A high school World History presentation of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor, Grand Army, France, Austerlitz, Waterloo, Elba, St. Helena, Congress of Vienna

1. Napoleon
1769-1821

2. Napoleon
 Napoleon Bonaparte,
ruthlessly ambitious,
rose from army
captain to ruler of
France in a very short
time. He took
advantage of the
turmoil of the French
Revolution.

3. France In Turmoil
 During the mid 1790’s amidst the French Revolution, France was
still looking for an identity.
 The new government struggled to implement its ideals and bring
order to the country.
 Many people still supported the “Old Regime” of an absolute
monarchy which prevented any unification of France.
 During the “Reign of Terror” under Maximilien Robespierre, the
government executed thousands of enemies of the state in
attempts to unite the country.
 Other countries such as Spain, Britain, Austria, Italy, Prussia and the
Netherlands saw this instability as a chance to invade and take
French lands for their own.
 France was in complete chaos and turmoil.

4. Napoleon’s Rise to Power
 As a young man named Napoleon Bonaparte
joined a French military academy on
scholarship.
 Napoleon was extremely clever and
educated himself in philosophy and the
world’s great military campaigns.
 His favorite subject was history, especially
Greek and Roman history.
 He was fascinated with Alexander the Great
and Julius Caesar.
 He also learned the art of public speaking.
 When the French Revolution and the
European wars that followed came, it gave
him the chance to finally use his knowledge.

5. Did you know?
 Napoleon is from the small island
of Corsica off the coast of Italy.
 He is actually of Italian descent,
not French.
 In fact, he was often bullied in
school because he spoke French
with a heavy Italian accent.
 This may have led to him growing
up with a chip on his shoulder.

6. Napoleon’s Rise to Power
 He is a brilliant, charismatic military leader.
 By age 24, Napoleon is made Brigadier General
(3rd highest position in the military) and by 26 he
commanded the entire French Army!
 Several countries formed a coalition and
initiate a series of invasions of revolutionary
France.
 Napoleon is successful in defending France
against these invasions as well as putting down
many internal uprisings.
 He even successfully leads a campaign against
Austria in Italy which won him much fame.

7. Napoleon’s Rise To Power
 Napoleon’s
combination of
intelligence, charisma,
charm, wit, and
decisiveness allowed
him to win the support of
his troops and other
people.
 Following his victory over
Austria, he returned to
France in 1797 as a
conquering hero.

8. Coup d’état
 In 1799, Napoleon (age 30) took part in the
coup d’état that overthrew the government.
 A coup d'état is a French term meaning to
overthrow the government using military force.

9. Napoleon’s Promises
 Napoleon promised order and
stability while pledging to uphold
the key reforms of the French
Revolution.
 Even though in theory France was
now a republic, Napoleon would
hold absolute power as the first
consul (basically a dictator) of a
new government called the
Consulate.
 He appointed members of the
government, controlled the army,
conducted foreign affairs, and
influenced the legislature.

10. "I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order
out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of birth
or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished
feudalism and restored equality to all regardless of
religion and before the law. I fought the decrepit
monarchies of the Old Regime because the
alternative was the destruction of all this. I purified
the Revolution.“
– Napoleon Bonaparte

11. A new Emperor
 In 1802, Napoleon
made himself consul
for life, and then in
1804, he crowned
himself Emperor
Napoleon I.
 He wanted to make
himself “the new
Caesar”.

12. Napoleon’s Coronation
 The coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of France was a grand event.
 His motivation for becoming emperor was not only to show that he was just the most
powerful man in France, but in Europe.
 He wanted to show his prestige to other countries and also start a new era of a French
dynasty that would last forever.
 The ceremony took place at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and even the Pope,
himself, attended.
 Approximately 5,000 onlookers were in attendance, having arrived the night before
and kept their place through rain just to get a seat.
 There was a grand parade and procession leading to the cathedral. A 400 voice choir
also sang hymns.
 The Pope said a prayer and then presided over the ceremony.
 As the Pope said, “receive your imperial crown…”, Napoleon unexpectedly interrupted
the him by taking the crown and (to the amazement of everyone in attendance), he
then placed it on his own head.

13. So did Napoleon preserve the
ideals of the French Revolution
as he claimed he would?

14. Napoleon’s Code
 As emperor, Napoleon created his Civil Code, basic laws
much like a constitution to run his empire.
 He tried to destroy the feudal, hierarchical order in the
French Empire (no more 3 Estates).
 Nobility and clergy lost privileges, and equality of
opportunity was declared, along with religious toleration
before the law.
 The Civil Code also recognized equality of all citizens
before the law, and he did open government careers to
more people to be involved.
 So, to that extent he did preserve the revolutionary ideals.

