The Napoleonic Wars and the Concert of Europe: A Historical Overview, Assignments of Political history

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Napoleon, Napoleonic

Wars & Concert of

Europe

The Age of Napoleon

• (^) Napoleon dominated both French and European history from 1799 to
• (^) He was born in Corsica in 1769 shortly after France had annexed the island
• (^) The young Napoleon Bonaparte was sent to France to study in one of the new military schools and was a lieutenant when the Revolution broke out in 1789
• (^) The Revolution and the European war that followed gave him new opportunities, and Napoleon rose quickly

• (^) One of Napoleon’s first domestic policies was to establish peace with the Catholic church
• (^) Napoleon achieved the principle of the equality of all citizens before the law, the abolition of serfdom and feudalism, and religious toleration.
• (^) In a series of battles from 1805 to 1807, Napoleon’s Grand Army defeated the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies, giving Napoleon the opportunity to create a new European order.
• (^) From 1807 to 1812, Napoleon was the master of Europe.
• (^) Napoleon hoped that his Grand Empire would last for centuries, but it collapsed almost as rapidly as it had been formed.

Continental System

• (^) Napoleon hoped to invade Britain, but he could not overcome the British navy
• (^) To defeat Britain, Napoleon turned to his Continental System.
• (^) An alliance put into effect between 1806 and 1808, it attempted to prevent British goods from reaching the European continent in order to weaken Britain economically and destroy its capacity to wage war.
• (^) But the Continental System failed.

The Fall of Napoleon

• (^) Napoleon’s hopes for victory depended on quickly defeating the Russian armies, but the Russian forces refused to give battle, torching their own villages and countryside to keep Napoleon’s army from finding food.
• (^) When the remaining troops of the Grand Army arrived in Moscow, they found the city ablaze. Lacking food and supplies, Napoleon aban- doned Moscow late in October and made a retreat across Russia in terrible winter conditions. Only 40,000 of the original 600,000 men managed to arrive back in Poland in January 1813.

• (^) This military disaster led other European states to rise up and attack the crippled French army.
• (^) Paris was captured in March 1814, and Napoleon was sent into exile on the island of Elba, off the coast of Italy.
• (^) Meanwhile, the Bourbon monarchy was restored in the person of Louis XVIII, the count of Provence, brother of the executed king
• (^) When troops were sent to capture him, the troops went over to his side, and Napoleon entered Paris in triumph on March 20, 1815.
• (^) The powers that had defeated him pledged once more to fight him
• (^) At Waterloo on June 18, Napoleon met a combined British and Prussian army
• (^) This time, the victorious allies exiled him to Saint Helena, a small, forsaken island in the South Atlantic, off the coast of Africa.

• Europe in

Main Goals of the Congress

Undo everything that Napoleon had done:

1. Establish lasting peace & stability
2. Reduce France to its old boundaries  her frontiers were pushed back to 1790 level.
3. Prevent further French aggression
4. Restore-the old royal families to the throne.
5. Restore balance of power
6. Supported the resolution: There is always an alternative to conflict****.

Key Players

at Vienna

Key Players

at Vienna

The “Host” Prince Klemens von Metternich (Aus.) TsaTsar Alexander I (Rus.) King Frederick William III (Prus.) Foreign Minister, Charles Maurice de Tallyrand (Fr.)

Key Principles Established

at Vienna

Achieving stability and peace

1. Balance of Power
2. Legitimacy
3. Compensation

Changes made at Vienna

• (^) France was deprived of all territory conquered by Napoléon.
• (^) Russia was given most of Duchy of Warsaw (Poland).
• (^) Prussia was given half of Saxony, parts of Poland, and other German territories.
• (^) A Germanic Confederation of 30+ states (including Prussia) was created from the previous 300, under Austrian rule.
• (^) Austria was given back territory it had lost recently, plus more in Germany and Italy.

Legacy of the Congress of Vienna

• (^) Influenced world politics for the next 100 years.
• (^) Diminished the size and the power of France
• (^) Bring greater power of Britain and Prussia
• (^) Nationalism spread
• (^) European colonies wanted independence
• (^) Desire for democracy

Concert of Europe 1815-

• (^) The Concert of Europe was the balance of power that existed in Europe from the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte to the outbreak of World War I
• (^) Its founding members were the UK, Austria, Russia, and Prussia who were also responsible for the fall of the Napoleon
• (^) In time France became established as a fifth member of the "club.”
• (^) Concert of Europe lasted between 1814 and 1914