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The fall of Napoleon - Contenido educativo
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Hello class, we are here again to talk about the fall of the Napoleonic Empire. So let's
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start by looking at the double perspective on Napoleon's figure. Because in France, for
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example, we have the perspective that Napoleon was close to a national hero because he expanded
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the ideas from the French Revolution. He took over many territories for France. But in other
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countries, on the other hand, Napoleon was close to a devil because, as we explained
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in the last class, the violence of the soldiers provoked a strong reaction in those countries
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such as Spain or Russia. Because remember that Napoleon invaded those countries. His
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soldiers repressed the civilians who were living there and who were opposed to his ideas.
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So today we are going to see this process in history and we are going to explain basically
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when Napoleon invaded Spain and also France. As we said before, the French domination provoked
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a strong reaction in some countries and this situation led to nationalist movements. Some
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people in Spain and also other people in Russia, when Napoleon invaded both countries, developed
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a strong feeling of national pride against Napoleon. Remember that Napoleon wanted to
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his idea of the economic blockade all over Europe to isolate Great Britain, to cut off Great Britain
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from abroad. For this reason, he invaded first Spain in 1808 and Portugal because he wanted to
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reach the Atlantic coast to avoid that Great Britain would receive supplies such as raw
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materials, food and weaponry to the country. And also he invaded Russia because he wanted to impose
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the economic blockade in the Baltic Sea. So let's start by analyzing first the invasion of Russia
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and then we will explain what happened in Spain. So Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 to develop his
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idea of the economic blockade, as we explained before. The French army, which was huge, invaded
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Russia. They began the invasion of Russia on the 24th of June in 1812. Napoleon launched his attack
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over Russia, more or less with an army which was huge for the age. It was 500,000 soldiers who
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fought against more or less 250,000 Russian soldiers. So the French army was just double
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compared to the Russians, but we really need to explain that the French army wasn't composed of
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only French people. It was composed of a mixture of nationalities. 40% of them were French,
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but the rest, one third of them were German, Italians, Portuguese and also Spaniards,
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because remember that Napoleon invaded both countries, Spain and also Portugal, in 1808.
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The invasion began, as I said before, in June, but in September it took place the main battle,
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the Battle of Borodino, which was 70 kilometers far away from Moscow, the capital of the Russians,
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Moscow. And in this battle, what do you think? This battle was decisive or not? To be honest,
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this battle wasn't decisive. It was a bloody battle, but it wasn't decisive. Actually,
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I would say that it was a slaughter, because only in one day, on the 7th of September of 1812,
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when Napoleon fought against General Kutuzov, the Russian general, in only one day, pay attention,
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50,000 soldiers, Russian soldiers, died together with 35,000 French soldiers. It was a slaughter,
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was a draw in reality, the battle, because any army could impose his will over or against the
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enemy. That's why it was a draw. But in reality, in mid-September, because the Battle of Borodino
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took place at the beginning of September, during mid-September, Napoleon managed to reach Moscow.
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As a consequence of that, it began the Moscow exodus, because most Russian civilians left the
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city. They didn't want to live under the rule of Napoleon. And it seems, it looks, that Napoleon
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won against the Russians. But in reality, it was a tactic retreat, because very, very soon,
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the Russians burned the city. And it was true that Napoleon was living in the Royal Palace of the
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Romanov, in the Kremlin, but he was in a stable situation, because he didn't have enough resources
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for his troops. Because remember that the Russian civilians, Muscovians, people in Moscow,
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burned the city. They put the city on fire. So what happened as a consequence? In October,
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Napoleon was in Moscow, but he spent three weeks in the city. But at the beginning of the month,
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from the 3rd to the 4th of October, Napoleon gave the order to leave the city. Why? Because
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for three different reasons that I'm going to explain very, very quickly. Because in Paris,
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it began a coup against Napoleon. Napoleon was losing supporters. We really need to know that
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Napoleon was in Moscow, very far away from Paris, and his enemies took advantage of this situation,
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and they organized a coup against Napoleon. So as a consequence of that, Napoleon had to move
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faster from Moscow to Paris. Also, he left the city due to the lack of food, because the Muscovians
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put the city on fire, and also because winter was coming, and you know the weather in Russia.
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So Napoleon, in any case, left the city. He gave back from Borodino, Smolensk, up to Lithuania.
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His main plan was to go directly to Paris, but for three different reasons,
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most of the French soldiers were not able to reach Paris. I'm going to explain the reasons
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very, very quickly. The first reason was the terrible weather, because they didn't have the
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right clothes. They were suffering from minus 30 degrees, at least in the winter of Russia,
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so imagine. And the Cossacks, were the cavalry in the Russian plains, took advantage of this
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situation, and they attacked the French army. Also, the French army had attacks from the
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peasants, from the Russian peasants, as well as that from the Russian army, who took advantage of
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this terrible situation for the French army. Remember the figure at the beginning of the
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campaign? Napoleon launched an attack with over 500,000 soldiers, and only 60,000 soldiers
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managed to survive. However, other historians said that there were barely only 40,000 soldiers
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for them. And what happened in Spain? Let's explain quickly what happened in Spain. In Spain,
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there was a revolution against Napoleon, because Napoleon invaded Spain to reach Portugal, so as to
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impose the economic blockade in 1807. He was following one treaty, the Treaty of Fontainebleau,
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Fontainebleau, and for this reason, Napoleon invaded the Pyrenees in 1807, as I said before.