15. Napoleon Beautifies Paris
 Additionally, Napoleon
was also largely
responsible for turning Paris
from a chaotic mess
during the French
Revolution to a beautiful
city.
 He added parks and
boulevards as well as the
Arc de Triomphe to
commemorate his military
victories.

16. Napoleon’s Code
 However, he also destroyed some
revolutionary ideals:
 He ruled despotically.
 He shut down 60 of France’s 73
newspapers, insisting that the
government view all manuscripts
before they were published, and had
government police read people’s
mail.
 Napoleon also founded the Banque
de France (the central bank).
 Instead of several institutions,
Napoleon put all financial power into
this one bank, thus creating a
monopoly which he controlled.

18. Napoleon’s Civil Code

19. Why do you think the people of
France were ok with Napoleon’s
ruling style?
Why do you think they allow him
to rule as a dictator/Emperor?
How was this any different from
when King Louis XVI was in
power?

20. Answer
 The French people were willing to give up
some freedoms in exchange for peace and
prosperity as opposed to the chaos and
uncertainty of the revolution.
 He was also the exact opposite of leaders like
King Louis XVI. He was a strong, charismatic,
decisive leader.

21. Napoleon’s Empire
 Once France was
under control,
Napoleon turned his
sights to Europe.
 Like Alexander and
Julius Caesar before
him, he had
incredible ambition.
 He wanted to build a
European empire
greater than anyone.

22. Napoleon Forges an Empire
 Napoleon first
tried to make
peace with
countries that
were warring
with France.
 This, however,
was short
lived…

23. The Napoleonic Wars
 Napoleon would invade nearly
every major country in Europe
including Spain, Austria, Prussia
Switzerland, the Netherlands,
Italy and Russia.
 The series of wars that took
place from 1803-1815 would be
known as the Napoleonic Wars.
 These wars would cause billions
of dollars in damages and cost
around 3-5 million people their
lives.

24. The Napoleonic Wars
 In 1805, Napoleon’s Grand Army went up against the
Austrian (Holy Roman Empire) and Russian armies at the
battle of Austerlitz.
 Napoleon’s army is easily outnumbered in this battle.
 Despite the odds, this is one of
Napoleon’s greatest victories.
 Napoleon feigned retreat and let
the enemy think he is surrendering.
 Instead, he sends cavalry units
behind them as they charge.
 He soundly defeats his enemies and
seizes control of much of Europe.

25. Napoleon’s Tactics
 Napoleon is considered by many
historians to have been a master
strategist when it came to
warfare.
 Napoleon used cannons and
cavalry to overtake his enemies.
 He was also very ruthless and
completely obliterated his
opposition to ensure total victory
without recourse.
 His tactics and strategies would
be studied and used in many
wars to follow in the next
hundred years.

26. Did You know?
 To fund his ongoing wars
in Europe, Napoleon sold
a large portion of land in
North America that
belonged to France to
the young country of the
United States.
 This was known as the
Louisiana Purchase and
nearly doubled the size of
the country.

27. Napoleon’s Empire
 Following the battle
of Austerlitz,
Napoleon
establishes a new
world order in
Europe.
 His Grand Empire
had three parts: the
French Empire,
dependent states,
and allied states.

29. Napoleon’s Empire
 The dependent
states were
kingdoms that
Napoleon had
seized control of.
 He then placed his
relatives as rulers of
these countries
including Spain,
Holland, Italy, and
the Grand Duchy of
Warsaw.

30. Napoleon’s Empire
 The allied states were
those Napoleon
defeated and forced
to join him.
 These included Prussia,
Austria, Russia, and
Sweden.
 Russia and Sweden,
however, would not
stay in his control for
very long.
Russia
Sweden

31. Did you know?
 Napoleon did not just set his sights on Europe.
 In fact, he thought the greater prize was Asia.
 He had long been fascinated with Alexander the
Great and the Middle East.
 Early in his career, Napoleon even decided to visit
Egypt… and bring his whole army with him.
 He conquered Egypt likely to fulfill his own ego, but
also to disrupt trade for his enemy, the British.

33. Napoleon’s Downfall
 Eventually, Napoleon’s own ego and arrogance would cripple
him and lead to his downfall.
 Additionally, his inability to defeat Great Britain and the force
of nationalism are two main causes of the quick collapse of
Napoleon’s empire.

34. Napoleon Vs. Great Britain
 Napoleon had much of Europe under his
control with the exception of Great
Britain.
 He long desired to conquer Britain, a
longtime enemy of France.
 Napoleon mounted a fleet and
attempted to defeat Great Britain in
several naval encounters.
 His actions failed; however, due to
Great Britain’s strong navy (see Spanish
Armada).
 Britain survived principally because of its
sea power, which made Britain virtually
invulnerable.

