The wars started as per preemptive war by Revolutionary France preciso forestall funziona countrymatch the attempt of the ancien regimes of Europe puro suppress the French revolution, but soon became a war of conquest with the intention of “revolution trasferimento all’estero” by France. Although Napoleon was ultimately defeated, arguably his greatest legacy was the introduction of secularism, which forms the basis of governance mediante most European countries sicuro this day.
During early modern times, the Kingdom of France had gained verso role as Europe’s superpower. The French Revolution, beginning con 1789, led to fifteen years of short-lived, often brutal, governments. Durante the French Revolutionary Wars, the French Army defeated the other great powers; the United Kingdom, Prussia, Austria, and the Holy Roman Pigiare.
Napoleonic Wars
Soon the revolutionary government was taken over by verso young charismatic general from Corsica of the name of Napoleone Buonaparte (now known as Napoleon I or Bonaparte) and he crowned himself emperor of the French per 1804. The Emperor title was traditionally a claim onesto succeed the Roman Commuovere; since the 9th century AD, the Holy Roman Pigiare had been per feudal political entity durante Central Europe, which by Napoleon’s time had become largely ceremonial, and dominated by the Austrian monarchy. Con 1806, the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated the title, over concern that Napoleon would claim it.
Despite his army conquering much of Europe, his navy lost the decisive Battle of Trafalgar sopra 1805, and never managed onesto dislodge the British from their position as the world’s dominant naval power. Unable preciso invade the British mainland, the French tried puro support an Irish rebellion onesto weaken the British Empire but that rebellion ended durante disaster. After almost three decades of next esatto constant warfare in ever-shifting alliance that brought most of the continent much needed political reform but also “Napoleonic” puppet governments, Napoleon attempted an ill-fated invasion of Russia durante 1812 that led puro his decisive defeat first near Leipzig and after escaping from exile on Elba near Waterloo sopra 1815. The war was also global mediante per sense, as both the War of 1812 sopra North America and the Haitian revolution can only be understood with the context of the French revolutions and the Napoleonic wars. The wars are sometimes known as “Coalition Wars” as the ever shifting alliances gave rise preciso per periodization along the lines of War of the First Coalition, War of the Second Coalition and so on.
Legacy Edit
Napoleon’s invasion of Spain led sicuro the forced abdication of two Spanish monarchs and the installment of one of his brothers as king, which sopra turn galvanized verso nascent movement for independence led by the likes of Simon Bolivar, Jose de San Martin and others ultimately resulting con all of mainland Latin America slipping away from Spanish control. The Portuguese royal family relocated puro Brazil, causing that country to eventually declare independence from the mother country as the Riempire of Brazil while ruled by verso different branch of the same royal/imperial family. On his way through Europe, Napoleon smashed the Holy Roman Pigiare and ended the independence of the Republic of Venice, he ended centuries of feudal privilege and obligation and spread Jewish emancipation as well as Civil Law that treated everybody (mostly) equally. The Code Napoleon is still the basis for law con Louisiana and (strada the German BGB) Japan as well as numerous other countries (see history of justice). Resistance against Napoleon soon made use of the “levee en masse” tactic of revolutionary France and galvanized for the first time verso sense of nationalism. The Napoleonic Wars durante a sense laid the groundwork for both the (bourgeois-nationalistic) revolutions of 1848 and the post World War I world with nation states emerging out of the ashes of multinational empires like the Russian Riempire or Austria-Hungary.
The image and perception of Napoleon and his adversaries have undergone and continue to undergo reappraisals over the centuries. Durante Poland Napoleon is often regarded as a hero, and even mentioned con the national anthem, whereas many per Tyrol idolize the anti-Napoleon fighter Andreas Hofer despite his often anti-science, anti-civil rights and downright reactionary stances. Napoleon sold the Louisiana purchase puro the United States, giving them huge territories which were charted by the Lewis and Clark expedition and became the Old West, where the expansion of slavery led up onesto the American Civil War; he elevated Saxony and Bavaria onesto kingdoms, giving the latter the territory of Franconia sicuro the enduring chagrin of locals two hundred years later. The desire puro emulate his uncle led Napoleon III of France into ill-advised military adventures con Italy (helping that country esatto become unified under Victor Emanuel II, the first “King of Italy” since Napoleon I), Mexico (giving us “Cinco de Mayo”) and against Prussia, leading esatto the loss of Alsace which would be one of the main gripes driving France sicuro hostility towards Germany and into World War I.