The collapse of the Empire

The first Peace of Paris

- The entry of the allied armies into Paris in April 1814 allowed the Senate to invite
Louis XVIII to take the throne, on condition that he accepted 74 articles, guaranteeing
a constitution with a two-chamber assembly, fair taxation, equality before law,
freedom of the individual and career open to talent, abolition of conscription, a
pardon to former revolutionaries, a free press, free worship with Catholicism as the
state religion, and that the owners of the biens nationaux would keep their lands.
- Napoleon’s exile meant that Louis returned immediately from Britain, but his arrival
still had reservations from some people, with Louis having installed himself fin the
Tuileries Palace – he decreed that the freedoms promised were his personal gift to
his people and not their right, as well as believing in his own divine right and the
legitimacy of his position – the allies presented him with the Frist Treaty of Paris to
sign on 30th May 1814, agreeing to withdraw from French soil but forced to accept
the borders of 1792, returning Belgium, Holland, Italy and Germany but extending
the border east of the Rhine.
- The Congress in Vienna, November 1814 confirmed the treaty and worked out the
details – it was hosted by the Austrian Emperor Francis I, lasting eight months – the
key delegates were Castlereagh, British Foreign Secretary, Von Metternich, the
Austrian Foreign minister, Tsar Alexander, Frederick-William III of Prussian and
Talleyrand, the French foreign minister.

The Hundred days

- The congress heard news that Napoleon had escaped from Elba and landed in
France, with the major powers signing a treaty 2 days later declaring Napoleon an
outlaw and offering assistance to Louis to defend his power – napoleon had landed
near Cannes with a huge following of workers and peasants ,making a. Series of
triumphal entries into towns and cities and gaining force – Louis left the capital and
took refuge in Ghent.
- Napoleon’s ease in victory was helped by the discontent of Louis short regime – Army
officers were on half pay, taxes were high despite promises to reduce them due to
French debts, there was still hostility to conscription and rumours of the biens
nationaux being seized worried peasants in particular.
- Napoleon’s arrival in Paris saw him promise peace and transform the press to refer to
him as ‘our great and beloved Emperor’ – a new constitution was put forward by the
Acte Additionel, appealing to the liberals by promising free elections, free press and
a constitutional monarchy with a two-chamber government – the plebiscite for the
constitution produced a low turnout, but the majority were in favour.
- Napoleon raised an army of 300,000 men to oppose the fourth coalition, gathering
on the northern frontier – he managed to defeat the Prussians at Ligny but did not
follow his victory – The battle of Waterloo saw a confident attack by Napoleon but
81,000 Prussian troops arriving condemned Napoleon to defeat, despite the loyalty
of the Imperial Guard – he returned to Paris and despite attempting to continue his
 legacy with his son, he surrendered to the British, where he was exiled to the remote
British Island of St Helena, where he remained until his death.
- This invited Louis XVIII back to France, promising a pardon to all those but the
instigators who had served the Emperor during the Hundred Days.

The second Peace of Paris

- Napoleon’s support in such a short period made the allies rethink their generous
treatment of France – the Vienna Congress was hastily convened after the battle of
Waterloo, drawing up a new Peace of Paris signed in November 1815 – it ensured
that French frontiers were reduced to those of 1790, the French would pay an
indemnity of 700 million francs, returning all looted artwork and having an army of
occupation under Wellington for 5 years, or until the indemnity was paid – the
coalition became the quadruple alliance to preserve the peace of Europe and resist
any further attempt by Napoleon to return to France.
- The Vienna settlement produced as a result of discussions in Vienna and the second
Treaty of Paris mainly contained France through a series of buffer states around the
country, the cordon sanitaire – the settlement was based on conservative principles
and a fear of revolution turned back to a form in France before the revolution.

The condition of France in 1815

- It seems that France went in a full circle with the restoration of a Bourbon monarch
whose advisors came from the aristocracy, committed to the Catholic church – early
resentment of the new regime appeared provocative and assumed importance for
those who opposed the new royalist regime.
- However, the France that emerged from 1815 was very different from the Ancien
Regime, with departments, the prefects, the tax system and the bank of France as
well as the courts and the Napoleonic Civic code all remained, together with careers
open to talent all ensured that the bourgeoisie professional classes continued to
dominate political and social life, with those who benefitted from the revolution and
Napoleonic era all continuing to do well.
- Louis reliance on moderate advisers in 1815 was sensible, at the expense of the
ultras and the comte d’Artois, who were more royalist than the King himself – they
did however dominate the chamber of deputies, making political life difficult.
- There was assistance in economic recovery, with the French industry benefitting both
from the positive reforms of the Napoleonic era and the release from the continental
system.

Napoleon’s legacy and reputation

- Napoleon portrayed himself as the heir of the French revolution, in the structure of
his state and education both following equality and promoting liberty – he
established his empire in the name of the revolution, and written constitutions and
the Civil Code were established with enlightened reforms.
- However, the state was authoritarian, with the system of election very indirect,
plebiscites rigged and Napoleon’s ignorance of the law-making bodies – his strong
 wish for central control meant powerful prefects, secret police, censorship and
propaganda – the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man was abolished’.
- Furthermore, his conquests in Europe would suggest that personal aggrandisement
was more important that fulfilling the aims of the revolution to Napoleon, despite
the beneficial effects of the enlightened principles established in the satellite states –
this did come with a disregard for democracy and further centralised administration.