Napoleon Bonaparte rose through the ranks of the French military to become a general at age 24 and the most powerful man in France as First Consul. He later crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804 and spent the next decade conquering much of Europe, establishing control over direct and indirect possessions. However, disastrous campaigns in Spain and Russia led to his eventual defeat and exile in 1814. After a brief return to power known as the Hundred Days, he was finally exiled to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.

1. Napoleon crossing the Alps
(Jacques-Louis David)
Napoleon

2. PHASES
• French Consulate (1799-1804)
• Consul for life (1802-1804)
• The Empire (1804-1814)
• Exile in Elba (1814-1815)
• The Hundred Days (1815)
• Exile in Saint Helena (1815-1821)

3. BIOGRAPHY
• He was born in Corsica (1769). (He spoke
Corsican language when he came to France)
• His family was not wealthy and he was one of eight
children
• He went to the military school and became an
officer.
• He supported the revolution.
• When he was 24 years old he became a general.
• He was a very intelligent person, with leadership
skills and a deep understanding of politics.
• Very Ambitious.

4. • Almost all his brothers and sisters became
kings, queens, or nobles:
 Joseph Bonaparte: King of Naples and later King of Spain
 Lucien Bonaparte: Minister of Interior and Ambassador
 Luois I: King of Holland
 Elisa Bonaparte: princess of Piombino and Lucca, then grand duchess
of Tuscany
 Pauline Bonaparte: imperial French Princess and the Princess consort
of Sulmona and Rossano.
 Caroline Bonaparte: Queen consort of Naples.
 Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte: French Prince, King of Westphalia

5. FRENCH CONSULATE (1799-1804)
• He took part in the coup d’etat of Brumario.
o He became “First Consul” (the most powerful man in
France)
• Political Measures:
• Reorganized the Government
• Centralized administration
• Created new schools
• Reorganized the country’s finances and tax system
• Bank of France
• New Legal System: The Napoleonic Code
• He made peace with the Catholic Church (Concordat)
• But freedom of speech and press was limited
(strong censorship)

6. The Empire (1804-1814)
• In 1804 Napoleon crowned himself emperor and France
became an Empire.

7. Building an Empire
• Main Victories:
1805→ Austerlitz; he defeated Austrians and
Prussians
1806 → Jena; he defeated the Prussians
1807 → Friendland; he defeated the Russians
 Treaty of Tilsit with Russia and Prussia
• Main Defeats:
1808 → Spanish Campaign (tremendous
weakening). 1808, Battle of Bailen.
1812 →Campaign of Russia (450.000 people died)

8. He controlled almost all Europe
• Direct Possessions:
– Holland, Belgium, some States of Germany and
Italy
• Indirect Possesions:
– Spain, Sweden, Duchy of Warsaw
• Allied States:
– Austro-Hungarian Empire
– Prussia
– Russian Empire

9. Main Adversaries
• Only Britain remained undefeated
• Great Rivalry between France and Britain
• Napoleon tried to invade Great Britain:
Disaster of Trafalgar -1805- (Nelson destroyed
the French and the Spanish fleet)
• Napoleon tried an economic blockade (he
forbade the countries in his empire from trading
with Britain)
• Spain
• Portugal
• Russia
• Sweden

11. The Fall of the Empire
• It started with the defeats in Spain (1808) and in
Russia (1812)
• This encouraged the Sixth Coalition: Austria,
Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden
• Battle of Leipzig (1813) (90.000 casualties)
• March 1814: Paris was captured by the Coalition
• Napoleon abdicated (1814)

12. • Exile to Elba (April 1814 – February 1815)
• The Hundred Days (March 1815)
– He came back to France
– The battle of Waterloo (June 1815)
• Exile to Saint Helen (1815-1821)

13. The main achievements
• He consolidated the revolution in France.
• He spread the revolutionary ideas through
Europe
– Suppression of the Privileges of Nobles
– Establishment of Liberty and Equality
– Birth of Nationalism

14. Duke of Wellington
Napoleon Bonaparte