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Napoleon Bonaparte is Born
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica which is in the Mediterranean Sea. His parents were Carlos Bonaparte and Letizia Ramolina. -
The Start of the French Revolution
On this day the storming of the Bastille which was a prison thought to hold weapons. During this all 7 political prisoners were released. The French revolution started because France was in debt which was because of wars and deficit spending. Also there were bad harvests which with the debt caused food prices to rise a lot. The 3rd estate was also treated unequally compared to the 1st and 2nd estates. -
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The Reign of Terror
The righn of terror was a period in which 10s of thousands of people were executed suspected of being enemies of the revolution thouh many weren't. The Jacobins headed this operation with Robespierre heading it. -
The Battle of Toulon
The Battle of Toulon took place because the royalists who lived by the harbor of Toulon in France had surrendered it to the British. The French tried several times to be rid of the British, but came to no success as the French had poor leadership. Napoleon seeing this wrote to the Council about this and they switched out the Commander for another who would listen to Napoleon's ideas. On the 17th the French caused the British to retreat regaining control of the harbor using Napoleon's plans. -
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The Egyptian Campaign
In May of 1798 the French left fr Egypt . They wanted to hopefully disrupt British trade with India. When they got to Egypt they first won several battles, but then ultimately lost and retreated. He didn't want the stories of his defeat being spread around so he had a network of spies in his amy and controlled the press so that it was kept quiet. -
The 18 Brumaire Coup
The 18 Brumaire coup was when Napoleon and others overthrew the Directory of France and installed the 3 man Consulate system in its place. -
First Consulate for Life Plebiscite
Napoleon was very popular among the people because of his successes and ways of helping the people. He won the vote to be made first consul for life by a large margin because of this. -
Napoleonic Code
Napoleon made a new set of laws called the Napoleonic Code. It did not allow privileges based on birth, allowed religious freedom, abolished feudalism, there was equality of citizens before the law, and gave jobs based on skills. It embodied many of the enlightenment principles, but did undo certain reforms of the revolution. -
Napoleon's Coronation
Napoleon wanted to have a magnificent coronation and wanted to be linked to imperial figures from the past. He also wanted to be crowned emperor instead of king because he thought that emperors changed history and very few kings even made a name for themselves. During his coronation he invited the pope to crown him, but during the ceremony he took the crown from the pope's hands and crowned himself showing that he owed his crown to nobody save for himself. -
Battle of Trafalgar
The British had a small army and relied on their navy to stop the French. The British Admiral Horatio Nelson smashed the French fleet of ships. The British had 27 ships while the French who had allied with the Spanish had 33 ships and the French side lost 22 ships and the British didn't lose any. This was the most decisive naval battle of the war. -
Battle of Austerlitz
This battle was one of Napoleon's best victories. The French defeated an Austrorussian army headed by Czar Alexander I of Russia and Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire. The Austrorussian army had more numbers, but were defeated by the French under Napoleon. -
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Continental System
The continental system was Napoleon's effort to go against Britain. Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree which forbidded any of his allies or conquests to trade with Britain. The UK issued the Orders in Council next which forbade French trade with its allies and the navy was to blockade France's ports along with its allies. Napoleon then issues the Milan Decree which said that all ships using British ports or trading with them were to be siezed. He wanted to isolate Britain economically. -
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Peninsular War
This war was the struggle for power over the Iberian Peninsula by the French and the allied powers of Spain, Portugal, and Britain. It escalated when France turned on Spain who had been its ally before hand.The French were defeated as the opposition used guerrilla warfare and these hit the French supply trains or troops. -
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Invasion of Russia
Napoleon and Czar Alexander I of Russia had been allies and when the Czar withdrew from this Napoleon assembled the Grand Army and invaded Russia with 600,000 soldiers and 50,000 horses. To avoid battle with France the Russians retreated eastward burning their villages and crops. This left the army hungry and cold. The army couldn't be supported and so in October they retreated. On the way back they were attacked by the Russians and the harsh winter affected them. less than 20,000 made it back. -
Retreat from Moscow
The Grand Army left Moscow about a month after they had arrived being forced to retreat by using the same road that they used to enter it. Many horses died from the lack of grass and starvation. Many of the soldiers also died from sickness and starvation. The Grand Army left the capital with 100,000 men left. -
Battle of Leipzig
The defeat in Russia brought alliances of Russia, Britain, Austria, and Prussia against France. They defeated Napoleon in the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig. After this defeat and others Napoleon was forced to abdicate. -
Exile to Elba
After being defeated in Russia the allies battled Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig and won. Then after more defeats Napoleon was forced to abdicate his throne and was exiled on an island called Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. -
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Hundred Days
On March 20, 1815 Napoleon entered Paris after escaping the island of Elba. He was welcomed for about 100 days and was allowed in France. This all ended when he was forced again to abdicated and was again exiled on July 8, 1815 when Louis XVIII was restored to power again. -
Battle of Waterloo
During Napoleon's return from exile he battled the allies again at Waterloo in Belgium. The British under the Duke of Wellington and Prussia under General Blücher crushed France in a day-long battle. Napoleon was then forced to abdicate again after this battle. -
Exile to St Helena
Napoleon was exiled to the island of St Helena which is in the South Atlantic. Napoleon never returned after this. -
Napoleon's Death
Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5 while being exiled on St. Helena in the South Atlantic.
