French Revolution
French Revolution
French Revolution
French Revolution
23
The and
Napoleon, 1789–1815
Essential Question Previewing Themes
What was the impact of the French
Revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon, ECONOMICS The gap between rich and poor in France was vast.
and the Congress of Vienna? The inequalities of the economy of France were a major cause of the
French Revolution.
Geography Why do you think the royal palace at Versailles
What You Will Learn
became a focal point for the anger of the poor people of Paris
In this chapter you will learn about the French during the Revolution?
Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte's empire, and
the Congress of Vienna.
REVOLUTION Driven by the example of the American Revolution
SECTION 1 The French Revolution Begins and such Enlightenment ideas as liberty, equality, and democracy,
Economic and social inequalities the French ousted the government of Louis XVI and established a
in the Old Regime helped cause the French
new political order.
Revolution.
Geography Why do you think some historians cite the “wind from
SECTION 2 Revolution Brings Reform
and Terror America” as a cause of the French Revolution?
The revolutionary government of
France made reforms but also used terror and POWER AND AUTHORITY After seizing power in 1799, Napoleon
violence to retain power. conquered a huge empire that included much of Western Europe.
SECTION 3 Napoleon Forges an Empire His attempt to conquer Russia, however, led to his downfall.
Napoleon Bonaparte, a military Geography What challenges and hazards of invading Russia might
genius, seized power in France and made be inferred from the map?
himself emperor.
SECTION 4 Napoleon's Empire Collapses
Napoleon's conquests aroused
nationalistic feelings across Europe and
contributed to his downfall.
SECTION 5 The Congress of Vienna
After exiling Napoleon, European
leaders at the Congress of Vienna tried to
restore order and reestablish peace.
648
649
How would you change an
unjust government?
You are living in France in the late 1700s. Your parents are merchants who earn a
good living. However, after taxes they have hardly any money left. You know that
other people, especially the peasants in the countryside, are even worse off than
you. At the same time, the nobility lives in luxury and pays practically no taxes.
Many people in France are desperate for change. But they are uncertain how
to bring about that change. Some think that representatives of the people should
demand fair taxes and just laws. Others support violent revolution. In Paris, that
revolution seems to have begun. An angry mob has attacked and taken over the
Bastille, a royal prison. You wonder what will happen next.
SETTING THE STAGE In the 1700s, France was considered the most advanced
country of Europe. It had a large population and a prosperous foreign trade. It
was the center of the Enlightenment, and France’s culture was widely praised
and imitated by the rest of the world. However, the appearance of success was
deceiving. There was great unrest in France, caused by bad harvests, high
prices, high taxes, and disturbing questions raised by the Enlightenment ideas
of Locke, Rousseau, and Voltaire.
nd add shadow
Drop shadow. The Three Estates
went hungry. If the cost of bread rose, mobs of these workers might attack grain
carts and bread shops to steal what they needed.
Peasants formed the largest group within the Third Estate, more than 80 per-
cent of France’s 26 million people. Peasants paid about half their income in dues Vocabulary
to nobles, tithes to the Church, and taxes to the king’s agents. They even paid taxes tithe: a church tax,
on such basic staples as salt. Peasants and the urban poor resented the clergy and normally about one-
tenth of a family’s
the nobles for their privileges and special treatment. The heavily taxed and discon-
income
tented Third Estate was eager for change.
PRIMARY SOURCE
The Third Estate is the People and the People is the foundation of the State; it is in fact
the State itself; the . . . People is everything. Everything should be subordinated to it. . . .
It is in the People that all national power resides and for the People that all states exist.
COMTE D’ANTRAIGUES, quoted in Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
SECTION 1 ASSESSMENT
TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• Old Regime • estates • Louis XVI • Marie Antoinette • Estates-General • National Assembly • Tennis Court Oath • Great Fear
REVOLUTION The revolutionary Some governments that lack the • Legislative Assembly • guillotine
government of France made support of a majority of their • émigré • Maximilien
reforms but also used terror and people still use fear to control • sans-culotte Robespierre
violence to retain power. their citizens. • Jacobin • Reign of
Terror
SETTING THE STAGE Peasants were not the only members of French society
to feel the Great Fear. Nobles and officers of the Church were equally afraid.
Throughout France, bands of angry peasants struck out against members of the
upper classes, attacking and destroying many manor houses. In the summer of
1789, a few months before the women’s march to Versailles, some nobles and
members of clergy in the National Assembly responded to the uprisings in an
emotional late-night meeting.
