1 7 75

S ca le o f M i l es

Ho l y R o m a n Em p n

e
Bo un du ry o f the

Lo n g i t u d e W en
 A B R I EF

H I S TO RY O F EU R O PE
FR O M 1 7 8 9 TO 1815

BY

L U CI U S H U DS O N H O LT (YAL E )
, PH D
. .

L I EU TEN A N T C O LO N EL
- UN I TE D S TA TES A RM Y
,

PR O FES S O R O F EN G LIS H A ND H IS TO R Y
UN I TED S TA TES MI LI TA R Y A C A DEMY
AN D

ALEXAN DER WH EE LER C HI LT O N

L I E U TEN A N T- C O LO N EL I N FAN TR Y U N I TE D S TA TES A RMY
, ,

A S S I S T AN T PR O FE S S O R O F H I S T O R Y
UN I TE D S TA TES MI LI TAR Y A C A DEM Y

WITH MAPS OF M L I ITAR Y CAM PAIGNS DRAWN B Y

WILLI A M KELLY H A RRI S ON , JR .

A TAI
C P N , AAC V LR Y , T ED STAT ES AR M Y
UNI

I ST T
N RUC O R I N H IS T O R Y

UN IT ED S TAT ES M I LITAR Y ACADEM Y

New y ork

THE M A C M I LLAN C O M PANY

1919

All ri ghts r eserved

 WI

C O P Y I G H T 1 91 9
R , ,

B Y THE M AC M ILLAN C O M PANY .

S et u p an d e l e c t ro ty pe d . P u bh sh c d A u gu s t, 1 91 9 .

N or in o ob 19m m
J S
. . C us h i n g C O B er w 1 0 k Sm i t h C m
N o r wo o d , M as s U S A
.
 PR EFAC E

TH I S his tory h a s b ee n writt e n in t he e nd e avor t o p r ese nt

in brief compass t h e story O f t h e French Revolution and the
Napoleonic p e riod in proper perspective against t h e bac k
groun d o i ge neral Eur opean conditions .

I n the account o f the Revolution th e aut h ors h ave ,

attempt e d to give a fa i r and impartial e stimat e o f cause s and

incident s and to S how the reaction o f the ot h er state s o f
,

Europe agains t e ve nts in Franc e I n the account o f the

.

Napoleonic p e riod they have tried s o far a s S pace per

, ,

mi tt e d to keep b e fore t h e read e r t h e gen e ral Eur op e an

,

condi tions a s t hese affected and as t h ey were affected by

, ,

the polici es of the great Emperor .

A featur e o f special importance is the unus ually compl e t e

pres entation o f t he more important mi litary operations o f
the p eriod Without going into tec h nical details t h e aut h ors
.

have striven to give an accurate and readable account of

the strategy and maneuvers by which the campai gns were
won or lost .

I n the division o f w ork the author s have followed r es p ec

,

t ively t he lin e s laid down in their pr e vious book E u r op ea n ,

Hi story 1 8 6 2
, The Professor o f English and His
tory has undertaken the outline of the political history :
the As sistant Professor t h at o f the military campai gns .

The authors gratefully ackno wledge t h e assistance r e n

dere d by Captain William Kelly Harrison Jr in dra wing , .
,

the maps for u se in th e study of the campaign s and by ,

Major Charles A King Jr in reading the boo k in m anu

.
, .
,

s crip t and o er in g many valuabl e sugg e stion s The p olit .

vi PRE FA C E

i c a l ma ps have been reprinted from A P oli ti cal a n d S oci r

Hi story of M oder n E u r op e wit h the ki nd permission o f t h
a uthor Professor Carlton J
,
H Hayes . . .

WES T PO I N T , YO RK,
July , 1 9 19 .
 T AB LE O F C O NTE NT S

C HAP TER I
P A ES
G

E I GHT EEN TH C E N T UR Y EUR O PE 1 3 7

A S oc i al Con d itio n s
. 2 1 1
i C en tra l a n d E as tern E u r o p e
.

ii Wes ter n E u r o pe
.

B E co n o m ic Co n d iti o n s
. 1 1 1 5
C P oli ti c al Co n di ti o n s
.

15 37
i R u ss ia.

ii A u s tria
.

iii P r u ss ia
.

iv Th e H ol y R o man E m pir e
.

v E n gl an d
.

