The Fall of Napoleon

Fallout from Russia• Battle of Leipzig– Napoleon lost

• Opportunity to take France– By January 1814, the

allies were pushing toward Paris

– Napoleon surrendered and gave up his throne• Exiled to the island of Elba

What’s happening in France

• Louis XVIII– Constitutional monarchy• Charter of 1814:

– Freedom of religion– Bicameral legislature– Some freedom of the press– Equality for all men in the

country

– Financial problems • Unpopular tax on tobacco,

wine, and salt• Rioting in the countryside

The Hundred Days• Napoleon decided to take advantage of French problems– He escaped from Elba 1 March 1815 and landed in France– Where he was met with about a thousand volunteers to take

Paris– He made it to Paris but Louis the XVIII was not worried

because he assumed his army could handle a 1,000 man force• Problem: When the king took the throne, he did not purge his army

of Napoleon supporters• The French army had massive desertions and those men joined

Napoleon’s army– Including the entirety of the garrison of Paris– Louis XVIII fled after hearing this

• With the king out of the picture – Napoleon reclaimed control of France as the emperor– He would be in power for 100 days

The Battle of Waterloo• Napoleon had gambled that the allies would divide their response to his return

– He believed that a quick victory would force them to negotiate, leaving him in charge of France

– However, it was not that easy• The allies marshaled their army and after giving over to the control of the Duke of

Wellington, he prepared for a battle at Waterloo in Belgium– Napoleon attacked early but he had made a serious mistake attacking on the battlefield the

duke wanted– Initially the Prussian force was not on the battlefield (probably by Napoleon decided to

attack) but the duke had known this would be a possibility • Wellington had set up defenses and decoy attacks that allowed the British to defend the land, not take

any more• Napoleon loses control of the battlefield

– Ex: he sent a contingent of 30,000 men after a British general who “fled”

• This defense bought enough time for the Prussians to get there at about 5:30 pm – When they got there, the British and the Prussians combined forces and turned aggressively toward the French– The French fought on for two more days before they broke and fled

• Napoleon was captured after this loss and sent to St. Helena, an island in the South Atlantic – He did not escape again and died on the island while writing his memoirs– Possibly died from stomach cancer

The Congress of Vienna• The five “great powers” – Russia, Prussia, Austria,

Great Britain, and France had been making decisions in secret from 1814-1815– Most influential member - Prince Klemens von

Metternich of Austria• Distrusted the democratic ideals of the French Revolution

and thought Napoleon was a natural evolution of the ideals of democracy

– Three Goals of the Congress: • Surround France with strong powers • Balance of power • Legitimacy

Surround France with Strong Powers

• Also called the containment of France– Strengthened the countries of:• Netherlands and Dutch Republic – controlled by Austria• Germany – controlled by Austria• Switzerland – independent nation• Sardinia in Italy

– They were charged with containing France and keeping it from ever overpowering weaker nations again

Balance of Power• The Congress did not want to leave France

powerless, just reduce its power– Punishing too severely could lead to revenge– Breaking France up could make another country

stronger– So they kept France as a world power but weakened it

• No country in Europe could easily overpower another

Legitimacy• Principle of Legitimacy – those who owned the

thrones before Napoleon should be restored– This lead to the ruling families of Spain, France, and

several Italian states regaining their thrones– Congress believed the return of these former monarchs

would stabilize political relations among the nations• Also agreed to come to one another’s aid in case of

threats to peace – Ensured there would be a balance of power on the

continent – This peace would last about 40 years (quite a record if

you think about world history)

Changes beyond Vienna• Conservative Europe:– Kings and princes resumed power in almost every

country• They were nervous about the ideals of the French

Revolution that were still floating around• Holy Alliance

– Russia, Prussia, and Austria pledged to base their relations with other nations on Christian principles in order to combat the forces of Revolution » What do we know the French Revolution did with religion

when it finally got rolling?

• Concert of Europe – Series of alliances designed by Metternich that ensured nations

would help each other if revolutions broke out

Changes beyond Vienna• Revolution in Latin America– With Napoleon’s deposing of the Spanish king, liberal

Creoles (in control of many colonies)– When the Spanish king was restored, royalist

peninulares attempted to take back control of the colonies

– This lead to fighting as the king of Spain attempted to regain control of the colonies• This lead to a rebellion in Mexico who successfully defeated

the Spanish• Other Spanish colonies follow suit• Brazil declares independence from Portugal

Changes beyond Vienna• Long-term legacy– By diminishing the power of France, the power of

Britain and Prussia increased– Nationalism began to spread in areas that had been

put under foreign control• Like Germany, Italy, and Greece• This would explode into revolutions and lead to the creation

of new nations