Week 10 Discussion Questions

Napoleonic Europe

            Today, we are going to talk about the fall of Napoleon’s Empire and the impact of this entity not only upon Europe, but on the future of the continent. A huge area of concern here will be rebuilding Europe after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. What should Europe’s future look like? Including the revolutionary wars, France had been at war for 25 years during the late eighteenth and nineteenth century. When you consider this and the fact that the revolution so dramatically changed the nature of French culture and the Napoleonic Empire so drastically transformed Europe, the question is a complicated one to answer. What exactly should the future of France and Europe be? We will get to their answer to that question later on today.

            Although many forces had opposed Napoleonic France, Britain was the only one consistently at war with France.  To do this, the British had to use of foothold in Portugal. This was because Napoleon’s territory was extensive- giving the British limited access to the European continent. His empire was very impressive- not only large but also effectively controlled. He used the Napoleonic Code and enabled trade between these new satellites and France. His empire established a new kind of more bureaucratic national Europe that was tied together by his control of various countries. Because of these benefits of association with the empire, many approved of his lordship and were willing to work with him. But, it is also important to remember that he did not take opposition lightly either. Even so, those within Napoleon’s empire suffered a heavy cost in exchange for these perks. Napoleon desperately needed men and money to maintain this power base. He received some of these resources from France, but they mostly came from his Empire and the allied states. Most simply resigned to it in beginning until they started to really feel the pinch. Napoleon began to implement an oppressive tax on goods like alcohol and window panes. He also forced civilians in these areas to make resources for Napoleon’s army. As a result, people do not feel free as they were promised by the French army.

            We had also discussed that Napoleon had to turn to conscription to adequately supply the army with troops. However, even this was not enough to counter the British threat when it came to naval warfare. Napoleon realized that he could not defeat the British navy. In order to rectify this, he turned to a new type of warfare to balance the scales. He decided that he would attack them economically by jeopardizing their trade. This was especially important because the British bought supplies like tar, which their navy used, from the continent. Additionally, this would also impact their ability to import materials for trade. This was meant to bring economic chaos and so that he would be easily able defeat them.  However, the flaw within Napoleon’s plan was that they did not rely entirely on Continent for trade. They had already been trading through other markets, such as those in North America and India. Again, here we see Britain’s power being bolstered by its influence in the world gained through their empire- or former empire in the case of the U.S. Either way the British have access to these outside markets which will save them from this trap. The British economy may suffer, but it will not tank out completely. They are able to survive as a country. To try to counter this, Napoleon shifted his focus onto the continent. He placed extra high taxes on goods coming from his allies so that people would instead buy Fr goods. This resulted in an increase of smuggling. It will get to such a point that huge smuggling dens will pop up. This, in turn, also hurt merchants and forced them out of work. To cope, they too turn to smuggling. This trading system implemented by Napoleon was called the continental system. It was an attempt to recreate a European trade system centered on France. However, it was a failure because Europeans in the alliance had a hard time adapting to it. They wanted access to products from Britain- because Britain had cheap goods.  And, the British sold a better quality of coffee and sugar. This was a public demand. And, France could not really be a successful ruler if it was not concerned or aware of the desires of the people. Remember: Napoleon had recognized how important this was early on. That is why he had allowed freedom of religion and created the Napoleonic code to give his subjects rights.  So, after he realized that the French needed British goods, he created special licenses that would allow for specific merchants to trade with them. This, ironically enough, was especially true for military, which needed access to British goods for supplies.

            Initially, many thought that Nap could not be beaten. So, they believed that they just had to deal with being conquered. This attitude started to change after a revolt in Spain, part of the campaign in the Napoleonic Wars called the Peninsular War. In this conflict, France and Spain had originally been allies trying to conquer Portugal in 1807. However, in 1808 France turned on Spain and tried to overpower it as well. Napoleon actually had a hard time trying to control Spain, which made him look vulnerable. Britain became Spain’s new ally in opposing France. Britain was able to further weaken France by establishing an effective counter blockade to his continental system.

