The Rise and Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte

Favorite subjects were Artillery, Mathematics, and Geography

Got the attention of the Directory by breaking up a Paris mob

The Continental System was a blockade of all trade to and from Britain from the European Continent The point of this was to make Europe self sufficient (AND MORE IMPORTANTLY ) To hurt British trade and force them out of the war.

The blockade failed however, for many reasons 1. Smugglers managed to bring cargo into Europe 2. Napoleon’s Allies also ignored the blockade 4. Britain responded with a blockade of their own, and since they had a stronger navy, they could actually make their blockade work 3. Napoleon’s family ignored the blockade at times The French demanded that any ship going to Britain stop in France first and pay a tax, the British demanded that any ship going to France stop in Britain first, be searched and pay a tax.

The Peninsular War In 1808 when trying to force Portugal to accept the continental System, Napoleon sent troops through Spain to invade them. The Spanish protested, so Napoleon removed their King and put his brother Joseph on the throne. The Spanish loved their king and they resisted Napoleon For 6 years, Spanish guerillas fought against the French and the British sent in troops to help Napoleon lost troops in this war.

The Invasion of Russia In June of 1812, Napoleon decided to invade Russia, because Alexander II was ignoring the blockade Napoleon and his Grand Army of 600,000 men marched into Russia As the French marched in, the Russians retreated, burning all their fields and killing any livestock they couldn’t take with them

On September 7, 1812 the Russians met the French at Borodino. The Russian’s lost, and retreated leaving Moscow to the French The City was in flames Napoleon stayed until October then headed back to France Bad weather, starvation, and attacks from the enemy killed or wounded approximately 400,000 of Napoleon's men

Napoleon’s Downfall

Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden all joined forces against France Napoleon managed to put together a new army quickly and he met with the other European powers at Leipzig in October of 1813 By January of 1814 the allies were just outside of Paris and by March of 1814 Prussian and Russian troops were marching through the city

In April of 1814 Napoleon was forced to accept the terms of surrender. He had to give up his throne, he was given a small pension, and he was sent away to the island of Elba.

Louis XVI’s brother took over as Louis XVIII Louis quickly became unpopular and that was all the distraction that Napoleon needed On March 1, 1815 Napoleon landed in France where crowds welcomed him and a new army created itself on the way to Paris The European allies quickly joined up against Napoleon again, led by the Duke of Wellington

The Battle of Waterloo On June 18, 1815 Napoleon attacked at the Belgian city of Waterloo On June 20, 1815 Napoleon’s troops were defeated and this time Napoleon was exiled to a tiny island in the south Atlantic called St. Helena

Napoleon died in 1821 of what was most likely stomach cancer. His last words were “The Army”