Beckie Strauss 6 March 2002

Birth of Modern Europe (D-Band)

Mr. Andrew Meyers

Napoleon I rose from obscurity and became the Emperor of most of Europe. His rule incorporated elements of a Republic and a dictatorship; it was an enlightened despotism. Napoleon’s personal character lent itself to his triumph: his confidence, ambition, passion and imagination made his military and political career possible. However, his era also contributed greatly to his power: European monarchies were crumbling, and it was still unclear what forms of government would replace the old order. Napoleon was a child of the Enlightenment and a son of the French Revolution. He managed to balance aspects of traditional monarchy, and revolutionary social and political customs. Through a combination of dictator and revolutionary, of personality and times, Napoleon I was able, essentially, to rule the world.

Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 in Corsica to parents of the Corsican-Italian gentry. His father, Carlo Buonaparte (in French, Bonaparte), was a professional lawyer who had fought for Corsica’s independence until the French occupied the island in 1768. He then joined the French aristocracy, became a count, and served as a prosecutor and judge. Napoleon was educated in Paris at Brienne and the École Militaire. He embraced, in particular, the study of history. His teachers’ reports demonstrate his pointed interest in the Roman Empire; he seemed to have felt that "for the first time in his life…he was understood. The Roman heroes of Plutarch were alone adequate to his aspirations." He was also greatly influenced by the Republican ideals of Enlightenment thinkers, which were percolating during Napoleon’s school years. These political philosophies (especially that of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who explored the nature of man’s reason and freedom, the necessity of small sacrifices for the sake of the greater good, and concept of the general will of a society) built the French Revolution. Napoleon graduated in 1785, at age sixteen, and joined the French army as a Second Lieutenant, soon to become on of the Revolution’s great heroes.

Once the Revolution began, Napoleon became a Lieutenant Colonel (1791) in the Corsican National Guard. Only two years later, Corsica declared independence, and Napoleon returned to France with his family. After a huge success at the Battle of Toulon (against Great Britain), he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1795. In the same year, he proceeded to quell an insurgent mob in Paris — an act that received much recognition. By 1796, he was made Commander of the French army in Italy, where he defeated four Austrian generals successively. These victories for the French led to the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797), which terminated France’s war against Austria (begun in 1792). The treaty was characterized by the new definitions of France’s boundaries and the arrangements for the reorganization of Germany, and the establishment the Cisalpine Republic in northern Italy (which Napoleon would rename the Republic of Italy in 1802 when he dubbed himself its president).

Napoleon then took command of French domestic affairs. Although he supported the ideals of the Republic, he introduced a dictatorship in 1799. He presented the public with a new constitution in a plebiscite, which required them either to accept his version or allow him to govern without the restrictions of a constitution at all. His constitution (which was approved) was based upon the ancient Roman Republic. He placed all the executive power in the hands of three consuls (Napoleon, himself, was the First Consul). He established a national education system, created both the civil service and the treasury, and made peace with the Roman Catholic Church (which was made concrete in his Concordat in 1801, through which the Vatican’s authority over the French clergy was reestablished).

Also as First Consul, Napoleon codified over three hundred overlapping legal systems of Old Regime and Revolutionary Assemblies. Initially called the "Code Civil des Français" (1804), the "Code Napoléon" (renamed in 1807) condensed French law into five specialized codes. The Napoleonic Code was relatively traditional: women were granted only very restricted property rights; fathers were given extensive authority over their children; labor unions were outlawed. As a result of Napoleon’s conquests, the Napoleonic Code was spread throughout Europe. It is still in force today in Belgium, and was the model for the civil codes of Quebec, Canada, Holland, Italy, Spain, some Latin American republics, and the state of Louisiana.

While a Consulate, supposedly governed France, in truth, Napoleon already held the role of an emperor. Although universal male suffrage had been granted, the only choices made by the common man regarded the Senate or Tribunate, neither of which had any significant power. The main bureau of government was the Council of State, which was completely under the control of the First Consul, Napoleon. In 1804, Napoleon proposed that he be named "consul for life" through a plebiscite once more. He then composed another constitution for France, declaring the current government the First Empire of the French. He, himself, was the emperor. The constitution, too, was passed through a plebiscite, and thus Napoleon could claim that his power as emperor was derived from the French people themselves. In December 1804, Napoleon was officially named Emperor of France. Instead of following the tradition and allowing the Pope to crown him, Napoleon rebelliously placed the crown upon his head with his own hands.

