Napoleon Bonaparte was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions affected European politics in the early 19th century.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica in 1769. He was the son of a noble. In 1785, at the age of 16, Napoleon became second lieutenant in the artillery.
Napoleon became sympathetic to the Revolution in 1789. In the Battle of Toulon in 1793, Napoleon led a victorious attack on a Royalist fort and was then promoted to Brigadier General. Napoleon gained more attention in 1795 when he put down a pro- royalist coup in Paris. He was promoted to Major General.
In 1796 he was put in charge of the French army fighting the Austrians, who, being pro-absolute monarchy, were anti-revolutionaries, in Italy. Napoleon and his army won several great victories over the Austrians and Italians. Between 1798 and 1799 Napoleon’s plans to attack the British went badly wrong. His army was ravaged by plague and sickness, and Nelson’s British Navy destroyed many of Napoleon’s own ships. Still, Napoleon seized Malta and had several victories in Egypt during the expedition.
Napoleon returned to Paris in August 1799, after hearing of the military crisis facing France and on November 11th 1799, Napoleon seized control of France in the ‘coup d’état’ (or Coup de Brumaire). Following the Coup, a new constitution was introduced, and Napoleon was made First Consul of France. Then, on December 2nd, 1804, in the presence of the Pope, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor.
Napoleon and his influence over Europe
Napoleon conquered most of continental Europe. As he conquered other European nations, he helped to spread some of the French Revolution ideas and put his relatives in control. Napoleon named himself king of Italy while his brothers became kings in Spain (Joseph Bonaparte), Holland and Westphalia (now part of Germany).
Unfortunately for him, his invasion of Spain was a disaster, which persuaded the Austrians to start a new war against the French. In 1812, his campaign against the Russians had the same result. Finally, the allied nations of Europe defeated Napoleon in 1813 and in 1815 (Waterloo). He was forced to exile to an island called St. Helena, where he died in 1821.
Thanks to this character, the revolutionary, liberal ideas whose origin is French, spread across Europe where they mixed with another new concept, nationalism.
Napoleon and his work in France
Napoleon became Emperor of France, and could not be removed from power. There were two National Assemblies, with members chosen by Napoleon from candidates elected by the people. All men could vote, but after 1804, there were no elections. All laws were made by the Assemblies.
France under Napoleon sometimes seemed similar to France under King Louis. The Prison and Courts system was ‘officially’ different, in that you could no longer be put in prison without charge and everyone was equal in the courts, nobles did not have special rights anymore, but even in
Napoleon’s rule there were restrictions. He had a secret police force, which from 1810 could arrest people without trial. Napoleon, like King Louis, and unlike the Revolution, tried to censor and control the newspapers, and free speech was not allowed in France or the French Empire.
During the Revolution, the land owned by the Catholic Church was sold off and any religion was permitted (only Catholicism was practised in the ‘Ancien Regime’). In 1802, Napoleon made an agreement with the Pope called the Concordat in which the Pope agreed that the Church would not get its land back and in return, Catholicism was accepted as the religion of the majority. As well as this, it was agreed that Bishops were to be chosen by Napoleon, and agreed by the Pope. This meant that the government now had greater control over the Church.
In 1804 the Napoleonic Code was introduced. It had a set of clear laws, applicable to all members of French Society. The Code was also introduced into other parts of Europe conquered by Napoleon, like Italy, Spain and some parts of Germany.
The Code Napoleon (1804)
The Code stated that: • All people were declared equal before the law. There were no longer any special privileges for Nobles, Churchmen or rich people • Feudal rights were ended. • Trial by Jury was guaranteed. • Religious Freedom was guaranteed. • Wives were not allowed to sell or give away property. • A wife could only own property with her husband’s consent in writing. |
Activities
0) Comment on these Napoleon's quotes:
Frenchmen, without a doubt, you will see in what I did that I am a soldier who supports liberty and am a citizen who is devoted to the Republic.(From a translation of the official version of the coup)
“It is not what is true that counts, but what people think is true.”
1) Read the extract from the Napoleonic Code and answer:
Are the contents of this code original (=new)? Why?
2) Explain this quote by Napoleon:
“The People must have religion, and religion must be in the hands of the government.”
3) Look at the map below and answer the following questions:
a) Why do you think other European nations decided to start a war against France before Napoleon's “coup d'état”?
b) Why did Napoleon decide to continue the war in Europe?
c) Which nations were the most important enemies of France? Why?
d) Why do you think the British and the French fought in Egypt?
e) Is the date for this map relevant?
f) Look for information about the Confederation of the Rhine. How was it founded? Which Baltic nation had interest on this area? Which opinion did this nation have about the French influence in central Europe?
g) Look for information about the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and answer this question: How did Napoleon manage to control this Duchy?
h) The nation we know nowadays as Italy was divided into different states before the Napoleonic era. What did Napoleon do in the Italian peninsula? Which Italian territories belong to France? Over which territories did Napoleon have indirect control? Why do you think the Italians fought the French? (in order to answer this last question you'll have to investigate).
4) Voluntary task: Look for information about Spain at the time. Write a 300 words composition about the Spanish participation in Napoleon's affairs.