C H AP TER II

F RAN C E : TH E B E G I N N I N GS OF R E VO L U TI O N 3 86 7

A . Pea s an tr y t h e
Th e , B ou r g eo i s i e t h e N o bili t y
, , an d th e
C l er g y 3 847
B P ol iti ca l P h il o s o p h y
. an d its A u tho rs 4 750
C . Th e G o r m t Fr
ve n en in an c e 5 055
D Th e . Fi i l C r i i i Fr
n an c a s s n a n ce 5 560
E . Th e E t t G r l d t h F o rm ti o o f th N ti o
s a es en e a an e a n e a na l
A mb l y
sse 6 067

C HAP TER III

TH E NATI O NAL A S S E M B L Y R E VO L UTI O N 1 789- 1 7 9 1

A N D TH E , 6 88 8

A C hi ef Fig u r es in t h e Fa c ti o n s i F r an ce
. n 6 8- 7 1
B Th e Ki g a n d N o b i l i ty vs th e Peo pl e
. n . 7 1 74
C W o rk o f th e N a ti on al A sse mb l y
. 74- 7 6
D R em o v al o f t h e Kin g a n d the N a t i o n a l A s se m bl y t o
.

P a r is
7 78
6
E Con tin ua ti on o f th e W o rk o f th e N a ti o n a l A s sem bl y
.

in P a r is 7 885
i Flig h t t o Va r en n es
.

i i Ma ss acr e o f t h e C h a m p de Ma r s
.

F Th e N ew Co n s tit u ti o n a n d th e Dis s ol u ti o n o f t h e
.
,

N a ti o n al A sse mbl y 8 5- 8 8
v ii
 C HAPTER I V
E U R O PE R E VO L U T I O N
AN D TH E

A Th Legi l ti
. A em b l y
e s a ve ss

B T he B egi i g o f t h e Wa
. nn n r

C I urr c ti o o f t he Pa ri s Comm un e
. ns e n

Th W a To t h e C l o se o f 1 79 2
e r

E The C o ven ti o
. n n

C HA PTER V

F EIG T E R R O R A N D TH E R EAC TI O N I N FRAN C E

W AR
\
OR N : TH E
A M i l ita r y O p er a ti o s F b r u r y 1 7 93 A u g u s t 1 7 93
. n , e a , ,

B Th e C o v ti o M a r chS p t mber 1 7 93
. n en n , e e ,

C Mi l it ry O p ra ti o A u g u t 1 793 t o t h e E d o f t he
. a e n s, s , , n

Y ea r
\ D Th e
E .
. R ei gn o f Te rr o r
Mil ita r y O p era ti on s , 1 79 4
F . Th e En d o f the T r o r e r

C HAPTER VI

C TEM P
ON OR A R Y E UR O PE , 1 7 891 7 95

A A u s tri a
.

B Pr u s s i a
.

C Sp ain
.

D E ngl an d
.

C HAPTER VII
TH E RIS E OF N A PO L EO N
A . The D ir e to r yc to th e Cou p d

Et a t o f S ep te m b er ,

1 797
\j Mi l it ry Op r ti o
.
rm y 1 796
a e a n s, Ge an ,

ii N p ol o C m p i g i I t l y 1 7 96 1 797
. a e n s

a a n n a ,

( ) Po l iti l R o tr u ti o i I t l y
a ca ec ns c n n a

iii G o r m t i Fr c
. ve n en n an e

B T h D ir to r y 1 797 4 7 9 9
. e ec ,
-

i T h C m p i g i E g yp t d Sy ri 1 7981 79 9
. e a a n n an a,

C Th F ll o f t h D ir to r y
. e a e ec
 TABLE OF C ON TE N T S ix

C HAPTER VII I
P A ES
G

THE C U L A T E
O NS N O V E M B E
, R 1 7 9 9 D E C EM B E R , , 1 8 04 1 84 2 08
A Th e C on s u l a te a n d i t s Pr o bl em s
. 1 87 1 89
B M a r en g o a n d H o h e n l i n d e n
. 1 8 9- 1 9 4
C Na p o l eo n in I n tern a ti on al D i pl o m ac y
. 1 94 2 01
-

i A u s tr i a
.

G r e a t B r i t a in
H oll an d I ta l y a n d S wi tz erl an d
, ,

i v Ge rm a n y
.

D N ap o l eo n s Do m es ti c P olicies
.