▲
who stopped Louis
from escaping said
that he recognized
the king from his
portrait on a French
bank note.
though it was in accord with Enlightenment philosophy. They believed that the
pope should rule over a church independent of the state. From this time on, many
peasants opposed the assembly’s reforms.
Louis Tries to Escape As the National Assembly restructured the relationship
between church and state, Louis XVI pondered his fate as a monarch. Some of his
advisers warned him that he and his family were in danger. Many supporters of the
monarchy thought France unsafe and left the country. Then, in June 1791, the royal
family tried to escape from France to the Austrian Netherlands. As they neared the
border, however, they were apprehended and returned to Paris under guard. Louis’s
attempted escape increased the influence of his radical enemies in the government
and sealed his fate.
Divisions Develop
For two years, the National Assembly argued over a new constitution for France. By
1791, the delegates had made significant changes in France’s government and society.
A Limited Monarchy In September 1791, the National Assembly completed the
new constitution, which Louis reluctantly approved. The constitution created a lim-
ited constitutional monarchy. It stripped the king of much of
his authority. It also created a new legislative body––the
Legislative Assembly. This body had the power to create
laws and to approve or reject declarations of war. However, Left, Right, and Center
the king still held the executive power to enforce laws. The terms we use today to describe
Factions Split France Despite the new government, old where people stand politically derive
from the factions that developed in
problems, such as food shortages and government debt,
the Legislative Assembly in 1791.
remained. The question of how to handle these problems • People who want to radically
caused the Legislative Assembly to split into three general change government are called left
groups, each of which sat in a different part of the meeting wing or are said to be on the left.
Recognizing
Effects hall. Radicals, who sat on the left side of the hall, opposed • People with moderate views often
How did differ- the idea of a monarchy and wanted sweeping changes in the are called centrist or are said to be
ences of opinion way the government was run. Moderates sat in the center of in the center.
on how to handle the hall and wanted some changes in government, but not • People who want few or no
such issues as food changes in government often are
shortages and debt
as many as the radicals. Conservatives sat on the right side
called right wing or are said to be
affect the Legislative of the hall. They upheld the idea of a limited monarchy and on the right.
Assembly? wanted few changes in government.
P r i mar y s o u rc e
The first maxim of our politics ought to be to lead the people by means of reason Analyzing
and the enemies of the people by terror. If the basis of popular government in Primary Sources
time of peace is virtue, the basis of popular government in time of revolution is How did
both virtue and terror: virtue without which terror is murderous, terror without Robespierre justify
which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing else than swift, severe, indomitable the use of terror?
justice; it flows, then, from virtue.
Maximilien Robespierre, “On the Morals and Political Principles of Domestic Policy” (1794)
The “enemies of the Revolution” who troubled Robespierre the most were fellow
radicals who challenged his leadership. In 1793 and 1794, many of those who had
led the Revolution received death sentences. Their only crime was that they were
660 Chapter 23
considered less radical than Robespierre. By early 1794,
even Georges Danton found himself in danger. Danton’s
friends in the National Convention, afraid to defend him,
joined in condemning him. On the scaffold, he told the exe-
cutioner, “Don’t forget to show my head to the people. It’s
well worth seeing.”
The Terror claimed not only the famous, such as Danton
and Marie Antoinette, the widowed queen. Thousands of
unknown people also were sent to their deaths, often on the
flimsiest of charges. For example, an 18-year-old youth was
sentenced to die for cutting down a tree that had been
planted as a symbol of liberty. Perhaps as many as 40,000
were executed during the Terror. About 85 percent were
peasants or members of the urban poor or middle class—
for whose benefit the Revolution had been launched.
SECTION 2 ASSESSMENT
TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• Legislative Assembly • émigré • sans-culotte • Jacobin • guillotine • Maximilien Robespierre • Reign of Terror
SETTING THE STAGE Napoleon Bonaparte was quite a short man—just five
feet three inches tall. However, he cast a long shadow over the history of
modern times. He would come to be recognized as one of the world’s greatest
military geniuses, along with Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hannibal of
Carthage, and Julius Caesar of Rome. In only four years, from 1795 to 1799,
Napoleon rose from a relatively obscure position as an officer in the French
army to become master of France.
the age of 16, he finished school and became a lieutenant in the artillery. When Use the graphic organizer
online to take notes on
the Revolution broke out, Napoleon joined the army of the new government.
the events that led to
Hero of the Hour In October 1795, fate handed the young officer a chance for Napoleon's crowning as
glory. When royalist rebels marched on the National Convention, a government emperor of France.
official told Napoleon to defend the delegates. Napoleon and his gunners greeted
the thousands of royalists with a cannonade. Within minutes, the attackers fled in
panic and confusion. Napoleon Bonaparte became the hero of the hour and was
hailed throughout Paris as the savior of the French republic.
