The Age of
Napoleon
Guide to Reading
Section Preview
After the French Revolution, Napoleon
built and lost an empire, and also spread
ideas about nationalism.
• Napoleon, a popular general, overthrew
the Directory, helped set up a new government, and eventually held complete
power. (p. 229)
• Napoleon brought stability to France
and established a single law code that
recognized the equality of all citizens
before the law. (p. 230)
• By conquering much of Europe,
Napoleon established an empire.
(p. 231)
• A feeling of nationalism spread by
France to other countries led to the
opposition to French rule in these
countries. (p. 233)
• After major losses in Russia and Austria,
Napoleon met his final defeat at Waterloo and was exiled. (p. 234)
Content Vocabulary
consulate, nationalism
Academic Vocabulary
capable, liberal
People and Events to Identify
Reading Objectives
1. Explain why Napoleon wanted to stop
British goods from reaching Europe.
2. Identify two reasons for the collapse
of Napoleon’s empire.
Reading Strategy
Summarizing Information In a table
like the one below, list Napoleon’s
achievements.
Achievements
of Napoleon’s
Rule
Napoleon Bonaparte, Civil Code, AnneLouise-Germaine de Staël, Duke of
Wellington
Places to Locate
Corsica, Moscow, Elba, Waterloo
Preview of Events
✦1790
✦1800
1799
Napoleon takes
part in coup d’état
1804
Napoleon is
crowned emperor
✦1810
1805
French are defeated
at Trafalgar
✦1820
1815
Napoleon is defeated
at Waterloo
California Standards in This Section
Reading this section will help you master these California History–Social Science standards.
10.2.4: Explain how the ideology of the French Revolution led France to develop from
constitutional monarchy to democratic despotism to the Napoleonic empire.
10.2.5: Discuss how nationalism spread across Europe with Napoleon but was
repressed for a generation under the Congress of Vienna and Concert of Europe
until the Revolutions of 1848.
228
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
The Rise of Napoleon
Napoleon, a popular general, overthrew the
Directory, helped set up a new government, and eventually held complete power.
Reading Connection
What qualities do you look for in a
government leader? Read to find out what qualities made people accept Napoleon as a powerful leader in the early 1800s.
Napoleon Bonaparte dominated French and
European history from 1799 to 1815. His great military exploits, rapid rise to fame, and tragic end have
made him a legend. Not the least of his qualities was
his supreme self-confidence.
Napoleon possessed an overwhelming sense of his
own importance. He was convinced that he was the
man of destiny who would save the French people.
Napoleon once wrote:
But let that impatiently awaited savior give a
“
sudden sign of his existence, and the people’s
instinct will divine him and call upon him. The
obstacles are smoothed before his steps, and a
whole great nation, flying to see him pass, will
seem to be saying: ‘Here is the man.’. . . A consecutive series of great actions never is the result
of chance and luck; it always is the product of
planning and genius. Great men are rarely known
to fail in their most perilous enterprises. . . . Is it
because they are lucky that they become great?
No, but being great, they have been able to
master luck.
”
Napoleon’s role in the French Revolution is complex. In one sense, he brought it to an end when he
came to power in 1799. Yet he was a child of the revolution, too. Without it, he would never have risen to
power, and he himself never failed to remind the
French that he had preserved the best parts of the
revolution during his reign as emperor.
When he completed his studies, Napoleon was
commissioned as a lieutenant in the French army.
Although he turned out to be one of the world’s
greatest generals and a man beloved by his soldiers,
there were few signs of his future success at this
stage. He was short, spoke with an Italian accent, and
was not popular with his fellow officers.
Napoleon devoted himself to his goals. He read
what French philosophes had to say about reason,
and he studied famous military campaigns. When
revolution and war with Europe came about, there
were many opportunities for Napoleon to use his
knowledge and skills.
Military Successes
Napoleon rose quickly through
the ranks. In 1792, he became a captain. Two years later,
at the age of 24, he was made a brigadier general by the
Committee of Public Safety. In 1796, he was made commander of the French armies in Italy. There Napoleon
won a series of battles with qualities he became famous
for—speed, surprise, and decisive action.
During the Italian campaigns, Napoleon’s energy
and initiative earned him the devotion of his troops.
His keen intelligence, ease with words, and supreme
self-confidence allowed him to win the support of
everyone around him.
In 1797, he returned to France as a hero. He was
given command of an army in training to invade
Britain, but he knew the French could not carry out
that invasion. Instead, he suggested striking indirectly
at Britain by taking Egypt. Egypt lay on the route to
India, one of Britain’s most important colonies.
Napoleon’s goal of taking Egypt was never met,
however. The British were a great sea power and controlled the Mediterranean. By 1799, the British cut off
Napoleon’s army in Egypt. With defeat certain,
Napoleon abandoned his army and returned to Paris.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Early Life
Napoleon was born in 1769 in Corsica, an
island in the Mediterranean, only a few months after
France annexed the island. His father came from
minor nobility in Italy, but the family was far from
rich. Napoleon was talented, however, and won a
scholarship to a famous military school.
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
229
Museum of Art History, Vienna/AKG, Berlin/SuperStock International
Reading Check Describing What personal qualities
did Napoleon possess that gained him popular support?