2 01 - 2 1 8

C HAP TER I X
NAP E OL VE U H T I D C A ITI N
ON RS S T E H R O L O 209 2 27
A F o r m ti on o f t h T h ir d C o l iti o
. a e a n 2 13 2 17
B Ul m d A u t r l it
. an s e z 2 1 7- 2 2 3
C Th Tr t y o f P r b u r g
. e ea ess 223
D C h g i I t l y d C tr l E u r o p
. an es n a an en a e 223 227
-

C HAP TER X
NAPO L E O N V E R S U S P R US S I A 2 2 8- 2 4 9
A . C a mp a i g n in P r u s s i a
Th e 2 302 3 5
B Th e W i n t er o f 1 806 1 807
. 2 3 5- 2 4 6
i Th e P o l i s h C a mp a ign
.

i i Di pl o ma c y
.

C a mp aig n in E a s t P r u s s ia
iv D ip l o m a ti c Ma n oeu v r es
.

v Th e C a m p a i gn i n E as t P r u ss i a ( Con t ) F r i e dl a n d
. .

C Th e T r ea t y o f Til s it
. 24 6 - 2 4 9

C HAP TER XI

TH E D U E L W ITH G R EAT B R ITAI N 2 50- 2 6 8

A Th e C o n ti n en ta l B l oc kad e
. 2 5 0-
2 54
B E ffec t o f Na p o l eo n s P o l iti ca l
.

an d E c on o m c M eas u res
i 2 5 4 2 5 8
C Th e Pen in s ul ar W ar
. 2 582 6 2
D Th e W a r w it h A u s tri a
. 2 6 2- 2 6 7
E The Peace o f Sch On br un n
. 2 6 7268
x TAB LE OF C ON TE N T S

C HAPTER XI I

N A PO L E O N H E I GH T O F
AT TH E HI S PO W E R
A C o s ol i d a ti o o f Pow e r
. n n

i P o rtu g a l a n d Sp a in
.

ii S w d
. e en

iii H oll
. an d
An n exa ti on s
iv .

B C on diti o n s in Fra n ce
.

C In tern a ti ona l S itu a ti on

.

i Russ ia .

ii Portu g al a n d S p a in
.

D Prep a ra ti o n s fo r t h e Wa r a g ai n s t R uss ia
.

C HAPTER XIII
TH E C AM PA IG R U IA N D CAM PAI G
IN LEI P
SS , AN TH E N 0F ZI G
A Th R u i
. C mp i g
e ss an a a n

B Th A ft r m t h o f t h R u i C m p i g
. e e a e s s an a a n

C Th L i p i g C mp i g to th Armi ti
. e e z a a n , e s ce

D Th A r mi ti
. e s ce

E Th L i p i g C mp i g t o th B ttl o f L i p i g
. e e z a a n , e a e e z

C HAPTER XI V

TH E F AB D I CATI O N
IRST

A Th e Fr nkf o rt N e g o ti a ti o n s
. a

B Th e Pe i ul r W a
. n ns a r

C Th e D ef se o f Fr a ce
. en n

D Th e Firs t Abd i ca ti o
. n

C HAPTER XV

TH E L A S T PHAS E
A Th e Firs t R t o r a ti o n
. es

B Th e G o v rn men t o f Fr an ce
. e

C Th e C o g re o f Vi en n a
. n ss

D Th Hu dr d D y
. e n e a s

i Th W terl oo C a mp a i gn
. e a

E The Fi l S u rr d r
. na en e

F The S e o d Res to ra tio

. c n n
 M APS

Fr on ti s pi ece
B E TW EEN P A ES
G

24 25
3 2- 3 3
5 2 - 53
1 06 1 07
1 2 81 2 9
4
1 2 1 43
16 6- 16 7
1 6 8- 1 6 9
1 78- 1 79
11 1 90- 1 9 1
1 92 1 9 3
-

2 1 8- 2 1 9
2 2 2- 2 2 3
2 2 4- 2 2 5
2 3 2- 2 33
2 4 0- 2 4 1
2 44- 2 4 5
2 6 0- 2 6 1
2 6 4- 2 6 5
2 6 6 2 6 7

2 7 2 2 73
2 9 0- 2 9 1
3 04 3 05
3 1 2 3 1 3
3 1 6 3 1 7
33 4 3 35
3 4 2 - 34 3
346- 34 7
 THE H I S TO R Y O F EU R O PE
FR O M 1 7 89 TO 18 15

C HAPTER I

EI G H TEEN TH C E N T U RY U
E R O PE

TO V i s ual i z e life in the Eur ope o f t he latt e r h a l f of t he

eighteenth c entury requir e s a V igorous and s ustain e d eff ort
of the imagination So accustom e d h av e we become to
.

