Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution, and the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from 11 November 1799 to 18 May 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français) and King of Italy under the name Napoleon I from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814, and again briefly from 20 March to 22 June 1815.

Ruler of France

The coup of 18 Brumaire

While in Egypt, Bonaparte had kept a close eye on European affairs, relying largely on newspapers and dispatches that arrived only irregularly. On 23 August, he abruptly set sail for France, taking advantage of the temporary departure of British ships blockading French coastal ports.

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Although he was later accused by political opponents of abandoning his troops, his departure actually had been authorized by the Directory, which had suffered a series of to the forces of the Second Coalition, and feared an invasion.

Related Topics:
Directory - Second Coalition

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By the time he returned to Paris in October, the military situation had improved thanks to several French victories. The Republic was bankrupt, however, and the corrupt and inefficient Directory was more unpopular with the French public than ever.

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Bonaparte was approached by one of the Directors, Sieyès, seeking his support for a coup to overthrow the constitution. The plot included Bonaparte's brother Lucien, then serving as speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, and Talleyrand. On 9 November (18 Brumaire), and the following day, troops led by Bonaparte seized control and dispersed the legislative councils, leaving a rump to name Bonaparte, Sieyès, and Ducos as provisional Consuls to administer the government. Although Sieyès expected to dominate the new regime, he was outmanoeuvred by Bonaparte, who drafted the Constitution of the Year VIII and secured his own election as First Consul. This made him the most powerful person in France, a power that was increased by the Constitution of the Year X, which made him First Consul for life.

Related Topics:
Sieyès - Constitution - Lucien - Council of Five Hundred - Roger Ducos - Talleyrand - 9 November - 18 Brumaire - Constitution of the Year VIII - First Consul - Constitution of the Year X

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The First Consul

:Main article: French Consulate

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Bonaparte instituted several lasting reforms including centralized administration of the départements, higher education, a tax system, a central bank, law codes, and road and sewer systems. He negotiated the Concordat of 1801 with the Catholic Church, seeking to reconcile the mostly Catholic population with his regime. His set of civil laws, the Napoleonic Code or Civil Code, has importance to this day in many countries. The Code was prepared by committees of legal experts under the supervision of Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, who held the office Second Consul from 1799 to 1804; Bonaparte, however, participated actively in the sessions of the Council of State that revised the drafts. Other codes were commissioned by Bonaparte to codify criminal and commerce law. In 1808, a Code of Criminal Instruction was published, which enacted precise rules of judicial procedure. Although contemporary standards may consider these procedures as favoring the prosecution, when enacted they sought to preserve personal freedoms and to remedy the prosecutorial abuses commonplace in European courts. Although Bonaparte was an authoritarian ruler, the same was true of most continental European countries at the time. Bonaparte sought to restore law and order after the excesses of the Revolution, and reform the administration of the State.

Related Topics:
Départements - Concordat of 1801 - Catholic Church - Napoleonic Code - Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès - Second Consul - 1799 - 1804 - Council of State - 1808 - Authoritarian

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An interlude of peace

In 1800, Bonaparte returned to Italy, which the Austrians had reconquered during his absence in Egypt. He and his troops crossed the Alps in spring (although he actually rode a mule, not the white charger on which David famously depicted him). Although the campaign began badly, the Austrians were routed in June at Marengo, leading to an armistice.

Related Topics:
1800 - Marengo

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Napoleon's brother Joseph, who was leading the peace negotiations in Lunéville, reported that due to British backing for Austria, Austria would not recognize France's newly gained territory.

Related Topics:
Joseph - Lunéville

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As negotiations became more and more fractious, Bonaparte gave orders to his general Moreau to strike Austria once more.

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Moreau led France to victory at Hohenlinden.

