5.6 Napoleon's Rise, Dominance, and Defeat

Napoleon, born on Corsica in 1769, rose fast as an army officer during the Revolution, winning fame in Italy in 1796–1797. In the coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799) he overthrew the Directory and became First Consul. Plebiscites, or yes-or-no popular votes, approved his rule, which gave it a democratic look. He became consul for life in 1802 and crowned himself emperor in December 1804.

So did Napoleon preserve or betray the Revolution? He kept legal equality, the end of feudalism and promotion by merit, but he ended political liberty and popular sovereignty in practice. A good answer says both.

• Napoleonic Code (Civil Code, 1804): equality of men before the law, protection of property, careers open to talent, and freedom of religion. It also made wives obey husbands, gave husbands control of family property and made divorce harder for women.
• Concordat of 1801: an agreement with Pope Pius VII. Catholicism was recognized as the religion of most French people, the state paid clergy and nominated bishops, and the Church accepted the loss of its lands sold during the Revolution.
• Centralized administration: prefects ran each department for the central government; the Bank of France (1800) stabilized finances; state secondary schools called lycées trained officials and officers.
• Repression: strict censorship cut the number of newspapers, a secret police watched opponents, and elections were managed. He also restored slavery in French colonies in 1802.

Napoleon won through speed and concentration. His army moved in independent corps that could march separately and combine for battle, lived partly off the land and massed artillery at the decisive point. At Austerlitz (1805) he crushed Austria and Russia. In 1806 he grouped many German states into the Confederation of the Rhine, forced the end of the Holy Roman Empire and crushed Prussia at Jena. By 1810 he ruled or controlled most of Europe, placing relatives on thrones in Spain, Naples, Holland and Westphalia. In conquered lands he spread the Code, ended feudal dues and church privileges, and pressed men into his armies.

A coalition beat Napoleon at Leipzig, the Battle of the Nations, in 1813, and he abdicated in 1814 and was exiled to Elba. He escaped for the Hundred Days in 1815 but lost at Waterloo on June 18, 1815, to Britain's Wellington and Prussia's Blücher. He died in exile on St. Helena in 1821.

• British sea power: Admiral Nelson destroyed the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar (1805), ending any invasion of Britain.
• The Continental System (from 1806): a ban on European trade with Britain. Smuggling undermined it, it hurt Europe's economy more than Britain's, and Russia's withdrawal led to war.
• The Peninsular War (1808–1814): Spaniards rose against Napoleon's brother Joseph as king, using guerrilla warfare with British help. Goya's painting The Third of May 1808 shows French soldiers executing Spanish civilians.
• Russia (1812): Napoleon invaded with an army of about 600,000 from many nations. The Russians retreated, destroying crops and supplies behind them in a scorched-earth policy; Moscow burned soon after the French entered it, and winter, hunger and disease did the rest. Only a small fraction of his army returned.
• Nationalism: occupation inspired resistance. Prussia modernized its army and freed its serfs, and German writers like Fichte called for national unity.