Let's Kill Napoleon

Let’s Kill Napoleon: The Napoleonic Era
1799-1815 – considering all the trouble he caused, it’s remarkable that he was only in power for 16 years
I. Background – he was born in Corsica to a family of Italian descent 
a. He was a military genius, very few historians dispute that, he rose in the military ranks during the French Revolution, he was 20 during the actual revolution 
i. He is able to rise through the ranks very easily because all the officers and nobility fled during the revolution and consequently there were a lot of vacancies 
b. He was able to take power because people wanted stability after the tyranny of the revolution (Like Vladimir Putin) 
c. Two Stages of Napoleon coming to power
II. First: Consulate Period (December 25th, 1799-1804)
a. A new constitution named him “First Consul” (Consul comes from Ancient Rome, a leader who rules of behalf of the people) 
i. He, in essence, did what a lot of rulers who have tried to rule through charisma do: tried to make his first loyalty to the state, by being efficient. He rewarded ability and created and effective bureaucracy. Making things run when things haven’t been running, except blood from necks, can make you very popular.
ii. He believed in Meritocracy: he wanted people to be able to rise through the ranks based on ability as he had done
b. He used Reforms
i. The Napoleonic Code – people long for an earlier, easier time, they become more conservative.
1. His code helps solidify things, but women had more rights during the Revolution.
2. This is the first, complete codification of French Law. It had four parts
a. Civil Code
b. Criminal Procedure Code
c. Commercial Code
d. Penal Code 
3. Emphasizes a strong, unified, central government and the protection of property, all conservative Values. Some of these were good. For example:
a. Equality before the law, freedom of religion (however, the state must be secular, i.e. separation of church and state), property rights, abolition of serfdom.
b. Women gained some inheritance rights, but most of these rights were less than they had during the revolution
i. Women and children were legally dependent on the father
ii. Divorce is harder to obtain  
iii. Women can buy and start a business, but only with permission from their husband and any money they earned went to their husbands
iv. Penalties for adultery were more severe for women than for men 
ii. “Careers Open to Talent” 
1. Theoretically, anyone could rise to any position; Napoleon used this to promote talented officials. 
a. The Bourgeoisie used this to its full advantage  
2. He will hand out between 1808-1814 he will create over 3600 new nobility titles for people
a. People were granted pensions or property, but mostly they went to military officers, he was very much into rewarding his soldiers
b. Even with all the titles, the nobility was still only 7% of what iut was before the revolution 
c. Religious Reforms  
i. Concordat of 1800 - church agrees not to ask for all their property back, the government can still appoint bishops. However, they changed the priests: now the Jurying clergy is in: Out with the New, in with the Old
1. Catholic worship in public is allowed, civil rights are extended to everyone (excluding Muslims it would seem)
2. Went back to the Christian calendar 
ii. Napoleon uses this to his advantage
1. People who have church lands need to pledge loyalty to his government in order to keep it
2. Napoleon places all protestant ministers on government payroll, to make France look not catholic
d. Financial Reforms – he creates the Bank of France 
i. This is a stabilizing force, it was a formed version of the one in the Ancien Regime 
ii. He balances the national budget
iii. The banks can release sound currency 
iv. Takes measures to stimulate the economy: food at low prices, increases employment, lowers taxes on farms to lower food prices,
v. He makes tax collection more efficient 
vi. However, one group is unimportant and is excluded: Sans Culottes, the poor people. He forbids the formation of Trade Unions 
e. Educational Reforms – the Lycee systems prospers under Napoleon, have to go to the special university 
i. Two tiered system: one for people who spend one or more years of school and those who had to enter the work force  
f. Created a Police State – spy system, after 1810, he started locking up political prisoners after his popularity started to decline. By 1814 he had over 2500 political prisoners 
i. He even executed the Duke of Enghien on no evidence because he was supposedly part of a plot against him (1804)
g. Drawbacks of his reforms
i. No rights for women
ii. Bad luck for the poor
iii. Suppression of liberty
iv. Nepotism – when you put your relatives in positions. 
III. Wars during Consulate Era
a. He maintains power by having France constantly at war.
b. Wars usually short but in different places against different groups, except Britain, with who he was always at war. It wasn’t until the very end that powers such as Austria, Britain, and Prussia banded together to toss his ass out
c. War of the 2nd Coalition – gets his butt kicked in the Battle of the Nile (battle of denial…ha ha ha) (1798-1801)
i. Looses the battle, but wins the war. He escapes from Africa
ii. Austria looses it Italian possessions, France gets them, they also get the western Rhine Territory 
d. Suddenly, there is a period of peace, he is trying gain stature by regaining his control over France 
i. The Treaty of Amiens (1802) – with Britain. Why? Britain wants to expand its trade with the continent because they had lost their American Colonies. France was monopolizing the Continental trade