st eam tran s portation by railways and ocean lin e rs to electric ,

communication by telephone and telegrap h to machinery ,

contriv e d f o r manufactur e on a large s cal e to huge cent e rs ,

of population wit h t he ir com p l icat e d e conomic s ocial and , ,

governmenta l prob l ems and to lib e ra l and d e mocratic

,

ideas o f the rig hts of th e individual and the nat u re and

purpose of politica l organi z ation that t h e consideration of
,

conditions in Europ e d u ring the eight e enth century plunges

us sudden l y into a strang e w orld Thoug h w e all r e ali z e
.

vaguely t h at t he r e w a s a ti me whe n th ese mod e rn m arv e l s

of communication trans p ortation and m an uf actur e and
, , ,

thes e p re s ent -day conception s of e cono mic socia l and , ,

political issues did not exi s t we co m monly fail to ap p r e ciat e

, ,

the natur e and ext ent of t h e re s u l tin g diff e r ences in t he

con di tions o f individual co mm unity and nationa l and
, ,

internationa l l ife Yet in ord e r to gain any ad e quat e id e a

.

of the truly revolutionary natur e of th e e v ent s which con

Vu l s e d Europ e in th e y e ar s b e t w een 1 78 9 and 1 8 1 5 and ,

which were the birth -throe s of a new epoch in m od ern hi s

tory we mu s t h av e in o ur mi nd s the back ground of t he
,

B l
2 THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

social economic and political conditions in w hich th ese

, ,

events found their origin and dev e lopment .

A . SOC IA L C O N DI T I O N S
Looking broadly at social conditions in Europ e o f t he l ater
eighteenth century we distinguish at once a d i f ference
,

between life in eastern Europe and life in western Europe .

We may draw a rough dividing lin e along th e riv e r Elbe

and say that the countries to the east w ere more primitive ,

nearer to the feudal condition s than tho s e to the w e st , .

I n their progress toward our modern form of civiliz e d

community life Prussia Austria Poland and Russia were
, , , ,

distinctly behind the Rhine countries the Ne therlands , ,

France and Great Britain The power o f the nobles in the

, .

east exacted from the peasantry the utmost endurabl e

burdens in labor and tim e in the west this power had waned
until it survived onl y in a number of pett y traditional rights
and privileges The chasm between noble and serf in t h e
.

east had become so wide through g enerations of O p p r es s I O n

o n the one hand and acquiescent s u ffering on the other

that it seemed impossible to bridge : this chasm had b e en i l

sie

s o nearly lled in the west by the gro wt h O f the b o u r e o i

g
the middle class o f society that pas s ag e from one s t r a t u
,

to another wa s easily possible .

i Cen tr a l
. an d E a s ter n E u r op e

I n the feudal ages it will be remembered human s ociet

, ,

in Europe consisted of the lords o r seigniors o n the , ,

hand and o f th e s e rfs on the other The sole

, .

was agriculture : the sole profession war The s e .

the land f o r the seignior : the seignior protected h

from attacks or depredations from their neighbors
co n ditions in the eighteenth century in central and
Europe had changed little from these
ages The sole industry wa s s till
.
 EI G HTEEN TH C EN TU RY U R O PE
E 3

class e s of s oci ety we r e the nobl e s ( including th e cl e rgy ) and

the p e asant The m iddl e class e s the bourgeoisi e the small
.
, ,

trad er s busine s s men skilled and intelligent artisans m e

, , ,

ch an ics and the lik e wh o h ave had a deter m ining in

, ,

u en ce in mod e rn liberal and democratic states constitut e d ,

then an insignicant e l e ment in th e population : they w e re

the gro wth of a lat e r period in th e se s ections of Europe a ,

development sub s equ e nt to t he French Revolution I n .

gain ing o u r id e a of the social conditions of the time we ar e

treating we may focus our att ention upon the peasantry and
,

the nobility and give but a pas s ing glance at others

, .

Th e vast mas s o f th e people wer e of cours e O f the p e asant , ,

class Th ese lived not in nominal se rfdom as a rule ( except

.
,

in Russ ia ) but in an equivalent s tate o f s ubjection to their

,

resp e ctiv e lords They were not free to l e ave their land
.

without their lord s consent They were requir e d to sp e nd

.

from three to six days a week in the cultivation o f their

lord s land Though in m ost countries they h ad t e chnical

.

ownership o f their o wn small plots they were not free to ,

s ell o r mortgag e their land and could work upon it only

in such spare time a s r em ained after they had satised the
re quirem ents of their lord Th e y could n o t marry w ithout
.

their lord s con s ent Their childr e n were at an e arly ag e

.

pre sse d into their lord s servic e at a no mi nal wag e and kept

ther e unti l their maturity Th e y were hous e d in miserabl e

.

hovels group ed in small villag e s Ind e ed it is di f cult to .

