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Napoleon invades Italy
-Napoleon was chosen to lead French troops into Italy.
-They defeated the Austrians, who ruled Italy at the time.
-As a result of this victory, France aquired Belgium from Austria.
-France also aquired hundreds of art treasures from Italy, which were placed in Louvre, the French national museum. -
Egypt
-2 years later, Napoleon sailed for Egypt, where British forces were stationed.
-He won a great land victory there, but the British fleet destroyed the French fleet.
-Nevertheless, the French succeeded in establishing their influence in Egypt.
-Another important outcome of the French campaign was that soldiers accompanying Napoleon discovered the Rosetta Stone. -
The Consulate
-Napoleon set up a new government called the Consulate.
-He placed himself at its head and took title of First Consul.
-By this time, Russia was no longer at war with France, however, Austria and Great Britain were. -
Austria
-France is at war with Austria.
-In 1801, Napoleon led French forces to victory over Austria. -
Peace Treaty with Great Britain
-France is at war with Great Britain.
-In 1802, Napoleon arranges a peace treaty with Great Britain. -
First Consul
-Napoleon set out to make the Consulate strong and rich. -He created more of a dictatorship, and the government was able to collect more taxes. -France's debt was paid. -It's economy improved. -And it now had a system of education. -Brought order to the French legal system with the Napoleonic Code. -Tried to make Paris and France more beautiful. - Worked to improve transportation. -With all of this peace and order he became very popular. -
Britain Declares War on France
-In 1803, Great Britain, threatened by Napoleon's actions, declared war on France.
-Great Britain and its allies, however, were not able to stop Napoleon and his soldiers. -
Emperor
-Two years later, the French made Napoleon emperor of France.
-His coronation was held in the Notre Dame Cathedral.
-The Pope came from rome for the crowning but did not have a chance to place the crown on Napoleon's head.
-Instead, Napoleon took the crown from the Pope's hands and crowned himself. -
Napolean crowned himself King of Italy
-Napoleon had himself crowned king of Italy. -
Confederation of the Rhine
-In 1806, he formed the Confederation of the Rhine, which consisted of a group of conquered german states. -
Invaded Spain and Portugal
-In 1808, he invaded Spain and Portugal. -
Great Britain: 1809-1812
-Only Great Britain and Russia remained undefeated by Napoleon.
-He forbade the countries in his empire to trade with Great Britain (because he could not defeat their navy) though it was unsuccessful, because it was hard to enforce. -
Papel States, Pope in prison
-He made the Papal States part of France and put the Pope in prison. -
Invaded Russia
-Napoleon decided to take on Russia. -He organized a Grand Army of about 600,000 soldiers of different nationalities. -It was the largest army the worl had yet seen. -In 1812, the Grand Army invaded Russia. -They didn't fight one battle, instead they retreated and drew the French deeper into Russia. -As the russians retreated, they burned their villages and food supplies, leaving nothing for the advancing French. -This tactic is called the Scorched-Earth Policy. -
French Freeze
-By then the bitter russian winter had started.
-Hundreds of thousands of French soldiers froze to death as temperatures fell to 40 degrees below zero.
Thousands more died from disease and lack of food.
-In the end, fewer than 100,000 soldiers made it back to France. -
Moscow
-In September, Napoleon reached Moscow, which had been abandoned by the Russians.
-Shortly after the French arrived, the city caught fire and three-fourths of it was destroyed.
-The French army now had neither food nor shelter.
-Napoleon sent several peace proposals to the Russians, which they ignored.
-He finally gave the order to withdraw. -
Allies Join Together
-Napoleon quickly raised another army, but the new soldiers were not well trained.
-They were defeated by the allied forces of Austira, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain.
-This was the first time the four countries had joined together to fight Napoleon. -
Allies take Paris
-In 1814, the allies took Paris, and Napoleon was forced to abdicate, or give up the throne.
-He was sent into exile to the small island of Elba off the coast of Italy.
-He managed to escape, however, and gathered together enough troops to invade France.
-For 100 days, Napoleon again reigned as emperor.
-The allies, under British leadership of the Duke of Wellington, finally defeated him in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo. -
Waterloo
-The allies, under the British leadership of the Duke of Wellington, finally defeated Napoleon in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo. -
Death
-Napoleon was sent to the island of St. helena off the west coast of Africa, where he died in 1812.
