Background
Early Life
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in the island of Corsica to an undistinguished noble family of Italian descent. The island had been bought by France a year before Napoleon was born. He was sent to France at the age of ten for his education. He trained for a career in the French army, choosing the artillery. He graduated from the military academy in Paris at the age of just 16. When the French Revolution occurred, Napoleon seized the opportunities offered by it to advance up the ranks of the army.
French Revolution
At the age of 24, Napoleon was appointed a brigadier general by the Jacobins, a prominent political club of the Revolution. When they fell in 1794, Napoleon was in danger. He solved this problem by helping the Directory, the new government, defeat a royalist uprising in Paris on October 1795. In 1796, Napoleon was given command of the Army of Italy. Turning a badly-equipped army into a formidable fighting force, he won a series of victories against the Austrians and the Papal army. After leading a failed campaign in Egypt, Napoleon returned to France in 1799. He joined a coup against the ineffective Directory and seized power as the First Consul.
Leader of France
As the new leader of France, Napoleon worked to restore stability and prosperity in the nation. He introduced a number of reforms, including the opening of new schools, a new administrative system, a new bank and a new civil code. He was a hard-working, intelligent man inspired by a sense of destiny as the savior of France. He was voted as Consul for Life in 1802 and later as the Emperor of France in 1804. He was loved by the people of France. At this time, France was at war with all the major European powers. After defeating the Austrians and forcing them to concede to a treaty in 1801, Napoleon made peace with Britain. However, war was resumed with England in 1803. Napoleon attempted to invade England with his fleet, but had his fleet destroyed by Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805. However, that same year Napoleon defeated the Prussians and the Austrians at Austerlitz. He later defeated the Russians in Friedland, forcing them to sue for peace. With these victories, Napoleon expanded more and more of his empire. Eventually, Napoleon’s empire included France, the Low Countries, Spain, Italy, Germany, Illyria and Poland. However, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 was a disaster, and this rallied his enemies to fight back. Napoleon was defeated in Leipzig in October 1813. Paris was occupied in April 1814 and Napoleon was exiled to Elba. He escaped the island on March 1815 and returned to France to battle his enemies, but was defeated again at Waterloo, Belgium in June by an army of British, Dutch, Belgians and Prussians under the Duke of Wellington. He surrendered to the English and was exiled to the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic.
Exile and Death
At St. Helena, Napoleon lived in Longwood House, devoting his last days to serving his self-image by writing his memoirs. Napoleon spent 6 long and miserable years exiled on the island, before he died on May 5, 1821, most likely from stomach cancer.
Achievements
The Concordat of 1801
Napoleon came to an agreement with the Church, called the Concordat. France was obliged to pay the clergy, Catholic seminaries were reopened, and the clergy once again became subordinated to the papacy. In return, the papacy recognized that seized Church property during the revolution was legally the property of the French who had purchased it. Napoleon also received papal recognition to his regime. The concordat satisfied both Catholics and secular people in France, as Catholics could give support to the Napoleonic regime, including its more liberal policies, with a clear conscience. Meanwhile, papal announcements were excluded and special privileges were ended for the clergy to appease the French people who saw the Church as opposed to republicanism and secularism.
Constitution of the Year VIII
This constitution was the first achievement of Napoleon’s government. Even though the constitution appeared to guarantee representative institutions, it actually placed most of the state’s power in Napoleon’s hands. He controlled the initiation of legislation, foreign affairs, and the courts. The representative institutions gave the illusion of democracy, but in reality they had no real power. It also proclaimed the irrevocability of the sale of national property and upheld the legislation against the emigre nobility. It created the regime known as the Consulate. The constitution won overwhelming support when it was submitted to the French people for ratification.
The Napoleonic Code
Napoleon created a new civil code for France between 1800 and 1804. It is often regarded as his most enduring legacy. At his insistence, the code favored patriarchal authority and “family values.” It stated that “The wife owes obedience to her husband.” It was forbidden for men under 25 to marry without their parents’ consent. Divorce was permitted, but difficult to obtain. The code mainly upheld the rights and freedom of conscience that had been established by the French Revolution. The code also affirmed the supremacy of the state, the equality of all citizens before the law, and the right to choose one’s own profession. Compared with the rest of semi-feudal and aristocratic Europe, the Napoleonic Code upheld liberal ideas from the philosophes. It would later influence the laws of much of continental Europe and other areas.
Military genius
Napoleon spent almost his entire reign at war, though he desired peace on his own terms. During battle, he maneuvered large-scale armies quickly to engage the enemy decisively with maximum application of force. This style of warfare required his men to sustain heavy casualties in order to pursue victory. Nevertheless, he was popular among his soldiers and his presence on the battlefield always inspired them. He used titles and decorations, including the Legion d’honneur, to reward and inspire effort among his soldiers.
Conquests in Europe
Napoleon managed to conquer large parts of Europe through military conquest. From 1805 to 1815, Napoleon took on 7 different coalitions made up of various European powers. He won his most notable victories at Austerlitz in 1805 against the Austrians and Russians, at Jena in 1806 against the Prussians and at Friedland in 1807 against the Russians. From 1800 to 1807, Napoleon incorporated the Low Countries, northern Italy and western Germany into his rule. After 1807, Napoleon conquered southern Italy, Spain, northern Germany, Illyria in the southern Balkans and the Duchy or Warsaw in Poland. By 1812, France’s empire covered 130 administrative regions across Europe. It was the largest empire in Europe since Rome.
