From Napoleonic Europe to the Restored Empires Flashcards
syllabus
Mazower, the powers turned their hatred of Napoleon into a national force, no superior nation (unlike Napoleon) = multilateralism of the big powers. Gentz = exporting the Revolution means the death of Europe BUT we cannot simply return to the Ancien Régime (found a new order). Interventionism and its limits (Monroe doctrine).
Bell, risk of looking for too many similarities (e.g. the idea of nation by Sieyès) instead of tensions. Disagreement on the notion of nation: Sieyès, it exists above all BUT it is important to “create” the nation. So does it exist or not? The nation problem too: political will OR natural will? Legally, empire could be used as “sovereign monarchy”. But also “a composite monarchy” Ambivalence used +++ by Napoleon = monarch without being king AND he could incorporate territories into the empire without deciding on the question of the nation.
1.a/ Napoleons empire
Personal Power
- Dominated by the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte.
- Rise rooted in revolutionary principles; presented as the “Son of the Revolution.”
- Military successes, starting with the siege of Toulon in 1793, contribute to his charismatic image.
- Bonaparte’s victories, symbolically staged, enhance his heroic and romantic reputation.
- Overthrow of the Directory in 1799 leads to the Consulate regime, concentrating power.
- Napoleon becomes consul for life in 1802, crowning ceremony in 1804 establishes the Napoleonic Empire.
- Despite centralization of power, claims of popular sovereignty persist through plebiscites.
- Establishment of imperial nobility, Legion of Honor, and control over public space and institutions.
b/ The Conquest of Europe
- Rapid rise to dominate the entire European continent, except Russia, the UK, and the Ottoman Empire.
- Military revolution characterized by “total war” with significant impact on societies and political regimes.
- Continental blockade and “continental system” implemented to isolate the UK and control European economy.
- Conscription leads to tensions, desertions, and insubordination; gendarmerie enforces mobilization.
- Economic burden and social discontent in annexed territories; resistance fueled by additional taxes and forced conscription.
- Expansionist policies disrupt local populations; kingdoms, satellite states, and alliances form part of Napoleonic strategy.
- Composite Empire consisting of concentric circles: Grand Empire, satellite states, and allied/submissive states.
- Napoleon’s “civilization” project includes abolishing feudal rights, promoting civil equality, and exporting revolutionary values.
- Ambivalence in applying Napoleonic principles; variable secularization measures; resistance in Poland and Spain.
c/ collaboration and resistance within the empire
- Integration policy targets elites; “imperials” administer empire with adaptation to local realities.
- Local agents crucial for administration, with language skills and adaptation to local cultures.
- Resistance more pronounced among working and peasant classes due to conscription, taxes, and confiscation.
- Continental system and conscription tensions cause social, economic, and religious resistance.
- Insurrections and uprisings, e.g., Belgium and Netherlands (1798-1799), Calabria (1806), Tyrol (1809), reveal local dissatisfaction.
- Napoleonic Empire weakened by multiple resistances, notably conflicts in Santo Domingo (1802-1804) and the Iberian Peninsula (1808-1814).
- Spanish guerrilla, supported by the British, triggers a shift in Napoleon’s fortunes.
- Russian campaign (1812) and Battle of Leipzig (1813) mark significant setbacks.
- Napoleon abdicates in 1814, forced into exile on the island of Elba, leading to the dissolution of his European empire.
2/ Reorganisation of Europe
summary
a/ Vienna, capital of ~Europe
- Napoleon’s defeat marks the beginning of a transition phase in Europe.
- Powers hostile to France dismantle Napoleon’s empire.
- The Vienna Congress (November 1, 1814, to June 9, 1815) aims to restore monarchs and delineate new spheres of influence.
- Nearly 100,000 participants attend the congress, dominated by the four great powers: Russia, Austria, Prussia, and the United Kingdom.
- Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich presides, with key foreign ministers including Charles-Robert de Nesselrode and Lord Castlereagh.
- Talleyrand negotiates for France, and various interest groups participate.
- Official events and negotiations take place alongside sociable and entertaining gatherings.
- The congress addresses issues like border drawing, population distribution, and international law for navigation.