ii. During this period, he also gives up all claims to North America, but keeps some of the Caribbean. There is a huge uprising in French Haiti, he was having trouble with the colonies, needed money for his wars, so he sold the Louisiana Purchase for 15 Million to America 
IV. Empire Period (second phase) (1804-1814)
a. He was crowned hereditary Emperor, meaning he could pass his crown to his heirs
i. Believed that France needed an empire to remain stable
b. Began in 1805 to create the Grand empire – he will be constantly at war from thins point onwards  
i. Thinks that he is liberating the people he is conquering from their oppressive rule
ii. Will have the largest empire since Rome, so a time
1. He creates the Confederation of the Rhine, troupes go all the way the Hamburg, special wine that traces itself back to Napoleons occupation
2. Because of trouble with Spain he conquers them and puts his brother Joseph on the throne. Part of the long line of relatives to be in power
3. Westphalia King is brother
4. Brother as the king of Holland, who he later removes and just makes it part of France
5. Sister queen of Naples  
6. Step son is the ruler of the rest of Italy (he had run out of siblings)
a. Italy remains disunified but he decides not to so that they can’t rise up and threaten him 
7. Goes on to ally himself with Austria, Prussia, he furthered the unification of Germany … ja ja ja he moved it forwards, in a manner of speaking 
iii. People in the conquered lands weren’t totally against him, at least to begin with. But as his repression continued, they got pissed off:  
1. Conscription into the French army
2. Higher taxes for people on other countries while he makes himself popular in his own country by lowering taxes, he makes up for the difference
3. The Continental System 
iv. War of the 3rd Coalition (1805-1807)- with the money from the Louisiana purchase , begins to plan a war against England
1. England has some allies: Russia, Sweden, Austria 
2. Battle of Trafalgar (October 1805)- another triumph of Horatio Nelson over Napoleon, both the Spanish and the French fleet were destroyed by Nelson at Trafalgar, just off the coast of Spain
a. At this point, Britain is the World’s Navel power for the best part of a century; they will not be rivaled until about WWI when the USA kick it up.
b. This was Nelson’s last battle, he died, and Napoleon is much better on land
v. Battle of Austerlitz (December 1805) – Napoleon wins because the Russian chicken out and Napoleon get’s huge chunks of Austria. The Coalition had collapsed 
1. In honor of this momentous victory, he commissioned the Arc de Triumph (*** Neoclassicism***)
2. Napoleon goes on to bust Russia twice in 1806 in Jena and Auerstadt 
3. He’s collecting parts of Europe 
vi. 1807- Russia capitulates 
1. Massive treaty signed in 1807: The Treaty of Tilsit – he get half of Prussia’s population (that much land)
2. Russia signs on to accept what France has taken in Europe and agrees to accept the continental system 
3. Some historians says this is the height of Napoleons Success 
4. Napoleon can only keep it going as long as he keeps conquering
vii. France Reorganizes Germany (1807)
1. Confederation of the Rhine (300 states into 15) Prussia Is not one of these states 
2. Abolishes once and for all the Holy Roman Empire – it was pretty much dead anyway for all practicalities
3. HE creates Westphalia (the west bank of the Elbe on into territories taken from Hannover)
viii. Two things happen  
1. By consolidating the states, he starts a process that Bismarck will finish 
2. Oppresses the Germans, creating/raising German Nationalism in areas that weren’t technically Prussian 
c. Continental System - Economic warfare
i. Attempt to weaken Napoleon’s enemies economically, starting with Britain 
1. Berlin decree (1806) – wants to starve Britain out, so he blocks all the continental ports that trade with England (he uses everyone who signed the Treaty of Tilsit and coerced or forced everyone else to do it too)
ii. Britain responds with the Orders in Council (1806) they say that anybody who is neutral (inc. US) anybody who wants to enter a port in Europe has to stop in Britain first, but Napoleon has said that anyone who stops in UK first, will be subject to seizure 
1. Napoleon responds by making it official that ships can’t do this. He specifically says that any ship that stops in UK will be seized by France (Milan Decree 1807)
iii. The lack of trains/railroads doomed the continental system because they couldn’t really trade with each other. The infrastructure isn’t there
1. The most hit and pissed off were the Eastern Europeans because they were the most dependant on trade
d. This whole mess leads to the War of 1812 (between the USA and UK)- four days later the UK rescinds the Orders in Council 
e. Peninsular War (1808-1814) – begins in part because napoleon put his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain. They resent his heavy handedness and the fact that there is a non-Spaniard on the throne. The British help them 
i. They step up their guerrilla warfare 
ii. Napoleon is also suffering because the UK is blockading French ports.
1. He blames Czar Alexander I of Russian for the problems in Spain…right…
f. In the middle of all of this, he changes women. Josephine can’t give him an heir. He divorces her and marries the daughter of the Austrian Emperor, Marie Louise, but he is actually the niece of Marie Antoinette. Napoleon is now related by marriage to the Bourbon Dynasty. He has a son with Marie Louise, who is 18. 
g. Still fighting the guerrilla warfare, he enters the stupidest war ever  
