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= French Revolution Notes Pg. 52-65 toc=

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= Notes =

The Rise of Napoleon
- After the Terror ended, the French tried a new govt
 * 1795-1799, they were governed by 5 men called Directors
 * backed by 2 assemblies called Councils
 * did not govern France well
 * in 1799, a young army general forced them out of office and took over the govt
 * Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon's Background
- Napoleon was born on the island Corsica 1769 - Napoleon's career was nearly wrecked in 1794
 * Just a year earlier the French king bought the island off its Italian owners
 * therefore, Napoleon was born French while his parents were Italian
 * 9yo, sent to school in France
 * 7 yrs in military school
 * 16, left as a lieutenant in the French army
 * 4 years later the Revolution began, the army grew in size
 * gained rapid promotion
 * age 24
 * close friend of Robespierre's bro, Augustin
 * when overthrown, Napolen was arrested
 * however, others found no evidence to use against him therefore he was released

Napoleon's Italian Campaign
- when the directors took power in 1795, they continued the Revolution war against the Coalitian
 * the French army at this time was very large
 * quickly conquered Holland and Belgium
 * next target: northern Italy
 * over the next 18months, Napoleon led his armies in a series of brilliant victories
 * over Austrians in Italy
 * by Oct 1797, all of northern Italy was under French control
 * most famous French general

Napoleon in Egypt
- Directors put Napoleon in command of an "Army of the East"
 * began by invading Egypt
 * quickly defeated the Egyptians in the Battle of the Pyramids in July 1798
 * never went to India
 * a week later, their ships were sunken by British Royal Navy at Aboukir Bay
 * could not advance to India nor return to France
 * other French armies were faring badly
 * France's enemies had formed a 2nd Coalition and driven themselves out of Italy and central Europe
 * Napoleon learned of these defeats in the summer of 1799
 * rebels had over-run large parts of western France
 * country was nearly bankrupt
 * Directors were facing strong opposition in the Councils
 * He left his armies in Egypt and hurried back to France

Napoleon Seizes Power
- Meanwhile, one of the Directors wanted to get rid of other Directors to set up a new and stronger govt. - Napoleon agreed and joined the plot
 * required Napoleon's military backup
 * along with other Directors, Napoleon's brother, Lucien, was also involved
 * he was the President of one of the Councils
 * 9 Nov 1799, they look action
 * made up story that the rebels were going to invade Paris
 * Councils made Napoleon the commander of all the troops
 * Soldiers then forced the other 3 Directors to resign
 * Next day, Napoleon went to the Councils for a reform
 * by this time, they noticed the story was a lie
 * they tried to defend the Directory
 * when Napoleon appeared before them, people shouted at him and declared him a outlaw
 * Soldiers outside went in and defended Napoleon
 * many who saw the soldiers fled
 * some still stayed and voted for Napoleon and 2 other plotters the power to run the country until a new type of govt could be formed

The Consulate
- took only 1 month to create a new govt
 * governed by 3 Consuls
 * only the 1st Consul had the power to make changes
 * other 2 gave advice
 * Napoleon was 1st Consul, therefore the head of the govt
 * 4 new Councils were created to share the work of France
 * most powerful= Council of State
 * helped to write new laws
 * A senate, a Tribunate and a Legislative Body also shared in the making of laws and the appointment of officials
 * in the provinces, officials called Prefects put the laws into effect
 * France's 9 mil voters were then given the chance to show by voting whether or not they liked this new govt
 * 3mil against 1,500
 * although other 6mil did not vote, Napoleon said that the result showed that the people supported him

Victory in War
- Napoleon's most urgent task as First Consul was to defend France against the armies of the 2nd Coalition
 * he planned to do so with an attack on Austrian forces in North Italy
 * hoping to surprise them by attacking them from behind
 * took his army through Switz and across the Alps
 * It was a dangerous gamble, and it nearly failed
 * took much longer to cross the Alps then Napoleon expected
 * when his army reached Italy, the Austrians were ready
 * they attacked near a village called Marengo
 * Napoleon's men were outnumbered and exhausted from the march
 * they were on the point of defeat when reserve troops unexpectedly arrived on the battlefield and drove the Austrians back
 * battle of Marengo ended in victory for the French
 * The defeated Austrians abandoned north Italy
 * later, another French army defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Hohenliden in Germany
 * this brought the war of the 2nd Coalition to an end
 * peace treaty signed at Luneville in 1801
 * France control of Belgium, of German lands on the river Rhine and of north Italy

The Making of a Legend
- Napoleon's victory in the war made him more famous than ever
 * in newspapers, books and paintings
 * Even though from the paintings Napoleon seemed like a legend, it wasn't so from his own writing
 * "... in the most difficult places I rode a mule...my guide was a tall robust youth of 22"

The Concordat and the Catholic Church
- Now that France was at peace, Napoleon could deal with some urgent porblems - 1801 he signed an agreement with the Pope called the Concordat
 * The most difficult of these concerns was the Catholic relgion
 * France was "de-christianized"
 * Napoleon began by dropping the 10 day week and allow people to take a day off on sundays
 * he told rebel leaders that he will take care of their religious complaints
 * agreed to allow Catholics to worship freely again
 * Pope allowed Napoleon to appoint all the bishops in France and agreed that all priests should take an oath of loyalty to Napoleon
 * as a result, priests came out of hiding and churches reopened
 * the religious conflict ended soon
 * another triumph for Napoleon, gave him support of millions

Reforms
- by 1802, Napoleon made peace with Europe and ended the religious conflicts at home - Now he had power for the rest of his life, Napoleon started to reform France - Greatest achievement = French law into 7 books called codes
 * a grateful Seante increased his powers, raised his pay and made him "Consul for Life"
 * voters were asked to show what they though of this
 * 3.5 mil against 8,000
 * 1802, began a reform of the country's schools
 * main change = creation of a new kind of secondary school, lycee
 * high schoolers studied a curriculum drawn by the govt.
 * examination = Baccalaureate for universities
 * 1804 Code of Civil Law called the Code Napoleon
 * codes of criminal and commercial law were added over the next 5 yrs
 * simplified the complex laws
 * made into law some of the things that revolutionaries had demanded in 1789
 * individual rights, freedom of belief, and equality

Napoleon becomes Emperor
- in 1804 Napoleon increased his power still further by making himself Emperor
 * voters showed approval
 * France became an empire after 12 yrs of being a republic

- As Emperor, Napoleon brought back some of the things that had been abolished during the Revolution
 * coronation ceremony like the old French kings
 * brought back noble titles for members of his family
 * his brothers Joseph and Louis became Grand Elector and Grand Constable of the Empire
 * 1808, he created an Imperial Nobility consisting of princes, dukes, counts, barons and knights
 * Nobles had to be very rich to pass down their title
 * a prince, had to leave his son an income of 200,000 franes a year to keep the title in the family
 * unlike nobles before, they had no privileges
 * By 1804, French Republic had been replaced by an Empire
 * Catholic church restored
 * people could become nobles again
 * REVOLUTION OVER

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= Questions =