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As a result the Treaty of Lunéville was signed in February 1801, under which the French gains of the Treaty of Campo Formio were reaffirmed and increased; the British also committed themselves to sign a peace treaty and finally signed the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, under which Malta was to be handed over to France.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Lunéville - February - 1801 - Treaty of Campo Formio - Treaty of Amiens - March - 1802 - Malta

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The peace between France and Britain was uneasy at best.

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The "legitimate" monarchies of Europe were reluctant to recognize a republic, fearing that the ideas of the revolution might be exported to them.

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In Britain, the brother of Louis XVI was welcomed as a state guest although officially Britain recognized France as a republic.

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Britain failed to evacuate Malta and Egypt as promised, and protested against France's annexation of Piedmont, and Napoleon's Act of Mediation in Switzerland (although neither of these areas was covered by the Treaty of Amiens).

Related Topics:
Annexation - Piedmont - Act of Mediation - Switzerland

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In 1803, Bonaparte faced a major setback when an army he sent to reconquer Santo Domingo and establish a base was destroyed by a combination of yellow fever and fierce resistance led by Toussaint L'Ouverture. Recognizing that the French possessions on the mainland of North America would now be indefensible, and facing imminent war with Britain, he sold them to the United States—the Louisiana Purchase—for less than three cents per acre ($7.40/km²). The dispute over Malta provided the pretext for Britain to declare war on France in 1803 to support French royalists.

Related Topics:
1803 - Santo Domingo - Yellow fever - Toussaint L'Ouverture - North America - United States - Louisiana Purchase - Cents - Acre - Malta

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Emperor of the French

In January 1804, Bonaparte's police uncovered an assassination plot against him, supposedly sponsored by the Bourbons. In retaliation, Bonaparte ordered the arrest of the Duc d'Enghien, in a violation of the sovereignty of Baden. After a hurried secret trial, the Duke was executed on 21 March. Bonaparte then used this incident to justify the re-creation of a hereditary monarchy in France, with himself as Emperor, on the theory that a Bourbon restoration would be impossible once the Bonapartist succession was entrenched in the constitution.

Related Topics:
1804 - Bourbon - Duc d'Enghien - Baden - 21 March - Emperor

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Napoleon crowned himself Emperor on 2 December 1804 (illustration, right) at Notre-Dame Cathedral. Claims that he seized the crown out of the hands of Pope Pius VII during the ceremony in order to avoid subjecting himself to the authority of the pontiff are apocryphal; in fact, the coronation procedure had been agreed upon in advance. After the Imperial regalia had been blessed by the Pope, Napoleon crowned himself before crowning his wife Joséphine as Empress. Then at Milan's cathedral on 26 May 1805, Napoleon was crowned King of Italy, with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

Related Topics:
Emperor - 2 December - 1804 - Notre-Dame Cathedral - Pope Pius VII - Apocryphal - Joséphine - Milan - 26 May - 1805 - King of Italy - Iron Crown of Lombardy

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By 1805 the Third Coalition against Napoleon had formed in Europe. A plan by the French, along with the Spanish, to defeat the Royal Navy failed dramatically at the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805), and Britain gained lasting control of the seas.

Related Topics:
1805 - Third Coalition - Spanish - Royal Navy - Battle of Trafalgar - 21 October - Britain gained lasting control of the seas

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Napoleon then finally abandoned all hope of invading Britain, and turned his attention once again to his Continental rivals. He secured a major victory against Austria and Russia at Austerlitz (2 December), forcing Austria yet again to sue for peace; and, in the following year, humbled Prussia at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt (14 October 1806). Napoleon marched on through Poland but was attacked by the Russians at the bloody Battle of Eylau on 6 February 1807. After a major victory at Friedland he signed a treaty at Tilsit in East Prussia with the Russian tsar Alexander I, dividing Europe between the two powers. He placed puppet rulers on the thrones of German states, including his brother Jerome as king of the new state of Westphalia. In the French part of Poland, he established the Duchy of Warsaw with King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony as ruler. Between 1809 and 1813 Napoleon also served as Regent of the Grand Duchy of Berg for his brother Louis Bonaparte.

