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Napoleon was born in in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean, only a few months after France had annexed the island.
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Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates-General at Versailles on May 5, 1789. In the Estates-General, the First and Second Estates each had about 300 representatives. The Third Estate had almost 600 representatives. They first argued about voting because traditionally, each estate had one vote, the First and Second Estates could outvote the Third Estate two to one. The Third Estate demanded instead that each deputy have one vote. The king
stated that he favored the current system. -
Third Estate boldly declared that it was the National
Assembly and would draft a constitution. -
Third Estate deputies arrived at their meeting place, and when they found out the doors were locked they moved to a nearby indoor tennis court and swore that they would keep meeting here until they had a new constitution. The oath that they swore on is known as the tennis court oath.
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A large crowd gathered around Bastille, attackers from the crowd managed to lower drawbridges to get inside, French guard fought back. They surrendered, the attackers went inside and released prisoners. Then, they destroyed Bastille. and Paris was abandoned to the rebels. When the king was informed, it was too late. His authority collapsed in France and Revolts broke out and peasants feared the National Assembly would be stopped by outside forces.
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The National Assembly reacted to news of peasant rebellions and rumors pf a possible foreign invasion by abolishing all legal privileges of nobles and clergy.
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Inspired by the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution, this charter began with “the natural and imprescriptible rights of man” to “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.”
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Thousands of Parisian women marched to Versailles. They met with the king and claimed their children were starving because there was no bread. The crowd insisted the king and his family should go back to Paris and support the assembly. The next day, his family returned to Paris. He brought wagon loads of flour with him as a goodwill gesture.
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A new limited monarchy was set up. There was still a king, but a Legislative Assembly made laws. By this time, the old order has been destroyed but there was not universal support. Political radicals and economically disadvantaged people wanted more reform.
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The royal family attempted to flee France in disguise, they almost succeeded but were soon recognized and captured at Varennes. They were brought back to france.
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New legislative assembly meets for the first time and amended the constitution to allow for trying the king if he turned against the nation. Louis XVI publicly swore to uphold the constitution, the constitutional monarchy seemed doomed.
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When he completed his studies, Napoleon was commissioned
as a lieutenant in the French army. Napoleon devoted himself to his goals. He read what French philosophers had to say about reason, and he studied famous military campaigns. Napoleon rose quickly through the ranks. In 1792 he became captain. -
Some European leaders began to fear that revolution would spread to their countries.The rulers of Austria and Prussia threatened to use force to restore Louis XIV to full power. The legislative assembly decided to strike first, declaring war on Austria.
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Angry citizens demonstrated food shortages and defeats in the war. Paris radicals declared the fate of the revolution and they declared themselves a commune. Members of the commune took the king captive and forced the legislative assembly to suspend the monarchy and call a national convention. They wanted more radical change.
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Rallied by the newly appointed minister of justice, Georges Danton, the sans-culottes attacked the palace, and the royal family had to seek protection from the Legislative Assembly.
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The Convention had been called to draft a new constitution, but it also served as the ruling body of France. It was dominated by lawyers, professionals, and property owners political experience as a result of the revolution. Almost all distrusted the king. It was therefore no surprise that the National Convention’s first major step was to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic, the French Republic.
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The Girondins and Jacobins both influenced the plain to execute Louis XVI. The Mountian convinced the Convention to pass a decree condeming Louis XVI to death. The king was beheaded.
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After Louis XVI was executed, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Dutch Republic took up arms against France. The French armies began to fall back. By late spring 1793, the coalition was poised to invade. It seemed possible that the revolution would be destroyed, and the old regime reestablished. Confronted with domestic uprisings and external threats, the National
Convention gave the Committee of Public Safety broad powers. -
Convention adopts a new Law of Suspects, permitting the arrest and rapid trial of anyone suspected of opposing the Revolution.
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Public committee of safety declares napoleon a brigadier general
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The Law of 22 Prairial was passed, which gave Robespierre more
power to arrest and execute enemies of the revolution. -
commitee of public saftey orders robespirres executio
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Deputies in the National Convention who feared Robespierre
decided to act, lest they be the next victims. They gathered enough votes to condemn him -
To keep any one political group from gaining control,
the Constitution of 1795 set up two legislative houses. A
lower house, the Council of 500, drafted laws. An upper
house of 250, the Council of Elders, accepted or rejected
proposed laws. -
In 1796 he became commander of the French armies in Italy. There Napoleon won a series of battles with qualities he became famous for; speed, surprise, and decisive action.
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Napoleon defeated the armies of the Papal States and their Austrian allies. These victories gave France control of northern Italy. Throughout the Italian campaigns, Napoleon’s energy and initiative earned him the devotion of his troops.
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When Napoleon became consul in 1799, France was at war with a European coalition of Russia, Great Britain, and Austria. Napoleon realized the need for a pause in the war.
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In Paris, Napoleon took part in the coup d’état of 1799 that overthrew the Directory and set up a new government, the consulate.
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One of Napoleon’s first moves at home was to establish peace with the Catholic Church. In 1801 Napoleon came to an agreement with the pope, which recognized Catholicism as the religion of a majority of the French people. In return, the pope would not ask for the return of the church lands seized in the revolution. With this agreement, the Catholic Church was no longer an enemy of the French government.
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A peace treaty was signed to help pause the war between France and a European coalition of Russia, Great Britain and Austria.
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Napoleon was called first consul, a title borrowed from ancient Rome. He appointed officials, controlled the army, conducted foreign affairs, and influenced the legislature. In 1802 Napoleon was made consul for life.
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The peace treaty did not last long, as war with Britain broke out again in 1803. Gradually, Britain was joined by Austria, Russia, Sweden and Prussia.
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Two years after Napoleon was made consul for life he crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I
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It preserved many of the principles that the revolutionaries had fought for: equality of all citizens before the law; the right of the individual to choose a profession; religious toleration; and the abolition of serfdom and all feudal obligations. The Civil Code was a step back for women, and they were treated less than men.
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In a series of battles at Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, and Eylau from 1805 to 1807, Napoleon’s Grand Army defeated the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies.
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Lacking food and supplies, Napoleon abandoned the Russian capital. Thousands of soldiers starved and froze along the way. Fewer than 40,000 of the original 600,000 soldiers arrived back in Poland in January 1813.
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The Russians had refused to remain in the Continental System, leaving Napoleon with little choice but to invade. Grand Army of more than 600,000 men entered Russia. The Russian forces, however, refused to do battle. As they retreated, they burned their own villages and countryside to keep Napoleon’s army from finding food.
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This military disaster led other European states to rise up and attack the injured French army. Paris was captured in March 1814. Napoleon was soon sent into exile on the island of Elba, off the northwest coast of Italy.
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The new king had little support, and the French people were not ready to surrender the glory of empire. Napoleon was not ready to give up. He left the island of Elba and came back into France. The new king sent troops to capture Napoleon.
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Russia, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia responded to napoleon's return and pledged to defeat him. Napoleon raised another french army od devoted veterans from all over france. He readied attack on allied troops stationed in belgium.
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Nobody fired a shot at Napoleon even though he was to be captured, and the troops sent went over to his side. He entered Paris in triumph.
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Napoleon met a combined British and Prussian army under the Duke of Wellington and suffered defeat. This time, the victorious allies exiled him to St. Helena, a small island in the south Atlantic. Napoleon remained in exile until his death in 1821,