i. Army of 600,000, invade Russia (1812) – the official cause for attacking is that they withdraw from the continental system, they had to trade with UK because they couldn’t survive … uhuh. Obviously e war trying to gain other things, such as land. IT screws him because he keeps going further into Russia and his resource lines are too long
1. Battle of Borodino (1812) – it ends in a draw and then they retreat so that his army has NOTHING to live on. It screws him because he keeps going into winter. He actually gets Moscow, but the Russian’s burn it before they gave it to him  
2. 400,000 of his 600,000 army will die not only from battle but also from exposure and starvation, only 30,000 made it home.
3. He takes what he has left and raises another army 
h. Britain decides that it’s important enough to get involved and they split their troupes with America and start the War of the 4th Coalition (1813-1814)
i. Napoleon will be defeated in 1813, but everything doesn’t play out to is abdication until 1814 
ii. Members: UK, Austria, Russia, Prussia 
iii. Decisive defeat for Napoleon in Leipzig (Battle of Nations) – napoleon’s 2nd grand army is crushed, but he refuses to accept the proposals that rise out of this battle
1. The Frankfurt Proposal (Metternich made these proposals, which were actually pretty damn generous)
a. He had to return France to its original boarders and Napoleon could keep his title…but he refused 
b. When he doesn’t take it, the triple alliance each donate 150,000 men to destroy Napoleon, at which point he sees the writing on the wall and he does abdicate, but only when the army of 600,000 enters Paris 
iv. The Charter of 1814 – changes the government of France – it gets a King back, Louis XVIII (Bourbon)  
1. He creates a two house legislature which only contains the upper class, but he keeps most of Napoleon’s reforms.
2. Now that there is a king in place, they get him to sign the Treaty of Paris (1814) stating that France surrenders all territory gained since the Revolution. The allied powers agree to ask for no reparations 
3. Napoleon was exiled to the Isle of Elba, as an ex-sovereign, with payroll provided
v. The Powers meet in the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) – they meet for so long because they have to create all the boarders on Europe. They have to redraw Europe. Sometimes also called the dancing congress because they had so many balls and feasts etc. that was where deals were made 
1. Metternich represent Austria – royalist conservative, wants to turn back the clock
2. Britain - Castlereagh – has a royal dominated country, so is worried about a secular France, wants a balance of power to stop it happening again
3. Prussia- wanted their land back 
4. Czar Alexander I - Russia – wanted a free and independent Poland that he would be the King of
5. Talleyrand – France  
vi. The government that was created
1. Based on Legitimacy, Compensation, Balance of Power
a. Legitimacy: replaced the king to the throne (the Bourbon, also put on the thrones of Spain and Naples), the pope gets the Papal States. 
b. Compensation: They did take some compensation for themselves for getting rid of Napoleon, they took land (England got Naval bases [Malta, Ceylon, Cape of Good Hope], Austria gets the Italian province of Lombardi and Venice and a couple of little pieces of Poland too, Russia gets most of Poland as well as Finland, Prussia takes the Rhineland, Poland, and most of Saxony, Sweden gets Norway)  
c. Balance of Power: they drew Europe so that never again could one state upset the international order and cause a widespread war. How? Strengthen the Netherlands [unite the Austrian Netherlands with the free Netherlands to create the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Switzerland is now Neutral, not an ally; there was a formal end to the Holy Roman Empire; they kept Napoleon’s reorganization of the German states 
vii. When the dust settles, the only one of the allies to be a growing world power is Britain. They got naval bases and Navy was the power. They will be THE world power naval-y until WWI
i. 100 Days: Napoleon’s Last Hurrah (1815)
i. Napoleon escapes Elba and goes to the South of France where he is very popular, he actually raises an army, goes into Paris, increases his army, defeats Prussia, but he himself is then defeated by Wellington at Waterloo 
1. After that he is exiled to St. Helena (Africa), he will be there until his death in 1821
j. The Allies are pissed off and France have to pay 70 million in reparations for “loss of life”
V. Final Evaluation of Napoleon 
a. His dictatorship wasn’t completely had: he consolidated some of the reforms that had been started in the revolution, centralized the government and gave it an efficient bureaucracy, settled things with the church, helped spread some of the achievements throughout Europe  
b. Problems: DICTATORSHIP, loss of liberty and personal freedom, loss of republicanism, repression of conquered peoples, and wars… 
c. This sets the stage for the Concert of Europe 
VI. Concert of Europe 
a. There isn’t one power in Europe, but the allies that helped out down Napoleon (Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria) will keep the peace
i. The whole idea is that they would fight against any changes in the status quo
ii. They create the Congress System (life a pre-pre EU) lasts from 1815-1822 until Britain gives them the Finger and leaves 
iii. It has been criticized for not being democratic and turning back the clock, but it did give them stability and security for a number of years until Bismarck upsets it in the late 19th Century and there won’t be another major war until WWI 
b. Czar Alexander I proposed the Holy Alliance to uphold Christian principles to maintain peace
i. Three entities didn’t sign it: Britain, Papal States, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 