In 1796, the Directory appointed Napoleon to lead a French army against the
forces of Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Crossing the Alps, the young
general swept into Italy and won a series of remarkable victories. Next, in an
attempt to protect French trade interests and to disrupt British trade with India,
Napoleon led an expedition to Egypt. But he was unable to repeat the successes
he had achieved in Europe. His army was pinned down in Egypt, and the British
admiral Horatio Nelson defeated his naval forces. However, Napoleon managed
to keep stories about his setbacks out of the newspapers and thereby remained a
great hero to the people of France.
Coup d’État By 1799, the Directory had lost control of the political situation
and the confidence of the French people. When Napoleon returned from Egypt,
his friends urged him to seize political power. Napoleon took action in early
November 1799. His troops surrounded the national legislature and drove out
most of its members. The remaining lawmakers voted to dissolve the Directory.
The French Revolution and Napoleon 663
In its place, they established a group of three consuls, one
of whom was Napoleon. Napoleon quickly took the title of
first consul and assumed the powers of a dictator. A sud-
den seizure of power like Napoleon’s is known as a coup—
from the French phrase coup d’état (KOO day•TAH), or Analyzing Causes
“blow to the state.” How was
At the time of Napoleon’s coup, France was still at war. Napoleon able to
become a dictator?
In 1799, Britain, Austria, and Russia joined forces with one
goal in mind, to drive Napoleon from power. Once again,
Napoleon rode from Paris at the head of his troops.
Eventually, as a result of war and diplomacy, all three
nations signed peace agreements with France. By 1802,
Napoleon Bonaparte Europe was at peace for the first time in ten years. Napoleon
1769–1821 was free to focus his energies on restoring order in France.
Because of his small stature and thick
Corsican accent, Napoleon was
mocked by his fellow students at
Napoleon Rules France
military school. Haughty and proud, At first, Napoleon pretended to be the constitutionally
Napoleon refused to grace his chosen leader of a free republic. In 1800, a plebiscite
tormentors’ behavior with any kind of (PLEHB•ih•SYT), or vote of the people, was held to approve
response. He simply ignored them, a new constitution. Desperate for strong leadership, the
preferring to lose himself in his
people voted overwhelmingly in favor of the constitution.
studies. He showed a particular
passion for three subjects—classical
This gave all real power to Napoleon as first consul.
history, geography, and mathematics. Restoring Order at Home Napoleon did not try to return the
In 1784, Napoleon was nation to the days of Louis XVI. Rather, he kept many of the
recommended for a career in the
changes that had come with the Revolution. In general, he
army and he transferred to the Ecole
Militaire (the French equivalent of
supported laws that would both strengthen the central govern-
West Point) in Paris. There, he proved ment and achieve some of the goals of the Revolution.
to be a fairly poor soldier, except His first task was to get the economy on a solid footing.
when it came to artillery. His artillery Napoleon set up an efficient method of tax collection and
instructor quickly noticed Napoleon’s established a national banking system. In addition to ensur-
abilities: “He is most proud,
ing the government a steady supply of tax money, these
ambitious, aspiring to everything. This
young man merits our attention.”
actions promoted sound financial management and better
control of the economy. Napoleon also took steps to end
corruption and inefficiency in government. He dismissed
corrupt officials and, in order to provide the government with trained officials, set
up lycées, or government-run public schools. These lycées were open to male stu-
dents of all backgrounds. Graduates were appointed to public office on the basis of
merit rather than family connections.
One area where Napoleon disregarded changes introduced by the Revolution
VIDEO
was religion. Both the clergy and many peasants wanted to restore the position of
Napoleon
Bonaparte: The the Church in France. Responding to their wishes, Napoleon signed a concordat,
Glory of France or agreement, with Pope Pius VII. This established a new relationship between
church and state. The government recognized the influence of the Church, but
rejected Church control in national affairs. The concordat gained Napoleon the
support of the organized Church as well as the majority of the French people.
