Napoleonic Wars

1. Napoleonic Wars

2. War • Only Britain was at war continually with France during this time • The four Great Powers (Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia) did not fight France simultaneously until 1813 • Nations were willing to ally with Napoleon for their own foreign policy benefit • After Napoleon conquered Italy, European countries decided they need to defeat him in order for a peaceful Europe

3. War of the Second Coalition • 1798-1801 • Napoleon had his navy destroyed by England’s Lord Horatio Nelson in the Battle of the Nile • Napoleon and the French army isolated in North Africa • Napoleon was victorious in the war, nevertheless, but never conquered England

4. Treaty of Luneville • 1801 • Ended the Second Coalition • Resulted in Austria’s loss of its Italian possessions • German territory on the west bank of the Rhine incorporated into France • Russia retreated from western Europe when they saw their ambitions in the Mediterranean blocked by Britain

6. Peace Interim • 1802 • Treaty of Amiens with Britain in 1802 • Hoped to increase trade with the Continent • France remained in control of Holland, Austrian Netherlands, and most of Italian peninsula • Napoleon reorganized the Confederation of Switzerland • Sent large army to Haiti to subdue a slave rebellion • Sold Louisiana to US

7. Empire Period • 1804-1814 • Dec 2, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself hereditary Emperor of France in Notre-Dame Cathedral • Hoped to stop plans of royalists to return the Bourbons to the throne • Napoleon viewed himself as a liberator who freed foreign peoples from their absolute rulers who oppressed them

10. Grand Empire • Beginning in 1805, Napoleon engaged in constant warfare • Achieved the largest empire since the Roman times

12. Satellite Kingdoms • Dependant satellite kingdoms (where Napoleon put his appointees to throne) • Spain • Brother, Joseph Bonaparte • Westphalia • Youngest brother, Jerome Bonaparte • Holland • Brother, Louis Bonaparte • Italy • Sister, Caroline, Queen of Naples • Step son rules Lombardy, Venice, and Papal States

13. Independent • Independent but allied states included • Austria • Prussia • Russia

14. War of the Third Coalition • 1805-1807 • In 1803, Napoleon began preparations to invade Great Britain • In 1805, Austria signed an alliance with Britain • Coalition was complete with addition of Russia and Sweden • Napoleon’s conquest of Italy convinced Russia and Austria that Napoleon was threat to balance of power

17. Battle of Trafalgar • October 21, 1805 • French and Spanish fleets were destroyed by the British Navy under the Command of Lord Horatio Nelson, off the Spanish Coast • Established supremacy of British navy for over a century • French invasion of Britain no longer feasible

19. Battle of Austerlitz • December 1805 • Alexander I pulled Russian troops out of battle, giving Napoleon another victory • Austria accepted large territorial losses in return for peace • Third Coalition collapsed • Napoleon now master of western and central Europe

21. Arc de Triumphe • In commemoration of his victory, Napoleon commissioned in 1806 • Using classical style, the Arc hearkened back to the Roman Empire who built arches to signify victories • Napoleon was clearly emphasizing the conquest of an empire

22. Treaty of Tilsit • June 1807 • Provisions • Prussia lost half its population in lands to France • Russia accepted Napoleon’s reorganization of western and eastern Europe • Height of Napoleon’s success