,

exagge rate the mis e ry and wr e tch e dness in which the

ordinary p e asant beyond the Elb e pass e d h is l ife SO m any .

were the d e mands of his masters that Often the only tim e
he had to w ork upon h is o wn small allotment of land was
in the evening by the ray s of th e m oon At any instant .

he mi ght be called from his plo w and torn from his family
to be plunged into a wa r whose caus e he kn ew not and who s e
issue meant nothing to him To be left in peace and to hav e
.

time to exact a bare livelihood by unremitting toil upon his

land w ere h i s high e st expectations Th e A frican s l av e in .
4 THE HI STORY OF E UROPE

America h ad as m any privileges and l iv e d actually und er

better conditions than the peasant of a Pru ss ian Austrian , ,

Polish o r Russian proprietor

,
.

The comfort grandeur and occupation of t h e nob l es

, ,

showed in startling contrast t o the s qualor of the peasantry .

Though the absolute independence of t h e sep arat e nobl e s in

the feudal ages h ad very generally given way to the political
overlordship o f the Czar Emperor King Prince A rc h duke
, , , , ,

o r the like in large states the lord continued to be in h is o wn

,

local lan ds an autocrat o f unquestioned authority and power .

He proted by the labors o f his peasants His h ous ehold .

was provisioned by them His armies were recruited from .

the able -bodied among them His retinu e o f servants and .

atten dants wa s drawn from their children He maintained .

complete co n trol over the administration o f the V illages

within his domain He was the court by w hom cases might
.

be decided a court in which he himself could not be s u e d

,

without hi s o wn consent He was at once executive legis

.
,

lative and judiciary in the affairs of h is district In the

, .

wider eld of the state he was a member O f the only class

,

which might inuence the decisions of the monarch He .

and his colleagues were the prop o f the monarch the body ,

from which the sovereign chose advisers If h e so desired .

,

and if his sovereign appreciated his qualiti e s O f mind an d

character he might rise to high administrative and execu
,

tive position s in the state and wield an inuence w h ich

would be felt beyond its borders By rig h t o f h is noble .

birth all aven ues o f advancement were Open to h im He

, .

naturally signalized his superior station in life by the si z e

o f his castle the splendor of its appointments
, and the r e ,

n em en t s o f h is s ocial life He regarded h imself and .

,

reg a rded by others as a privileged being living on a

,

above that o f the mass o f men subject to no w ill b ,

o wn and bound by no conventions save tho s e w h ich

might care to observe An Austrian nobleman is r eport
.

to have said that no o n e belo w the rank of count deser v

 EI G HTEENTH CENT RY U E U R O PE 5

the nam e o f human being : though the s tatem ent m ay

seem extr e me it not inaccurately r epr e s e nts th e g en e ra l
,

O pinion the nobility held of themselves and of others .

Among the privileged cla s ses we h ave inc l uded th e c l ergy .

I t is dif cult however t o make such sweeping generaliza

, ,

tions concerning the clergy as w e have concerning th e

peasantry and the nobility for no such uniformity in r e ,

ligio n and in the position of the clergy e xist e d M any of .

the north German states including Prussia we re pre , ,

o n d e r a t i n gl y Protestant in religion Austria Poland and

p .
, ,

the states O f Italy were almost s olidly Roman Catholic .

The great Slav power Russia had become the chief r ep r e , ,

s en t a t i v e o f the Greek Catholic ( the eastern branch of th e

Roman Catholic which had developed along radically ,

different lines from the Roman Catholic ) In all th e .

countries however the clergy were r e cognized as a priv

, ,

ileged order ran ki ng with the nobility They were exempt

, .

from taxation and from forced labor were able to o wn ,

property and were fr e e to move from place to place with

,

out restriction Many o f the h igher clergy h ad immense

.

incomes dwelt in great palaces with retinues O f s ervants

, ,

and in every way adopted the mod e o f life of the lay nobility .

The lower clergy though Often as poor as th e mass of th e ir

,

ock yet gained c e rtain peculiar rights from the dignity o f

,

their calling In states like Austria and Russia where t h e

.
,

government o fcially acknowledged and supported the r e

l igi o n o f the mass of the p e ople the h ierarchy o f the clergy ,

were hand in glove wit h the administrative nobility In .

