screen of universal male suffrage, checks and balances, and a Council of State, the new constitution established the rule of the First Consul under Napoleon (essentially an Enlightened despot) Used the rhetoric of nationalism and revolution along with military force to gain control
Napoleon confronts the Council of 500, 1799
The Consulate: 1799-1804 Ended the Revolution in France 1800- Treaty of Luneville took Austria out of the War of the Second Coalition which was followed in 1802 by the Treaty of Amiens that end the war altogether Leading members of the Third Estate had accomplished most of their goals: abolished hereditary privilege and thus careers were opened to talent Peasants gained the land they wanted and destroyed feudal privileges Napoleon and his navy had been destroyed by England s Horatio Nelson in the Battle of the Nile but won the war nonetheless Napoleon granted amnesty and employment to emigres of all different groups in exchange for loyalty but ruthlessly suppressed opposition and utilized a secret police; stopped royalist rebellion; sought out enemies without and within
Cont. Concordat of 1801- agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII which required both the refractory clergy and the clergy who supported the Revolution to resign; they were replaced by clergy supported by the Pope (who had agreed that the Revolutionary principles of equality and democracy were consistent with Church teaching) France chose its own bishops and paid their salaries Church gave up claims to confiscated property Later France declared that the state was over the church- RCC lost serious headway during the Revolution and under Napoleon
From The Imperial Catechism, 1806 Question: What are the duties of Christians toward those who govern them, and what in particular are our duties towards Napoleon I, our emperor? Answer: Christians owe to the princes who govern them, and we in particular owe to Napoleon I, our emperor, love, respect, obedience, fidelity, military service, and the taxes levied for the preservation and defense of the empire and of his throne. We also owe him fervent prayers for his safety and for the spiritual and temporal prosperity of the state. Question: Why are we subject to all these duties toward our emperor? Answer: First, because God, who has created empires and distributes them according to his will, has, by loading our emperor with gifts both in peace and in war, established him as our sovereign and made him the agent of his power and his image upon earth. To honor and serve our emperor is therefore to honor and serve God himself. Secondly, because our Lord Jesus Christ himself, both by his teaching and his example, has taught us what we owe to our sovereign. Even at his very birth he obeyed the edict of Caesar Augustus; he paid the established tax; and while he commanded us to render to God those things which belong to God, he also commanded us to render unto Caesar those things which are Caesar's. Question: Are there not special motives which should attach us more closely to Napoleon I, our emperor? Answer: Yes, for it is he whom God has raised up in trying times to re-establish the public worship of the holy religion of our fathers and to be its protector; he has re-established and preserved public order by his profound and active wisdom; he defends the state by his mighty arm; he has become the anointed of the Lord by the consecration which he has received from the sovereign pontiff, head of the Church universal. Question: What must we think of those who are wanting in their duties toward our emperor? Answer: According to the apostle Paul, they are resisting the order established by God himself and render themselves worthy of eternal damnation.
Cont. A plebiscite (entire electorate invited to vote on a direct vote) named Napoleon Consul for Life The Napoleonic Code (1804)- reformed, unified, and codified French law Civil code, code of criminal procedure, a commercial code, and a penal code- strong, centralized government Equality before the law Freedom of religion Property rights Abolition of serfdom Women gained inheritance rights (but not equal status) Careers open to talent (however, a new imperial nobility was created to reward the most talented) Middle Class benefited greatly Working class movement insignificant Educational reforms were based on a system of public education under state controls
Haitian Revolution 1791-1804 The French colony, Haiti, was inspired by revolutionary principles that had overflowed into the New World Proved that black slaves could successfully revolt against white masters and mulatto freemen The National Assembly had given mulatto free men equal rights with white property owners, but the colonial government did not agree. This led to a revolt led by ex-slave, Toissant L Ouverture Napoleon suppressed it in 1802 by capturing and arresting L Ouverture However, when Napoleon went to war with Britain again, he decided to abandon his American Empire and sell Louisiana to US instead. He then withdrew his forces from Haiti This was the first successful slave rebellion in history
Coronation of Napoleon and the Creation of an Empire (1804-1814) December 2, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself hereditary Emperor of France He utilized the power of nationalism by ensuring loyalty to both himself and the state His best weapon was militarily mobilizing the French nation, which was so densely populated. No one had as large a military in Europe as Napoleon, and he used it frequently in his many wars
Consolidating an Empire France was already a large country, but due to the Wars of Coalition, it captured several dependent satellite kingdoms on whose thrones he placed his family members France was also allied with Austria, Prussia, and Russia by this point
War of the Third Coalition: 1805-1807 Napoleon planned to invade Great Britain, even though the War of the Second Coalition had recently ended in 1802 (he was an extremely ambitious and power-hungry man) Austria and Russia worried he was a threat to the balance of power and so switched their allegiances to Britain Battle of Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805 French and Spanish fleets were destroyed by the British navy under the command of Horatio Nelson He died in battle but lost no ships Established British naval supremacy and destroyed any hope of France invading GB; Great Britain would remain the guardian of liberty against forces such as Napoleon in the future
