European History: Napoleonic Era to Unification of Italy and Germany
1. The Napoleonic Period (1799-1815)
The Consulate (1799-1804)
November 9, 1799: Napoleon leads a bloodless coup d’état. He establishes a new kind of government: the Consulate, and he was the 1st Consul.
1802: The “Sénat” approves naming Napoleon Consul for life.
Reforms: Two constitutions, creation of the Bank of France, Concordat (1801), Civil Code (1804).
The Empire (1805-1815)
December 2, 1804: Napoleon is crowned Emperor by Pius VII.
Constitution of 1804: No more elections.
Further reforms: Education, civil works.
Foreign Policy
During his government, Napoleon invaded, controlled, submitted, and created countries in Europe. He put his relatives as governors.
The Fall
Napoleon tried to conquer Spain and Russia at the same time. He lost the battles of Bailén, Krasnoi, and Leipzig.
The Last Attempt (100 Days)
April 6, 1814: Napoleon was abdicated and exiled to Elba, Italy. Louis XVIII was crowned King of France.
February 1815: Napoleon escaped from Elba and regained power for three months until June 18.
Waterloo
Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo. Louis XVIII became king again, and Napoleon was banished to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
The Controversial Figure of Napoleon
Napoleon said that he wanted to disseminate the ideas of the French Revolution, but he was an emperor, let the exiled nobility go back, women continued to be submitted to men, he got divorced, there were neither elections nor freedom of the press, and he made France an empire.
2. The Congress of Vienna (1814-1815)
The countries that had defeated Napoleon met at the Congress of Vienna to restore absolutism in Europe. The organizer was Metternich.
Consequences: Napoleon’s family lost their power, France returned to its 1792 borders, the treaty of the Holy Alliance was signed, and European people did not want absolutism anymore.
3. The Revolutions
Revolutions of 1820
Countries affected: Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy.
Consequences:
- Spain: Liberal Triennium and independence of Latin American colonies.
- Portugal: Liberalism and independence of Brazil.
- Greece: Independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Revolutions of 1830-1832
Countries affected: France, Belgium, Poland.
Consequences:
- France: Change of regime.
- Belgium: Independence from the Netherlands.
- Poland: Independist rebellion against Russia.
Revolutions of 1848
Countries affected: France, Austria, Germany, Italy.
Consequences:
- France: Louis Philippe was overthrown, the 2nd Republic was established, and Napoleon III proclaimed the 2nd French Empire.
- Others: Absolute monarchies turned into parliamentary monarchies.
4. Italian Unification (1859-1870)
The territory was divided into eight, and Piedmont wanted unification.
1859: Cavour declared war on Austria, and Piedmont was declared King of Italy.
1866: Austria left the Veneto.
1870: Papal States joined Italy.
5. German Unification (1861-1871)
The process was headed by Otto von Bismarck.
1864: Austria and Prussia declared war on Denmark. They won and shared control over the Duchies.
1866: Prussia declared war on Austria for control of Holstein and won.
1870-1871: War between Prussia and France. Prussia won. Wilhelm I became Kaiser of the II Reich.
6. Vocabulary
- Lycées: Upper-level secondary school.
- National Assembly: French Parliament, replaced the Estates-General.
- Privileges: Right or immunity.
- Feudal: Related to feudalism.
- To Censor: To examine.
- Ancien Régime: Political and social system of France.
- Concordat: Agreement between a pope and a sovereign.
- Consulate: The top-level government of France.
- Constitution of 1800: Established after the Coup of 18-19 Brumaire.
- Civil Code: French civil code of 1804.
- Grand Duchy of Warsaw: Polish state created by Napoleon.
- Continental System: Foreign policy of Napoleon I.
- Battle of Waterloo: Belgium, June 18, 1815.
- Joseph I Bonaparte: Older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte.
- Congress of Vienna: Assembly in 1814-1815.
- Holy Alliance: Coalition linking the monarchist powers of Prussia, Russia, and Austria.
- Quadruple Alliance: Treaty signed in Paris on November 20, 1815.
- German Confederation: Association of 39 German-speaking states.
- Talleyrand: Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord.
- Metternich: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince von Metternich.
- Louis XVIII: “The Desired,” King of France.
- Charles X: King of France from 1824 to 1830.
- Jean Maximilien Lamarque: French commander.
- June Rebellion: Paris Uprising.
- Victor Hugo: French poet, novelist.
- Napoleon III: 1st President of France (1848-1852).
- Risorgimento: Consolidated states of the Italian peninsula.
- Garibaldi: Italian general and patriot.
- Cavour: Italian statesman.
- Victor Emmanuel II: King of Sardinia.
- Otto von Bismarck: Conservative German statesman.
- Kaiser Wilhelm I: King of Prussia.
- German Empire: Reich II / Imperial Germany.