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The Rise and Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte

August 15th, 1769 - May 5th, 1821

The Rise of Napoleon

Napoleon's Coup d'Etat (Nov 9th, 1799)

The Coup d'Etat christened Napoleon First Consul of France, and according to some historians, ended the french revolution. The Coup d'Etat, meaning seizure of power of the state, overthrew the directory and introduced the French Consulate. The people of France, tired of the disagreements between the five Directors and desiring a strong leader to make the changes they wanted in France, peacefully overthrew the Directory and elected Napoleon as Consul.



Napoleon Becomes Emperor (May 14th, 1804)

Napoleon, desiring more power and to establish the legitimacy of his reign, decided to crown himself emperor. He designed a special ceremony, full of pomp and luxury, far different the ceremony to crown the kings of France, showing that his reign and ruling style would not be the same as that of the old kings. The entire ceremony costed over 8.5 million franks.

Napoleon Creates an Empire

Napoleon Creates an Empire (began 1804, ended 1815)

Napoleon's Empire was an powerful time for France. Napoleon began a series of wars, called the Napoleonic Wars, which expanded France all over western Europe and brought Napoleon power and wealth. Napoleon established the Napoleonic Code, which stressed clear and accessible law. He also established jury systems and legalized divorce.

Napoleon's Losses

During his reign, Napoleon fought 60 battles, losing only eight. He was a renowned strategist and a talented military leader, which brought France many victories. However, his unfortunate losses during his invasion of Russia were a major part of his decline.

Type of Government

The type of government Napoleon set up was a consulate. He ruled as the first Consul of France. Napoleon was an absolute ruler, but did govern as more of a military dictator than a king.

Napoleon's Decline

The Continental System (1806)

The continental system was the foreign policy of Napoleon Bonaparte. In response to british ships blockading french coasts, Napoleon declared an embargo against british trade. This didn't do much to affect the british, and when Napoleon found out that there was still a lot of trade going through Spain and Russia, he decided to invade those two countries.


The Peninsular War (1807 - 1814)

The Peninsular war was a battle between Napoleon, the Spanish Empire, the United Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Portugal. It lasted until Napoleon's defeat, and was notable due to the widespread use of guerrilla warfare. The war was taxing on Napoleon, and his decline worsened as the war continued.


The Invasion of Russia (1812)

The invasion of Russia was the beginning of the end for Napoleon, and still today has people wondering why anyone thought it was a good idea to attempt to conquer Russia in the wintertime. The French planned to quarter their soldiers in towns around Russia, but the Russians made sure that this was impossible. They burnt down villages in Napoleon's path, which threw off the french for several reasons. They were alarmed that the Russians had so little concern for their people's well being, and they could not quarter in the burnt villages. The attempted war on Russia caused massive losses for the French.


The Hundred Days

One of the most humiliating times for Napoleon, the hundred days consisted of the time between his exile and his return to paris. During his exile in Elba, France restored King Louis XVIII to the throne. Napoleon, however, returned to paris and took control once more, but after his defeat at Waterloo he was banished to the more permanent location of Saint Helena, where he died at the age of 62.

Congress of Vienna

The Congress of Vienna (1815)

The congress of Vienna was held by the four European powers that defeated Napoleon. The goal was to establish a new balance of power in Europe, which would prevent imperialism. Russia, Austria, and Prussia created the coalition of the Holy Alliance, which would restrain liberalism and secularism in Europe in the wake of the french revolutionary wars, which scared the monarch-ruled countries around France. Both these things were held to preserve the power of the countries participating, and to crush revolutions before they began.


Napoleon's Legacy

Long after his death, Napoleon is still remembered as a brilliant strategist who outmaneuvered many larger armies. He started from the bottom of society, but proved so good at military skills that he rose all the way up to become leader of France. Today, he is known as possible the most important and influential ruler of France ever.