Napoleon, however, had foreign affairs to handle, as well: France was still at war with Great Britain. Because the English navy was so strong, Napoleon did not attack Great Britain directly. Instead, he launched his Egyptian Campaign. The ultimate goal was the seizure of England’s prized territory, India. Napoleon conquered the island of Malta (to be used as his staging area) in 1798, and then took Alexandria, a major Egyptian port. He continued southward, and conquered Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids against Egyptian troops. Napoleon completely reformed Egyptian law, abolishing feudalism and, in his Republican spirit, ensuring basic rights. Napoleon then moved towards the east, but the French navy was destroyed by the English fleet under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile (1798). Although Napoleon failed to capture India, his campaign threatened Austria and Russia’s interests in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

In fact, Great Britain allied with Austria and Russia three times, but it was the Third Coalition (1804) that brought war again. In 1805, British Admiral Horatio Nelson proved the supremacy of England’s navy once more in the Battle of Trafalgar. The majority of the French navy was destroyed, along with a number of their Spanish allies. However, Napoleon achieved multiple victories on land. Through a surprise attack, he defeated the Austro-Russian forces at the Battle of Auserlitz in 1805. In 1806, he proceeded to conquer Naples and the Dutch Republic (renamed Holland), and place two of his brothers on the respective thrones. He established the Confederation of the Rhine (most of current-day Germany) and himself as its protector. Only shortly after, Prussia allied with Russia, and together they attacked the Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon defeated both armies — Prussia at Jena and Auerstädt, and Russia at Friedland. In 1807, the Treaty of Tilsit humiliated Prussia through loss of territory, extensive payments, and provisions made to its army. Tsar Alexander I of Russia was forced to accept an alliance with France.

However, France was still at war with England. Napoleon recognized that he could not defeat Great Britain’s navy, and so he waged an economic war. Because Napoleon had control over most of Europe, he introduced the Continental System, "a French-imposed blockade of Europe against British goods, designed to bankrupt what he called the ‘nation of shopkeepers.’" The Continental System ultimately failed because it was unenforceable: although Napoleon reigned over the majority of Europe, he could not physically reside in all of his territories, and thus could not implement his policy. When Russia withdrew from the Continental System and recommenced trade with England, breaking the alliance formed in the Treaty of Tislit, Napoleon’s response was the formation of the Grand Army. Seven hundred thousand men from all over Europe, all under Napoleon’s control, were determined to retaliate.

Napoleon’s decision to invade Russia required extensive planning because of the treacherous climate. He intended to conquer Moscow, which he believed would force the Russian government to surrender. In September 1812, Napoleon defeated the Russians at the Battle of Borodino, and the Grand Army continued on to Moscow. They found it already in flames; the Russians had chosen to destroy the city themselves, rather than allowing Napoleon to do so. After five weeks’ delay of attempted negotiations with the Russian tsar, Napoleon retreated through the northern route. However, the harsh Russian winter caught up with the Grand Army, who froze or starved to death. Napoleon’s wagons were stuck in the snow, the military discipline collapsed, and the casualties were enormous: of the six hundred and eleven thousand troops who entered Russia, four hundred thousand died of battle wounds, starvation, or exposure, and one hundred thousand were taken prisoner.

In 1813, inspired by Napoleon’s disaster in Moscow, France’s enemies united once more. Prussia, Russia, and Austria declared the War of Liberation (1813-1814). Almost immediately, a French army was crushed at Leipzig in the Battle of the Nations. The French were forced back into their own territory. Napoleon ignored the peace proposals, and the allies responded by attacking France from all directions. In 1814, Napoleon surrendered. He was forced to abdicate, and while he retained his title, Emperor of France, he was exiled to the island of Elba.

However, in March 1815, Napoleon escaped Elba and marched on Paris, winning over the troops who had been sent to capture him. Napoleon regained his rule, but only for one hundred days. The allies outlawed him, and Napoleon, choosing to strike first, organized a campaign in Belgium. He defeated the Prussian army, and continued on to fight the British and Dutch forces under the British Duke of Wellington. The Battle of Waterloo decided Napoleon’s fate: it appeared that the French troops were winning until the Prussian army unexpectedly arrived to support Wellington. The allies defeated Napoleon. Napoleon surrendered to the British, who imprisoned him on the island of Saint Helena. He remained there until he died, six years later.

On his deathbed, Napoleon declared that his mission "had been to extinguish feudalism, reunite the continent, and secure the dignity of man by just and impartial laws." He had used the French Revolution’s ideals to seize and maintain his power; he had pacified a riotous France. He exported the concepts of liberty and equality to continental Europe. He demonstrated strategic and military genius in all of his battles. He introduced nationalism to the world. He was accused of tyranny, imperialism, and betrayal of the cause of liberty. Napoleon accomplished his mission, and endlessly more. The five-foot, two-inch tall Corsican who rose from obscurity became master of most of the western world, and left it forever changed.

Bibliography

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Durant, Will and Ariel. The Story of Civilization XI: The Age of Napoleon.

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Flory, Harriette and Jenike, Samuel. The Modern World.

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Stromberg, Roland N. European Intellectual History Since 1789 (Sixth Edition).

Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1994.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract in Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West: A Source Book.

Columbia University Press, 1946.

Burke, Edmund. Reflections on the Revolution in France in Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West: A Source Book.

Columbia University Press, 1946.

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http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/napoleon.html

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http://encarta.msn.com

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