Napoleon Bonaparte was a noted military leader who became emperor of France through a coup. As emperor, he established the Napoleonic Code and restored order. However, his increasing power led other European nations to form a coalition against him. After a failed invasion of Russia, Napoleon's army was weakened and he was eventually defeated and exiled. He briefly returned to power in 1815 but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, ending his rule and sending him to final exile on St. Helena, where he died.

1. Ch 23.3 and 23.4

2.  5’3’’
 1769-1821
 Great Military Leader and Motivator
◦ “He awakened in my soul the desire for glory”
 Became a notable military leader early in life
by his heroic feats defending the delegates at
the National Convention.

3.  (koo day-TAH): “blow of state”:The sudden
overthrow of a government by a usually small
group of persons in or previously in positions of
authority.
◦ A sudden seizure of power
◦ France was at war at the time, which made his coup very
easy.
 Napoleon pretended to be the constitutionally
chosen leader of a free republic.
◦ Restored order and stability to France
 Kept many of the Revolution’s reforms
 Fixed the economy, including equal taxation
 Reduced governmental corruption
 Set up lycees, or government run public schools

4.  Restored order and stability to France
 Restored the church
 Napoleonic Code
◦ Gave the country a uniform set of laws
◦ Reduced many individual freedoms of the people.

5.  Crowned Emperor on Dec 2, 1804
 Set off to not only rule France but the New World as well
 Tried to regain the control of St. Domingue, which had
declared their freedom after the French Revolution.
 After an unsuccessful attempt, decided to give up on the New
World
 Sold The Louisiana Territory to President Thomas Jefferson
for $15 million (3 cents an acre!)
 “The sale assures forever the power of the United States, and I
have given England a rival, who, sooner or later, will humble
her pride.”

6.  Fearful of Napoleon’s increasing power, Britain,
Russia, Austria, and Sweden created the Third
Coalition to defeat him.
 His land victories against the Coalition were
decisive and brilliant.
 The Battle of Trafalgar
◦ Defeated by British captain Horatio Nelson, caused a
serious blow to the French Army and secured the naval
dominance of England for the next 100 years

8.  The Continental System
◦ Blocked goods from entering England
 Didn’t work very well and ended up with a counter-blockade which hurt
the French economy
 The Peninsular War
◦ Invaded Portugal
 Portugal commenced w/ guerrilla warfare.
 300,000 troops lost
 Many of the countries controlled by Napoleon now questioned their
commitment to France
 The Invasion of Russia
◦ Russians defeated the French by retreating and practicing
scorched-earth policy.
◦ By the end of the war, Napoleon only had 10,000 soldiers left.

10.  In his army’s weakened condition, the Coalition
defeats Napoleon.
 Napoleon was given a small pension (salary) and
exiled to Elba, a tiny island off of Italy.
 Louis XVIII was restored to the throne (Louis’ son
died in prison)
 He was very unpopular with the peasants, and this
encouraged Napoleon to make a comeback
 Within days, his army swelled with volunteers.

11.  Napoleon’s major battle as the returning
Emperor.
 July 18, 1815
 British and Prussian forces clashed with the
French.
 2 days later, the French army was chased
from the field.
 This ended Napoleon’s return to power,
called the Hundred Days

12.  He was shipped off
to St. Helena, a
small island in the
South Atlantic,
where he lived for 6
more years.
 It was believed he
died of cancer.
 “He was as great as
a man can be
without virtue”