Napoleon Bonaparte

Time Line

Napoleon Bonaparte is born in Corsica (1769-1821)

birth and childhood- Hated France because he was born when Corsica was perishing and after a lot of revolutionizing. Napoleon thought his father betrayed his Corsican heritage because his father submitted. Napoleons mother, Litesia, he was fascinated by her and he says she gave him good training in life and punished her children to keep them disciplined. Had two houses but stuggled to make money just to get by. Napoleon had a scholarship to a school in France. At fifteen he went to the Royal Acadamy of Paris and was in a military-type area. He became a soldier at sixteen.

physical stature (Napoleonic complex)- Napoleon was quite small in before his prime (5’11’’). He had a rigid pose and would usually walk with one arm tucked in his coat.

marriage and political significance- He wrote a brief history of Corsica and even tried making novels. Was 23 and a fantastic revolutionary. He was a lieutenant in the Corsican national guard.In three months he rose from captian to general by proving himself against the British.

Early military successes (1796)-

Napoleon's army defeats the Austrians in Northern Italy (1797)- Napoleon Bonaparte went to battle with the Austrians and was given command to fight against the Austrians in Italy until he defeated them at Lodi, Arcola, and Rivoli.

Treaty of Campo Formio- On October 17 1797, Napoleon tried to make peace with the Austrians. In so doing, he drew up a Treaty of Campo Formio to end war with Austria in Italy.

1798-1799 French extend their control- Napoleon made many advances with the French. He expanded their borders and invaded Egypt, captured Malto and Alexandria and moved into Cairo. He also won at the Battle of Pyrimids as well as the Battle of the Nile. He captured and defeated other cities and then moved on to Paris and the Proclomation of the Constitution was established.

Napoleon Fights his Egyptian campaign (1798-1799)

Napoleon's invasion of Egypt/ why?- Napoleon may have invaded Egypt for many reasons but Historians are not sure why. Napoleon Bonarparte’s main goal was to obtain more “glory.” He also may have wanted to conquer Egypt to be able to take control of the Indian Empire away from the British.

Rosetta Stone Discovery- Soldiers of Napoleon's army discovered the Rosetta Stone in Egypt in 1799. As part of the spoils of war, the French army turned the stone over to the British forces. The Rosetta Stone eventually made its way to the British Museum, where it resides today.

Battle of the Pyramids- The Battle of the Pyramids was a giant conquering by the French. They went into battle against two native tribes of Egypt and came out victorious.

Lord Horatio Nelson's role (1758-1805)- Nelson was against Napoleon Bonaparte and fought against him in the Battle of the Nile. He also called for a trade agreement between Napoleon and himself over Great Britain and Europe.

Battle of the Nile- Napoleon used his fleets of naval forces to force an attack on areas in Egypt. Due to lack of food and supplies Napoleon was obligated to either fight and die because of starvation or surrender and leave. This battle denied Napoleon his Eastern Empire and was considered one of his downfalls.

War of the Second Coalition is fought (1798-1801)

Describe the war and its participants- The war came with people from many countries. The odds were a lot to France and the Swiss. The Swiss became under French rule so they were on his side, The Spanish allied with France as well when they later fought Portugal.

Alliance against France- Many countries wanted to put an end to Napoleon spread across Europe and they did not want to lose anymore power or land during the Second Coalition so there formed a strong alliance of several countries against France. This alliance consisted of Britain, Austria, Russian Portugal, Naples, and Turkey which all gathered together and fought with their armies against Revolutionary France.

Napoleon's defeat of the Second Coalition- Napoleon came out victorious at the Second Coalition as he usually does. The war ended with two treaties that helped to bring about some peace.

Treaty of Luneville- In February of 1801, the Treaty of Luneville was written and made to make peace and put an end to the battling with the Austrians. On France’s end of the deal they had to pay for compensation of some things they’d done such as the Rhine princes as well as bring the King of Naples back to his ruling seat.

Treaty of Amiens(1802)- The Treaty of Amiens was a form of peace that Britain wanted with France and Napoleon allowed it. In this treaty, France had to give the Papal States and the Two Sicillies but also got to keep some lands of Piedmont and important places on the French side of the Rhine while Britain would surrender most of the islands in the West Indies.

 

Napoleon Bonaparte seizes power and becomes first consul (1799)-

How does he come to power?- A new type of government was formed and it was called the Consulate, Napoleon, of course, wanted more glory and he wanted to guarantee himself as first consul. He himself as well as some help worked to overrule the Consulate to insure power. Later the constitution was changed somewhat and Napoleon went from consul for life to emperor.

The Constitution of 1799- Napoleon and his helper, Sieyes, created a constitution that would allow them to manipulate it in such a way that they could gain more power. The constitution made it so that the nation would have an unselected Senate and legislatures who in turn would choose a few consuls.

