Napoleon
Napoleon the young military genius
• 1799 Napoleon
seizes power through
a coup.
• Wanted to preserve
the good of the
French Revolution.
– Enlightenment ideas.
– France was a mess.
Napoleon the Consul
• Consul was a name he
created for himself.
• In 1802 he gave himself
the title ―Consul for life‖
• In 1804 he gave himself
the title ―Emperor‖
– NOT ―KING‖ because of
the negativity associated
with the word ―king‖ from
the French Revolution.
• Universal MALE
suffrage—voting rights.
Napoleon and the Catholics
• 1801—Concordat
(French for ―treaty‖)
– ―Catholicism is the religion
of the great majority.‖
– Agreed to pay the clergy.
• Invited Pope Pius to
crown him as Emperor.
– Took the crown from the
Pope and crowned himself
to show that he owed his
success to himself, and
himself only!
Code Napoleon (Napoleonic Code)
• Napoleon helped
create it.
• Tried to protect the
gains of the
revolution.
• All men treated equal.
– Massive step BACK
for women.
Emperor Napoleon
• By 1807 Napoleon
dominated most of
Europe with the
exception of England.
• Made family members
royalty in other
countries.
– Ex. Joseph Bonaparte
his brother the King of
Spain.
Napoleon’s demise (the first one)
• Russian campaign in
1812.
– ―Scorched Earth‖
policy of the Russians
– Long cold winters
– Punishing, humiliating
retreat back to Paris.
• Forced from the
throne of France in
1814 by an alliance of
countries.
Congress of Vienna
• Determined war was
a bad thing.
– Wouldn’t see war like
Napoleonic wars until
World War I in 1914.
• Napoleon banished to
Elba—island in
Mediterranean.
• Strong nations set up
around France to
prevent further war.
Napoleon’s demise…again
• Escaped from Elba.
• Came back to rule for
100 days.
• Defeated mightily at
Waterloo in Belgium
by the British.
• Banished…again—
this time he would not
return.