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies
Napoleon brought stability to France and
established a single law code that recognized the equality
of all citizens before the law.
Reading Connection How would you feel if a government official checked all your mail before you read it? Read to
learn how many of Napoleon’s policies reduced freedom.
Napoleon once claimed that he had preserved the
gains of the revolution. Since he destroyed the republican form of government when he took power, how
could Napoleon make this boast? This is an important question. As we look at Napoleon’s domestic
policies, it will be possible to judge whether the
emperor’s claims had any merit.
Peace with the Church
One of Napoleon’s most
important domestic policies was his policy toward
the Catholic Church. Very soon after the consulate
was established, Napoleon set out to establish peace
with the Church, the oldest enemy of the revolution.
In matters of religion, Napoleon himself was a man
of the Enlightenment. He believed in reason and felt
that religion was at most a social convenience. Since
most of France was Catholic, Napoleon felt it was
good policy to mend relations with the Church.
In 1801, Napoleon came to an agreement with the
pope. Catholicism would be recognized as the religion of the majority of the people. In return, the pope
would not ask for the return of the church lands
seized in the revolution.
With this agreement, the Catholic Church was no
longer a formal enemy of the French government. It
also meant that people who had acquired church
land in the revolution became avid supporters of
Napoleon.
History
In this painting, Napoleon is shown crowning
his wife Josephine empress. During his own
coronation, Napoleon seized the crown from
Pope Pius VII and placed it on his own head.
How had Napoleon earlier made peace
with the Catholic Church?
230
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Giraudon/Art Resource, NY
Consul and Emperor In Paris, Napoleon took part
in the coup d’état of 1799 that overthrew the Directory and set up a new government, the consulate. In
theory, it was a republic, but in fact Napoleon held
absolute power. Napoleon was called first consul, a
title borrowed from ancient Rome. He appointed officials, controlled the army, conducted foreign affairs,
and influenced the legislature. In 1802, Napoleon
was made consul for life. Two years later, he crowned
himself Emperor Napoleon I.
Codification of the Laws
Napoleon’s most famous
domestic achievement was to codify the law. Before
the revolution, France had almost 300 different legal
systems. During the revolution, efforts were made to
organize them and make them consistent, but the
work was not completed until Napoleon’s reign.
Seven law codes were created, but the most important was the Civil Code, or Napoleonic Code. It
reflected many of the principles that the revolutionaries had fought for: equality of all citizens before the
law; the right of the individual to choose a profession;
religious toleration; and the abolition of serfdom and
all feudal obligations.
For women and children, the Civil Code was a step
back. During the radical stage of the revolution, new
laws had made divorce easier and allowed children,
even daughters, to inherit property on an equal basis.
The Civil Code undid these laws. It became more difficult for a woman to get a divorce. Women were “less
equal than men” in other ways, too. When they married, they lost control over any property they had.
They could not testify in court. In general, the code
treated women something like children, beings who
needed protection and who did not have a public role.
A New Bureaucracy
Napoleon is also well known
because he created a strong, centralized administration. He focused on developing a bureaucracy of
capable officials. Early on, the regime showed that it
did not care about rank or birth. Public officials and
military officers alike were promoted based on their
ability. Opening careers to men of talent was a reform
that the middle class had clamored for before the
revolution.
Napoleon also created a new kind of aristocracy,
one based on meritorious service to the nation.
Between 1808 and 1814, Napoleon created about
3,200 nobles. Nearly 60 percent were military officers,
while the rest were civil service or state and local officials. Only 22 percent of this new aristocracy were
from noble families of the
old regime; about 60 perHISTORY
cent were middle class.
Web Activity Visit the
Glencoe World History—
Modern Times Web site
at wh.mt.glencoe.com
and click on Chapter 3–
Student Web Activity to
learn more about
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Preserver of the Revolution? In his domestic
policies, then, Napoleon
did keep some major
reforms of the French Revolution. Under the Civil
Code, all citizens were
French marriage ceremony, nineteenth century
equal before the law. The concept of opening government careers to more people was another gain of the
revolution that he retained.
On the other hand, Napoleon destroyed some
ideals of the revolution. He restricted liberty, for
example, when he censored the free press. Despite
protests from prominent writers like Anne-LouiseGermaine de Staël, he shut down 60 of France’s 73
newspapers. Even government-approved newspapers had to have all their manuscripts examined
before they were published. The government police
kept busy censoring private mail as well.
Reading Check Evaluating What was the overall
effect of Napoleon’s Civil Code?
Napoleon’s Empire
By conquering much of Europe, Napoleon
established an empire.
Reading Connection
Can you remember how the
empire of Charlemagne was built in Europe? Read to discover
how Napoleon was able to build an empire.
Napoleon is known best not as a domestic
reformer, but as a talented general who conquered
much of Europe. His conquests began soon after he
rose to power.
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
231
Gianni Dagli Orti/CORBIS
Building the Empire
When Napoleon became consul in 1799, France was at war with a European coalition of Russia, Great Britain, and Austria. Napoleon
realized the need for a pause in the war. “The French
Revolution is not finished, “ he said, “so long as the
scourge of war lasts. . . . I want peace, as much to settle the present French government, as to save the
world from chaos.”
In 1802, a treaty was signed, but the peace did not
last long. War with Britain broke out again in 1803.