Prussia where nominal r e ligious freedom w as t h e o fcia l

,

attitude the clergy exist e d a n d w orked more independ ently

, .

The simplicity O f the social system of the rural districts ,

divided as it was into nobility ( including clerg y ) and peas

an t r y , was developed into complexity in the few to wn s and
cities W e must keep in mind h owever that the to wn s
.
, ,

and citi e s w ere fe w in number and relatively small in p o p u

lation It w a s n o t until aft e r th e middle of th e c entury
.
6 THE HIS TORY OF E UROPE

that Berli n numbered over inhabitants The condi .

tio n s we have outlined concerning the peasantry and no

b il it y therefore Obtained most generally throughout t h e
, ,

cou n tries i n dicated The extremes o f the social scale in

.

the towns and cities were similar to the two classes O f th e

c ou n try the nobles at the t o p
,
and a large mass o f ignorant ,

and wretched unskilled workers at the bottom In betwe en .

,

however were other c lasses practically unknown in the rural

,

commu n ities Above the unskilled workers were the arti

.

sans commo n l y apprenticed to some master and looking

,

forward to the time when they themselves in turn would

be masters in their craft Above the artisans were the .

masters members of the guild o r association o f mast e r
, ,

workmen each i n dustry having a gu i c of its o wn

,

.

Above the masters o r gu il dm en were the great merchants

, ,

and m en o f i n dustry Often themselves graduates from the ,

guilds i n to the wider Opportunities O f trade Above t h e .

merchants were the professional m en of all kinds doctors , ,

lawyers scholars and the like And at the t o p were the

, , .

nobilit y controlli n g here as in the c ountry the legislative

, ,

j udi cial and administrative details o f the government and

, ,

regardi n g themselves as o n a plane above that o f the r e

m a i n d er O f s ociety .

Such in broad general outlines were the chief features

, ,

o f s ociet y as it existed i n states to the east O f the Elbe

duri n g the later eighteen th century Though individual .

exceptio n s ma y be noted in di fferent localities to each

poi n t men tion ed these outlines present a substantiall y
,

a cc urate stateme n t o f the t y pi c al conditions in these terri

tories W e ma y then turn to the countries t o the west

.
, , .

ii . Wes ter n E u r op e
In western Europe as i n eastern agriculture was the chief ,

industry o f the mass O f the people but social condition s , his

were di fferent Although the two classes in the rural dis
.
We
t r ict s t h e n obilit y and the peasantr y still remained from
,
,
 EI G HTEEN TH C E N T U RY E U ROPE 7

fe udal ag e s the nobles retained merely shreds o f their

th e ,

In ancient power i n the for m of some special privileges and ,

the the peasants su ffered only a few humi liating reminders o f

their former serfdom It has been customary to emphasize
.

l the the m isery and wretchedness o f the peasantry in France yet ,

rant in comparison with conditions to the east O f the Elbe th e ,

te en
,
French peasant was well O ff .

Perhaps the most marked di fferences between the l o t o f

the peasant in the west and that O f his brother in the e ast
lay in his individual freedom and his own ership O f land .

tould The peasant o f the west except in the very few cases where
,

e th e actual serfdom survived was free to change his abode his , ,

occupation o r both More important h e could o wn land

, .
, ,

and could sell lease bequeath o r mortgage his property

, , , .

hants The thrifty peasants had taken advantage O f their O p p o r

mthe t u n it i es It is estimated that more than o n e half o f the
.

e the arable land in France f o r example was own ed by peasants

, , .

actors Many prosperous farmers rented large areas which they

,

re th e worked f o r their o wn advantage O ther peasants worked .

lative proprietor s lands o n a share basis being furnished with

, ,

,t and house a part o f the stock and seeds and being given o n e
, , ,

there half o f the annual produce Though methods O f cultiva .

tion were primitive and yields therefore relatively small

, ,

the pride of ownership the individual independence and

, ,

the expectation o f material gain made the western peas

ant s l o ;t far brighter than that o f his neighbors in the east .

Such was the brighter side o f the pe a sant s condition

.

Free though he was the burdens laid upon him were ex

,

heavy He had in t h e rst place humiliating

.

o f his ance st ors position under the feudal system

ture O f seigniorial charges o r dues and o f a
O f forced labor upon public works The .

ed by
land ,

sold .
8 THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

rather than burdensome The forced labor called in . ,

Franc e the cor vee consisted of from eight to forty days o f

work annually upon the roads Here again this labor wa s .

