France is a very important country in Europe and the world, and is now one of the five permanent members of the United Nations. After the collapse of Western Rome, the Frankish kingdom was established and gradually developed into an empire. Later, the Franks split, of which West Francia was the predecessor of France. From the end of the Middle Ages, France gradually became one of the great powers of Europe, and reached the peak of the monarchy in the 17th and 18th centuries when Louis XIV was in power. However, the greatest influence of France on the world was the outbreak of the French Revolution.
In the second half of the 18th century, the British Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution broke out one after another, which was called the "18th Century Dual Revolution" that had a profound impact on the world. Among them, the outbreak of the French Revolution completely stirred up the geopolitical situation throughout Europe, triggering the joint intervention of neighboring powers. Against this background, Napoleon rose rapidly and led the French army to win more than fifty major battles, dealing a heavy blow to the Monarchy of Europe and defending the achievements of the French Revolution. During his reign, he not only spread the flames of war to other parts of Europe, but also spread the Enlightenment and national ideas widely.
The Napoleonic era was the most glorious period in France since the beginning of the century, creating a series of military and political miracles and short-lived brilliant achievements. So how did the Napoleonic Empire rise and how did it quickly topple?
※ The origin of the "Corsican monster"?※
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica in 1769, when the island had only just been "sold" to France by the Republic of Genoa (the Genoese were transferred to France due to the unstable foundation of the Corsican Republic), and no one could have imagined that this small island would lead France to the top and create glorious glory. However, Napoleon's origins were not noble, and his family was only a declining nobleman in corsica. Later, when he went to study at a military school in mainland France, he was ridiculed for his cold dress and heavy accent.
After enlisting in the army, Napoleon soon encountered a political storm. It turned out that France was in the midst of a great revolution at this time, and the constitutional monarchists, Girondins, Jacobins, and Thermidorians came to power one after another, and frequently picked up butcher knives and played the trick of the party. At this time, Napoleon was suppressed by the Thermidorians and even imprisoned for his involvement with the Jacobin leader Robespierre. After his release from prison, Napoleon was poor, frustrated, and even unable to afford coffee and tea. The setbacks of the early years forged Napoleon's indomitable spirit, and the chaotic situation in France gave birth to new opportunities.
※ A big storm with ups and downs?※
Not long after the Outbreak of the French Revolution, it was invaded by neighboring powers, especially Prussia and Austria. After Louis XVI was pushed to the guillotine, this situation intensified. It can be said that the French Revolution, after very quickly eliminating the royal forces at home, was immediately plunged into a long foreign war. In all kinds of large and small battles, the Battle of Valmi is very important. It was not a big war, but it was a watershed moment in the changing situation in Europe at that time.
In this battle, the army of the "trouserless man" (named after being scorned by the nobles as the "trouser man" or "trouser man") wearing coarse cloth trousers and had just picked up a gun successfully withstood the attack of the Prussian-Austrian army and won the victory. On the one hand, this shocked the enemy army, and on the other hand greatly boosted the morale of the French. With this as the dividing line, the French Revolutionary War gradually evolved from a defensive focus on foreign armed intervention to a situation of external expansion.
The reason why France has gradually become enthusiastic about foreign conquests since the victory of the Battle of Valmy is because in the minds of the French revolutionaries at that time, the export of Enlightenment ideas and revolutionary ideas was a matter of great mission. To this end, they continued to conquer the outside world and established a series of "French model" republics, attached to the wings of France. In this series of conquest wars, Napoleon gradually emerged with excellent military talent and strategic thinking, and his personal prestige became higher and higher, and gradually became the people's hero of the French Republic.
※The much-anticipated Kiritsuki coup?※
With the change of the characteristics of the French Revolutionary War, the European anti-French alliance gradually formed, and the power of the domestic royal party was gradually strengthened. In August 1799, Napoleon, who had been on the battlefield, suddenly returned home, and returned to Paris in October, which was regarded as a "savior" by the people. On 9 November, Napoleon, surrounded by many supporters, staged the Misty Moon Coup, ending the horrors of frequent regime changes since the Revolution and serving as consul of the First Republic (first from provisional to first, and then to lifelong), in the style of Cromwell, the protector of England.
Napoleon, however, was not Cromwell, who, despite his long reign as a Puritan despot, never considered establishing a new dynasty. But France, in the eye of the Storm of the Revolution, faced a much more complex crisis than Britain in the mid-17th century. At that time, the party members of the old system and the old dynasty (i.e., the Bourbon monarchy) were still colluding with internal and external forces in an attempt to restore, which was destined to require an iron-fisted strongman to ensure stability within France and integrate as many resources as possible. Although the parliamentary system has been proved to be a long-term and efficient mode of power operation in the United Kingdom, it needs a long time to improve the relevant supporting systems to avoid falling into the quagmire of various local interest groups restricting each other, and France obviously did not have such conditions at that time.
Eventually, a strange scene emerged, when the French Revolution, which broke out against despotism, gradually gave birth to an empire. In fact, whether it was merit on the battlefield or his achievements as a consul, Napoleon did have enough capital to claim the title of emperor. What is most shocking, however, is not Napoleon's reinspercussion, but France's performance in a referendum on whether to appoint a French emperor. Napoleon's overwhelming majority was astounding to many revolutionary elders who professed to be the inheritors of Enlightenment ideas.