- The final act was signed on June 9, 1815, establishing principles for the new Europe, just before the Battle of Waterloo.
Redesigned Europe
- The main goal is to weaken France; the Second Treaty of Paris (November 20, 1815) reduces France to its 1790 borders.
- Reparations of 700 million francs are imposed on France.
- The Bourbons are restored in two stages, with French territory occupied until 1818.
- Surrounding kingdoms are restored or created to counterbalance France, e.g., the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- Dynastic legitimacy is upheld against national aspirations.
- Italy and Germany remain fragmented, and the German Confederation is established.
- Austria controls the Italian peninsula; a kingdom of Poland is created under Russian supervision.
- The Vienna Congress establishes founding principles of international law to maintain the balance of power.
The ‘congress system’ Europe under surveillance
- The Vienna Congress is deemed effective in maintaining peace for a century.
- A repressive system is established within states, allowing foreign interventions to extinguish revolutionary movements.
- The Holy Alliance Treaty (1815) was proposed by Tsar Alexander I, emphasizing Christian, conservative, and authoritarian governance.
- The Treaty of the Quadruple Alliance (November 20, 1815) extends cooperation to maintain order in Europe.
- The “congress system” involves surveillance and repression within states.
- The Karlsbad decrees (1819) tighten censorship, supervise universities, and ban secret societies.
- Annual congresses (e.g., Troppau, Laybach, Verona) establish military and police cooperation against perceived revolutionary threats.
3/ Incomplete restauration - The French Case
summary
Restauration and counter revolutions 1815
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Restorations and Counter-Revolutions (1815)
- After the Congress of Vienna, restored regimes sought to revive the spirit of the Ancien Régime, facing challenges in reconciling with the changes brought about by the Atlantic revolutions.
- The period involved compromises, concessions, and transactions, as regimes grappled with political, social, and cultural transformations.
- Even authoritarian restored regimes pursued policies of reconciliation and appeasement, recognizing the fractures caused by previous conflicts.
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Shades of Restoration in Europe
- Examines the uncertainty and indecision characterizing transitional periods, emphasizing the coexistence of old and new structures.
- Examples from Spain and Piedmont-Sardinia highlight neo-absolutist tendencies, contrasting with the more conciliatory approach of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
A Constitutional Monarchy
- King Louis XVIII’s return in 1814 involved a delicate balance between restoring the Ancien Régime and adopting a more conciliatory attitude.
- The Charter of 1814 recognized constitutional principles, including civil equality and freedom of worship, establishing a legislative power with two chambers.
- The Restoration faced challenges from both ultra-royalists and former revolutionaries, leading to compromises and accommodations.
Reaction of the ultras 1820s
- Across Europe, restored regimes turned more reactionary in the early 1820s, responding to protests with surveillance and suspending reforms.
- The French Restoration, particularly after the Duke of Berry’s murder in 1820, witnessed a shift towards more conservative policies.
- The death of Louis XVIII in 1824 and the ascension of Charles X further accentuated the reactionary evolution, with symbolic rituals and laws reinforcing the influence of the Ancien Régime.
The text also touches on specific events such as the eruption of Tambora in 1815 and the sinking of The Medusa in 1816, connecting these incidents to broader historical consequences.
Dates
1793: Civil war in the Vendée
1795-1799: Directoire
1796-1797: Italian campaign
1798-1799: Egyptian campaign
9 November 1799 : 18 Brumaire coup d’état
1799-1804 : Consulate
1801 : Concordat
1802: Plebiscite for consul for life
May 1802: Creation of the Legion of Honour
1804 : transition to the Empire
March 1804: Civil Code comes into force
2 December 1804: Napoleon is crowned
1806: End of the Holy German Empire
1806: Attempted constitutional blockade of England
1806: Insurrections in Calabria
May 1808: Spanish uprising
1809: Tyrolean revolts
4 June 1814: Charter granted
1 November 1814-9 June 1815: Congress of Vienna
1 March-7 July 1815: The Hundred Days
18 June 1815: Battle of Waterloo
9 June 1815: Final Act
August 1815: “chamber not found
1815-1818: Duke of Richelieu
26 September 1815: Holy Alliance
20 November 1815: 2nd Treaty of Paris = Quadruple Alliance
1815: German Confederation
February 1817: Lainé law (cens)
March 1818: Gouvion-Saint-Cyr law (drawing of lots)
1818: end of the occupation of France
1818-1820 : Elie Decazes
June 1819 : Serre laws (press)
1819 : Congress of Carlsbad
13th February 1820 : Assassination of the Duc de Berry
June 1820: Double vote
1822: Congress of Verona
1823 : Trocadero
1824 : Death of Louis XVIII
29 May 1825: Consecration of Charles X
1871: German Empire
Personalities
Metternich, Chancellor of Austria from 1821 to 1848 + Foreign Affairs. He was the theoretician of the Metternich system and made Austria a central element in the concert of nations.