Gradually, Britain was joined by Austria, Russia,
Sweden, and Prussia. In a series of battles at Ulm,
Austerlitz, Jena, and Eylau from 1805 to 1807,
Napoleon’s Grand Army defeated the Austrian,
Prussian, and Russian armies.
With all these victories behind him, Napoleon was
able to create a new European order. From 1807 to
1812, Napoleon was the master of a Grand Empire of
three main parts: the French Empire, the dependent
states, and allied states. The French Empire was the
core. It included an enlarged France extending to the
Rhine River on its eastern boundary and the western
half of Italy north of Rome.
The dependent states were kingdoms ruled by relatives of Napoleon. Eventually these included Spain,
Holland, the kingdom of Italy, the Swiss Republic,
the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and the Confederation
of the Rhine—an alliance of all the German states
except Austria and Prussia.
The allied states were states Napoleon had
defeated and then forced to join his struggle against
Britain. These states included Prussia, Austria, Russia, and Sweden.
Spreading the Principles of the Revolution
Within his empire, Napoleon sought to spread some
of the principles of the French Revolution, including
legal equality, religious toleration, and economic
freedom. He explained to his brother Jerome after he
had made Jerome king of Westphalia:
“
What the peoples of Germany desire most impatiently is that talented commoners should have the
same right to your esteem and to public employments
as the nobles, that any trace of serfdom and of an
intermediate hierarchy between the sovereign and the
lowest class of the people should be completely abolished. The benefits of the Code Napoleon, the publicity of judicial procedure, the creation of juries must be
so many distinguishing marks of your monarchy. . . .
The peoples of Germany, the peoples of France, of
Italy, of Spain all desire equality and liberal ideas. . . .
[T]he buzzing of the privileged classes is contrary to
the general opinion. Be a constitutional king.
”
Napoleon brought many revolutionary principles
and practices to Europe. In the inner core and
dependent states of his Grand Empire, Napoleon
tried to destroy the old order. The nobility and the
clergy everywhere in these states lost their privileges.
All people were declared equal before the law, offices
were to be open equally to talent, and a policy of religious toleration was announced. These revolutionary
principles were important in developing liberal traditions in these countries.
Reading Check Identifying What were the three
parts of Napoleon’s Grand Empire?
Anne-Louise-Germaine
de Staël
1766–1817—French writer
Anne-Louise-Germaine de Staël was a prominent writer of the revolutionary and
Napoleonic eras in France. She established a salon for the powerful that lasted from
1790 until 1804. It was said of her that she was “so spoiled by admiration for her wit
that it [would] be hard to make her realize her shortcomings.” During the Reign of Terror, she helped friends escape France. She also left France but returned in 1795.
Although she at first supported Napoleon, she clashed repeatedly with him. She
once asked him, “Who was the greatest woman of history?” Napoleon responded,
“The one who had the most children.” Eventually, she denounced Napoleon’s rule as
tyrannical. Napoleon banned her books in France and exiled her to the German states,
where she continued to write.
232
Giraudon/Art Resource, NY
Napoleonic Europe, 1799–1815
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1812
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Strait of Gibraltar
The European Response
A feeling of nationalism spread by France to
other countries led to the opposition to French rule in
these countries.
Reading Connection
How would Americans today react
to a foreign country’s dictating trade policy to their government? Read to learn about the reaction Napoleon called forth
when he tried to bar trade with Britain.
Like Hitler 130 years later, Napoleon hoped that his
Grand Empire would last for centuries. Yet like Hitler’s
empire, the empire of Napoleon collapsed almost as
rapidly as it was formed. Two major reasons explain
this collapse: Britain’s ability to resist Napoleon, and
the rise of nationalism.
0
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OTTOMAN
EMPIRE
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EMPIRE
1809
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Dn
Elba
40°N
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RUSSIAN
EMPIRE
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1806
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France, 1799
French Empire, 1812
Dependent states, 1812
States allied with Napoleon, 1812
States allied against Napoleon, 1812
French victory
French defeat
Napoleon's invasion of Russia,
June–December 1812
300 miles
300 kilometers
0
Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection
From 1807 to 1812, Napoleon controlled a vast empire in
Europe.
1. Interpreting Maps Which of the dependent states in
Napoleon’s empire lies farthest east?
2. Applying Geography Skills Examine the locations of
the states that were allied against Napoleon in 1812.
What geographic factors would have helped these
states to remain independent from Napoleon’s control?
British Resistance
Napoleon was never able to
conquer Great Britain. To a great extent, this was
because Britain was a sea power. So long as Britain
ruled the waves, it was almost invulnerable.
Napoleon gathered together ships, hoping to invade,
but the British navy defeated the combined FrenchSpanish fleet at Trafalgar in 1805. Napoleon gave up
on the idea of actually landing forces on British
shores.
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
233
Nationalism
One of the most important factors in
Napoleon’s defeat was nationalism. Nationalism is
the sense of unique identity of a people. That feeling
has its foundations in a common language, common
religion, and national symbols.
Nationalism would prove to be one of the most
important forces of the nineteenth century, and it
began with the French Revolution. A new era in history was born when the French people decided that
they were the nation, not the king.