Related Topics:
Austria - Russia - Austerlitz - 2 December - Prussia - Battle of Jena-Auerstedt - 14 October - 1806 - Poland - Battle of Eylau - 6 February - 1807 - Friedland - Treaty - Tilsit - East Prussia - Alexander I - Powers - Jerome - Westphalia - Duchy of Warsaw - Frederick Augustus I - Saxony - Grand Duchy of Berg - Louis Bonaparte

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Ludwig van Beethoven initially dedicated his third symphony, the Eroica (Italian for "heroic"), to Napoleon in the belief that the general would sustain the democratic and republican ideals of the French Revolution, but in 1804 tore out the title page upon which he had written a dedication to Napoleon, as Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear, renamed the symphony as the "Sinfonia Eroica, composta per festeggiare il Sovvenire di un grand Uomo", or in English, "composed to celebrate the memory of a great man". The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony features an elaborate choral setting of Schiller's ode An die Freude ("To Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing the brotherhood of humanity.

Related Topics:
Ludwig van Beethoven - Eroica - Ninth Symphony

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The Peninsular War and the War of the Fifth Coalition

Main articles: Peninsular War, Fifth Coalition.

Related Topics:
Peninsular War - Fifth Coalition

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Since he failed at conquering the British militarily, he decided to try to conquer them economically, by banning all merchandise and ships from continental Europe. Napoleon attempted to enforce a Europe-wide commercial boycott of Britain called the "Continental System". The British economy did suffer to an extent from this - but no more so than the French Empire's economy and neither nation was in a position to challenge the other.

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Portugal did not comply with this Continental System and in 1807 Napoleon sought Spain's support in an invasion of Portugal. When Spain refused Napoleon sent forces into Spain as well. After mixed results were encountered by his generals Napoleon himself intervened and defeated the Spanish army, retook Madrid and then defeated a British army sent to support the Spanish, driving it to the coast and ignoble withdrawal from Iberia (in which its commander, Sir John Moore, was killed). He installed one of his marshals and brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, as the King of Naples, his brother Joseph Bonaparte, as king of Spain .

Related Topics:
Portugal - 1807 - Spain - Iberia - Sir John Moore - Joachim Murat - Naples - Joseph Bonaparte

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The Spanish, inspired by nationalist and Catholic opposition to the French, rose in revolt. However at this time Austria broke its alliance with France without warning and Napoleon was forced to assume command of forces on the Danube and German fronts. A bloody draw at Aspern-Essling (May 21-22, 1809) near Vienna was the closest Napoleon ever came to a defeat in a battle with more or less equal numbers on each side. After both sides had licked their wounds for two months the principal French and Austrian armies engaged again near Vienna resulting in a French victory at Battle of Wagram (6 July).

Related Topics:
Nationalist - Catholic - Aspern-Essling - May 21 - 22 - 1809 - Vienna - Battle of Wagram - 6 July

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Following this a new peace was signed between Austria and France and in the following year the Austrian Archduchess Marie-Louise married Napoleon, following his divorce of Josephine.

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Invasion of Russia

Main article: Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

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Although the Congress of Erfurt had sought to preserve the Russo-French alliance, by 1811 tensions were again increasing between the two nations. Despite being an avid admirer of Napoleon since first meeting him in 1807, Alexander had been under strong pressure from the Russian aristocracy to break off the alliance with France, as they considered it an insult to Russian pride.

Related Topics:
Congress of Erfurt - 1811 - 1807

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The first sign that the alliance was deteriorating was the easing of the application of the Continental System in Russia. This enraged Napoleon, who it seems had genuinely liked Alexander since their meeting and thus felt betrayed. By 1812, advisors to Alexander suggested that a vast revolution was brewing across Germany and that the time was right for an invasion of the French Empire (and the recapture of Poland).