The French Revolution Part II

Part II
Everyone was called a citizen and had a certain amount of equality (Jein for Women)
- Olympe de Gouges  The Rights of Women, add to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Women should have the right to Divorce, property, education, etc.
- Mary Wollstonecraft  “Vindication of the Rights of Women(English version)
October 5-6th, 1789  March of the Women, spontaneous demonstration of Parisian Women for bread (7,000 walked 12 miles to Versailles)
- Upset because of economic trouble, many of them were unemployed (after the revolution clothing wasn’t affordable for most people)
- Killed the bodyguards looking for Marie Antoinette, who them has to flee to Paris with Louis XVI, and he tries to suck up to the women, signs a treaty to guarantee them bread at a reasonable price
National Assembly moves to Paris  Conservative members start quitting because they didn’t like the violence and the uncontrolled masses = the assembly becomes more radical 
Sir Edmund Burke (1790, English) – write a conservative response to the revolution in France  defending the aristocracy...it can’t really be reflections because the revolution isn’t over. It says why the aristocracy is good, defends inherited rights, and ”predicts” dictatorship and chaos in France. He advised England to slow down on its own reforms, not to give the common people too many rights to prevent chaos 
How to Finance a New Government –> Confiscate Church Land (1790) also create a constitution “Civil Constitution of the Clergy” (1790)
- They secularize religion… right…
- National Church - 83 Bishops, abolished convents and monasteries (sold the land to pay the church men
- The clergy were forbidden to be loyal to the pope, but it was still Catholicism, in a way…
- This split the country through all social classes
o The pope condemned the act
o Half of the clergy refused to take the oath (they were called the “refractory” clergy)
- After the revolution, it gave the church more power
Print Assignats – Bonds (quasi printing money
- National Constituent Assembly, Revolution, not War Bonds (their collateral [“Pfand”] was Church Land)
- They lost almost 100% of their value in 5 years (1790-1795)
- The government printed more money  INFLATION!!!
o People started using the bonds as money, rather than trading them in for money, which caused even more inflation 