Battle of Austerlitz, 1805 and Treaty of Tilsit Napoleon had already been successful against Austrian forces when he was able to defeat the combined Austrian and Russian forces at Austerlitz Treaty of Tilsit, 1807 Austria and Russia both pulled out of battle, causing the collapse of the Coalition In commemoration of his victory, Napoleon commissioned the Arc de Triomphe Prussia (which foolishly joined the war against France after the Battle of Austerlitz and lost) lost half of its population in lands ceded to France Russia allowed Napoleon to reorganize central and western Europe and recognized his Continental system Height of Napoleon s success Consolidated many of the 300 independent political entities Confederation of the Rhine HRE officially abolished Awoke German nationalism
Continental System Napoleon decided to wage economic warfare against GB after Trafalgar In response, Britain issued the order in council which declared that neutral countries could enter continental ports only if they first stopped in GB Tried to starve Britain by closing ports on the continent to British commerce This would have prevented trade (needed for goods and money) This would ruin French trade In response to this, Napoleon decreed that any neutral ship entering a British port or submitting to a British warship at sea, would be confiscated if it then attempted to enter a Continental port War of 1812: US declared war against Britain in defense of their neutral shipping rights; wanted to trade freely with France Major failure which turned Europe against Napoleon American goods were too much in demand and Europe could not keep up with British industrialization
Peninsular War, 1808-1814 Spain revolted against Napoleon s power Napoleon had attempted to gain control in Spain by replacing the king with his brother, Joseph Costly guerilla war Received aid from the British under the Duke of Wellington In 1810, Napoleon married Marie Louise, the daughter of the Austrian emperor and niece of Marie Antoinette and therefore Louis XVI; showed more consideration to French noblemen
Invasion of Russia, 1812 Even though France and Russia had been allies since the Treaty of Tilsit (1807), Napoleon considered it a military threat Russia had withdrawn from the Continental System due to the economic hardships it had caused and due to Napoleon s disturbing desire for power Napoleon had used Tsar Alexander I as a scapegoat during the failed Peninsular War Napoleon and the Tsar had failed to make marriage arrangements with the Tsar s daughter Napoleon invaded Russia with his Grand Army of 600,000 Forced to retreat from Moscow after 5 weeks during the very cold Russian winter due to the scorched earth tactic of Russia The Russians literally burned down Moscow and refused negotiations 400,000 died from battle casualties, starvation, and exposure 100,000 were taken prisoner Fewer than 100,000 returned home
War of the Fourth Coalition, 1813-1814 After the failed Russian Invasion, Napoleon deserted his Army to raise another in France. He was able to muster 350,000 men to the shock and worry of Austria, Prussia, and Russia. They formed the most powerful coalition, the Fourth Coalition (along with Britain) to take Napoleon down Battle of Leipzig ( Battle of Nations )- Napoleon was finally defeated. In March of 1814, the Coalition marched into Paris, Napoleon abdicated, and he went into exile on the island of Elba Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain agreed to create a Quadruple Alliance for 20 years to enforce peace terms
Cont. The Bourbons were restored to the throne of France; Louis XVIII Charter of 1814: the king created a two-house legislature that represented the upper classes The restoration maintained most of Napoleon s reforms such as the Napoleonic Code, the Concordat with the Pope, and the abolition of feudalism The first Treaty of Paris, May 1814 France surrendered all territory gained since 1792
Louis XVIII
Council of Vienna, 1814-1815 BALANCE OF POWER RESTORED until roughly 1914 The Quadruple Alliance or Big Four met to redraw territorial lines Metternich represented Austria: represented the conservative reaction to the French Revolution Castlereagh represented England- wanted to restore the balance of power and surround France with larger and stronger states Frederick William III represented Prussia and wanted to recover Prussian territory lost to Napoleon Tsar Alexander I represented Russia- demanded a free and independent Poland that he would rule France later joined in the deliberations represented by French Foreign Minister, Talleyrand Each got what they wanted more or less and Britain remained a growing power
Hundred Days, March-June 1815 Napoleon invaded France with large-scale popular support; he marched into Paris and seized power from Louis XVIII, who fled Paris in response Battle of Waterloo, June 1815 Last battle of the Napoleonic Wars Defeated in Belgium by England s army led by the Duke of Wellington and Prussian forces Exiled again to island of St. Helena The second Treaty of Paris : the Quadruple Alliance now dealt harshly with France in subsequent negotiations He then raised an army and defeated a Prussian army in Belgium Had to pay 700,000,000 francs in damages Napoleon died of stomach cancer in 1821 Louis XVIII would be restored
Legacy of Napoleon It was the first egalitarian dictatorship of modern times Revolutionary institutions were consolidated French gov t was thoroughly centralized Lasting settlement with the Church Spread revolutionary ideas to the rest of Europe Serfdom abolished in much of Germany Germany was reorganized into 39 states- would lead to German nationalism Prussia and Austria, for self-preservation, reformed their military and provided some reforms Liabilities Repressed individual liberty Subverted republicanism Oppressed conquered peoples throughout Europe Caused terrific suffering as a result of war