As Napoleon marched his armies through the Germanies, Spain, Italy, and Poland, the peoples in these
countries learned about the revolutionary ideas of
equality and liberty. Napoleon also roused new ideas
of nationalism. This happened in two ways. First, the
conquered peoples became united in their hatred of
the invaders. Second, the conquered peoples were
able to see the power and strength of national feeling.
It was a lesson not lost on them or their rulers.
Reading Check Explaining Why did being a sea
power help Britain to survive an attack by the French?
The Crossing of the Beresina by January Suchodolsky shows
Napoleon’s Grand Army in full retreat from Russia.
The Fall of Napoleon
After major losses in Russia and Austria,
Napoleon met his final defeat at Waterloo and was exiled.
Reading Connection
Today there are some rulers who
go into exile to avoid prosecution in their homelands. Read to
see why in 1815 the French government felt safe only with
Napoleon in exile.
The beginning of Napoleon’s downfall can be dated
to 1812 when he made the fateful decision to invade
Russia. Within a few years, his fall was complete.
Disaster in Russia
The Russians had refused to
remain in the Continental System, leaving Napoleon
with little choice but to invade. He knew the risks in
invading vast Russia, but he also knew that if he did
not punish the Russians for ignoring the Continental
System, other nations would follow suit.
In June 1812, a Grand Army of more than 600,000
men crossed into Russia. Napoleon’s hopes depended
on a quick victory over the Russians. The Russian
forces, however, refused to give battle. Instead they
retreated for hundreds of miles. As they retreated,
they burnt their own villages and countryside to keep
Napoleon’s army from finding food. When the Russians did stop to fight at Borodino, Napoleon’s forces
won an indecisive and costly victory.
When the Grand Army finally reached Moscow,
they found that the city had been set on fire. Lacking
food or supplies, Napoleon was forced to abandon the
Russian capital in October. As the winter snows and
storms began, Napoleon led the “Great Retreat” west
AKG London
His next move was to make his allies cut off trade
with Britain. He believed that if no British goods
were sold to any of the European nations in the
Grand Alliance, the British would be too poor to
wage war. Napoleon called this the Continental System. The Continental System failed because the allied
states resented it. Some began to cheat and traded
secretly. The British also found new markets in the
Middle East and in Latin America—so much so that
by 1810, British overseas exports were at near-record
highs.
Napoleon had won at Waterloo?
Napoleon dominated much of the world stage
until Waterloo, a close battle against the Duke of
Wellington and the allied forces. Military strategists
speculate that had Napoleon’s commanders been
better, Napoleon might have won.
Consider the Consequences Consider
Napoleon’s impact on history had he defeated
Wellington. Explain why this victory might have
marshaled enough support for Napoleon to
have resumed his rule as emperor.
across Russia. Thousands of soldiers starved and froze
along the way. Only 40,000 of the original 600,000
managed to make it to Poland in January 1813.
Now that the French army was crippled, other
European states joined in for the attack. In March
1814, Paris itself was captured. Napoleon was sent
into exile on the island of Elba, off the northwest
coast of Italy. The victorious powers restored monarchy to France. The brother of the executed king was
installed as Louis XVIII.
The Final Defeat
The new king had little support—
the French people were not ready to surrender the
glory of empire. Nor was Napoleon ready to give up.
Restless in exile, he left the island of Elba and slipped
back into France.
The new king sent troops to capture Napoleon, but
he boldly addressed them: “Soldiers of the 5th regiment, I am your Emperor. . . . If there is a man among
you [who] would kill his Emperor, here I am!”
No one fired a shot. Instead, they shouted “Vive
l’Empereur! Vive l’Empereur!”—”Long live the
Emperor! Long live the Emperor!”—and went over
to his side. On March 20, 1815, Napoleon entered
Paris in triumph.
Russia, Great Britain, Austria, and Prussia were
worried. They pledged to defeat again the man they
called the “Enemy and Disturber of the Tranquility of
the World.” Meanwhile, Napoleon raised another
French army as devoted veterans rallied from all
over France. He then readied an attack on the allies
across the border in Belgium.
At Waterloo in Belgium, Napoleon met a combined British and Prussian army under the Duke of
Wellington on June 18, 1815. Napoleon suffered a
bloody defeat, and this time the consensus of the victorious allies was to exile him to St. Helena, a small
island in the south Atlantic. Napoleon remained in
exile until his death in 1821, but his memory haunted
French political life for many decades.
Reading Check Examining Why did Napoleon
invade Russia?
HISTORY
Study Central
For help with the concepts in this section of Glencoe World
History—Modern Times, go to wh.mt.glencoe.com and
click on Study Central.
Checking for Understanding
1. Vocabulary Define: consulate, capable,
liberal, nationalism.
2. People and Events Identify: Napoleon
Bonaparte, Civil Code, Anne-LouiseGermaine de Staël, Duke of Wellington.
3. Places Locate: Corsica, Moscow, Elba,
Waterloo.
Reviewing Big Ideas
4. List the powers Napoleon exercised as
first consul.
Critical Thinking
5.
Connecting
Events How did the principles of the
French Revolution spread throughout
Europe? CA HI 1
6. Sequencing Information Using a diagram like this one, identify the reasons
for the rise and fall of Napoleon.
Analyzing Visuals
7. Examine the portrait on page 207.
Napoleon commissioned it in 1800.
