Napoleon Bonaparte

“Ambition is never content even

on the summit of greatness.”
Born in Corsica as an Italian-
Became a French citizen at the age of 1

Home in which Napoleon

was born

Corsica
Became dictator (all power held
by a single person) of France
for 10 years in 1799 when he
launched a coup d’ etat (stroke
of state) against the Directory
Became Emperor for life after
winning a plebiscite (yes or no
vote)
Napoleon was immediately at war with the Second
Coalition (countries united against France)
Coalitions were formed because other European
Monarchs did not want their people to see the
French get away with killing their king and starting
Republics.
Loved by all of the French
NAPOLEON AS LEADER OF FRANCE
General Reforms
Freedom of worship
Stabilized food prices
Class Equality
Rebuilt Paris
Got rid of 10 day week (& calendar)
Legal Reform:
The Napoleonic Code – single set of laws for all
of France
Equality of law
Basic liberties
Restored slavery
Limits on women’s rights
Limits on political rights and freedom of speech
and press
NO LAWS APPLIED TO NAPOLEON
 Napoleon as a Military Leader
Wave of victories
Awesome General – People liked/loved him
THREE BLUNDERS
1. Spain – kicked out old king and put his brother,
Joseph, in charge of Spain. Spanish fought back with help
from the British. Guerrilla Warfare destroyed the French.
Napoleon has to pull out (300,000 French killed)
2. Continental System Napoleon tried to isolate trade with
Britain (to hurt their economy), but it backfired.
Battle of Trafalgar - Napoleon lost to the British navy. This
was Napoleon’s first major defeat
 BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
British
Lord Nelson –
The British
have better communication
faster fire of cannons
and shoot the hull of the ship
French
Admiral Villeneuve-
More ships, slower ships
Shoot chainshot into
rigging
Battle of Trafalgar
3. Russia (1812) Napoleon goes in with 400,000 +
troops, comes back with 10,000
While Napoleon was “down,” the other countries ganged up to
defeat him at the Battle of Leipzig (Battle of Nations) - 1813
Napoleon gives up the throne
and was exiled to Elba.
100 Days - Napoleon’s return to power
People didn’t like Louis XVIII (brother of the
guillotined king)
Napoleon escaped Elba (Louis fled)
Napoleon regained full power
Napoleon: best defense is a good offense. He attacked
the British General Wellington at Waterloo (Belgium)
Napoleon was defeated
for the final time
This time he’s sent to St. Helena, between Africa
and South America

He died in 1821 of
a stomach ailment.
LEGACY
Rise of Nationalism
Division of people by country not social class
People willing to go to war based on love of country
Wars to combine city-states, divide empires
LEGACY (CONTINUED)
Need for:
 Coalitions and alliances
Diplomacy as an
option to war
 LEGACY (CONTINUED)
Spread of ideas:
       Political philosophy
       Revolution as an option
    Equality, speech, voting, property
 
Rise of a professional military