Consulate- The consulate was the new way of government that was formed. It was not a well structured government and allowed leeway so that Napoleon could gain more power, the Consulate basically did not allow the people to choose their leaders but rather Sieyes stated “authority must come from above and confidence from below.”

The Concordat of 1801 establishes a reconciliation between France and the Papacy (1801)

What did it do?- The Concordat of 1801 was made the Pope at the time and the Papacy, Pope Pius VII, and Napoleon Bonaparte with France. The Concordat of 1801 was made to reestablished the Roman Catholic Church in France.

Pope Pius VII (1800-1823)- Pope Pius the VII was part of the papacy when the Concordat was brought up. It took three phases for Napoleon and the Pope to come to an agreement on reestablishing the Roman Catholic Church as the basis of religion in France.

Civil Constitution of Clergy- Because of the financial crisis that was going on, the national assembly seized some church lands and made the State in charge of church affairs. Many Clergymen were against this new form of government but were forced to sign it or be put under arrest.

Napoleon becomes first consul for life (1802)

The Napoleonic Empire / Map (1804)

hereditary emperor-

Eugene de Beauharnais (1781-1824)-

Napoleon's divorce 1809)- Due to political opportunities and social awareness in the fact that he needed a son to follow in his footsteps, Napoleon divorced. Napoleon’s divorce of Josephine led to marriage between himself and Mari Louise of Austria.

Archduchess Marie Louise (1791-1847)- Hoping for a son, and as well as political and romantic reasons, Napoleon married another wife, the Archduchess Marie Louise who was from Austria. Marie Louise did have a son named Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles Bonaparte who later became known as the King of Rome.

Napoleonic Administration- Napoleon created an Administration in benefit of the country and the administration was under the national government’s ruling power and authority. This Napoleonic Administration made equality be a major factor to the French government. One of these new laws was to tax citizens based on equality with no exceptions pertaining to wealth or social/economic status.

Financial Reforms- The financial arrangement shifted under Napoleon’s leadership and was improved through a series of reforms. He collected the taxes of the people and formed an unbendable economy, one way this was possible was through the Bank of France which was made available in 1800.

Centralized Government- Napoleon centralized the government of France and the local governments were made lesser to the central government. Each town had a Prefect and sub-prefect to rule under Napoleon.

Napoleonic Code 1807 (into effect 1804)- The Napoleonic Code was one of the greatest things produced during Napoleon’s time. This code required to make French law completely uniform. It was based on two ideas: that all men are equal under the law, women were considered exceptions, and all people have a right to property. In the earlier code it eliminated all privileges from the laws, including tax laws. The following code expounded on various laws to ensure the posterity of private property.

Educational Reform/ University of France (1806)- Aside from political and financial reforms, Napoleon Bonaparte made educational changes as well. He recognized the need for more schools and he placed them in areas in need of educational opportunities. The government was in charge of the schools being run and the University of France was made in 1806.

Napoleonic Wars (1805-1815)-

War of the Third Coalition (1805-1807)- The Third War Coalition was the emperor of France’s goal to unite the French fleets of ships that were scattered throughout Toulon and Brest. This was considered one of the greatest naval battles in Napoleonic time.

British Naval Victory at Trafalgar- The British Naval Victory at Trafalgar was one of the most decisive naval battles in history. This victory all began when Napoleon considered battling the British.

French Victories on Land- Napoleon was also victorious outside of naval battles. He also made victories and conquered many contributing to the French victories on land against Turkish and British troops.

Napoleon creates the Confederation of the Rhine and abolishes the Holy Roman Empire (1806)

Describe what it did.- The Confederation of the Rhine was made to protect certain nations that decided to ally with the French. These nations decided to be on the French’s side

Treaties of Tilsit- This treaty established France and Russia as allies and divided Europe between the two. This made a decline in friction between other countries yet also caused some discontent.

Tsar Alexander I (1801-1825)- Alexander I was the emperor of Russia during Napoleon’s time. He thought that Bonaparte was a “shifty Byzantine”, and called him the Talma of the north. 

King Frederick William III (1797-1840)- William the III was also involved in the Third Coalition and he was actually against napoleon. Although he was against him, he thought of him as “the only man in Prussia.”

Napoleon's brothers Kings – Jerome was declared King of Westphalia, Louis was King of Holland, Lucien became prominent as president of the Council of Five Hundred and became King of Canino, and finally Joseph was King of Spain. All of his brothers wanted to become kings because they thought it was their right.

Joseph (1768-1844)- Joseph was in the Directery and the Council of Five Hundred, he was later declared King of Spain because he protested over being left out of the line of succession.