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Large numbers of troops were deployed to the Polish borders (reaching over 300,000 out of the total Russian army strength of 410,000). However Napoleon anticipated this and after the initial reports of Russian war preparations he began expanding his Grande Armée to a massive force of over 600,000 men (despite already having over 300,000 men deployed in Iberia). Napoleon ignored repeated advice against an invasion of the vast Russian heartland, and prepared his forces for an offensive campaign.

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On June 23, 1812, Napoleon's invasion of Russia commenced.

Related Topics:
June 23 - 1812 - Napoleon's invasion of Russia

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Victor Hugo would write in his poem, "Russia 1812" (1873):

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:The snow fell, and its power was multiplied.

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:For the First time the Eagle bowed its head - dark days!

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:Slowly the Emperor returned - behind him Moscow!

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:Its onion domes still burned.

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Napoleon, in an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists, termed the war the "Second Polish War" (the first Polish war being the liberation of Poland from Russia, Prussia and Austria). Polish nationalists wanted all of Russian Poland to be incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and a new Kingdom of Poland created. For political reasons this was unlikely to happen (principally because it would bring Prussia and Austria into the war against France). Napoleon also rejected requests to free the Russian serfs, fearing this might provoke a conservative reaction in his rear.

Related Topics:
Grand Duchy of Warsaw - Serf

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The Russians under Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly were unable to successfully defeat Napoleon's huge, well-organized army and retreated instead. A brief attempt at resistance was offered at Smolensk (August 16-17), but the Russians were defeated in a series of battles in the area and Napoleon resumed the advance. The Russians then repeatedly avoided battle with the Grande Armée, although in a few cases only because Napoleon uncharacteristically hesitated to attack when the opportunity presented itself.

Related Topics:
Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly - Smolensk - August 16 - 17

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Criticized over his tentative strategy of continual retreat, Barclay was replaced by Kutuzov. Realising the reality of the situation, Kutuzov continued Barclay's strategy. Kutuzov also soon came under criticism for this and finally offered battle. It appeared both Barclay and Kutuzov had been correct in their assessments of the situation for, outside Moscow on 7 September, the Russian army was defeated after what may have been the bloodiest day of battle in history - the Battle of Borodino (see article for comparisons to the first day of the Battle of the Somme).

Related Topics:
Kutuzov - Moscow - 7 September - Battle of Borodino - Battle of the Somme

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The Russians retreated and Napoleon was able to enter Moscow, assuming that Alexander I would negotiate peace. Moscow began to burn in accordance with orders of the city's military governor and commander-in-chief, Fyodor Rostopchin. Within the month, fearing loss of control in France, Napoleon left Moscow.

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The French suffered greatly in the course of a ruinous retreat; the Army had begun as over 650,000 frontline troops, but in the end fewer than 40,000 crossed the Berezina River (November 1812) to escape. In total French losses in the campaign were 570,000 against about 400,000 Russian casualties and several hundred thousand civilian deaths.

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The War of the Sixth Coalition (the Battle of Nations, the Invasion of France)

Napoleon was determined not to lose hold of Germany and there was a lull in fighting over the winter of 1812–13 whilst both the Russians and the French recovered from their massive losses of around half a million soldiers each. A small Russian army harassed the French in Poland and eventually 30,000 French troops there withdrew to Germany to rejoin the expanding force there - numbering 130,000 with the reinforcements from Poland. This force continued to expand, with Napoleon aiming for a force of 400,000 French troops supported by a quarter of a million German troops.

Related Topics:
1812 - 13

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Heartened by Napoleon's losses in Russia, Prussia soon rejoined the Coalition that now included Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal. Napoleon assumed command in Germany and soon inflicted a series of defeats on the Allies culminating in the Battle of Dresden on August 26-27, 1813 causing almost 100,000 casualties to the Coalition forces (the French sustaining only around 30,000). It appeared the Napoleon of old was back and that the Coalition might be forced to conclude a peace treaty if this run continued.