How does David portray Napoleon, and
why do you think Napoleon wanted
artists to produce portraits like this one?
Napoleon’s Rise and Fall
Fall
Rise
8. Persuasive Writing Was Napoleon
an enlightened ruler or a tyrant?
Write a paper supporting your view.
Be sure to include pertinent information about Napoleon’s Civil Code.
CA 10WA2.4a,c
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
235
During a revolution, who makes the laws, and are they the same for everyone? Read how different people addressed these issues during the French Revolution.
SOURCE 1: Preliminary to the French
Constitution August 1789
Abbé Sieyès (1748–1836), an influential writer,
described the difference between active and passive citizens in the Preliminary to the French Constitution.
After having set forth the natural and civil rights of
the citizen, the plan that we are following leads us to
recognize their political rights.
The difference between these two kinds of rights
consists in the natural and civil rights being those for
which the maintenance and development of society is
constituted and the political rights being those by
which society is constitutes and maintains itself. It
would be better for the clarity of language to call the
first passive rights and the second active rights.
All the inhabitants of a country should enjoy the
rights of a passive citizen: all have the right to protecCartoon of 1789 showing king, noble, and priest riding
comfortably on a road which is the Third Estate
tion of their person, their property, their liberty, etc.;
but all do not have the right to take an active part in
the formation of the public authorities: all are not
active citizens. Women, at least in the present state,
children, foreigners, those who contribute nothing to
maintaining the public establishment, should have no
active influence on public affairs. All can enjoy the
advantages of society; but those alone who contribute
to the public establishment are like the true shareholders in the great social enterprise. They alone are
the true active citizens, the true members of the
association.
SOURCE 2: Robespierre Denouncing
Restrictions on Citizenship
In this speech, Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794)
opposed the National Assembly’s categories of active and
passive citizens.
All citizens, whoever they are, have the right to
aspire to all levels of officeholding. Nothing
is more in line with your declaration of
rights, according to which all privileges, all
distinctions, all exception must disappear.
The Constitution establishes that sovereignty1 resides in the people, in all the individuals of the people. Each individual
therefore has the right to participate in making the law which governs him and the
administration of the public good which is
his own. If not, it is not true that all men are
equal in rights, that every man is a citizen. If
he who only pays a tax equivalent to a day
of work has fewer rights than he who pays
the equivalent to three days of work, and he
who pays at the level of ten days has more
rights than he whose tax only equals that
value of three, then he who enjoys 100,000
livres [French pounds] of revenue has 100
➤1
sovereignty: power; authority
236
Bettmann/CORBIS
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
times as many rights as he who only has 1,000 livres
of revenue. It follows from all your decrees2 that every
citizen has the right to participate in making the law
and consequently that of being an elector or eligible
for office without the distinction of wealth.
SOURCE 3: Women’s Rights
Etta Palm d’Aelders was a woman actively involved with
the reformers known as the Cercle Social (Social Circle).
She expressed frustration over women’s position in her
Discourse on the Injustice of the Laws in Favor of Men,
written in 1790.
Do not be just by halves, Gentlemen; . . . justice
must be the first virtue of free men, and justice
demands that the laws be the same for all beings, like
the air and the sun. And yet everywhere, the laws
favor men at the expense of women, because everywhere power is in your hands. What! Will free men, an
enlightened people living in a century of enlightenment and philosophy, will they consecrate3 what has
been the abuse of power in a century of ignorance? . . .
The prejudices with which our sex has been surrounded—supported by unjust laws which only accord
us a secondary existence in society and which often
forces us into the humiliating necessity of winning
over the cantankerous4 and ferocious character of a
man, who, by the greed of those close to us has
become our master—those prejudices have changed
what was for us the sweetest and most saintly of
duties, those of wife and mother, into a painful and
terrible slavery. . . .
Well! What could be more unjust! Our life, our liberty, our fortune are no longer ours; leaving childhood,
turned over to a despot whom often the heart finds
repulsive, the most beautiful days of our life slip away
in moans and tears, while our fortune becomes prey
to fraud and debauchery. . . .
Oh! Gentlemen, if you wish us to be enthusiastic
about the happy constitution that gives back men their
rights, then begin by being just toward us. From now
on we should be your voluntary companions and not
your slaves. Let us merit your attachment! Do you
believe that the desire for success is less becoming
to us, that a good name is less dear to us than to
you? And if devotion to study, if patriotic zeal, if virtue
itself . . . is as natural to us as to you, why do we not
receive the same education and the same means to
acquire them?
I will not speak, Gentlemen, of those iniquitous5 men
who pretend that nothing can exempt us from an eternal subordination. Is this not an absurdity just like those
told to the French on 15 July 1789: “Leave there your
just demands; you are born for slavery; nothing can
exempt you from eternally obeying an arbitrary will.”
➤5
iniquitous: wicked
CA HR 1, HR 3
Source 1: According to Sieyès, what is the difference
between the rights of a passive citizen and an active
citizen? Why does he explain that women, children,
and foreigners should be excluded from possessing
active rights?
Source 2: How does Robespierre use the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and the French
constitution to denounce the practice of giving more
rights to citizens in France who pay more taxes?
Source 3: What does Etta Palm D’Aelders mean when
she says “Will free men . . . consecrate what has been
the abuse of power in a century of ignorance”?
