Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought between the French (and its allies) under Napoleon Bonaparte against a coalition of European states. A result of the spillover from many unresolved disputes during the French Revolution, the wars established a period of French domination over most of continental Europe.

Even though Napoleon would be ultimately defeated, the wars he started would forever alter the political landscape of Europe with the rise of nation-states independent from overarching empires.

This article about the Napoleonic wars will be useful in the world history segment of the Civil Services Examination.

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France before the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars

The French Revolution had broken out as a result of years of public anger over the apathy of the ruling elite. The end result was the overthrow of the French monarchy culminating in the execution of King Louis XVI. This horrified the continental powers of Europe who feared the unrest in France would soon reach their own borders.

Thus in 1793, the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Naples, Prussia, the Spanish Empire, and the Kingdom of Great Britain formed the First Coalition to contain the further spread of the revolution.

The newly formed French Republic declared a war of their own on the coalition. The nascent republic managed to survive due the enactment of measures such as mass conscription, military reforms and the skills of its military leaders. One among them was Napoleon Bonaparte. He made a name for himself by defeating the Austrians, forcing the latter to sign the Treaty of Campo Formio, thus leaving Britain to oppose the French Republic to   curtail the growing unrest in France.

It wasn’t long before another coalition was formed in 1789 Great Britain, Austria, Naples, the Ottoman Empire, the Papal States, Portugal, Russia, and Sweden. This time however the French Republic, governed by a 5 member committee called the Directory, was having internal troubles of its own. Lack of funds and ineptitude leadership saw a reversal in fortunes for the Republic.

Napoleon himself tried to defeat the British by cutting off its trade in India by invading Ottoman Egypt but it would end in a failure, although he would succeed against the Austrians in 1797. Feeling that the Directory would lead France to ruin through their inept rule, Napoleon returned to France from his Egyptian campaigns on 23 August 1799. In a bloodless coup d’état he seized power from the Directory

Making himself the first consul (and later crowning himself emperor of the French Empire) he subsequently created a state with stable finances, a strong bureaucracy, and a well-trained army, setting a new stage for war against continental Europe.

Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars

The beginning of the Napleonic wars is attributed to be on 18 May 1803. The treaty of Amiens which was signed by France and Britain ended at the same time, due to Napoleon’s attempts to change the international system in Western Europe. Other factors for declaration of war include:

• Napoleon’s assertion that the British did not have a say in European affairs despite King George III being an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. This assertion was an insult to the British.
• Napoleon’s assertion of control over Switzerland did not go down well with any of the European powers, especially Russia who felt that Napoleon was not looking for a peaceful resolution of his differences with the other European powers

Hoping to isolate and weaken Britain economically through his Continental System, Napoleon launched an invasion of Portugal, the only remaining British ally in continental Europe. After occupying Lisbon in November 1807, and with the bulk of French troops present in Spain, Napoleon seized the opportunity to turn against his former ally, depose the reigning Spanish royal family and declare his brother King of Spain in 1808 as José I. The Spanish and Portuguese revolted with British support and expelled the French from Iberia in 1814 after six years of fighting.

Concurrently, Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, routinely violated the Continental System, prompting Napoleon to launch a massive invasion of Russia in 1812. The resulting campaign ended in disaster for France and the near destruction of Napoleon’s Grande Armée.

Fall of Napoleon and End of Napoleonic Wars

Encouraged by the defeat, Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia formed the Sixth Coalition and began a new campaign against France, decisively defeating Napoleon at Leipzig in October 1813 after several inconclusive engagements. The Allies then invaded France from the east, while the Peninsular War spilled over into southwestern France. Coalition troops captured Paris at the end of March 1814 and forced Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba, and the Bourbons were restored to power.

But Napoleon escaped in February 1815, and resumed control of France for around one hundred days. After forming the Seventh Coalition, the allies defeated him at Waterloo in June 1815 and exiled him to the island of Saint Helena, where he died six years later.

The Congress of Vienna redrew the borders of Europe and brought a period of relative peace. The wars had profound consequences on global history, including the spread of nationalism and liberalism, the rise of Britain as the world’s foremost naval and economic power, the appearance of independence movements in Latin America and subsequent decline of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires, the fundamental reorganization of German and Italian territories into larger states, and the introduction of radically new methods of conducting warfare, as well as civil law.

After the end of the Napoleonic Wars there was a period of relative peace in continental Europe, lasting until the Crimean War in 1853.