Related Topics:
Battle of Dresden - August 26 - 27 - 1813

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However, the numbers continued to mount against Napoleon as Sweden and Austria joined the Coalition. Eventually the French army was caught by a force twice its size at the Battle of Nations (October 16-19) at Leipzig. Some of the German states switched sides in the midst of the battle, further undermining the French position. This was by far the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars and cost both sides a combined total of over 120,000 casualties.

Related Topics:
Sweden - Austria - Battle of Nations - October 16 - 19 - Leipzig

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After this Napoléon withdrew in an orderly fashion back into France, but his army was now reduced to less than 100,000 against more than half a million Allied troops. Although some historians consider the defensive campaigns of late 1813 and early 1814 to be among Napoleon's most brilliant, the French were now surrounded (with British armies pressing from the south in addition to the Coalition forces moving in from Germany) and vastly outnumbered. The French armies could only delay, not prevent, inevitable defeat.

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Exile in Elba, return and Waterloo

Paris was occupied on March 31 1814. His marshals asked Napoléon to abdicate, and he did so on 6 April in favour of his son. The Allies, however, demanded unconditional surrender and Napoléon abdicated again, unconditionally, on 11 April. In the Treaty of Fontainebleau the victors exiled the Corsican to Elba, a small island in the Mediterranean 20 km off the coast of Italy. They let him keep the title of "Emperor" but restricted his empire to that tiny island.

Related Topics:
March 31 - 1814 - Marshals - 6 April - Allies - Unconditional surrender - 11 April - Treaty of Fontainebleau - Elba - Mediterranean - Italy

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While exiled in Elba, some claim Napoleon attempted to poison himself. General Caulaincourt, Napoleon's former foreign minister, witnessed Napoleon writhing, retching, and suffering from spasms of hysteria followed by moments of calm. He believed it to be, not illogically, attempted suicide. There is no way of knowing, however, whether it was really poison, a sedative whose effects were being resisted by Napoleon's body, or simply an anxiety attack. When Napoleon saw his doctor, he asked the doctor to end his suffering, which seems to confirm Caulaincourt's suspicions. The very next day, however, the Emperor was back to his normal self. He told Caulaincourt "I shall live, since death is no more willing to take me on my bed than on the battlefield."

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In France, the royalists had taken over and restored King Louis XVIII to power. On Elba, Napoléon became concerned about his wife and, more especially, his son, in the hands of the Austrians. The French government refused to pay the allowance guaranteed to him by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and he heard rumours that he was about to be banished to a remote island in the Atlantic. Napoléon escaped from Elba on 26 February 1815 and returned to the mainland on 1 March 1815. When he returned to the mainland, King Louis XVIII sent the Fifth Regiment, led by Marshal Michel Ney who had formerly served under Napoléon in Russia, to meet him at Grenoble. Napoléon approached the regiment alone, dismounted his horse, and confidently walked up to the line of soldiers. When he was within earshot of the men, he threw open his coat and shouted "Soldiers of the Fifth, you recognize me. If any man would shoot his emperor, he may do so now". Following a brief silence, the soldiers erupted into shouts of "Vive L'Empereur!" The soldiers sent to stop the former emperor instead joined the ranks behind him and marched with Napoléon to Paris. He arrived on 20 March, quickly raising a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000 and governed for a Hundred Days.

Related Topics:
King Louis XVIII - Atlantic - 26 February - 1815 - 1 March - Michel Ney - Paris - 20 March - Hundred Days

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Napoléon's final defeat came at the hands of the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at the Battle of Waterloo in present-day Belgium on 18 June 1815.

Related Topics:
Duke of Wellington - Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher - Battle of Waterloo - Belgium - 18 June - 1815

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Off the port of Rochefort, Napoléon made his formal surrender while on board HMS Bellerophon on 15 July 1815.

Related Topics:
Rochefort - HMS ''Bellerophon'' - 15 July - 1815

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