Comparing and Contrasting Sources
1. Even though Robespierre was not a defender of
women’s equality in France, how are his and Etta
Palm d’Aelders’s arguments similar?
2. When might Sieyès claim that women would be eligible for the equal rights that Etta Palm d’Aelders states
that they rightfully deserve?
➤2
decrees: authoritative decisions; declarations
make sacred
4cantankerous: bad disposition; quarrelsome
3consecrate:
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
237
Stefano Bianchetti/CORBIS
Standards 10.2.4, 10.2.5
Reviewing Content Vocabulary
The French Revolution was one of the great turning points in
history. The years from 1789 to 1815 in France were chaotic,
and change came in unexpected ways. The chart below will
help you understand and remember some of the major events
of this time and the changes they caused.
The French Revolution
Cause
Effect
Meeting of the
Estates-General
Creation of the
National Assembly
Great
Fear
Adoption of important
reforms by nobility in the
National Assembly
Declaration
of Rights
Spread of
liberal beliefs
March
on Versailles
Return of Louis XVI
to Paris
Reign
of Terror
Fall of Robespierre
and establishment
of the Directory
238
Napoleon’s
coup d’état
Creation of
the French Empire
Battle of
Trafalgar
Safety of Great Britain
and birth of the
Continental System
Invasion
of Russia
Deaths of hundreds
of thousands and
downfall of Napoleon
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
On a sheet of paper, use each of these terms in a sentence.
1. estate
2. taille
3. bourgeoisie
4. sans-culottes
5. faction
6. elector
7. coup d’etat
8. consulate
9. nationalism
Reviewing Academic Vocabulary
On a sheet of paper, use each of these terms in a sentence that
reflects the term’s meaning in the chapter.
10. consumer
11. exclusion
12. domestic
13. external
14. capable
15. liberal
Reviewing the Main Ideas
Section 1
16. What event started the French Revolution?
17. What reforms did the National Assembly make between
1789 and 1791?
Section 2
18. How did Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety
deal with opponents of the government? What was the effect
of their policies?
19. List the members of the informal coalition that took up arms
against France. What was the result of this conflict?
Section 3
20. How did Napoleon assume power in France and become
emperor?
21. Why was the French invasion of Russia a failure?
Critical Thinking
22. Making Comparisons Examine the different systems of
government in France from 1789 to 1812. Which was the
most democratic? Which form of government was the most
effective and why?
23. Evaluating Evaluate which Enlightenment ideals affected
the French Revolution.
24. Analyzing Explain why the National Convention decided to
execute Robespierre. Can you think of another solution that
would have addressed their concerns?
25. Summarizing During the radical phase of the French
Revolution, there were a number of social customs that
signaled the political change. Name some of these new
customs.
HISTORY
5˚E
Reign of Terror, 1793–1794
Self-Check Quiz
Visit the Glencoe World History—Modern Times Web
site at wh.mt.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 3–
Self-Check Quiz to prepare for the Chapter Test.
5°W
Identifying Complex Causation
How did the French Revolution first lead to war with other
European nations?
27. Drawing Conclusions Was Napoleon’s Continental System
effective or not?
Look ahead to Section 3 in Chapter 8. Compare
and contrast the American, French, and Russian Revolutions.
Consider their causes and effects, and summarize the principles of each revolution regarding ideas such as democracy,
liberty, separation of powers, equality, popular sovereignty,
human rights, constitutionalism, and nationalism.
CA 10WA2.3
Analyzing Sources Read the following quotation by Napoleon.
Then answer the questions below.
E
W
Arras
50°N
S
Paris
Angers
Nantes
FR A N CE
Atlantic
Ocean
45°N
L
.
29.
Interpreting History Write out
this sentence, excerpted from a London Times correspondent’s report at the beginning of the French Revolution.
Highlight all the words that indicate a bias and explain why:
“The Archbishop of Paris is among the number of those who
have been sacrificed to the people’s rage.” CA HR 2
N
eR
oir
28.
North
Sea
200 kilometers
0
Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection
26.
Writing About History
0°
200 miles
0
Lyon
Bordeaux
Orange
Center of execution
Marseille
Toulon
Mediterranean Sea
Analyzing Maps and Charts
Study the map above to answer the following questions.
33. What cities served as centers of execution?
34. Approximately how far from Paris were centers of execution
established?
35. Research one of the towns on the map and write a brief
essay that describes the impact of the Reign of Terror on the
people who lived there.
What the peoples of Germany desire most impa“
tiently is that talented commoners should have the
same right to your esteem and to public employments
as the nobles, that any trace of serfdom and of an intermediate hierarchy between the sovereign and the lowest class of the people should be completely abolished.
The benefits of the Code Napoleon, the publicity of
judicial procedure, the creation of juries must be so
many distinguishing marks of your monarchy.
”
30. What does Napoleon say that the people of Germany want
and do not want?
31. What were Napoleon’s views about how civil and military
workers should be hired and promoted? Where in this quote
does Napoleon refer to these views?
32. In the quotation, Napoleon addresses “the peoples of Germany.” How would the nobles of various German states be
likely to respond to what he is telling German peoples and
why?
Standards Practice
Directions: Choose the best answer to the
following question.