Napoleon thought that his greatest work was his comprehensive system of laws,
known as the Napoleonic Code. This gave the country a uniform set of laws and
eliminated many injustices. However, it actually limited liberty and promoted order
and authority over individual rights. For example, freedom of speech and of the
press, established during the Revolution, were restricted under the code. The code
also restored slavery in the French colonies of the Caribbean.
664 Chapter 23
Napoleon Crowned as Emperor In 1804, Napoleon decided to make himself
emperor, and the French voters supported him. On December 2, 1804, dressed in a
splendid robe of purple velvet, Napoleon walked down the long aisle of Notre
Analyzing Motives Dame Cathedral in Paris. The pope waited for him with a glittering crown. As thou-
Why do you
think Napoleon
sands watched, the new emperor took the crown from the pope and placed it on his
crowned himself own head. With this gesture, Napoleon signaled that he was more powerful than the
emperor? Church, which had traditionally crowned the rulers of France.
PRIMARY SOURCE
Soldiers! I am pleased with you. On the day of Austerlitz,
you justified everything that I was expecting of [you]. . . .
In less than four hours, an army of 100,000 men,
commanded by the emperors of Russia and Austria, was
cut up and dispersed. . . . 120 pieces of artillery, 20 generals, and
more than 30,000 men taken prisoner—such are the results of this day
which will forever be famous. . . . And it will be enough for you to say,
“I was at Austerlitz,” to hear the reply: “There is a brave man!”
NAPOLEON, quoted in Napoleon by André Castelot
War in Europe, 1805–1813
French Empire
INTERACTIVE MAP Controlled by Napoleon
French victory
French defeat
24°E
W
8°W
16°E
British blockade
16°
0°
KINGDOM
OF KINGDOM
DENMARK OF Moscow
SWEDEN (1812)
AND Baltic Borodino
N o r t h NORWAY (1812)
UNITED KINGDOM Sea
Sea REP. OF
OF GREAT BRITAIN DANZIG N
eman R.
50°
N AND IRELAND Friedland (1807)
IA RUSSIAN
London El b
eR PR U SS
.
Berlin
EMPIRE
GRAND DUCHY
Brussels CONFEDERATION OF
ATLANTIC Amiens OF Leipzig (1813) WARSAW
Jena (1806)
Paris THE Austerlitz (1805)
OCEAN Versailles Sein
e R. RHINE
R.
in e
Ulm (1805)
Wagram (1809) AUSTRIAN
Rh
Lo i
Aspern (1809)
EMPIRE
re R
F
HELVETIC Vienna
R
La Coruña (1809)
.
REPUBLIC
E
N
H OF ITALY
IL OV d r
PR
Vitoria Eb Po R.
LY IN i a
AL
r E .
(1813) eR
RI CE t i
Marseille M ub
UG
AN S c S
P
R.
Talavera
I R
RT
Tagu
s R. CORSICA MONTENEGRO
Rome
ea
British fleet
Bagrati
s
French and
Lanne
French thrust
rat
Be
Allied thrust
low
Pratzen
Nelson Plateau
Kol
Soult
NAPOLEON
Álava (About 70,000 troops)
CZAR ALEXANDER I
rov
Collingwood
(About 85,000 troops)
Docto
ek
C
re
ch
0 2 Miles
Goldba
t
vou
Da
0 4 Kilometers
666 Chapter 23
In time, Napoleon’s battlefield successes forced the rulers of Austria, Prussia, and
Russia to sign peace treaties. These successes also enabled him to build the largest
European empire since that of the Romans. France’s only major enemy left unde-
feated was the great naval power, Britain.
The Battle of Trafalgar In his drive for a European empire, Napoleon lost only
one major battle, the Battle of Trafalgar (truh•FAL•guhr). This naval defeat, how-
ever, was more important than all of his victories on land. The battle took place in
1805 off the southwest coast of Spain. The British commander, Horatio Nelson,
was as brilliant in warfare at sea as Napoleon was in warfare on land. In a bold
maneuver, he split the larger French fleet, capturing many ships. (See the map inset
on the opposite page.)
