Napoleon’s Accomplishments in Europe
Now that France’s affairs were in order, Napoleon was looking for new challenges. For Napoleon, a challenge meant taking on the other countries in Europe. His first opponent was France’s old enemy, Great Britain, when Napoleon declared war in 1803. Napoleon was usually successful against Britain when they fought on land, but Great Britain consistently won whenever the battles were at sea. Despite Napoleon’s military genius he was unable to break the strength that Great Britain would have on the sea and would continue to have well into the 20th century. However, on land, Napoleon won key battles and quickly earned the reputation as the most feared person in Europe. Thanks to Napoleon’s efforts, France was once again Europe’s most powerful nation.
Like his efforts in France, Napoleon attempted to reorganize Europe so that France would maintain its powerful position. He united the various German states into the Confederation of the Rhine which would eventually evolve into the nation of Germany. Napoleon also used his family to maintain France’s position. He placed brothers on several thrones in Europe and married his sisters into other European dynasties. Another key move by Napoleon was to make a “mutual protection” pact with Alexander I of Russia. These moves put Europe in the palm of Napoleon’s hand but still Great Britain remained a threat to all that Napoleon had done.
When he failed to defeat Great Britain by military means, Napoleon decided that he would crush what he called “a nation of shopkeepers.” His plan was to prevent Great Britain, an island nation, from trading with the rest of the continent of Europe. In a series of decrees, Napoleon ordered all the countries in Europe under his control to stop trading with Great Britain. This move was known as the Continental Congress.
Great Britain retaliated with a move of its own called the Orders in Council. The Orders said that no neutral country should trade with France or any of the countries controlled by France. Ultimately, the Orders of Council were more successful because Great Britain controlled the seas and could get around the land forces of Napoleon.
However, Great Britain would be distracted from the affairs in Europe because the United States. Angry that Great Britain had interfered with the rights of neutral. This declaration of war accomplished just what Napoleon had hoped. With Great Britain distracted, Napoleon seriously considered invading Britain. He prepared his army and considered sending them over by balloon or using a tunnel under the English Channel but the invasion never took place.
The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna
The beginnings of Napoleon’s downfall came when he attempted to invade Russia. Alexander I had broken his pact with Napoleon. Russia had suffered economically due to the Continental System and was unable to trade its excess grain to Great Britain. Defying Napoleon, Russia began to trade with Great Britain and ignored protests from Paris. Napoleon gathered his army of 600,000 men and invaded Russia in the spring of 1812. The attack was a disaster. The Russians refused to make a stand and would shot from behind trees while drawing the French further and further into Russia. When retreating, the Russians would burn everything they could not carry when they gave up territory to the French. This tactic was known as scorched earth. When Napoleon finally captured Moscow in October, there was nothing but burnt out buildings to shelter his troops. Napoleon waited a month waiting for the czar’s (Russian king) surrender before starting back for France. The delay cost Napoleon terribly. The infamous Russian winter set in and the French army was not prepared for it. Many lives were lost to the cold and the Russians who then chose to attack the fleeing French army. By the time the French army crossed the borders in France, only a few thousand men remained.
Napoleon’s defeat at the hands of the Russians gave the rest of Europe hope. A union of countries including Russia, Prussia and Austria combined their forces and waged war against France hoping to topple Napoleon. At the Battle of Leipzig in October of 1813 the allied forces soundly defeated Napoleon who was forced to give up his emperorship and sent in exile to live on the small island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. Europe was finally free of Napoleon. Or so it thought…
With Napoleon gone, the other leaders of Europe were restored and peace was reestablished. Louis XVIII, one of Louis XVI’s older brothers, was placed on the throne of France. Europe hoped that with the restoration of the traditional monarchy in France, that they would be rid of the Napoleonic menace. A peace agreement was made with France and a gathering of foreign ministers met at the Congress of Vienna to solve the rest of Europe’s problems.
However, Napoleon was not gone for long. While the Congress of Vienna was taking place word reached the group that Napoleon had escaped from Elba, with the support of 1500 men, was marching on Paris. Once there, Napoleon was welcomed back with open arms. It seemed that Louis XVIII was unable to capture the hearts and minds of the French people. Louis was forced to flee the country for his own safety. Napoleon was once again in power in France.
The allied forces were stunned that Napoleon’s return had happened so easily. The quickly put together a coalition force and met Napoleon on the battlefield in the so-called Low Countries (Belgium, Holland, etc) of Europe. On Oct. 15, 1815 in the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon would be defeated for the final time. The allied forces led by Duke Wellington of Great Britain defeated Napoleon’s army. Exiled once again, Napoleon spent the rest of his days on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Napoleon eventually died of mysterious causes in 1821.
While the allied armies dealt with Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna was busy redrawing the map of Europe. The major European powers: Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia and France (under Louis XVIII). Once again, the larger powers made decisions that affected smaller ones. Countries like Belgium were incorporated into the Netherlands, Germany and Italy were made into unified countries. Countries that lost out were Poland and Saxony. Once again it was another example of how the big countries in Europe made decisions that were best for their countries regardless of how it affected others. The Congress was successful in solving the tensions in Europe for almost a century and the coming of the First World War.