35. Nationalism
 Another downfall of Napoleon was the
 Nationalism is the cultural identity of people based on
common language, religion, and national symbols.
 The French spread and aroused nationalism in two ways:
 they were viewed as hated, oppressors for deposing kings
and trying to instill French laws and customs in the
dependent states
 French nationalism also showed other countries what the
people of a nation could do if they united together
 One by one, Napoleon’s grip on his allied nations
started to fall apart.

36. The Fall of Napoleon
 Napoleon’s biggest mistake came with his invasion of
Russia, which had refused to remain under French
control.
 In October of 1812, the Grand Army of over six hundred
thousand men entered Russia.
 Napoleon was hoping for a quick and decisive victory.
 The Russians, however, would not stand and fight but
kept retreating and relied on guerilla warfare.
 They burned their villages, and even Moscow, as they
wanted to deny the French army food and supplies.
 This strategy is called “scorched earth” policy.

38. The Fall of Napoleon
 Napoleon was wrong to attack at this time
because winter soon started to set in.
 Lacking proper food and supplies, Napoleon left
Moscow after only two months to retreat.
 He left in December, so his “Great Retreat”
happened under terrible winter conditions.
 Less than forty thousand men arrived back in Paris
with him.
 Some 400,000+ were dead or missing and another
100,000+ were captured by the Russians.
 This is considered one of the greatest military
disasters in history.

39. The Great Retreat
Sometimes…
Timing is
everything…

40. Did You Know?
 The French soldiers were
freezing and starving to
death.
 As horses would fall dead,
the soldiers sliced off chunks
of flesh and ate them raw.
 It was even said that some
of the men resorted to
cannibalism as their fellow
soldiers fell dead in the
snow!

41. The Fall of Napoleon
 Seizing the opportunity, other
European nations rose up to
attack the crippled French army.
 Paris was captured in 1814, and
Napoleon was exiled to the small
island of Elba off the coast of
Italy.
 Louis XVIII, Louis XVI’s brother,
restored the monarchy; however,
the king had little support and
Napoleon was still popular
amongst many of the people.

42. Napoleon’s Rise?
 After a short time of imprisonment,
Napoleon would escape from Elba
in 1815.
 His escape and brief period of
freedom is infamously called the
Hundred Days.
 Armies were sent to capture him,
but upon meeting him, they
shouted “Vive l’Emperuerer!”
(Long live the Emperor!)
 Napoleon raises and army and
marches into Paris a triumphant
hero.

43. Waterloo
 Napoleon would then try to
restore his power in France
and throughout Europe.
 Other European powers who
deemed Napoleon and
“enemy of Europe” rose up
and they fought once again.
 At the Battle of Waterloo in
Belgium (1815), Napoleon
was finally defeated once
and for all by a combined
British and Prussian army.

44. Waterloo

45. Napoleon’s Defeat
 Defeated once and for all,
Napoleon was exiled to the
island of St. Helena in the
south Atlantic.
 He would live out the rest
of his days there until he
died of stomach cancer in
1821.
 His body was transported
back to France where he
was laid to rest and
remains today.

46. Napoleon Complex?
 When performing his autopsy, Napoleon’s height was
marked as 5’2.
 This, however, was the old French measurement, which
slightly differed from the English measurement which is more
widely used today.
 Converting this measurement would actually mean that
Napoleon was about 5’6, and while not the tallest person,
this was about average height in that day and age.
 Napoleon also usually surrounded himself by tall, physically
imposing guards which may have led to the belief that he
was extremely short.

47. Napoleon Complex

48. Napoleon Complex
Bono from U2

49. Napoleon Complex

50. Napoleon Quotes
Impossible is a word to only
be found in the dictionary of
fools.
Ten people who
speak make
more noise than
a thousand who
are silent.
Take time to deliberate,
but when the time for
action has arrived, stop
thinking and go in.

51. Congress of Vienna
 After exiling
Napoleon for the
final time,
European leaders
meet at the
Congress of Vienna
and try to restore
order and
reestablish peace
back in Europe.

52. Congress of Vienna
 At the Congress of Vienna, the chief goal is the
balance of power.
 Leaders feel no one country should have too much
power in Europe.
 Following France’s defeat, the country of the
Netherlands is formed and Sweden gains
independence. The Holy Roman Empire ceases to exist.
 Leaders that were deposed by Napoleon are restored
to power.
 France is weakened, but remains intact.

53. Congress of Vienna

54. Impact of Congress of Vienna
 The Congress of Vienna
succeeds in getting all
European governments
together.
 Deals are worked out so
that the meeting does
not lead to more war.
 European nations agree
to preserve peace,
which lasts several years.