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In Madrid, there was a strong reaction against Napoleon's troops. It began the nationalist
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movement in Spain in 1808, and I would say that from 1808 up to 1812, the situation was
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stuck in the Iberian Peninsula. Both troops were neck and neck. They were not able to impose
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its will against the enemy up to 1812. What happened in 1812? Spain received the help from
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Great Britain. The British established their troops in what is now Portugal, and when they
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had superiority in 1812, they conquered first Badajoz, then Ciudad Rodrigo. They defeated
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Napoleon's troops in Salamanca in the Battle of Farapiles, and from there, they launched a strong
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attack up to the frontier, up to the border in the Basque country, and they defeated the French
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army in the Battle of San Marcial. So, I would say that Europe, I'm about to finish,
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was in a virtual rebellion, on the brink of rebellion in 1813 against Napoleon. Everybody
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was against Napoleon in 1813 in Europe, the Russians, the Prussians, and Austria,
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together with Great Britain and the Spaniards, of course. But I would say that pay attention to
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this moment. In 1813, it was the moment when Prussia and Austria switched sides. Remember that
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after the Battle of Austerlitz and Jena, Napoleon took over not only the Austrian Empire, but also
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Prussia. But at this moment in 1813, in January, Austria, during the Summit of 1813, switched sides
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and they became allies of Russia in the East and Great Britain in the West. So, what happened?
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As a result of this alliance, Russia, Great Britain, Prussia, and Austria, together,
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they managed to defeat Napoleon in the famous Battle of Leipzig,
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the heart of Europe, in what is now Germany. So, what happened as a consequence of the Battle of
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Leipzig? Napoleon, of course, was defeated. He was dethroned. In theory, it finished
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his empire, and he was sent to exile in the famous island of Elba, in Italy, just in front of
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Tuscany, close to Pisa and Florence. And what happened in France? In France, the monarchy of
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Louis XVIII was restored. So, the Bourbons came again into power. Remember that Louis XVI was
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sent to the guillotine. He was killed. And now, the monarch Louis XVIII was restored in power.
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Incredible. The Bourbons, they were back on track, and they came again into power. So,
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Napoleon was in Elba, in the island of Elba, but he wasn't defeated at all. He wasn't defeated
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whatsoever, in absoluto. Why? Because he had a lot of supporters, and many, many French were in
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favor of Napoleon. That's why they traveled there, from France, to the island of Elba.
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They rescued Napoleon. He escaped from Elba, and he managed to reach, again, France. He traveled
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from the island of Elba to the coast of France, to the area of Marseille. And from there, he took
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again, he took over again the power. During the period of 100 days, he reshaped his army. He
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managed to create another army, which was composed of more or less 200,000 soldiers.
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And in the Battle of Waterloo, took place the final battle in 1815. This is the Waterloo
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field, close to Brussels in Belgium. And in this battle, I would say that the NATO army,
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sorry for the comparison, but many, many countries fought against Napoleon, the Russians,
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the Austrians, the Prussians. And also, Great Britain, under the rule of Wellington,
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the main general who fought in Spain, fought against Napoleon. Almost one million soldiers
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from those countries, against 200,000 soldiers, French soldiers. To be honest, in Waterloo,
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Napoleon had his chance, but as you maybe know, he was finally defeated.
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Now, instead of sending him to Italy, they sent him to the middle of nowhere.
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I mean, from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, just in the middle between Brazil and also the
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west coast of Africa, literally in the middle of nowhere. He was living there in prison.
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He was in custody, under the British custody. And he finally died in 1821.
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According to some historians, he died due to stomach cancer. Other historians said that he
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was poisoned. Maybe we will never know the reality, what happened in reality. But now,
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Napoleon is in Paris. He was buried in Paris, finally, in Los Invalidos, if you want to visit
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Paris, and if you want to visit Napoleon's tomb. So, this is the end of the Napoleonic Empire.
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This is the end of the Napoleonic Empire. Thank you for your attention. Bye-bye. See you soon.
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- Autor/es:
- Luis Horrillo Sánchez
- Subido por:
- Luis H.
- Licencia:
- Dominio público
- Visualizaciones:
- 119
- Fecha:
- 6 de noviembre de 2023 - 9:41
- Visibilidad:
- Público
- Centro:
- IES CERVANTES
- Duración:
- 18′ 12″
- Relación de aspecto:
- 1.80:1
- Resolución:
- 1440x798 píxeles
- Tamaño:
- 19.65 MBytes