Louis (1778-1846)- Louis was King of Holland and was Napoleon Bonaparte’s second youngest brother and also wanted to be in on the goodness of being in the line of succession.

Jerome(1784-1860)- Jerome is Napoleon’s youngest brother and the last on in the line, he was the King of Westphalia.

Napoleon establishes the continental system (1806)

Describe what it did.- The Continental System was Napoleon's attempt to stop Britain's export and re-export trade with Europe and it was outlined in two Decrees issued by the Emperor.

Berlin Decree of 1806- The Berlin Decree of 1806 was concerning the British blockade of merely commercial ports was opposing to global law, Napoleon retaliated by setting up the British Isles under blockade and forbidding any trade to or from them

Milan Decree 1807- The Milan Decree allowed the French warships to capture neutral vessels that would be sailing from any British port or from countries engaged by British armies.

The Peninsular War- Arthur Wellesley was one of the best soldier of his time, other than Napoleon. He was smart as far as militarian trade and he knew the art of war and the techniques of strategies.

Conflict on Other Fronts(1808-1810)

Austria- Austria was just one of the many nations that Napoleon chose to battle against during the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of these wars Austria greatly suffered and was a lowly European state.

Battle of Wagram (July 1809)- Napoleon learned from his last battle and made it up to his nation at the battle of Wagram. In this battle he defeated Wagram and this battle also influenced Austria.

Treaty of Schonbrunn (Oct. 1809)- The Treaty of Schonbrunn was a treaty of peace that was made between France and Austria, which forced Austria to give up a lot of land and it also made them unite under the Continental System.

Plans to restore the French Empire in America (1803)- France was trying to establish a French Empire in America. They had plans and followed through with them by purchasing land such as Louisiana.

Louisiana territory (1803)- France bought Louisiana around 1800 but Napoleon Bonaparte realized that keeping Louisiana was not worth the cost and so he sold it to the US in 1803.

War of 1812

Describe the happenings of the War – America had a war to fight for their newly found independence in the War of 1812. They fought with France at their aid and had victory against the British.

Napoleon fights his unsuccessful Russian campaign (1812)

Invasion of Russia- Napoleon gathered an army together and entered Russia because they had broken off from the alliance. Napoleon realized that he would not be able to clothe and dress 600,000 men so he left Russia. 

Prince Mikhail Barclay de Tollay (1761-1818)- Prince Mikhail Barclay de Tollay was a prime minister. This man was very powerful yet he was against Napoleon through all his dealings.

Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov- Kutuzov was a follower of Prince Mikhail Barvlay de Tollay and he later got to take his place after Tollay died. He also became powerful and was also against Napoleon.

Battle of Borodino- In this battle Bonaparte lost about 30,000 men because he was to ignorant to listen to the signs of war. He went into this battle with less weapons and provisions than the Russians which led to the loss of many men.

Grand Army entered Moscow- When the Grand Army entered into Moscow there was a significant difference of the two sides of the war. The French under Napoleon’s rule did not have enough food or provisions to last them through the battle.

French Retreat (Oct 19, 1812)- Napoleon realized that they were at a disadvantage in this war. He finally decided that they should retreat because they would not be able to make it through the war.

Russia, Prussia, and Austria defeat Napoleon in the Battle of Nations (1813)

Battle of the Nations- After the battle in Moscow, Napoleon’s empire basically went downhill from there. After noticing his loss, Russia, Prussia, and Austria form an alliance together and defeat Napoleon in the Battle of Nations in 1813.

Napoleon abdicates and goes into exile on the island of Elba (1814)

Describe Napoleon's exile.- Due to his downfall and destruction Alexander the I and others decided to exile Napoleon so he could stir up no more trouble. They sent him to Elba to live the rest of his life.

Louis XVIII (1814-1824)- Louis XVIII was the next leader to take the empire of france and he ruled as King. He stayed in power up until Napoleon came back out of exile.

Napoleon returns to power, beginning the Hundred Days (1815)

Describe the 100 Days- The Hundred days is also known as the Waterloo Campaign which started on Maarch 1^st which was the day Napoleon arrived in Paris and June 28 which is when Louis XVIII returned as King.

Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo (1815)

Describe the Battle of Waterloo.- The battle of Waterloo was the decisive battle for Napoleon Bonaparte in which he lost and Louis the XVIII was returned to power as the king.

Duke of Wellington- The Duke of Wellington was against Napoleon Bonaparte and he helped to bring Napoleon’s final glorified days to an end.

Gebhard Von Blucher (1742-1819)- Gebhard Von Blucher aided the Duke of Wellington to the destruction and capture of Napoleon Bonaparte and saw to it that Napoleon no longer fought them again.

Napoleon dies on Saint Helena (1821)