            Russia would be the other threat to French power. Tsar Alexander I had openly declared that the French continental system was not in the interest of Russia in 1811. Because of this, Tsar Alexander I decided to break away from his agreement with Napoleon and trade with Britain instead. Napoleon saw this as a betrayal and declared war on Russia in 1812. Napoleon sent a huge army to Russia-it truly was an impressive number of troops. But, he lost a lot of men along the way. The distance was too long and the lines of supply were not long enough. That meant that there was not enough food to feed the army. In addition to this, Russian troops would egg them on by engaging them and then withdrawing. When Napoleon finally occupied Moscow, he ordered for the city to be evacuated and burned it down rather than allow the French to take the city- In addition to this humiliating experience, Napoleon was also facing problems in Paris too. Because of this, he abandoned his army in Russia and went to Paris to go to solve the political problems of the nation. When the French soldiers were returning from Russia, they were forced to travel through a Russian winter. The cold, the distance, and the famine all combined to deplete Napoleon’s forces drastically. 370,000 men died in total in this war and 200,000 were taken prisoner by the Russians. In Russian history, the extreme climate, especially in winter, is credited to helping the Russians to win many victories. For this reason, they will often refer to the aid that this climate gave them as General Winter, emphasizing its impact on their military success against invaders.

            These events made countries begin to believe that Napoleon could be defeated. These powers banded together in what was called the Quadruple Alliance. This alliance included Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Britain. Prussia was the country which started the alliance. However, Britain was the country that paid for most of the war’s expenses. France originally had allies in its conquered territory of German Leipzig, but the Germans betrayed Napoleon once they realized that his power could be overthrown. Remember: he is imposing harsh taxes, limiting trade, controlling what they can produce based on what is best for his army, etc. After this, he was forced to abdicate in 1814.  Napoleon was sent to Elba after his defeat to live in exile. Despite this, he was treated rather well. He was allowed to maintain a small army. He also was allowed to keep his title as Emperor. He could not live in France anymore, but he was not treated badly.  During this time period, the victors were meeting and trying to decide how to rebuild Europe. Meanwhile, Napoleon escaped and returned to France. His return from exile and reign is called the 100 Days. Napoleon goes to war against the Prussians and the British again. They defeat him again in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This time he was sent to St. Helena, an isolated island that was monitored by warships 24 hours a day. So, we can see that this time they are not taking any more chances- he has caused so much havoc on the continent.

            After Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, the victors had to face what to do now with Europe.  His reign had completely changed the face of the continent. How, the Holy Roman Empire was gone. He had even invaded the Low Countries and parts of Italy. So, the Quadruple Alliance had the task of trying to rebuild Europe and establishing what a new map pf Europe would look like. They also had to deal with the aftermath of the French Revolution. What should world politics look like after the era of the revolution? They needed to create a stable system that would allow for peace after 25 years of war.  Europe was tired of fighting- they wanted to stop these issues now and move on. To try to do this, they established a series of principles. They recognized that they were able to finally defeat Napoleon when they worked together. This meant that they began to value working as a team- or as they put it like a concert. This was a lesson that it took them a long time to learn. They finally see that the countries need to work together. – They sought to foster the interaction of states through the Concert of Vienna. For the sake of promoting stability, the powers in this “concert” agreed not to treat the French too harshly. They decided that it would be best to forget about the revolution and simply restore monarchy in France. Remember- most of Europe is a monarchy. The biggest concern here was legitimacy. Do not want another person like Napoleon taking power for himself- want a restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. - They restore Louis XVIII to power as the ruler of France. However, he was NOT CHARISMATIC. Even so, he was supported by the quadruple alliance. France was also forced to give back the lands that Napoleon had conquered as satellites. It was originally returned to its 1792 borders, but after Napoleon’s return to power it was granted only the territory it had in 1790.  France also had to give back some of the treasures it had plundered and was forced to endure a short and small military occupation. This was still extremely lenient.

            The Congress of Vienna also was interested in creating states around France to act as a border. This was seen as a way to keep France from expanding too much. They gave the Dutch king territory and also created the Italian state of Savoy in order to do this. Similarly, Prussia was granted the Rhineland and got back territory in the East.  This allowed the Congress to keep Fr monitored at these three points. It also established the German Confederation, a network of German states that replaced the Holy Roman Empire. The congress was formed to create an alliance-like relationship between nations that would keep states in check. It would address their grievances in order to satisfy and avoid the outbreak of war. The main goal of this entity Congress Vienna was to build legit sources of power through an international system. It established Europe as a whole body of states.  This was the beginning of international laws. This can be seen in the decision to abolish slavery in Europe. It also showed a shift in political strategy. Whereas before political marriages had been the preferred too, now treaties were used to form alliances and reach understandings.  It created an institution which would become the policeman of Europe that would actively work to avoid war, conflict, and other potentials for disruptions

            In the next class, we will study art during this period.

·

Class 29

Napoleon and Art

            In the last class, we studied the rise and fall of Napoleon. Today, we will continue examination of the break in traditional subjects of painting with the creation of a modern style.

            Napoleon relied on art work to bolster his image and serve as support for his authority. Antoine Gros, a student of Jacques-Louis David, painted the most significant images of Napoleon. His works helped create modern uses of images for propaganda purposes.