Alexander I, Russian Tsar from 1801 to 1825. War against Napoleon + large part of Poland after the Congress of Vienna. Partisan of the Holy Alliance.
Frederick William III, King of Prussia from 1797 to 1840.
Napoleon, French emperor born in Corsica. Consul from 99, for life from 1802 & emperor in 1804. Hero of the Italian campaign (96-97) and the Egyptian campaign (98-99), he led numerous campaigns.
Siéyès, abbot, theorist of constitutionalism, Qu’est-ce que le Tiers-Etat, provisional consul.
Pius VII, Pope who crowned Napoleon.
Fouché, chief of police in charge of monitoring the public mind under the Empire (informers +++)
Chaptal, scientist, chemist, Interior Minister of the Consulate & in charge of reorganising public education.
Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother, placed at the head of the Kingdom of Westphalia.
Murat, Napoleon’s brother-in-law, placed on the throne of Naples.
Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother, placed on the throne of Spain.
Goya, Spanish painter, El tres de Mayo to redeem himself.
Talleyrand, political longevity, present at the Congress of Vienna. “Limping devil”.
Lord Castlereagh, British Foreign Secretary & supporter of the reconstitution of French power.
de Nesselrode, from a German family, represented Russia at the Congress of Vienna. Proves that there is no link between nationality and the country represented + cosmopolitanism of diplomats.
Ferdinand VII, abdicated in 1808 after the Napoleonic conquest & restored to the throne in 1814 (the “desired” quickly became an absolutist)
Riego, leader of the Liberals during the Constitutional Monarchy (1820-1822/23)
Bragance, ruling dynasty in Portugal
Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XIV, exiled to England. Returned to France in 1814 to establish the Restoration.
Duc de Richelieu, second President of the Council of Ministers, responsible for negotiating the Treaty of Versailles, rather opposed to the ultra-royalists.
Elie Decazes, “constitutional”, President of the Council of Ministers from 1818 to 1820.
Duc de Berry, assassinated on 13 February 1820, son of Charles X & therefore favoured by the ultra-royalists (brought down the Decazes government).
Louvel, Bonapartist who assassinated the Duc de Berry on 13 February 1820.
comte de Villèle, in power from 1821-1827, ultra-royalist who introduced restrictive measures against liberals (press, etc.).
Charles X, king from 1824. Opposed to parliamentary monarchy, he tends towards an increasingly powerful monarchy + alliance of throne and altar +++.
Opinions
Napoleonic campaigns - plebiscite - “masses of granite” - Civil Code - “Grande Armée” - satellite states - afrancesados - Final Act - Holy Alliance - Quadruple Alliance - Europe of congresses - Hundred Days - Constitutional Charter - cens - Chamber not found
Analyses by historians/Personalities
Kissinger, fascinated by the “European concert” = echo in modern democracy of the Congress of Vienna.
Bell, Empire = “useful ambiguity”. It made it possible to reconcile the revolutionary heritage (new regime) with an older legitimacy + claim to a universal monarchy & founded on the maintenance of diversity.
Bédarida, idea of total war (massive means of destruction, disappearance of front and rear, total mobilisation & war to the death)
von Clausewitz, De la guerre, 1832 = mobilisation +++ of all the French people whose war it is +++.
Zamoyski, Phantom Terror, over-reaction of European powers = repressive system +++