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy, each diesis had its own state appointed Bishops, Archbishops were forbidden, the Jurying Clergy were the ones who took the oath
- Priest are elected by the district assembly 
Eventually Louis XVI “accepts” the Constitution and the National Assembly (1790)
- The nobility was abolished, but the lower class still isn’t getting the vote
The whole of France is divided into self-governing provinces (83 of them !!!)
- Devolution weakened power, it is a form of democracy, BUT the country is largely unable to band together during, for example, a time of war
The French Constitution of 1791  A bourgeoisie Government 
- The King lost power, had similar power to the House of Lords (could suspend government legislation and implementation of laws (for up to 4 years), but couldn’t completely veto it)
- The Single Chamber National Assembly  could grant taxation, and was judicially independent 
Active Citizen – pays taxes = three days labour and could vote
Passive Citizen – 1/3 of adult males were denied the franchise (domestic servants were also excluded)

Newly elected Legislative assembly – their goal was to make sure the country was not turned over to the mob (to stop mob rule)

June 1791 – Royal family tried to flee, caught at the boarder 
The First Coalition and the Brunswick manifesto (3.8.1792)
- Duke of Brunswick- if the royal family is harmed, then Paris will be leveled … but he’s in Prussia.  this undermines the National Assembly
Leopold I (Austria) – threatens the French government, if they harm the King (and his Austrian queen...) then he will attack if Prussia, UK, Spain, and Piedmont also do
 *** But he doesn’t actually plan on fighting because what are the chances of ALL of the other power taking up arms...***

Jacobin vs. Girondin (who were in favour of war and were a sub, more radical, group of the Jacobins) 
- Girondins see Leopold’s claim as a declaration of war and they in turn declare war on Austria, and get crushed on the Field  which they blame on the King
o The Brunswick manifesto to protect the King 
The French army was weak anyway because half of their officers had emigrated and many of the aristocratic families no longer sent one of their sons to become officers in the army anymore 
The King was in the Palace in detention, but not under arrest or their direct control, this changed with the Brunswick manifesto 

The French Revolution: the “Radical Phase”

The National Convention
- Girondin Rule (1792-1792)
- Jacobin Rule (1793-1794) – ruled by Robespierre, Danton and Marat (“Reign of Terror”), they incite the mobs to storm Toulerries and take the King prisoner (2. Phase Revolution)  
- Thermadorian Reaction (1794-1795)
Causes of the Instability in France (1792 – 1795 [when the bonds were worth nothing]
1. War
2. Economic Crisis
3. Political Division
4. Attitude and actions of the monarchy and the court 
5. Fear of a Counter revolution
6. Religious decisions
 