The destruction of the French fleet had two major results. First, it ensured the
supremacy of the British navy for the next 100 years. Second, it forced Napoleon
to give up his plans of invading Britain. He had to look for another way to control
his powerful enemy across the English Channel. Eventually, Napoleon’s extrava-
gant efforts to crush Britain would lead to his own undoing.
The French Empire During the first decade of the 1800s, Napoleon’s victories
had given him mastery over most of Europe. By 1812, the only areas of Europe free
from Napoleon’s control were Britain, Portugal, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire.
In addition to the lands of the French Empire, Napoleon also controlled numerous
supposedly independent countries. (See the map on the opposite page.) These
included Spain, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and a number of German kingdoms
in Central Europe. The rulers of these countries were Napoleon’s puppets; some, in
fact, were members of his family. Furthermore, the powerful countries of Russia,
Drawing Prussia, and Austria were loosely attached to Napoleon’s empire through alliances.
Conclusions Although not totally under Napoleon’s control, they were easily manipulated by
By 1805, how threats of military action.
successful had
Napoleon been in
The French Empire was huge but unstable. Napoleon was able to maintain it at
his efforts to build its greatest extent for only five years—from 1807 to 1812. Then it quickly fell to
an empire? pieces. Its sudden collapse was caused in part by Napoleon’s actions.
SECTION 3 ASSESSMENT
TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• Napoleon Bonaparte • coup d’état • plebiscite • lycée • concordat • Napoleonic Code • Battle of Trafalgar
SETTING THE STAGE Napoleon worried about what would happen to his vast
empire after his death. He feared it would fall apart unless he had an heir whose
right to succeed him was undisputed. His wife, Josephine, had failed to bear him
a child. He, therefore, divorced her and formed an alliance with the Austrian
royal family by marrying Marie Louise, the grandniece of Marie Antoinette. In
1811, Marie Louise gave birth to a son, Napoleon II, whom Napoleon named
king of Rome.
669
Napoleon's Russian Campaign, 1812
130,000
Sept. 7, 1812 Napoleon’s
army fights the Battle of
50,000 Borodino and suffers 30,000
Moscow
Napoleon sends casualties. R.
175,000 cow
West
er
troops to Polotsk to Mos
nD protect his left flank. Reduced by desertion,
vina .
Riv disease, starvation, aR
er
and capture, an army Borodino Ok
of 175,000 arrives in
R U S S I A Smolensk. Another Vyazma Maloyaroslavets
422,000 30,000 die there.
Polotsk Sept. 14, 1812 Napoleon enters
June 1812
Napoleon and his Moscow to find it in ashes,
troops march across Vitebsk torched by the czar. He waits,
the Neman River Glubokoye Smolensk hoping to induce the czar
and into Russia. to surrender.
Oct. 18, 1812 Frustrated and
Kovno Vilna starving, having waited too long
for the czar, the 100,000
Dnieper River
November 1812
PRUSSIA
their wounded.
GRAND Dec. 6, 1812
Minsk 37,000
r
On September 7, 1812, the two armies finally clashed in the Battle of Borodino.
(See the map on this page.) After several hours of indecisive fighting, the Russians
fell back, allowing Napoleon to move on Moscow. When Napoleon entered Moscow
seven days later, the city was in flames. Rather than surrender Russia’s “holy city” to
the French, Alexander had destroyed it. Napoleon stayed in the ruined city until the
middle of October, when he decided to turn back toward France.
As the snows—and the temperature—began to fall in early November, Russian
raiders mercilessly attacked Napoleon’s ragged, retreating army. Many soldiers
were killed in these clashes or died of their wounds. Still more dropped in their
tracks from exhaustion, hunger, and cold. Finally, in the middle of December, the
last survivors straggled out of Russia. The retreat from Moscow had devastated the
Grand Army—only 10,000 soldiers were left to fight.
Napoleon’s Downfall
Napoleon’s enemies were quick to take advantage of his weakness. Britain, Russia,
Prussia, and Sweden joined forces against him. Austria also declared war on
Napoleon, despite his marriage to Marie Louise. All of the main powers of Europe
were now at war with France.
Napoleon Suffers Defeat In only a few months, Napoleon managed to raise
another army. However, most of his troops were untrained and ill prepared for bat-
tle. He faced the allied armies of the European powers outside the German city of
Leipzig (LYP•sihg) in October 1813. The allied forces easily defeated his inexpe-
rienced army and French resistance crumbled quickly. By January of 1814, the
allied armies were pushing steadily toward Paris. Some two months later, King
670 Chapter 23
Frederick William III of Prussia and Czar Alexander I of Russia led their
troops in a triumphant parade through the French capital.
