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Egyptian Campaign (Red)
By the end of the 18th century, France wanted to conquer Egypt. At war with Britain, France sought to disrupt its enemy's dominance of the seas and its trade routes with India; taking control of Egypt would give France a foothold from which to expand in the Mediterranean. -
Italian Campaign (Red)
He led his army forward into Italy. He was badly outnumbered. His 38,000 French soldiers faced 38,000 Austrians and their allies — 25,000 Piedmontese. Bonaparte's plan was to isolate the Austrians from the Piedmontese, then conquer each separately. He would strike first at Piedmont. -
Consulate (Green)
The Consulate was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term The Consulate also refers to this period of French history. -
Consul for life (Green)
Napoleon proclaimed himself First Consul for Life. A new constitution of his own devising legislated a succession to rule for his son (even though he had not yet fathered any children) and he had taken the major steps in creating a new regime in his own image. -
Banque de France (Green)
Napoleon Bonaparte created the Banque de France to foster economic recovery after the strong recession of the revolutionary period. This new institution was charged with issuing notes payable to bearer on sight, in return for discounting of trade bills. The original statutes organised the activities of the Bank, but other competing issuing institutions remained. In 1803, the Bank obtained an issuing right for the city of Paris, then gradually until 1848, for the whole country. -
Concordat of 1801 (Green)
agreement between Napoleon and papal and clerical representatives in both Rome and Paris, defining the status of the Roman Catholic Church in France and ending the breach caused by the church reforms and confiscations enacted during the French Revolution. -
Napoleonic Code (Green)
The civil code gave post-revolutionary France its first coherent set of laws concerning property, colonial affairs, the family and individual rights. The Napoleonic Code made the authority of men over their families stronger, deprived women of any individual rights, and reduced the rights of illegitimate children. -
Declared self emperor (Yellow)
In Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon is crowned Napoleon I, the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor in a thousand years. Pope Pius VII handed Napoleon the crown that the 35-year-old conqueror of Europe placed on his own head. -
Battle of Trafalgar (Red)
British fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, fought off the coast of Spain. In five hours of fighting, the British devastated the enemy fleet, destroying 19 enemy ships. No British ships were lost, but 1,500 British seamen were killed or wounded in the heavy fighting.
Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar ensured that Napoleon would never invade Britain. -
Abolished Holy Roman Empire (Red)
The Holy Roman Empire had survived over a thousand years when it was finally destroyed by Napoleon and the French in 1806. -
Continental System (Red)
In the Napoleonic wars, the blockade designed by Napoleon to paralyze Great Britain through the destruction of British commerce. For want of a superior navy, it became physically impossible for Napoleon to enforce his Continental system. -
Resistance in Spain (Red)
the people of Madrid revolted against the French occupation, but they were quashed and many were killed. In addition to Napoleon's usurpation of the king and royal family, the central and provincial governmental structures of the Spanish Peninsula broke down. -
Invasion of Russia (Red)
Napoleon, who considered Russia a natural ally since it had no territorial conflicts with France, soon moved to teach Alexander a lesson. In 1812 the French emperor raised a massive army of troops from all over Europe. -
Battle of Nations at Leipzig (Yellow)
Battle of Leipzig, also called Battle of the Nations, decisive defeat for Napoleon, resulting in the destruction of what was left of French power in Germany and Poland. The battle was fought at Leipzig, in Saxony, between approximately 185,000 French and other troops under Napoleon, and approximately 320,000 allied troops, including Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and Swedish forces -
Abdication (Yellow)
In 1812, thinking that Russia was plotting an alliance with England, Napoleon launched an invasion against the Russians that eventually ended with his troops retreating from Moscow and much of Europe uniting against him. In 1814, Napoleon’s broken forces gave up and Napoleon offered to step down in favor of his son. When this offer was rejected, he abdicated and was sent to Elba. -
Hundred Days (Yellow)
Napoleon arrived in Paris after escaping from exile on Elba, and July 8, 1815, the date of the return of Louis XVIII to Paris. The phrase was first used by the prefect of the Seine, comte de Chabrol de Volvic, in his speech welcoming the king. -
Waterloo (Red)
The Battle of Waterloo, in which Napoleon’s forces were defeated by the British and Prussians, marked the end of his reign and of France’s domination in Europe.