However, if we understand the immediate causes of the outbreak of the French Revolution, namely famine and heavy taxes, we can understand the general thinking of the French people at that time. In their view, the Bourbon dynasty and the aristocratic clergy did not give themselves a way to live, so naturally everyone was willing to overthrow the so-called "tyrant" under the guidance of the Enlightenment thinkers. But after several political upheavals, especially the brutal massacres of the Jacobins in Places like Paris, calls to stabilize and preserve the gains that have come to an end are naturally growing. Napoleon, on the other hand, was able to stabilize the situation and had sufficient strength to protect the existing achievements. That being the case, how could ordinary people care about which form of government they chose?
※ From opposing despotism to adding the royal robe?※
At the peak of French power, Napoleon was only 30 years old, which can be described as heroic, young and promising. Although he came from a military background and lacked sufficient experience in governing the country, he had long-term political ambitions and was well aware of the importance of consolidating power, maintaining stability in the order of French life, and ensuring France's military and diplomatic superiority in Europe. In order to consolidate power and complete the reconstruction of political institutions and social economy, it is necessary to enrich the social order of France on the one hand by "degrading talents in an eclectic manner"; on the other hand, to revitalize the cultural and educational undertakings by "rejuvenating the country through science and education" and to ensure France's superiority in the long run. Today, almost all of France's top universities were established during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic period.
Because of his ability to know people well and select talents, Napoleon made many institutional innovations in internal affairs under the premise of ensuring the stability of order, so that the British historian Ross praised him, saying that his internal affairs were no less talent than military. However, in order to ensure the continuation of the imperial model, the Napoleonic Empire made a compromise with the old aristocratic class, establishing a system characterized entirely by individual dictatorship, returning to The Old Order in France, which was not conducive to adapting to the new era. More importantly, the strength of the French Empire at this time depended only on Napoleon himself, or rather on his military prowess. If France had lost militarily, the consequences would have been disastrous.
※ Embattled Empire?※
When the French army expanded and conquered all directions, it also began to decline from prosperity to decline. On the one hand, the rapidly expanding Napoleonic Empire completely squeezed Britain, Austria, Russia and other countries together, which led to the re-establishment of the anti-French alliance, although repeatedly defeated. On the other hand, France's desire for expansion stemmed from a sense of mission to spread the ideas of the Revolutionary Enlightenment, which awakened the sense of self-determination of most peoples on the continent and thus became opponents of the French Empire. In the end, France was seriously injured after a series of setbacks such as the Battle of Trafalgar (whereby Britain completely controlled the world's maritime hegemony), the wrong attack on Russia, and the Battle of Leipzig (betrayed by Saxony). After that, although Napoleon exerted great military and tactical talents, he defeated the anti-French coalition forces in Champobel, Montmirai, Chateautte, Vauxand, etc., but the allies captured Paris to no avail.
At the end of the road, Napoleon announced his unconditional surrender and signed the abdication at the Palais Fontainebleau in Paris on 13 April 1814. He was then arranged to travel to the island of Elba, where Napoleon was allowed to bid farewell to the guards who had always been loyal to him in front of the Palace of Fontainebleau. On the island of Elba, Napoleon retained the title of "Emperor", of course the territory was limited to the island. The island, located between his native Corsica and the Italian peninsula, was so warmly arranged that it was inseparable from the efforts of pro-revolutionaries within the Coalition (many of Napoleon's opponents were proponents of revolutionary ideas in the later stages of the war) and realist diplomats such as Britain. Even so, Napoleon was nearly assassinated on his way to Elba, his wife and son were placed under house arrest in Austria, and there were even rumors that Napoleon would be exiled to the small islands in the Atlantic. Forced to escape, Napoleon landed in France in March 1815, and the restored Bourbon Dynasty sent a large number of troops, but the soldiers and civil ministers defected, and Yu Wei shook France.
Napoleon re-ascended to the pinnacle of French power and the Hundred Days Dynasty began. However, due to the severe loss of French military strength, France at this time only had 284,000 people, and Britain once again organized an anti-French alliance with 700,000 people. The disparity in strength between the two sides is by no means compensated by Napoleon's military command talent alone. After the defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon rejected the proposal to launch a popular war of resistance, and his era came to an end.
In summary, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars were the highlights of modern France, which from the very beginning faced the threat of internal royal forces and foreign interventions, and struggled in the chaos of frequent regime changes. After the Battle of Valmy, France switched from defending to attacking, and Napoleon gained great prestige for his outstanding military achievements and launched the Foggy Moon Coup to control the situation. Surrounded by the people, Napoleon's yellow imperial robe was added, and although he achieved a series of internal achievements, he was plagued by dictatorial abuses and continuous external expansion. When the military field was defeated, the Napoleonic Empire collapsed in an instant.
Napoleon's defeat had a profound impact on the geopolitical pattern of Europe and even the world, and the establishment of the Post-War Vienna System determined the world hegemony of the British Empire and the world entered the period of British rule. At the same time, with the westward march of the Russian army into Europe at the end of the war, Tsarist Russia seemed to regard itself as a "European gendarme" and launched a century-old "Anglo-Russian Great Game" with Britain on the Eurasian continent. In addition, revolutionary ideas and Enlightenment ideas that spread throughout Europe as the Napoleonic Wars spread over the next thirty years took root and reached their peak in the Wave of European Revolutions in 1848, dealing a heavy blow to the European monarchical order.