Napoleon wanted to fight on, but his generals refused. In April 1814, he
accepted the terms of surrender and gave up his throne. The victors gave Napoleon
a small pension and exiled, or banished, him to Elba, a tiny island off the Italian
coast. The allies expected no further trouble from Napoleon, but they were wrong.
The Hundred Days Louis XVI’s brother assumed the throne as Louis XVIII. (The
executed king’s son, Louis XVII, had died in prison in 1795.) However, the new
king quickly became unpopular among his subjects, especially the peasants. They
suspected him of wanting to undo the Revolution’s land reforms.
The news of Louis’s troubles was all the incentive Napoleon needed to try to
regain power. He escaped from Elba and, on March 1, 1815, landed in France. Joyous
Analyzing Motives crowds welcomed him on the march to Paris. And thousands of volunteers swelled
Why do you the ranks of his army. Within days, Napoleon was again emperor of France.
think the French In response, the European allies quickly marshaled their armies. The British
people welcomed
army, led by the Duke of Wellington, prepared for battle near the village of
back Napoleon so
eagerly? Waterloo in Belgium. On June 18, 1815, Napoleon attacked. The British army
defended its ground all day. Late in the afternoon, the Prussian army arrived.
Together, the British and the Prussian forces attacked the French. Two days later,
Napoleon’s exhausted troops gave way, and the British and Prussian forces chased
them from the field.
▲ British soldiers
This defeat ended Napoleon’s last bid for power, called the Hundred Days. who fought at the
Taking no chances this time, the British shipped Napoleon to St. Helena, a remote battle of Waterloo
island in the South Atlantic. There, he lived in lonely exile for six years, writing his received this medal.
memoirs. He died in 1821 of a stomach ailment, perhaps cancer.
Without doubt, Napoleon was a military genius and a brilliant administrator. Yet
all his victories and other achievements must be measured against the millions of
lives that were lost in his wars. The French writer Alexis de Tocqueville summed
up Napoleon’s character by saying, “He was as great as a man can be without
virtue.” Napoleon’s defeat opened the door for the freed European countries to
establish a new order.
SECTION 4 ASSESSMENT
TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• blockade • Continental System • guerrilla • Peninsular War • scorched-earth policy • Waterloo • Hundred Days
POWER AND AUTHORITY After International bodies such as the • Congress of • legitimacy
exiling Napoleon, European United Nations play an active Vienna • Holy Alliance
leaders at the Congress of role in trying to maintain world • Klemens von • Concert of
Vienna tried to restore order peace and stability today. Metternich Europe
and reestablish peace. • balance of power
from overpowering weaker nations. (See the map on page 674.) Congress of Vienna
study a map of
Balance of Power Although the leaders of Europe wanted to weaken France, they Europe.
did not want to leave it powerless. If they severely punished France, they might
encourage the French to take revenge. If they broke up France, then another coun
try might become so strong that it would threaten them all. Thus, the victorious
powers did not exact a great price from the defeated nation. As a result, France
remained a major but diminished European power. Also, no country in Europe
could easily overpower another.
Legitimacy The great powers affirmed the principle of legitimacy—agreeing that
as many as possible of the rulers whom Napoleon had driven from their thrones be
restored to power. The ruling families of France, Spain, and several states in Italy
and Central Europe regained their thrones. The participants in the Congress of
Vienna believed that the return of the former monarchs would stabilize political
relations among the nations.
The Congress of Vienna was a political triumph in many ways. For the first time,
the nations of an entire continent had cooperated to control political affairs. The
settlements they agreed upon were fair enough that no country was left bearing a
grudge. Therefore, the Congress did not sow the seeds of future wars. In that sense,
it was more successful than many other peace meetings in history.
Drawing By agreeing to come to one another’s aid in case of threats to peace, the
Conclusions
European nations had temporarily ensured that there would be a balance of power
In what ways
was the Congress
on the continent. The Congress of Vienna, then, created a time of peace in Europe.
of Vienna a It was a lasting peace. None of the five great powers waged war on one another for
success? nearly 40 years, when Britain and France fought Russia in the Crimean War.
