Napoleonic Wars

Examples of Napoleonic Wars in the following topics:

• Napoleon's Military Record

  • The War of the Second Coalition began with the French invasion of Egypt, headed by Napoleon, in 1798.
  • With Austria and Russia out of the war, the United Kingdom found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleon's government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars.
  • The lingering tensions proved too difficult to contain, however, and the Napoleonic Wars began a few years later with the formation of the Third Coalition, continuing the series of Coalition Wars.
  • The influential military theorist Carl von Clausewitz regarded Napoleon to be a genius in the operational art of war and historians rank him as a great military commander.
  • The political effect of war increased.

• Early Wars with Austria and Britain

  • Napoleon's early wars with Austria and Britain confirmed the French dominance over Austria, did not stop the British dominance in the Mediterranean, and ended with a precarious peace broken only a year after signing the final treaty of the French Revolutionary Wars.  
  • Promoted to general in 1795, Napoleon was sent to the battlefields of the French Revolutionary Wars to fight the Austro-Piedmontese armies in Northern Italy the following year.
  • This ended the War of the First Coalition, although Great Britain and France remained at war.
  • The Mediterranean campaign of 1798 was a series of major naval operations surrounding a French expeditionary force sent to Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte that serves as a bridge between the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition.
  • The treaty is generally considered to mark the transition between the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.

• Napoleon and the New World

  • After a decade of constant warfare, France and Britain signed the 1802 Treaty of Amiens, bringing the French Revolutionary Wars to an end.
  • This brief peace in Europe allowed Napoleon to focus on the French colonies.
  • Saint-Domingue had managed to acquire a high level of political autonomy during the Revolutionary Wars, with Toussaint Louverture installing himself as de facto dictator by 1801.
  • At the close of the Napoleonic Wars, most of France's colonies were restored to it by Britain, notably Guadeloupe and Martinique in the West Indies, French Guiana on the coast of South America, various trading posts in Senegal, the Île Bourbon (Réunion) in the Indian Ocean, and France's tiny Indian possessions.
  • Evaluate Napoleon's relationship to the New World, specifically with respect to Haiti.

• Napoleon's Rise to Power

  • Napoleon's Italian victories overshadowed his Egyptian defeats during the French Revolutionary Wars while his position at home strengthened after the Directory became dependent on the military, making Napoleon the greatest enemy of the same government that relied on his protection.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars.
  • He dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars.
  • Following the fall of Robespierre and the Thermidorian Reaction in July 1794, Napoleon, although closely associated with Robespierre, was released from the arrest within two weeks and, due to his technical skills, asked to draw up plans to attack Italian positions in the context of France's war with Austria.
  • During the French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleon was successful in a daring invasion of Italy.

• Napoleon's Upbringing

  • Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars.
  • Napoleon was baptized as a Catholic.
  • He was christened Napoleone di Buonaparte and adopted the more French-sounding Napoléon Bonaparte only in his 20s.
  • He reorganized France to supply the men and money needed for wars and was reportedly an incredibly inspiring leader on the battlefield.
  • This is one of few portraits of the father of Napoleon.

• Art under Napoleon

  • The style originated during the rule of Napoleon I in the First French Empire and was intended to idealize Napoleon's French state.
  • The style was considered to have "liberated" and "enlightened" architecture just as Napoleon "liberated" the people of Europe with his Napoleonic Code.
  • In Napoleonic painting, themes often revolved around the military and the glorification of Napoleon's campaigns.
  • In contrast, Goya's large paintings The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808 emphasized the brutality of the French forces during the Peninsular War in Spain.
  • Discuss the emphasis Napoleon placed on nationalism when supporting the arts

• The First Consul

  • After Habsburg-controlled Austria declared war in 1799, France returned to a war footing.
  • Emergency measures were adopted and the pro-war Jacobin faction triumphed in the election.
  • When Napoleon returned to France in October, both factions hailed him as the country's savior.
  • Military victories in the ongoing war increased his popularity and royalist plots served as an excuse to eliminate political opponents, usually by deportation, even if they were innocent.
  • In December 1799, two new members (in the portrait above) joined Napoleon.

• Napoleon's Constitution

  • Despite the failures in Egypt (1798-99), Napoleon arrived in France to a hero's welcome.
  • His power was confirmed by the new Constitution of the Year VIII, originally devised by Sieyès to give Napoleon a minor role, but rewritten by Napoleon and accepted by direct popular vote.
  • However, Napoleon never intended to be part of an equal triumvirate.
  • While this near-unanimity is certainly doubtful, Napoleon was genuinely popular among many voters and after a period of strife, many in France were reassured by his accomplishments in the War of  the Second Coalition and his talk of stability of government, order, justice, and moderation.
  • The Constitution of the Year X (1802) made Napoleon First Consul for Life.

• Napoleon's Government

• The Napoleonic Code