Guide for Reading
How did Napoleon gain power?
What role did Napoleon play in furthering the French Revolution?
How did Napoleon build and defend his empire?
Vocabulary
plebiscite, annex, blockade
“He was like an expert chess player, with the human race for an opponent, which he proposed to checkmate.”
Thus did Madame Germaine de Stæl (STAHL), a celebrated writer and intellectual, describe Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon himself expressed a humbler view of his rise to power. “Nothing has been simpler than my elevation,” he once observed. “It is owing to the peculiarities of the time.”
From 1799 to 1815, Napoleon would dominate France and Europe. A hero to some, an evil force to others, he gave his name to the final phase of the revolution – the age of Napoleon.
THE MAN FROM CORSICA
Napoleon Bonaparte (as he once spelled his name) was born on the French-ruled island of Corsica in the Mediterranean.
Napoleon favored the Jacobins and republican rule.
“Since one must take sides, one might as well choose the side that is victorious, the side which devastates, loots, and burns. Considering the alternative, it is better to eat than be eaten.”
Early Successes
During the turmoil of the revolution, he rose quickly in the army.
Success fed his ambition.
A Self-Made Emperor
Two years later, Napoleon had accumulated enough power into his hands to take the title Emperor of the French.
Yet at each step on his rise to power, Napoleon had held a plebiscite (PLEHB ih sit), or ballot in which voters say yes or no to an issue.
FRANCE UNDER NAPOLEON
During the consulate and empire, Napoleon consolidated power, strengthening the central government.
Reforms
To restore prosperity, Napoleon modernized finance.
At the same time, Napoleon backed off from some social reforms of the revolution.
Napoleon won support across class lines.
Napoleonic Code
Among Napoleon’s most lasting reforms was a new law code, popularly called the Napoleonic Code.
But the Napoleonic Code undid some reforms of the French Revolution.
SUBDUING AN EMPIRE
From 1804 to 1814, Napoleon furthered his reputation on the battlefield.
As a military leader, Napoleon valued rapid movements and made effective use of his large armies.
The Grand Empire
Napoleon redrew the map of Europe. He annexed, or added outright, some areas to France, including the Netherlands and Belgium as well as parts of Italy and Germany.
Napoleon put friends and family members on the thrones of Europe.
France versus Britain
Britain alone remained outside Napoleon’s European empire.
With an invasion ruled out, Napoleon tried to strike at Britain’s lifeblood, its commerce……Britain responded with its own blockade of European ports.
Successes and Failures
In the end, Napoleon’s Continental System failed to bring Britain to its knees.
Still, for years the French celebrated unforgettable successes.
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