Notes

The American Revolution gave rise to an enduring republic that has not returned to monarchical rule. However, in France, the Revolution yielded a much different outcome.

I do not believe that when Bonaparte became head of the government he had yet formulated the plan for a universal monarchy, but I do believe what he himself said to one of my friends, a few days after the 18 Brumaire [the date Napoleon overthrew the Directory]. ‘It is necessary,’ he said, ‘to do something new every three months, in order to captivate the imagination of the French nation, with whom any-one who stands still is lost.’ His system was to encroach [intrude] daily upon France’s liberty and Europe’s independence. . . . By alternating between cunning and force he has subjugated [conquered] Europe.
–Madame de Staël, French author
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The last phase of the French Revolution is known as the Age of Napoleon. Napoleon Bonaparte started his rise to power as a young officer. By 1804, he had become emperor of France. At each step on his rise, Napoleon held a plebiscite. People voted to approve his actions, but Napoleon always kept absolute power.
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The final phase of the French Revolution is considered the Age of Napoleon.
Let's discuss how Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power and impacted Europe and the world. After the execution of Louis XVI, France no longer had a king. At the time, an ambitious Captain in the French army named Napoleon Bonaparte was rapidly climbing the ranks. With an eye on bigger things, Napoleon managed his own sort of publicity campaign by boasting about his victories and concealing his losses through censorship of the press.

Success on the battlefield fueled Napoleon's intense drive for power, and by 1799 he had become a popular political leader. A few short years later, he was emperor of France. Forever ambitious, Napoleon strengthened the Central Government and consolidated his own power. As emperor of France, Napoleon made many revolutionary changes. He opened jobs to everyone based on talent and returned rights to peasants who had bought land from the Church or nobles during the revolution.

Napoleon created a new code of laws called the Napoleonic Code. ((Napoleon reforms the French Legal System - Before the French Revolution, France did not have a set of single laws. In 1804, Napoleon set out to reform the nation's legal system as it related to the ideals of the French Revolution. The result was the Napoleonic Code, which guided almost every aspect of life. -all French men have civil rights;- -foreigners in France will enjoy the same civil rights as French men;- -husbands are obligated to protect their wives;- -any French man who joins the military of a foreign power is no longer a French citizen;- -property rights are absolute;- -a woman can make a will without her husband's permission;-)) The code incorporated principles of the Enlightenment, including equality, religious tolerance, and the abolition of feudalism. But some changes from the revolution were reversed. For example, he took away the rights women had acquired. Once again, men possessed complete control over their wives and children. Napoleon had a strong belief in authority and order over the rights of the individual, and it was apparent in his actions.

Between 1904 and 1912, Napoleon waged war throughout Europe, increasing his empire and literally redrawing the map. In the end, Napoleon controlled much of Europe. One of the perks of all this power for Napoleon was placing his friends and relatives on thrones across Europe. Of all the major European powers, Britain remained undefeated. In 1805, Napoleon planned to invade England, but after a loss at the Battle of Trafalgar, he chose a different approach. Napoleon aimed to take down Britain's commerce system through the Continental System, which closed European ports to British goods. The conflict continued as the two powers struggled to shut down trading ports and take over neutral ships suspected of trading with the other side. Napoleon's plan eventually failed, and the trade restrictions ended up hurting France.

The scarcity of goods and increased prices throughout Europe caused by the Continental System angered people, and they blamed the French. Napoleon, in a continuing effort to expand his empire, tried to conquer Russia in 1812. This led to a chain of events that eventually led to his downfall. In 1815, he was captured and exiled to a lonely island in the Atlantic. Napoleon spread ideas of the revolution throughout Europe and increased opportunities for the French. Napoleon affected the United States as well. In 1803, he sold the Louisiana Territory to the American government, doubling the size of the United States. Napoleon died in exile in 1821, but his fingerprints are still evident throughout the world today.
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From 1799 to 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte dominated France and Europe. During the French Revolution, Napoleon had become a military hero, ultimately returning to France and crowning himself emperor. Napoleon's rise to power was fueled by his success on the battlefield, personal political ambition, and his popularity with the French people.

Access Topic 12: Absolutism and Revolution, Lesson 8: The Age of Napoleon in World History. Read Napoleon on the Rise. As you read, think about why the French citizens would want Napoleon to be an emperor.

Napoleon made the central government stronger. All classes of people supported his economic and social reforms. One of his most lasting reforms was the Napoleonic Code. This new code of laws embodied Enlightenment principles of equality, religious tolerance, and the end of feudalism. His code influenced the legal systems of many European countries.

While Napoleon undertook social and economic reforms at home, particularly through the Napoleonic Code, he also furthered his reputation on the battlefield in a series of conflicts known as the Napoleonic Wars.
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In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia. The Russians burned crops and villages. This scorched-earth policy left the French without food or shelter. The French retreated from Moscow through the Russian winter. Only about 20,000 of 600,000 soldiers made it back to France alive. The Russian disaster destroyed Napoleon’s reputation for success. In 1815, British and Prussian forces crushed the French at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon was forced to abdicate.

