Napoleon

Napoleon was born in Corsica and soon went to study at a military school in France at the age of 9. He studied great leaders like Hannibal and Alexander the Great, but also studied the use of firepower. He became an officer at the age of 16.

During the Revolution, Napoleon favored the Republicans who opposed the monarchy. France was at war during the Revolution and Napoleon became famous because of some brilliant victories. At the end of the Revolution he was named one of the 5 leaders of France. He soon abolished the other 4 and became the Emperor of France. Instead of letting the pope crown him emperor, Napoleon took the crown from the pope’s hands and crowned himself. This showed that he believed his power was not from God but from himself. Many saw this as a move from hero of the common man to royalty. Despite his popularity, his thirst for power would be his downfall.

Napoleon invaded Egypt to disrupt England’s trade routes to the Middle East and India. While in Egypt, Napoleon and his men discovered the Rosetta Stone.

Britain was the one nation that consistently defied Napoleon. This was because Britain ruled the seas with its navy. To control them, Napoleon introduced the Continental System. This prohibited other nations from trading with Britain. Not only did this paralyze Britain’s economy, but it hurt the economies of the other nations of Europe who depended upon trade with Britain. Several nations of Europe formed an alliance against Napoleon.

Napoleon’s biggest military mistake was his invasion of Russia. Most of his army died in the Russian winter.

After several severe losses, Napoleon tried to commit suicide by poison, but the drink was not strong enough. He was exiled on the island of Elbe.

While in exile, the French people were becoming inpatient with their new king, Louis XVIII. Napoleon took the opportunity to return to power in France. Immediately, the alliance of European nations rose up again against Napoleon. Napoleon marched into Belgium where the British and Prussians were preparing to invade France. After a night of heavy rainfall, they met at Waterloo. This is where Napoleon met his final defeat.

The Congress of Vienna

After Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo the leaders of Europe had to decide how to set Europe back up again. Napoleon had taken over much land and done much damage. To restore order in Europe, many leaders met at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. This meeting would shape Europe for the next 100 years.

Most of the leaders at the Congress of Vienna were conservative and did not want the type of government the French had tried to set up during their Revolution. As a result, they restored old monarchies again. Kings were restored to their thrones. The ideas of the French Revolution may have seemed good at the time to some people, but they had only brought about 10 years of bloody revolution and the 10 more years of Napoleon’s wars. At least when there were kings, some argued, things were not that bad.

Another important goal of the Congress of Vienna was to prevent another nation from taking over Europe. One Napoleon was enough. In order to prevent this from happening again, they set up a system called a “balance of power.” This meant that they would divide up power among the kings in such a way as to prevent France from rising to power again. National boundaries were redrawn to make it difficult for any nation to become too powerful. What these people did not understand was the new force of nationalism.