25 Days of History: December 2nd
- Jordan Spriggs
- Dec 3, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 5, 2019
On this day in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor of France, just one topic of discussion pertaining to one of the most celebrated and controversial leaders in human history
Photography contributions/Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Tuesday, December 3rd, 2019 @ 22:25 (10:25pm)
Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor?
In Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, Pope Pius VII handed Napoleon Bonaparte the royal crown that Bonaparte placed upon his own head. Crowned Napoleon I and 35 years old at the time of his coronation ceremony, he was the first Frenchman in a thousand years to hold the title of emperor. His coronation took place in the afternoon of December 2nd, 1804.
Bonaparte Before Emperor Was A War Hero
Born Napoleone di Buonaparte, the native of Corsica, France became one of the greatest military strategists in history. Napoleon was serving in the French Army as an artillery officer, being just barely 20 years of age, when the French Revolution erupted in 1789. Bonaparte rapidly rose through the military ranks during the French Revolution, seizing multiple opportunities presented through the war such as quelling the 13 Vendémiaire revolt, and became a general at age 24.
At age 26, he began his first military campaign against the Austrian and Italian monarchs whom were aligned with the Habsburgs. Bonaparte won almost every single battle in his campaign, and wound up conquering the majority of the Italian Peninsula in only a year, setting up "sister republics" along the way as well as establishing himself as a war hero in France. His decisive campaign led to the Treaty of Campo Formio.
Napoleon's Coup d'état And Rise to Political Power
In 1798, Bonaparte spearheaded a military expedition to Egypt, that had hidden intentions of being a boon to him for political power. With growing unrest and instability occurring back home, Napoleon returned to France, only to implement a coup in November 1799.
In his newly established role as First Consul of the Republic in February 1800, Bonaparte took the reins of the entire French government and effectively saved his nation from complete collapse. After the Peace of Amiens in 1802, Napoleon turned his attention to foreign policy and France's colonies. He attempted to restore slavery to the French Caribbean colonies as well as establishing the Napoleonic Code, a new system of French law (with his influence ingrained, of course). Bonaparte was successful in restoring slavery in the eastern Caribbean, but failed miserably in multiple attempts to regain control of Saint-Domingue, which is now present-day Haiti. The colony that France once proudly boasted of as the "Pearl of the Antilles" became independent in 1804.
It was also during this time that Napoleon reorganized his armies to prepare to defeat Austria and France's other enemies on the continent. His failure to crush the revolt in Saint-Domingue and looming prospect of renewed warfare with the United Kingdom, led Bonaparte to make the decision to sell the Louisiana Purchase to the United States, a fledgling nation at the time. In fact, at the time of Napoleon's coronation to become emperor in 1804, the United States had barely been an independent country for 28 years.
Third, Fourth and Fifth Coalitions and Napoleon's Grande Armée
Napoleon's ambition and resounding public approval was all the inspiration he required to take things to the next level, and he became the first Emperor of France after his coronation ceremony on December 2nd, 1804.
It didn't take long until Napoleon had to take action against the British once more and leave the temporary quiet and comfort of total control. Irreconcilable differences with the British meant that France would soon be facing a new threat, and as such the War of the Third Coalition began in 1805.
Napoleon began his Ulm Campaign and absolutely crushed his opposition, completely shattering the coalition with numerous, decisive victories. His victory against the Russian Empire and Austrian Empire at the Battle of Austerlitz was monumentally historic, as it directly led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against Napoleon because Prussia became increasingly worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon easily and quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt and marched his Grande Armée across Eastern Europe, and in June 1807 his forces annihilated the Russians at the Battle of Friedland.
France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy, temporary, peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high-water mark of the French Empire.
The year 1807 was the height of territory held by France under their emperor. Napoleon's empire and influence stretched from the River Elbe in north, deep into Italy in the south, and from the Pyrenees to the Dalmatian coast.
In 1809, the Austrians and the British challenged the French again during the War of the Fifth Coalition, but Napoleon tightened his grip over Europe after a triumphant victory at the Battle of Wagram in July 5-6 of the same year. The battle was a costly one for Napoleon, but it was indeed a decisive victory in favor of his army when it was all said and done, and effectively broke the Austrian and British-led alliance against France.
The Peninsular War, Second Polish War, War of the Sixth Coalition, and the Battle of Leipzig
Napoleon's next move after holding firm control of much of continental Europe was to invade and occupy the Iberian Peninsula. His plan was to expand and extend the Continental System and completely choke off the European mainland and British trade. Upon occupancy, Napoleon declared his brother Joseph Bonaparte the King of Spain in 1808. Naturally, the Spanish and Portuguese revolted against such an invasion and implored the help of none other than the British.
The Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies against Napoleon. The Continental System caused constant, recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, most notably Russia. The Russians were adamant in their refusal to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade and routinely violated the Continental System, thus enticing Napoleon into yet another war. The Peninsular War also marked just the second time in Napoleon's military career that he lost a major conflict or campaign.
In the summer beginning on June 24th, 1812, Napoleon launched a major invasion of Russia. Napoleon's military goal in the campaign was to cross the Neman River and defeat the Russian Army, and upon their projected defeat convince the Emperor of All Russia, Alexander I, to cease trading with Britain merchants in order to pressure the United Kingdom to pursue peace. The official political aim of the campaign was to liberate Poland from the threat of Russia. Napoleon even named the campaign the Second Polish War to gain favor with the Poles and to provide a political pretext for his actions.
Unfortunately for Napoleon, his campaign didn't result in the decisive victory he was seeking. While the campaign did destroy Russian cities and his forces fought admirably, this ended up being a costly and tremendously terrible decision for Napoleon. His questionable campaign resulted in the collapse of the Grande Armée and more consequential than that, a renewed inspiration by Napoleon's enemies to push against him. This would mark the first time in Napoleon's military career that he would lose a major conflict or campaign.
Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in the War of the Sixth Coalition against France in 1813. A lengthy military campaign ensued and eventually culminated into a massive Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig on October 19, 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony.
The battle was the culmination of the German campaign of 1813 and involved 600,000 soldiers, 2,200 artillery pieces, the expenditure of 200,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and 127,000 casualties, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I.
The one saving grace that Napoleon performed after his decisive defeat at Leipzig was earning a tactical victory at the minor Battle of Hanau, which allowed his troops to retreat onto French soil.
Invasion of France and Napoleon's First Exile, Seventh Coalition and Battle of Waterloo
The Allies were riding high on momentum after defeating Napoleon at Leipzig, and dismantled the Confederation of the Rhine soon afterward before ultimately deciding to invade Napoleon's home soil in France in early spring 1814.
The Coalition began their march towards France in early January. Despite the disproportionate forces in favor of the Coalition, Napoleon managed to inflict many defeats, especially during the Six Days Campaign. Napoleon was unsuccessful in keeping the Coalition forces away from Paris, which capitulated in late March 1814, and forced him to abdicate the throne in April.
As a result of his defeat, Napoleon was deposed and exiled to Elba off the coast of Tuscany, and the victorious powers started to redraw the map of Europe during the First Treaty of Paris and during the early stages of the Congress of Vienna.
Napoleon wasn't quite finished yet, and made things interesting one more time in his life: He actually escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again! This marked the beginning of his Hundred Days return from exile. The Allies swiftly responded to the threat of his return, quickly forming a Seventh Coalition that met his resurrected Grande Armée at the Battle of Waterloo in June.
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, June 18th, 1815 near Waterloo in Belgium, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time. Waterloo was the decisive engagement of the Waterloo Campaign and Napoleon's last. According to the Duke of Wellington, the battle was "the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life". Napoleon abdicated (again) four days later, and coalition forces entered Paris on July 7th, 1815. The defeat at Waterloo ended Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile.
Napoleon's Second Exile and Final Years
Napoleon was subsequently exiled to the island of Saint Helena off the coast of Africa after his crushing defeat at Waterloo and abdication. He lived there under house arrest with a few loyal followers for six years until May 1821, when he died, most likely of stomach cancer. The one and only former French emperor was just 51 years old.
In 1840, his body was returned to Paris, and a magnificent funeral was held in his honor by the people of France. Naopleon's body was conveyed through the Arc de Triomphe and eventually entombed under the dome of the Invalides.
Napoleon's Legacy
Napoleon's influence on the modern world brought liberal reforms to the numerous territories that he conquered and controlled, such as the Low Countries, Switzerland, and large parts of modern Italy and Germany. He implemented fundamental liberal policies in France and throughout Western Europe. His Napoleonic Code has influenced the legal systems of more than 70 nations around the world. British historian Andrew Roberts states: "The ideas that underpin our modern world—meritocracy, equality before the law, property rights, religious toleration, modern secular education, sound finances, and so on—were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon. To them he added a rational and efficient local administration, an end to rural banditry, the encouragement of science and the arts, the abolition of feudalism and the greatest codification of laws since the fall of the Roman Empire".
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