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, which took place on December 2, 1805, was the first battle in the War of the Third Coalition and one of Napoleon’s most notable victories. The battle took place near Austerlitz in Moravia in the modern Czech Republic. Earlier, the French army had entered Vienna and pursued the Russians and Austrians into Moravia. The allies fought Napoleon in the Pratzen Plateau. The allies launched their main attack with 40,000 men to cut them off from Vienna, but Marshall Louis Davout’s corps of 10,500 men resisted the attack. Later, Marshal Nicolas Soult captured the plateau with 20,000 men and protected it from the allies. Napoleon’s 68,000 troops defeated almost 90,000 Russians and Austrians under General M.I. Kutuzov. This forced Austria to make peace with France in the Treaty of Pressburg and kept Prussia temporarily out of the anti-French alliance.
Battle of Jena
The Battle of Jena, which took place on October 14, 1806, was a major battle in the Napoleonic Wars and one of Napoleon’s most notable victories. It was fought at Jena and Auerstadt in Saxony, modern Germany. In the battle, Napoleon crushed the outdated Prussian army, which resulted in the shrinking of Prussia to half its modern size at the Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807. In October the Prussia-Saxon army under Charles William Ferdinand, the Duke of Brunswick, moved westward through Saxony to threaten Napoleon’s communications through the west. Napoleon and his army advanced northward rapidly through the eastern end of the Thuringian Forest to cut the Prussians off from the Elbe River and battle them before their Russian allies arrived. After dawn on October 14, Napoleon, using 54,000 of his 96,000 troops, faced Friedrich Ludwig’s 38,000 troops at Jena. By 3pm he defeated them and 13,000 reinforcements. Further north at Auerstadt, the secondary French force of 26,000 under Louis-Nicolas Davout encountered the main Prussian army under the duke. The French stood firm for six hours after the Prussians dissolved their superior army in piecemeal attacks. The duke was killed, and the Prussian army later disintegrated.
Nationalism and Revolutions in Europe
By 1814, the ideals that had inspired the French Revolution and that had been codified by Napoleon spread through Europe, inspiring revolutions in Germany, Italy, Austria, Prussia and France as citizens demanded greater rights. Napoleon relied on and promoted the idea that French people should feel proud of their country and connected to it. This influenced people in other countries and led to the rise of nationalism. These forces of nationalism helped to bring about the later unifications of Germany and Italy.
Liberalism and the Napoleonic Code
Napoleon introduced the idea of liberalism and the laws of the Napoleonic Code to many European countries. These ideas of liberalism spread across Europe and led many people to try and change their countries’ systems, for example the German revolutions in 1848. In addition to staying in France the Napoleonic Code was the main influence of the legal systems in most of Continental Europe, Latin America and Louisiana. More than two centuries after its creation, the Napoleonic Code still dominates in many parts of the world.
House of Bonaparte
Even after Napoleon was deposed as Emperor of France, members of his family continued to rule France. Napoleon’s son Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph Bonaparte, also known as Napoleon II was styled as the King of Rome and set up to rule France through his father’s will. He was emperor for only two weeks though, as the Bourbons were restored to the throne with King Louis XVIII. Between the years 1852 and 1870, Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon I, ruled over a Second French Empire. However, the dynasty was again ousted from the imperial throne after tensions with the Prussians. Since then there have been a number of Bonapartists, pretenders and supporters to the Bonaparte family’s claim to the throne of France.
Leader of France
Napoleon worked to restore stability and prosperity in the nation. He introduced a number of reforms, including the opening of new schools, a new administrative system, a new bank and a new civil code. He was a hard-working, intelligent man inspired by a sense of destiny as the savior of France. He was voted as Consul for Life in 1802 and later as the Emperor of France in 1804. He was loved by the people of France. At this time, France was at war with all the major European powers. After defeating the Austrians in 1801, Napoleon made peace with Britain. However, war was resumed with England in 1803. Napoleon attempted to invade England with his fleet, but had his fleet destroyed by Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805. However, that same year Napoleon defeated the Prussians and the Austrians at Austerlitz. He later defeated the Russians in Friedland, forcing them to sue for peace. With these victories, Napoleon expanded more and more of his empire. Eventually, Napoleon’s empire included France, the Low Countries, Spain, Italy, Germany, Illyria and Poland. However, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 was a disaster, and this rallied his enemies to fight back. Napoleon was defeated in Leipzig in October 1813. Paris was occupied in April 1814 and Napoleon was exiled to Elba. He escaped the island on March 1815 and returned to France to battle his enemies, but was defeated again at Waterloo, Belgium in June by an army of British, Dutch, Belgians and Prussians under the Duke of Wellington. He surrendered to the English and was exiled to the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic.
Bibliography
“ACHIEVEMENTS OF NAPOLEON IN THE HISTORY OF FRANCE.” The History of Napoleon, published February 2013. http://thehistoryofnapoleon.blogspot.ca/2013/02/achievements-of-napoleon-in-history-of.html
“Battle of Austerlitz.” Encyclopedia Brittanica, accessed May 31, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Austerlitz
“Constitution of the Year VIII.” Encyclopedia Brittanica, accessed May 31, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Constitution-of-the-Year-VIII
Haberman, Arthur and Shubert, Adrian. The West and the World. Toronto, Ont.: Gage Learning, 2002.
Hart-Davis, Adam. History, from the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day. Great Britain: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2015.
“House of Bonaparte.” Geni.com, accessed June 1, 2017. https://www.geni.com/projects/House-of-Bonaparte/4913
“Napoleon Bonaparte.” History.com. Published 2009. http://www.history.com/topics/napoleon
“PBS-Napoleon: Politics in Napoleon’s Time.” PBS, accessed May 31, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_politic/legacy/page_1.html
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