Napoleon’s Empire Collapses

Big Idea

• Napoleon’s conquests aroused nationalistic feelings across Europe and contributed to his downfall.

Napoleon’s Costly Mistakes

• 3 Disastrous Mistakes• 1. The Continental

System (Blockade)• 2. The Peninsular

War• 3. The Invasion of

Russia

The Continental System

• Napoleon ordered a blockade of Britain from mainland Europe

• Goals: Make Europe more self-sufficient and Crush British Trade

• Blockade– A forcible closing of ports

Napoleon’s Empire

The Continental System Breaks Down

• Blockade was a disaster• British were still able to trade through

smugglers• British set up their own blockade of Europe

which was more effective• This British blockade led to the War of 1812

The Blockades

The Peninsular War

• Portugal did not want to take part in Continental System

• Napoleon sent troops through Spain to attack Portugal

• The Spanish protested these actions

• In response, Napoleon placed his brother Joseph on the throne

Guerilla Warfare• Fearing the Catholic Church

would decline under the new leadership, the Spaniards fought back

• Resorted to guerilla warfare against the French

• Small scale attacks (Hit and Run attacks)

• Armies were made up of Spanish peasants (not regular soldiers)

• War drained French resources and morale

The Invasion of Russia

• By 1812, France and Russia disagreed about issues over British trade and Poland

• 420,000 French troops invaded Russia in 1812

• Russians employed a scorched-earth policy

Scorched-Earth Policy

• When a retreating army burns grain fields and slaughters livestock

• Leaves nothing for invading army

• Goal is to make them starve and retreat

• Russians even burned “holy city” of Moscow rather than let the French have it

French Retreat

• Stayed in Moscow for about a month

• Retreated in October through the deadly Russian winter

• Russians now used guerilla tactics

• French Grand Army reduced to 10,000 soldiers

• Most died from hunger, disease, and exposure

The Battle of Leipzig

• October 1813• Napoleon faced off

against the allied armies of Europe

• Was easily defeated by the alliance and forced to give up his throne

• Exiled to tiny island of Elba

The Hundred Days

• Napoleon escaped from his captivity and returned to France

• Met with joyous crowds due to the unpopularity of King Louis XVIII

• Was able to reform another army

The Battle of Waterloo

• Another alliance of European powers sought to stop Napoleon’s momentum

• The alliance was able to gain a significant victory at Waterloo in Belgium

• In the aftermath, Napoleon was sent to St. Helena in the South Atlantic where he died

The Congress of Vienna

Big Idea

• After exiling Napoleon, European leaders at the Congress of Vienna tried to restore order and reestablish peace.

The Congress of Vienna

• Goal was to establish a new European order

• Wanted to ensure security and stability for the whole continent

3 Goals of Klemens von Metternich

• 1. Check French aggression by surrounding it with strong nations

• 2. Restore a balance of power in Europe

• 3. Wanted to restore royal families to the thrones they held before Napoleon’s actions

The Containment of France

• Austrian Netherlands and Dutch Republic united to form Kingdom of the Netherlands

• 39 German states loosely joined as German Confederation

• Switzerland was recognized as an independent nation

• Kingdom of Sardinia strengthened with addition of Genoa

Balance of Power

• Did not want to leave France powerless

• Thus, they did not exact a great price from the defeated France

• France remained a major, but diminished power

Idea of Legitimacy

• Restoring royal families to power

• Needed to be recognized as legitimate rulers

• Ruling families in France, Spain, several states in Italy and Central Europe came back into power

• Thought this would restore order

Successes

• Demonstrated cooperation of an entire continent

• European powers were at peace for 40 years

Political Changes Beyond Vienna

• Victory for conservatives as kings and princes returned to power

• A return and strengthening of absolute monarchs

Conservative Europe

• Holy Alliance: agreement between Prussia and Austria that based their relationship on Christian principles (conservative)

• Concerts of Europe: ensured nations would help one another if revolutions broke out in a nation

Liberals and Radicals in a Conservative Era

• Bided their time to try and undo the conservative era established at Congress of Vienna

• Revolutions broke out in the early to mid 1800’s that supported people wanted changes

• Revolutions and upheavals in Latin America against royal control supported the influences of the French Revolution

Long-Term Legacy

• Influenced world politics for 100 years• British and Prussian power increased• Promoted spread of nationalism in Italy,

Greece, and Germany• Eventually, Europe would be rocked by

revolutions