After the Battle of Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna met to reestablish stability and order in Europe after years of war. The Congress met for 10 months, from September 1814 to June 1815. The Congress redrew the map of Europe and restored hereditary monarchies that the French Revolution or Napoleon had unseated.
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During his reign, Napoleon Bonaparte conquered many European territories for France. After his downfall in 1814, Europe was in a state of chaos and disorder. Questions were addressed in an international conference, the Congress of Vienna, held from September 1814 until June 1815. While it was made up for over 200 delegates from approximately a dozen countries, the four major powers that defeated Napoleon-Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain-had the largest say in the proceedings. Originally, France's voice was limited due to the distrust of Napoleon's actions, but France was eventually allowed into the formal discussions.
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The congress was hosted in Vienna, Austria by the Austrian emperor, Francis I. Prince Klemens von Metternich of Austria, an expert in diplomacy, served as President of the Congress of Vienna. Metternich was not actually royalty, but was pronounced a prince because of his diplomatic service. The decades surrounding this meeting are sometimes known as the Age of Metternich, because of Metternich's heavy influence on the proceedings.
The Russian delegation included Czar Alexander I and Count Karl Robert Nesselrode. Alexander I was the more vocal representative. His main goal was to find a peaceful resolution for all European nations, but his secondary goal was for Russia to gain control of Poland.
While Prussia's two main delegates were Prince Karl Augus von Hardenberg and scholar Wilhelm von Humboldt, the King of Prussia, Frederick William III, was said to have visited Vienna multiple times throughout the congress and had serious influence upon the two representatives.
Great Britain first sent Foreign Secretary Viscount Castlereagh to represent its interests. He was integral in coming up with the Congress system in which dignitaries would meet approximately every two years to continue to manage European issues. In early 1815, he was called back to Great Britain and replaced by the Duke of Wellington, who felt strongly that France should be restored to power despite Napoleon's tyrannical missteps.
Originally, some European countries like Spain and France were meant to be kept out of the negotiations. However, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, a brilliant and influential diplomat, gave France an equal voice in the negotiations. While many in France claimed he was a traitor, he was ultimately able to save the French regime, overcoming the hostility Napoleon's conquests had caused.
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All of the delegates to the Congress of Vienna were staunch believers in conservatism. The principles of conservatism included a commitment to tradition and order, obedience to political authority, and adherence to organized religion. Conservatives were horrified by rebellion and riots and resistant to hints of nationalism and demands for civil rights.
The main goals of the congress were to restore traditional monarchies to the countries of Europe, to redraw the map of Europe to restore France to its pre-Napoleonic borders, and to create a balance of power to prevent the rise of another leader like Napoleon.
To achieve these goals, the congress made the following resolutions: All territory conquered by Napoleon was taken away from France. The French monarchy was reinstated, and King Louis XVIII was named. Spain regained its monarchy, as King Ferdinand VII was named. Norway and Sweden were united under one king. Russia gained control of Finland and parts of Poland. Prussia also expanded its borders. Austria regained some of its old territory, and the German Confederation was formed under the presidency of the Austrian emperor. Great Britain was given control of colonies in Africa and Asia. Finally, Switzerland would remain neutral. One of the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna was that the French would lose all territory that had been conquered by Napoleon. The other represented nations gained territory.
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The Congress of Vienna set an example in which diplomacy, rather than warfare, was successfully used to resolve conflict. Not all of the negotiated boundaries lasted, but the concept of Europe functioning as a whole was born. The changes in borders and political authorities led to a period of peace in Europe, but it wasn't a permanent solution. The new boundaries would eventually be challenged, as new political movements brewed throughout Europe that opposed the philosophy and resolutions of the congress. As ideals of nationalism and liberalism grew, so did an increasing discontent with authoritarian governments. This ultimately led to more revolutions and upheaval. The members of the delegation were trying to create peace through the restoration of traditional monarchies and the pre-Napoleonic balance of power.
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Under the Continental System, trade with Britain was forbidden by Napoleon I of France, while centralized power was the preferred leadership technique of Cardinal Richelieu. The Thirty Years' War reshaped the religious and political map of central Europe and gave way to sovereign states. John Locke developed the theory of Liberalism.
John Locke's theory that government is morally obliged to serve the people, by protecting their life, liberty, and property, assisted political figures as his ideals and writings spread throughout Europe during the Reformation Period. The ideals of the Enlightenment period encouraged French lawyers such as Baron de Montesquieu to push for reforms as he expanded on theories regarding separation of powers in government. Catherine the Great was the leader of Russia from 1762 until her death in 1796. In order to establish a stronger Russia, she reformed the administration of local guberniyas and cities while in office.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon I of France formed a large embargo against British trade called the Continental System. Cardinal Richelieu transformed France into a strong centralized state. The Peace of Augsburg was a treaty between Charles V and the forces within modern-day Bavaria, Germany. It officially ended the religious struggle between the two groups within the Holy Roman Empire.