The Age of Napoleon
Last Updated      1/15/2008     1/14/2008      1/13/2008

Early Life
1769, Napoleon born.
1779, he enrolled in military school.
1784, Napoleon graduated from military school.
Admitted to an elite military school where he studied artillery.
1785 September, Napoleon graduates and is commisioned a 2nd Lt.

Military Life
1793, becomes French artillary commander.
He is promoted to Brigader General.
1794, Napoleon is briefly jailed after the fall of Robespiere.
1795, Napoleon protects the National Convention.

Marriage

1796 March 9, Napoleon marries Josephine.

First Italian Campaign
1796, Napoleon led troops into Italy.
The French defeated the Austrians who ruled Italy.
France took Belgium from Austria.
France took hundreds of art treasures from Italy and placed them in the Lourve.



Egyptian Expedition
Napoleon took 167 scientists to Egypt.
1798, Napoleon defeats the British army in Egypt.
The British fleet destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile.
Napoleon's army discovered the Rosetta Stone in Egypt.
Napoleon's army shot the nose of the sphynix off.
French forces in France were defeated by Austrian, Russian, and Great Britain forces.
Napoleon returned home to Paris.



Coup d'etat
1799 November 9, Napoleon and two members of the Directory took over the government.
Napoleon's new government was called the Consulate.
Napoleon's title was First Consul.
Austria and Great Britain were still at war with France.



Second Italian Campaign
1800, Napoleon returns to Italy.
1801, Napoleon defeats Austria.
1802, Napoleon arranges a peace treaty with Great Britain.

Affairs at Home
France was at peace.
The Directory was weak and in debt.
Napoleon wanted to make the Consulate strong and rich.
The National Government now would choose local officials.
All tax collection was done by the National Government.
1803, Napoleon sells the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
France's debt was soon paid.
Napoleon set up a system of public education.

Napoleonic Code
France had different laws in different parts of the country.
New laws, the Napoleonic Code, were written.
The Code preserved the right won by the people in the French Revolution.
Serfdom was ended.
People were guaranteed a public trial by jury.
Freedom of religion was also guaranteed.
Some rights were taken away.
No one could criticize the National Government.
There was no freedom of speech or freedom of the press.
A husband had complete control over his wife's money and property.
The wife was expected to obey her husband.
A large police force kept watch and jailed people who were against Napoleon.

Empire Style
Napoleon tried to make Paris and France more beautiful.
He built the Arc de Triumph.
Furniture was designed in the Greek and Roman style.
This was called "Empire Style."
Women wore white cotton or muslin dresses with short puffed sleeves.
They fixed their hair like women in ancient Rome.

Transportation
Canals were dug and roads were improved.
14 bridges were built across the Seine.

Emperor of France
1802, Napoleon asked to be elected First Consul for life.
Two years later the French made Napoleon emperor of France.
His coronation was held in the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Napoleon took the crown from the Pope and put it on his own head.

The Grand Empire
Napoleon wanted to build an empire.
1803, Great Britain declared war on France.
1805, Napoleon was crowned king of Italy.

Coalitions Against Napoleon
Third Coalition
1805, Great Britain, Austria, and Russia joined together to fight Napoleon.
1805 October 20, Napoleon defeats the Austrians at Ulm.
Napoleon defeats the Austrian and the Russians at Austrlitz.

Battle of Trafalger
1805 October 21, a combined Fench and Spanish navy sailed to invade Great Britain.
At Trafalgar they met the British fleet led by Lord Horatio Nelson.
Nelson was killed , but 2/3 of the French fleet was destroyed.
The British victory ended the threat of a French invasion.

Fourth Coalition
1806 October 14, Napoleon defeats the Prussians
1806, Napoleon formed the Confederation of the Rhine.
He defeats the Russians and signs a treaty with Czar Alexander I.
France and Russia will share Europe.
Napoleon tried to wage an economic war against Great Britain.
Napoleon would not allow countries of his empire to to trade with Great Britain.
This order was hard to enforce and proved unsuccessful.
French citizens, including relatives of Napoleon, took over the government of conquered areas.

Peninsular War
Napoleon wanted to invade Portugal with Spain's help.
Spain refused.
1808, he invaded Spain and Portugal.
1810, Madrid surrenders to Napoleon.
He replaced Charles IV of Spain with his brother Joseph.
The people of Spain put up unexpected resistance.
Austria threatened war at home.
Naploeon returned to France.
He left several 100,000 troops to fight the Spanish guerrillas.
1813, Joseph abdicated.
1814, the French are driven from the peninsula.

Fifth Coalition
1809, Austria breaks their alliance with France.
Napoleon was forced to assume command of forces on the Danube and German fronts.
1809 May 21-22, French forces defeated at the Danube near Vienna..
Austria allows the French to escape and regroup.
1809 July 6, Austria defeated.
New peace treaty is signed.

1809. Napoleon made the Papal States part of France.
He put the Pope in prison.


Napoleon's conquests spread the ideas of the French Revolution through Europe.
Great Britain and Russia were not defeated by Napoleon.

Invasion of Russia
1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with 600,000 soldiers.
The Russians would not fight.
They kept retreating and drew Napoleon farther into Russia.
The Russians left nothing for the French.



Battle of Moscow
In September, Napoleon reached an abandoned Moscow.
The city caught fire and 3/4 was destroyed.
The French had no food or shelter.
The Russians ignored Napoleon's peace proposals.
Napoleon withdrew from Moscow in the winter.
Temperatures fell to -40 degrees.
Fewer than 100,000 soldiers made it back to France.

Sixth Coalition
Coalaition against Naploen is Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal.
Prussia joins the coalition.
Napoleon rushed back to Paris to raise another army.
The new army was not well trained.
1813 August 26-27, Napoleon defeats the Allies at the Battle of Dresden.
Sweden and Austria join.
1813, October 16-19, Battle of Nation both sides lose 120,000 soldiers.
Napoleon falls back to France.
His army has less than 100,000 aginst 500,000.
Napoleon's  army was surrounded by the allied forces of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain.
1814 March 31, the allies took Paris.
1814 April 6, Napoleon gave up the throne in favor of his son.
Allies were not satisfied.
1814 April 11, Napoleon abdicates unconditionally.

Exiled to Elba
He was exiled on the island of Elbe, off of Italy.
In his exile, he ran Elba as a little country.
He created a tiny navy and army, opened some mines, and helped farmers improve their land.
This was not enough for Napoleon.

The 100 Days
In France, the royalists had taken over and restored Louis XVIII to power.
He escaped and gathered enough troops to invade France.
The troops sent to capture him became his army.
The army marched with Napoleon to Paris.
Napoleon reigned as Emperor for 100 days.



Battle of Waterloo
1815 June 18, the allies led by the Duke of Wellington defeated him at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium.
Napoleon was captured try to sail to the United States.
1815 July 15, Napoleon officially surrenders.

Exiled to St Helena
Napoleon was exiled to the island of St Helena off the west coast of Africa.
He lived the life of a country gentleman.
Whilst there, with a small cadre of followers, he dictated his memoirs, and criticized his captors.
1821, Napoleon died.
Stomach cancer and arsenic poisoning are likely causes.

Bibliography
Greenblatt, Miriam, and Lemmo, Peter. Human Heritage A World History. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

"Napoleon I of France." Wikipedia On Line Encyclopedia. 15 Jan. 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France.