, ,

n o t exorbita n t but it often was imposed at a time when

,

the pe a sant s work upon his crops w a s most necessary I n

.

addition t o these direct reminders of serfdom heavy taxes ,

were l a id upon the peasants t o provide i n come for the state

a n d it s ally the church Again using France as an ex
,
.

a mple we nd the peasant called upon to pay the church

,

ti thes amounting to about o n e twelfth of his annual prod

,

uce the state ta i lle levied upon the supposed net income
, ,

o f the individual the poll tax and a tax called the vi n gtie
, , me
( the twentieth ) which was expected
,
to take ve per cent of
th e income It has been estimated that through t he se
.

various taxes the government collected over fty per cent

o f the peasant s net income

truly a burdensome levy .
,

Travelers in western Europe at this period bear testimony

to the appearance o f poverty of the p easantry a poverty ,

produced by the extortio n s O f the tax collectors And y et .

,

knowi n g human nature a n d taking into account the crude

and unscientic methods O f levying taxes at that time we ,

ma y well believe that much o f the appearance of poverty

and wretchedness was external only This was due to the .

efforts O f the peasants themselves t o deceive the gov ern

ment agents with respect to their actual material wealth
and thus to escape heavy taxation .

The superior station of the nobles in the west was attested ,

as h a s been said by certain special rights and privileges

, .

Important among these privileges was their exemption from

most o f the forms o f taxation They were of course by .
, ,

right o f their inheritance from the feudal seigniors ex empt ,

from an y manner o f labor upon public works ,

co r vee i n France

Agai n by the same right

.
, ,

exempt from taxes o f the nature o f the Fren

bei n g held in theory that the y rendered
ser v i c e to the monarch in the place of thi
 EI G HTEE N TH C E N T U R Y EU R O PE 9

the pre s tige Of their position enabled them to escape their

proper shar e of any income taxes In short their contri .
,

butions t o the nances of the state were ordinarily far less

than their proportionate wealth warranted The income o f .

the nobles was derived from various sources Many o f .

them were lando wners and had an incom e from leasing

,

their farms Many others had a large and steady annual

.

income from the feudal charges o r dues Many sought .

-

and gained lucrative sinecures in the service o f their m o n

arch I n western Europ e as i n eastern all avenu e s o f
.
, ,

advancement were open to those o f noble birth From .

the nobility the sovereigns chose their advisers and their

administrators A nobleman if he so desired and if he
.
,

basked in the favor o f his ruler might play a leading part ,

in affairs Of state and wield an inuence not only in national

but also in international affairs Though genius might O C .

ca s i o n a ll y raise a man of mean birt h to h igh position a

m iracle unkno wn in the states o f central and eastern Europe
the nobl e always had the inner trac k o n the road to
p referment Naturally in western a s in e a s tern Europe
.
, ,

the nobleman s scal e o f living was consistent with his

Opinion of his o wn position As western Europe had pro .

gr es se d more rapidly in modern civilization than had eastern ,

the nobleman s life w a s graced with greater renement and
comfort Paris had since the time of Loui s X I V set the
.
, ,

standard O f fashion f o r all O f Europe The French noble .

men were therefor e always a step in advanc e o f their

, ,

neighbors in the art o f living and their inuence was com ,

m u n ica t ed mor e directly to their immediate V icinity The .

nobility of the west then constituted a privileg e d class as

, ,

in th e east Their Opportunities in the life o f the nation

.

were equally gr e at Their standard o f living was well

.

raised above that o f the peasantry But their power an d .

authority ( except where they entered administrative o r

executive positions under the sovereign ) in their local dis
t r ict s had d e generated .
10 THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE

The social status o f the clerg y w a s much the same in

western Europe as in the states be y ond the Elbe They .

fo r med a privileged class ranking with the nobilit y , Th e .

ti thes exacted u n der the authorit y of the state went for

,
,

their support The higher clerg y often enjoyed a princely

.

i n c ome from this source a n d followed the life O f the fashion

,

able nobilit y in the towns and cities even to participation ,

in political a ffairs The lower clerg y a s the parish pri e sts

. , ,

were Ofte n u n derpaid and lived u n der conditions similar to

those o f the peasantr y but even these occupied a uniqu e
,

so cial position because Of their calling .

