1. Napoleon (1769-1821) Born in Corsica to noble Italian family
Spoke French with a heavy Italian accent
Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Corsican military

2. Napoleon
1793 Bonaparte flees to French mainland and is appointed an artillery commander in the French army
His successful plan to capture Toulon from the British lead his appointment as a general at age 24

3. Napoleon
During a Parisian rebellion against the National Convention, Napoleon put in charge of forces defending the Convention
Due to his success, given command of the army to invade Italy
Also led successful battles against Austria and the Republic of Venice
Failed attempted invasion of Egypt (Britain), returns to Paris as a hero

4. Napoleon I ( )
In 1799, he returned to France and joined the Directory, but when Austria, Russia, and Britain formed a coalition to attack France and restore the monarchy, Napoleon staged a coup d’etat
He overthrew the Directory, imposed a new constitution, and named himself first Consul
In 1802, he became consul for life and in 1804 crowned himself emperor; takes crown from Pope
Napoleon crowns Josephine empress

5. Napoleon: Religious Tolerance
Made peace with the Catholic Church
Concordat of 1801 with the Pope Pius VII
France retains church lands seized during the Revolution
France agrees to pay priests’ salaries
Recognize Roman Catholic Church as the preferred faith of France
Extend freedom of religion to Protestants and Jews

6. Napoleon: Civil/Legal Code
In 1804,Napoleon established the civil and legal code known as the Napoleonic Code
Affirmed the political and legal equality of all adult males
Established a merit-based society in which individuals qualified for education and employment because of talent rather than birth or social standing
Protected private property
Government jobs go to the most qualified
Allowed freedom of religion

7. Napoleon as Authoritarian
Limited free speech, routinely censoring newspapers
Established a secret police force and detained thousands of political opponents
Manipulated public opinion through systematic propaganda
Ignored elective bodies
Surrounded himself with loyal military officers
Set his family above and apart from the French people
Joseph Fouche, head of Napoleon’s secret police

8. End of Napoleon’s Empire
In 1812, Napoleon decided to invade Russia, believing that the Russians were conspiring with the British
Napoleon and his “Grand Army” of 600,000 soldiers captured Moscow, but the Russians refused to surrender
Instead, Russian patriots burned the city, leaving Napoleon without supplies or shelter
Scorched-Earth method

9. End of Napoleon’s Empire
Napoleon was forced to retreat
Defeated by “General Winter”
Only 30,000 soldiers made it back to France
The defeat in Russia emboldened a coalition of British, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies to converge on France
Forced Napoleon to abdicate his throne in April 1814
An episode from the retreat from Russia, by Nicolas-Toussaint Charlet

10. End of Napoleon’s Empire
The coalition restored the French monarchy and exiled Napoleon to the island of Elba, near Corsica
In March 1815, Napoleon escaped, returned to France, and reconstituted his army
This time the British defeated him at Waterloo and banished Napoleon to the remote island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic
He died in 1821, stomach cancer