Napoleon and the French Empire: Rise and Fall
The Napoleonic and French Empire
After numerous victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe. Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through extensive alliances and by appointing friends and family members to rule other European countries as French client states. Napoleon defeated Austria and Russia at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805), bringing almost all of Europe under his control. The only remaining enemy was England. France ruled the continent, but Great Britain remained the dominant power at sea.
Also in 1805, Admiral Nelson defeated Napoleon’s French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. Unable to invade or conquer Great Britain, Napoleon declared the Continental Blockade against England, forbidding trade with them. Most of Europe disliked this system because they needed goods from England. When Napoleon discovered that Russia had abandoned the system, he decided to invade Russia.
The French invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point in Napoleon’s fortunes. His Grande Armée was badly damaged in the campaign and never fully recovered, leading to the collapse of Napoleon’s Empire. Prior to this, things had also deteriorated for Napoleon in Spain. The Spanish people did not accept the new French king, Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother), and resisted being ruled by a foreign power. The French Army was defeated by a popular army of “guerillas” and an English army that fought the French in the Iberian Peninsula from 1808. In 1813, preparations were underway for the return of Fernando VII to the throne of Spain.
In 1813, England, Russia, Prussia, and Austria allied as the Sixth Coalition to fight against Napoleon and his army. At the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig, Napoleon was forced to retreat in humiliation. The following year, the Coalition invaded France, forced Napoleon to abdicate, and exiled him to the island of Elba. Less than a year later, he escaped from Elba and returned to power, only to be defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life under British supervision on the island of Saint Helena.
Napoleon as a Soldier and Civil Administrator
Emperor Napoleon proved to be an excellent civil administrator. Despite his centralized government and reputation as a tyrant among his opponents, he sought to improve and modernize politics in the areas he conquered. He granted basic rights and freedom of religion through his Napoleonic Code, which still forms the basis of western civil law.
Chronology
- 1789: The Estates General (the National Assembly, the Tennis Court Oath, the Storming of the Bastille, and the Declaration of Rights)
- 1791: A new constitution
- 1792: Republic (the Convention)
- 1793-94: Robespierre was executed (the Reign of Terror, the Jacobins, Robespierre)
- 1795: The Directory
- 1799: Coup d’état
- 1804: Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor
- 1805: Battle of Austerlitz (Battle of Trafalgar, the War in Spain)
- 1812: French invasion of Russia
- 1813: Battle of the Nations
- 1815: Battle of Waterloo