The Fall of Napoleon Part 1

The Fall of Napoleon Part 1

Open Ended

Napoleon. A good leader or a bad leader? Why

​Napoleon's Grand Empire

• ​The Revolution had inspired Napoleon to spread its ideas

• ​He imagined a Europe United under one leader that upheld the beliefs of the French Revolution.

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• ​This led to a series of wars enacted with the purpose of fulfilling this vision of a Grand Empire

​Napoleon's Grand Empire

​Over a decade Napoleon conquered almost all of Europe.

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​Land was broken up into three sections:

​1. French Empire-Land directly owned by France

​2. Puppet States-Conquered lands that were controlled by puppet governments

​3. Allied States-Lands that pledged loyalty to Napoleon.

Multiple Choice

A state government that is completely controlled by another country is called a...

• Client State

• Allied State

• Puppet State

Multiple Choice

After making his brother the new king of German Westphalia, Napoleon told him:

"the talented commoners should have the same right to your esteem and to public employments as nobles. Any trace of serfdom or hierarchy between the lower and upper classes should be abolished."

This quote demonstrates that...

• Napoleon had pity for the loser classes

• Sought to reform social hierarchies

• Sought to reinforce social hierarchies

• Napoleon wanted to please nobles and uphold stable relations

​Life under Napoleon

• ​In puppet states Napoleon let many practices continue

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• ​However, he also pushed French culture and extolled it's virtue's as superior.

  • ​And his ego was becoming a big problem

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• ​Conquered lands saw the abolition of nobility titles, restrictions on Catholic power, abolished serfdom, and meritocracies.

​Downfall: Nationalism

• ​During the revolution, a national identity grew in France. One formed around language, shared cultural practices, liberty and religion.

• ​While conquering other lands, Napoleon accidentally spread these ideas of national identity.

• ​Suddenly countries all over Europe began to resist Napoleon's attempts to force a French identity on the rest of your Europe

​Downfall Nationalism

• ​Germans states began to unite under shared culture and values

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• ​Prussia placed "their entire national energies in opposition to the enemy [France.]"

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• ​Napoleon tried to limit the power of the Catholic Church in Spain

  • ​He dealt with widespread resistance his entire reign

Open Ended

How might the spread of national identities specific to certain countries become a problem for Napoleon?

​Downfall: England and the Continental System

• ​England remained free of Napoleonic rule, but Napoleon still sought to destroy them.

• ​He enacted the Continental System.

  • ​Continental System: Restrictions put on European trade by Napoleon, that made it illegal for European countries to trade with England.

• ​England reacted by finding new markets.

• ​Other European countries reacted by trying to sneak around these laws

• ​Napoleon caught Russia in the act and decided to make an example out of them.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would violate the Continental System

• England buying fur from Russia

• England trading tea to the Netherlands

• Germany trading fur to France

​Downfall: Napoleon Forgets his Jacket

• ​Napoleon brought a force of 600,000 to conquer Russia.

• ​But the Russian's didn't fight.

• Russian soldiers instead constantly retreated, burning all villages, towns and farms.

• ​Napoleon made it to Moscow and found that they had even burnt their capitol down.

• ​But why?

Scorched Earth Policy: a military strategy of burning or destroying crops or other resources that might be of use to an invading enemy force.

Napoleon had brought 600,000 men, hundreds of miles into Russia in the middle of winter.

​While he was gone

• ​England invaded the rest of Europe

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• ​Wars of liberation were getting fought all across his empire

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• ​And only 40,000 men of his 600,000 strong army returned from this botched war with Russia

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• ​Napoleon is stripped of power and exiled to an island for the rest of his days. His dream was dead, for now.

Open Ended

Which of these was Napoleon's biggest mistake? and why

1. Spreading nationalism

2. Underestimating England

3. Invading Russia