8°E
32°E
INTERACTIVE MAP KINGDOM INTERACTIVE MAP
24°E
16°E
24°E
8°E
8°W
W
8°W
W
OF
16°
0°
KINGDOM OF
16°
0°
DENMARK SWEDEN
UNITED KINGDOM
Sea
Sea
AND NORWAY North
16°E
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN S e a
OF GREAT BRITAIN N o r t h lt lt
ic
50°
ic
AND IRELAND DENMARK
Ba
50° AND IRELAND Sea Ba N
NETHERLANDS
N SIA A
RUS RUSSIAN I
London Berlin P GRAND
London HANOVER
S S
DUCHY OF
EMPIRE R
U Berlin RUSSIAN
Brussels Brussels
CONFEDERATION WARSAW P EMPIRE
Amiens OF ATLANTIC Amiens SAXONY
Paris B
ATLANTIC Paris THE
OCEAN Versailles
A
Versailles
VARIA
RHINE
OCEAN AUSTRIAN AUSTRIAN
FRENCH FRANCE
Vienna Vienna
EMPIRE SWITZ. EMPIRE 42° SWITZ.
N Milan EMPIRE
42°
N Milan ITALY PARMA
MODENA
AL
AL
ILLYRIAN LUCCA
UG
PAPAL
UG
Madrid PROVINCES Madrid KINGDOM TUSCANY OTTOMAN
RT
STATES
RT
CORSICA OF CORSICA
PO
PO
Rome KINGDOM Rome Naples
EMPIRE
SARDINIA Naples OF KINGDOM
Gibraltar Mediterranean Sea NAPLES Gibraltar Mediterranean Sea OF THE
34°N
SICILY TWO SICILIES
Conservative Europe The rulers of Europe were very nervous about the legacy of
the French Revolution. They worried that the ideals of liberty, equality, and frater-
nity might encourage revolutions elsewhere. Late in 1815, Czar Alexander I,
Emperor Francis I of Austria, and King Frederick William III of Prussia signed an
agreement called the Holy Alliance. In it, they pledged to base their relations with
other nations on Christian principles in order to combat the forces of revolution.
Finally, a series of alliances devised by Metternich, called the Concert of Europe,
ensured that nations would help one another if any revolutions broke out.
Across Europe, conservatives held firm control of the governments, but they
could not contain the ideas that had emerged during the French Revolution. France
after 1815 was deeply divided politically. Conservatives were happy with the
monarchy of Louis XVIII and were determined to make it last. Liberals, however,
wanted the king to share more power with the legislature. And many people in the
lower classes remained committed to the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Making
Similarly, in other countries there was an explosive mixture of ideas and factions Inferences
that would contribute directly to revolutions in 1830 and 1848. What seeds of
Despite their efforts to undo the French Revolution, the leaders at the Congress of democracy had
been sown by the
Vienna could not turn back the clock. The Revolution had given Europe its first
French Revolution?
experiment in democratic government. Although the experiment had failed, it had set
new political ideas in motion. The major political upheavals of the early 1800s had
their roots in the French Revolution.
Revolution in Latin America The actions of the Congress of Vienna had conse-
quences far beyond events in Europe. When Napoleon deposed the king of Spain
during the Peninsular War, liberal Creoles (colonists born in Spanish America)
674 Chapter 23
seized control of many colonies in the Americas. When the
Congress of Vienna restored the king to the Spanish throne,
royalist peninsulares (colonists born in Spain) tried to
regain control of these colonial governments. The Creoles, Congress of Vienna and the
United Nations
however, attempted to retain and expand their power. In
The Congress of Vienna and the
response, the Spanish king took steps to tighten control over
Concert of Europe tried to keep the
the American colonies. world safe from war. The modern
This action angered the Mexicans, who rose in revolt and equivalent of these agreements is the
successfully threw off Spain’s control. Other Spanish colonies United Nations (UN), an international
in Latin America also claimed independence. At about the organization established in 1945 and
same time, Brazil declared independence from Portugal. (See continuing today, whose purpose is
to promote world peace.
Chapter 24.) Like the Congress of Vienna, the
Long-Term Legacy The Congress of Vienna left a legacy United Nations was formed by major
that would influence world politics for the next 100 years. powers after a war—World War II.
The continent-wide efforts to establish and maintain a bal- These powers agreed to cooperate to
reduce tensions and bring greater
ance of power diminished the size and the power of France.
harmony to international relations.
