Transcript The Fall of Napoleon

The Fall of Napoleon
An Epic Roller-coaster Ride
What Led to Napoleon’s
Downfall?
 Napoleon over-extended his army—he
invaded too many places at the same time.
 Napoleon forces his Napoleonic Codes on
the foreign lands he conquered, which made
his new “subjects” very angry!
 Napoleon tried to control all European trade
via the “Continental System”, also making
his “subjects” very angry!
Nationalism Backfires!
 Because Napoleon was so interested in forcing
French culture and rules on the nations he took
over, it caused several nations to reinstall their own
nationalism and rise up against France and
Napoleon.
 Ex: Germany and France, Spain and France
 Germany and Spain used guerrilla warfare against
France. Guerrilla means “little war” in French.
France vs. Russia
 1st major defeat for Napoleon
 Showed that Napoleon could be defeated
 Czar Alexander I turned on Napoleon causing Nap.
To invade Russia
 Napoleon was too great to fight, so Russians fled
east, burning everything (crops, homes, supplies
etc…) between French troops and Russian troops.
 This is called the “scorched earth policy”
 French troops went hungry and shelterless, so they
were forced to retreat.
A New Alliance Sinks
Napoleon
 After the Russian success in Russia, Russia,
Britain, Austria and Prussia rose up against a
weakened French Army.
 France is defeated in 1813
 1814: Napoleon steps down from power
(abdicated) and was exiled to the island of
Elba. King Louis XVI’s brother Louis XVIII
took the throne of France.
•The victorious nations met in Vienna to discuss
France’s future.
•Napoleon used this opportunity to escape from Elba
and return to power.
•Napoleon’s rise to power was epic. He defied all the
odds and reclaimed his position as Emperor of France.
•He only returned to power for 100 days before he was
defeated again by the Duke of Wellington.
•Napoleon returned to exile, this time to the island of
St. Helena—never to return again.
Napoleon’s Legacy
 Died 1821
 Remembered as “the son of the revolution” as well
as “revolution on horseback”.
 Napoleonic code was a model for written laws.
 His militaristic abilities are his biggest
contributions to modern history
 **He was the French leader who sold the Lousisana
Territory to the American Gov’t, which doubled the
size of the United States.
The Congress of Vienna
 Leaders from 10 countries led the meeting that
focused on restructuring the power structure of
Europe and protecting Monarchies.
 The European map is redrawn
 France is surrounded by powerful countries and
new countries are created (Belgium, Luxembourg,
Holland)
 European monarchs are all “Legitimized”