36. The rule of Robespierre was a time when the French
Revolution
A was controlled by royalists who supported King Louis
XIV.
B established a long-lasting constitutional monarchy.
C became a centralized force under Napoleon.
D grew more violent as extremists took control.
CA Standard 10.2.4 Explain how the ideology of the French
Revolution led France to develop from constitutional monarchy to democratic despotism to the Napoleonic empire.
CHAPTER 3
The French Revolution and Napoleon
239
from Candide
by Voltaire
Voltaire was born François-Marie Arouet on
November 21, 1694. He assumed the pen
name “Voltaire” in 1718. Voltaire was a critical and satiric writer who used his wit to
attack both church and state. Candide is one
of Voltaire’s most brilliant and most wellknown works.
Read to Discover
Candide has been taught that “everything is
for the best.” However, his adventures usually prove the opposite. Here, he has just
been cast out of a castle. The “men in blue”
he meets are army recruiters for Frederick
the Great, king of Prussia, who was at war
with the French when Voltaire wrote Candide. How can you tell that Voltaire is making
fun of the Prussian king and his army?
Reader’s Dictionary
bulwark: strong support or protection
summarily: done without delay or formality
concatenated: linked together in a series or
chain
. . . dragged himself into the neighboring
C andide
village, which was called Waldberghofftrarbkdik-
dorff; he was penniless, famished, and exhausted. At
the door of a tavern he paused forlornly. Two men
dressed in blue [Prussian soldiers] took note of him:
—Look, chum, said one of them, there’s a likely
young fellow of just about the right size.
They approached Candide and invited him very
politely to dine with them.
—Gentlemen, Candide replied with charming
modesty, I’m honored by your invitation, but I really
don’t have enough money to pay my share.
—My dear sir, said one of the blues, people of your
appearance and your merit don’t have to pay; aren’t
you five feet five inches tall?
—Yes, gentlemen, that is indeed my stature, said he,
making a bow.
—Then, sire, you must be seated at once; not only
will we pay your bill this time, we will never allow a
man like you to be short of money; for men
were made only to render one another
mutual aid.
—You are quite right, said
Candide; it is just as Dr. Pangloss always told me, and I
see clearly that everything is
for the best.
They beg him to accept a
couple of crowns, he takes
them, and offers an I.O.U.;
they won’t hear of it, and all
sit down at table together.
—Don’t you love
dearly . . . ?
—I do indeed, says he, I
dearly love Miss Cunégonde.
!
240
(l)Giraudon/Art Resource, (r)CORBIS
Prussian soldiers
—No, no, says one of the gentlemen, we are ask- goodness to smash his head. His plea was granted;
ing if you don’t love dearly the King of the Bulthey bandaged his eyes and made him kneel
gars [Frederick the Great].
down. The King of the Bulgars [Frederick
—Not in the least, says he, I never laid
the Great], passing by at this moment,
eyes on him.
was told of the culprit’s crime; and as
—What’s that you say? He’s the
this king had a rare genius, he undermost charming of kings, and we must
stood, from everything they told him
drink his health.
of Candide, that this was a young
—Oh, gladly, gentlemen; and he
metaphysician, extremely ignorant of
drinks.
the ways of the world, so he granted his
—That will do, they tell him; you are
royal pardon, with a generosity which
now the bulwark, the support, the
will be praised in every newspaper in
defender, the hero of the Bulgars; your
every age. A worthy surgeon cured CanFrederick
the
Great,
fortune is made and your future assured.
dide in three weeks with the ointments
king of Prussia
Promptly they slip irons on his legs and
described by Dioscorides. He already had
lead him to the regiment. There they cause him to
a bit of skin back and was able to walk when the
right face, left face, present arms, order arms, aim,
King of the Bulgars went to war with the King of
fire, doubletime, and they give him thirty strokes of the Abares.
the rod. Next day he does the drill a little less awkNothing could have been so fine, so brisk, so
wardly and gets only twenty strokes; the third day,
brilliant, so well-drilled as the two armies. The
they give him only ten, and he is regarded by his
trumpets, the fifes, the oboes, the drums, and the
comrades as a prodigy.
cannon produced such a harmony as was never
Candide, quite thunderstruck, did not yet
heard in hell. First the cannons battered down
understand very clearly how he was a hero. One
about six thousand men on each side; then volleys
fine spring morning he took it into his head to go
of musket fire removed from the best of worlds
for a walk, stepping straight out as if it were a privi- about nine or ten thousand rascals who were clutlege of the human race, as of animals in general, to tering up its surface. . . .
use his legs as he chose. He had scarcely covered
Candide made all the haste he could to [a] viltwo leagues when four other heroes [Prussian sollage, which belonged to the Bulgarians, and there
diers], each six feet tall, overtook him, bound him,
he found the heroic Abares had enacted the same
and threw him into a dungeon. At the courttragedy. Thence continuing to walk over palpitating
martial they asked which he preferred, to be flogged limbs, or through ruined buildings, at length he
thirty-six times by the entire regiment or to receive arrived beyond the theater of war, with a little prosummarily a dozen bullets in the brain. In vain did vision in his budget, and Miss Cunégonde’s image
he argue that the human will is free and insist that
in his heart. When he arrived in Holland his provihe preferred neither alternative; he had to choose;
sion failed him; but having heard that the inhabiby virtue of the divine gift called “liberty” he
tants of that country were all rich and Christians,
decided to run the gauntlet thirty-six times, and
he made himself sure of being treated by them in
actually endured two floggings. The regiment was
the same manner as the Baron’s castle, before he
composed of two thousand men. That made four
had been driven thence through the power of Miss
thousand strokes. As they were preparing for the
Cunégonde’s bright eyes.
third beating, Candide, who could endure no more,
He asked charity of several grave-looking people,
begged as a special favor that they would have the
who one and all answered him, that if he continued
!