At the same time, the power of Britain and Prussia increased. Throughout its history, the United
Nationalism began to spread in Italy, Germany, Greece, Nations has used diplomacy as its
and to other areas that the Congress had put under foreign chief method of keeping the peace.
control. Eventually, the nationalistic feelings would explode
into revolutions, and new nations would be formed.
European colonies also responded to the power shift. INTERNET ACTIVITY Go online to
create a graphic organizer to show
Spanish colonies took advantage of the events in Europe to
the major agencies and functions of
Recognizing declare their independence and break away from Spain. the United Nations.
Effects At the same time, ideas about the basis of power and
How did the authority had changed permanently as a result of the French
French Revolution Revolution. More and more, people saw democracy as the best way to ensure
affect not only
Europe but also
equality and justice for all. The French Revolution, then, changed the social atti-
other areas of the tudes and assumptions that had dominated Europe for centuries. A new era
world? had begun.
SECTION 5 ASSESSMENT
TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• Congress of Vienna • Klemens von Metternich • balance of power • legitimacy • Holy Alliance • Concert of Europe
CRITICAL THINKING
Immediate Effects 1. USING YOUR
nal
NOTES
ntio atio
•
es
•
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Co nse o
em
Execution of monarch
loo
ar
or
falg
per
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ter
ge
up
•
fe
Napoleon’s career
a
War with other European nations
Win
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4. RECOGNIZING EFFECTS
POWER AND AUTHORITY How did the Congress of Vienna affect power and
authority in European countries after Napoleon’s defeat? Consider who
held power in the countries and the power of the countries themselves.
676 Chapter 23
STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT
Use the excerpt—from the South American liberator Use the map, which shows Great Britain and the French
Simón Bolívar, whose country considered giving refuge to Empire in 1810, and your knowledge of world history to
Napoleon after Waterloo—and your knowledge of world answer question 3.
history to answer questions 1 and 2.
Great Britain and France, 1810
North
8°E
0°
8°W
GREAT
BRITAIN Sea
If South America is struck by the thunderbolt of London
50°N
Bonaparte’s arrival, misfortune will ever be ours if our
English Channel Brussels
country accords him a friendly reception. His thirst for Amiens
conquest is insatiable [cannot be satisfied]; he has mowed Paris
Versailles
down the flower of European youth . . . in order to carry
out his ambitious projects. The same designs will bring him ATLANTIC
OCEAN FRENCH
to the New World.
EMPIRE
SIMÓN BOLÍVAR L P S
A
PY
RE
0 100 Miles N EE
1. In Bolívar’s opinion, if his country gave Napoleon a friendly S
reception it would 0 200 Kilometers
Mediterranean Sea
A. be beset by misfortune.
B. become a great power in South America. 3. What geographical barrier helped to protect Britain
from an invasion by Napoleon?
C. become a part of the French Empire.
A. Mediterranean Sea C. Alps
D. be attacked by the United States.
B. English Channel D. Pyrenees
2. Which of the following gives Bolívar’s view of Napoleon?
A. His desire for power cannot be satisfied.
B. He is not ambitious.
For additional test practice, go online for:
C. He cares for the lives of others.
• Diagnostic tests
D. He does not want to come to the New World.
• Strategies
• Tutorials
MULTIMEDIA ACTIVITY
On page 650, you considered how to bring about change in NetExplorations: The French Revolution
the French government in the late 1700s. Now that you have
Go to NetExplorations at hmhsocialstudies.com to learn
read the chapter, reevaluate your thoughts on how to change
more about the French Revolution. Then plan a virtual field
an unjust government. Was violent revolution justified? effective?
trip to sites in France related to the revolution. Be sure to
Would you have advised different actions? Discuss your
include sites outside Paris. Begin your research by exploring
opinions with a small group.
the Web sites recommended at NetExplorations. Include the
following in your field trip plan:
• a one-paragraph description of each site and the events that
happened there
FOCUS ON WRITING
• specific buildings, statues, or other items to view at each site
Imagine that you lived in Paris throughout the French Revolution. • documents and other readings to help visitors prepare for
Write journal entries on several of the major events of the each stop on the field trip
Revolution. Include the following events:
• topics to discuss at each site
• the storming of the Bastille
• a list of Web sites used to create your virtual field trip
• the women's march on Versailles
• the trial of Louis XVI
• the Reign of Terror
• the rise of Napoleon