Jacobins  started as a middle class debating society
Sans Culottes  Parisian working class, supportive of the Jacobins and their values 
The September massacre (1792) – the “dark” side of the Revolution 
- Anybody who was thought to be on the wrong side (anti-revolutionary) was a potential target 
The National Convention (September 1792) the government tries to remake itself
- 1st act- abolish the monarchy in hopes of calming things down and stopping the killings
The Decree of Fraternity – they offer to help people in other countries with their own revolutions seeing as they are such experts in matters of revolution
- “When France Sneezes, the rest of Europe catches a cold”
- ***Political spectrum diagram***
Sans Culottes backed the leftists in the end
Politics of the National Convention Montegnards vs. Girondists
France declare war on Britain, Holland and Spain (1793)
Vote to Kill the King (387 to 334 in the National Convention)
Attempting to control the Growing Crisis 
- Revolutionary Tribunal – to try suspected counter revolutionists (= STASI)
- People were sent to check on the army (Representatives of Mission)
- The keep watch in foreigners (Watch Committees)
- Anyone who returned after being exiles could be tried and executed immediately 
They printed more money, even though they were already bankrupt  
Committee of Public Safety (CPS) – the oversee the speed up government (led by Robespierre)
- Tried to created a controlled Economy to control prices, control hunger, to wage wars, rationing was introduced
Committee of General Security (CGS) – pursuing suspected counter Revolutionaries (also Robespierre)
Marat was killed by his mistress in the bath tub because he wasn’t radical enough
The Levee en Masse – army based on merit
Legislation passed by the National Convention (September 1793)
- Law of general Maximum – limit s prices and wages trying to control inflation 
- Law of suspects – two weeks later  anybody not displaying enthusiastic support for the republic could be placed under arrest 
The Reign of Terror – Terror is nothing other than justice: prompt, severe, inflexible – Robespierre 
- “Let Terror be the order of the day.” Revolutionary tribunal of Paris alone executed 2,639 victims in 15 months (6 a day)
- Total number of victims nationwide during this cycle was 20,00
- Mainly lower and working classes executed

Resistance to the Revolution in the Country side (1793)
- 300,000 troupes needed for wars, They didn’t want to go
- They were still being highly taxed
- They were staunchly catholic and didn’t like what happened to the clergy
- They didn’t benefit from the selling of the church land
- Targets: Local governments officials, National Guardians, Jurying priests 
Religious terror
- De-Christianization
- The catholic church was linked with real or potential counter revolutions
 They changed the calendar to the Republican Calendar 
o Abolished Sundays and religious holidays
o Months are named after seasonal things
o 7 day weeks replaced with 10-day decades
o Yearly calendar started with the start of the republic (July 19th –August 17th = Thermidor)
Returned to the Gregorian calendar in 1806
Banned the public exercise of religion

Backlash – people get pissed
- It alienated most of the population (especially people in rural areas)
- Robespierre never supported it, but he didn’t stop it “silence is consent”
o He persuaded the convention to reaffirm the principle of religious toleration, but he never enforced it 
- Decree on the “Liberty of Cults”, but it’s only a cover story, he could always say that they were built on religious toleration
The Terror intensified March to July 1794
- Jacques Hebert and his followers were executed in March 1794, Danton and the “Indulgents” were executed in April 1794
- Law of 22 Prairial (open execution law, no imprisonments, either freed or chopped) Are you an enemy of the people? 
- 1500 were executed between June and July
... we could make bread out of ash or very small rocks...
During this time, ironically, the French army was kicking some ass while the nut balls were chopping off heads in Paris. The main thing it had going for it were the number of people and they had true believers. They fought because they really believed
The Thermadorian reaction - July 26th Robespierre is going nuts and has his Hitler moment holds a speech ... and finally the people are suspicious and the Convention arrests him (July 26th)
July 28th  Robespierre is tried and was a head shorter 
The Cultural Revolution brought about by the Convention 
- Abolition of slavery
- Introduce metric system
- Sanction divorce
- Etc. 
Thermadorian Reaction
- Curtailed the power of the committee for Public Safety
- Closed the Jacobin Club
- Churches were reopened
- Economic restriction were lifted in favor of lasses faire policies
- August 1795 a new constitution is written 
o They are afraid of another Robespierre so they set it up so that no one person is in power 
o A more conservative republicanism 
Directory
- Outlaw Paris commune
- Law of 22 Prairial were revoked
- People involved in org, terror were now attacked “White Terror”
- Inflation continues
- Rule by rich bourgeoisie liberals
- Self-indulgence – frivolous culture, salons return , wild fashions
- Political corruption
- Revival Catholicism 
- 5-man executive committee (to avoid dictatorship)
- Tried to avoid the danger of a one-house legislature (have to be married or widowed to be on the Council of Elders (250 members)
- Council 500, initiates legislation 
- All males over 21 who paid taxed voted
- This doesn’t go over well  CHAOS (big surprise there)
- Gracchus Babeuf and the Conspiracy of Equals = communism 
- Napoleon is able to stage a coup 

- Directory lasts until 1799 

...3,058 words later we are done with the French Revolution... Lovely