241
Reunion des Musees Nationaux/Art Archive
!
A scene from Leonard Bernstein’s musical Candide, based
on Voltaire’s satire of French life before the revolution
to follow this trade they would have him sent to the
house of correction, where he should be taught to
get his bread.
He next addressed himself to a person who had
just come from haranguing a numerous assembly
for a whole hour on the subject of charity. The orator, squinting at him under his broadbrimmed hat,
asked him sternly, what brought him thither and
whether he was for the good old cause?
“Sir,” said Candide, in a submissive manner, “I
conceive there can be no effect without a cause;
everything is necessarily concatenated and arranged
for the best. It was necessary that I should be banished from the presence of Miss Cunégonde; that I
should afterwards run the gauntlet; and it is necessary I should beg my bread, till I am able to get it.
All this could not have been otherwise.”
“Hark ye, friend,” said the orator, “do you hold
the Pope to be Antichrist?”
“Truly, I never heard anything about it,” said
Candide, “but whether he is or not, I am in want
of something to eat.”
242
Robbie Jack/CORBIS
“Thou deservest not to eat or to drink,” replied
the orator, “wretch, monster, that thou art! hence!
avoid my sight, nor ever come near me again while
thou livest.”
The orator’s wife happened to put her head out
of the window at that instant, when, seeing a man
who doubted whether the Pope was Antichrist, she
discharged upon his head a utensil full of water.
Good heavens, to what excess does religious zeal
transport womankind!
A man who had never been christened, an honest Anabaptist named James, was witness to the
cruel and ignominious treatment showed to one of
his brethren, to a rational, two-footed, unfledged
being. Moved with pity he carried him to his own
house, caused him to be cleaned, gave him meat
and drink, and made him a present of two florins,
at the same time proposing to instruct him in his
own trade of weaving Persian silks, which are fabricated in Holland.
Candide, penetrated with so much goodness,
threw himself at his feet, crying, “Now I am convinced that my Master Pangloss told me truth when
he said that everything was for the best in this
world; for I am infinitely more affected with your
extraordinary generosity than with the inhumanity
of that gentleman in the black cloak and his wife.”
1. Why do the men choose Candide to kidnap into
the army?
2. Explain the irony of the soldiers’ statement, “your
fortune is made and your future assured.”
3. Why is Candide punished? How does this relate to
the philosophy of the Enlightenment?
4. CRITICAL THINKING What is Voltaire’s attitude
toward the “King of the Bulgars”?
Applications Activity
Write a satirical piece criticizing something about a
television show or movie. Remember that a satire does
not directly attack but criticizes by showing how ridiculous something is.
Here are several books you may want to read on your own.
These authors have explored some of the topics covered in this unit.
Utopia (Fiction)
More, Thomas (1477?–1535) More was a great lawyer and admired for his humanity.
A contemporary described him as “a man of an angel’s wit and singular learning . . . of
marvelous mirth and pastimes, and sometimes of as sad gravity. . . . A man for all seasons.” In 1529, he was appointed Lord Chancellor. His firm opposition to King Henry VIII’s
divorce and claim to be “Supreme Head” of the Church led to his execution. More’s
Utopia, published in 1516, rivals other famous works about an ideal society and government. It held up a picture of a society of equals where everyone shares in the work, but
also in prayer and contemplation.
The Return of Martin Guerre (Fiction)
Davis, Natalie Zemon (1928–) This noted historian has told the compelling story of the
French peasant named Arnaud who successfully poses as another peasant, Martin Guerre.
When the real Martin Guerre turns up to claim his wife and property, the local court and
community all become involved. Based on a true event, Davis raises interesting questions
about how people deceive themselves and others. She also faithfully reconstructs how ordinary French people lived in the sixteenth century.
Robinson Crusoe (Fiction)
Defoe, Daniel (1660–1731) The son of a London tradesman and staunch Puritan, Defoe
was active in politics. Dissatisfied with King James II, he ultimately supported William of
Orange during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Although Defoe wrote political journalism,
he earned permanent fame with this 1719 novel about a shipwrecked sailor. The novel
recounts the years the hero spends on an uninhabited island in the Pacific. A theme worthy
of the philosopher Rousseau can be traced in its pages—how people are torn between civilization and nature, or the need for society and the need for solitude.
A Tale of Two Cities (Fiction)
Dickens, Charles (1812–1870) One of the century’s most beloved authors, Dickens produced this stirring novel of the French Revolution late in his career. First published in 1859, the
story is set in both London and Paris. In many of his novels, Dickens was sympathetic to the
oppressed, but his image of the Parisian revolutionaries is that they are a mob gone wild. Yet
he has accurately captured the spirit and drama of one of history’s most famous events.
445
243
Doug Martin