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Italian Campaign (green)
Napoleon, badly outnumbered, led his troops into Italy on April 2, 1796 with a plan to defeat the Austrians and their Piedmontese allies. He divided the armies and conquered them separately, easily conquering the Piedmontese and then pursued the retreating Austrians. -
Egyptian Campaign (red)
In April 1798, Napoleon and the French army sought to block the British trade route to India and establish a French presence in the east. Napoleon led his troops across the desert, and defeated the Mamalukes at the Battle of the Pyramids. However, British Admiral Horatio Nelson found the French fleet off of the Egyptian coast and destroyed it, leaving Napoleon and 35,000 soldiers trapped in Egypt. Bubonic plague spread, and 30,000 soldiers were abandoned in Egypt after Napoleon secretly left. -
Consulate (green)
The Consulate was the highest level of government in France from 1799-1804. It was established after the fall of the Directory due to a successful coup and lasted until the start of Napoleon’s Empire. The Consulate was successful because it had full power. -
Banque de France (green)
The Banque de France, or the French National Bank, was established in 1800 to restore the French banking system after the financial difficulties of the Revolution. -
Concordat of 1801(green)
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon and the Pope that recognized Catholicism as the religion of most Frenchmen. -
Consul for Life (green)
Napoleon, using plebiscites, declared himself Consul for Life in August 1802. This established that he was the head of the new government in France. -
Napoleonic Code (yellow)
The Napoleonic Code is a civil code created by Napoleon. The Code recognized civil liberty, equality before the law, and the secular character of the state. However, women were not given the same rights as men. -
Declared self Emperor (green)
On December 2, 1804, Napoleon was crowned emperor of the French Empire along with his wife Josephine. At his coronation, he took the crown from the Pope’s hands and put it on his own head, displaying that he had more power than the Pope. -
Battle of Trafalgar (red)
The Battle of Trafalgar was a very important battle, as it would tell whether Napoleon would be able to achieve his main goal of invading Britain. The British Navy, led by Admiral Nelson, won out, and Napoleon was not able to invade Britain. -
Abolished Holy Roman Empire (green)
Following the secession of the confederated states on August 1, the Holy Roman Empire was abolished when Emperor Francis II laid down the imperial crown on August 6th. The empire was then reorganized into the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon. The Confederation of the Rhine was eventually controlled by Napoleon. -
Continental System (red)
The Continental System was a barrier designed by Napoleon in order to isolate Great Britain. He banned trade between Britain and France/France’s allies. However, Napoleon did not control the seas, so Britain was easily able to smuggle goods into Europe. -
Resistance in Spain (red)
After Napoleon invaded Spain and placed his brother Joseph on the throne, Spanish guerillas resisted the French takeover and started the Peninsular War. -
Invasion of Russia (red)
Following the Peninsular War, Napoleon decided to invade Russia. However, the French were not prepared for Russia’s wintry conditions, combined with the Russian scorched-earth strategy. Napoleon’s army, battered and dying, reached Moscow, found it burnt down, and retreated, but were followed by the aggressive Russian army. Of the 600,000 troops that Napoleon entered Russia with, only 10,000 survived. -
Battle of Nations at Leipzig (red)
The Battle of Leipzig was a battle between Napoleon’s army and the armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden. Napoleon was defeated, and lost the territory he possessed east of the Rhine river. -
Abdication (red)
Napoleon was forced to abdicate the throne on April 13 1814. He was then exiled to the island of Elba. -
Hundred Days (yellow)
After escaping from his exile on the island of Elba, Napoleon returned to Paris, welcomed by his supporters. This time period lasted until Napoleon was forced to abdicate the throne on June 22, 1815. It brought back power for Napoleon, but eventually led to his downfall for the second and final time. -
Waterloo (red)
The Battle of Waterloo was Napoleon’s final battle, in which he was defeated by the British and the Prussians. This battle brought his reign to and end along with France’s domination of Europe.