In the life o f the towns a n d cities we nd the most marked theA

di ffere n ce between social conditions in we s tern Europe and th

an,

those in eastern N o t only were these centers more nu

.

m er o u s a n d more populous but their activitie s wer e more m

no
e f
,

varied and ourishi n g Manufacturing had been arti .

c i a lly stimulated in France by the economist Colbert in

the reign o f Louis XI V and had ever since h ad the special
favor of the French govern ment : consequently in Franc e ,

and in the n eighbori n g countries to which the inspiration

passed a large and i n creasing class Of skilled and intelligent
,

artisans formed a n important element in the to wn p o p u l a

tion Through the numerous ports o n the North Sea the
.
,

E n glish Channel and the Atlan ti c seaboard a constantly

, ,

growing commerc e passed givi n g occupation to numerous ,

keen active a n d prosperi n g merchants The increas e in

, , .

wealth an d t he rise in the gen eral standard Of living in the

town s and c ities made opportunit y f o r the small trader ,

shopkeeper a n d business man The number Of such multi

, .

plied rapidl y Professional men especially lawyers o u r

.
, ,

i s h ed as the place need and Opportunity presented them

, ,

selves A v igorous i n tellectual life sprung up involving

.

n o t merel y the n obility and the scholars but all ranks o f ,

society Thus developed a healthy and prosperous bour

.

geo is i e o r middle class in societ y alert intelligent and

,
, , , ,

i terested i n issues o f the da y This class lled the gap

n
.
 EI G HTEEN TH C E N T U RY E U ROPE 11

which existed in rural communities between the nobilit y

and the peasantry This class it was which a few years
. ,

later in various countries Of western Europe supported

, ,

and carried through the revolutionary mov e m ent initiated

in France .

B . EC O N O M I C C O N DITI O N S

The rst an d perhaps the most stri king general di ffer ence
, ,

between e conomic conditions of today and o f the later

eighteenth century lies in the speed and volume o f business .

We work today at a pa c e and in a volume which would

have astounded o u r forefathers Lacking steam transpor .

t at i o n facilit y for comm unication by telephone and tele

,

graph and mechanical marvels f o r rapid production the

, ,

men of the eighteenth century conducted their mutual

a a i r s in a more leisurely wa y Economic methods in
'

those days were by no means a s complex and as highly

specialized as they are toda y .

The chi ef industry in Europe as h a s been emphasized , ,

was agriculture At least ninety per cent of the people

.

spent the major portion o f their time in the cultivation o f

the land Methods and implements however had i m
.
, ,

proved little Over those o f primitive times Although .

agricultural societies existed in which theorists propounded

their ide a s and though a few notable inventions in tools
,

had been made neither the ideas Of the theorists n o r the

,

improved tools o f the inventors had been put to any gen

eral use In a population s o entirely dependent upon
.

agriculture thinkers realized O f course t h e advisabilit y Of

, , ,

improving methods but stood aghast at the inert weight ,

of ignorance stupidity and tradition they would have to

, ,

raise To let matters go o n as they had in the inherited

.

inefcient w a y was e a sy : to force improvements and new

methods upon a dull and unwilling peasantry was very
difcult Hence n o care was taken to select seed f o r the
.
,

production Of better and more prolic varieties N 0 u s e .

12 THE HISTORY OF E U ROPE

was made o f what practical improvements in the i m p le

ments o f cultivation had been invented Little effor t was .

exerted to breed better stock Scientic knowl e dge of the .

proper use and th e advantages of fertilizers was extre m ely

limited The peasant plowed and reaped with methods
.

a n d tools not far different from those of ancient Egypt .

His sto ck wa s commonly small and weak The com m on .

method o f restoring the yielding power o f worked -out land

was to leave it fallow running to grass and weeds for a
, ,

y ear o r more Added to th e s e inefcient m et h ods w a s the

.

natural apathy of a degraded and oppr e ssed peasantry in

the greater part of Europe The peasant east of the Elb e
.
,

especially had no incentive to do good work f o r hi s labor

, ,

was largely spent upon his lord s lands and the prots
accrued to the proprietor Slave labor has never prov e d
.

efcient and the labor o f the peasantry in central and

,

eastern Europe under conditions so nearly those o f slav e s

, ,

gave most unsatisfactory re s ults Thus the art o r science .

o f agriculture was backward the yields relativ ely small , ,

and in a country given over to farming a large proportion

of the population lived constantly o n the verge o f famine .

When we turn from the vast agricultural lands to condi

tions in the towns and cities we nd industry still in the ,

grip o f the descendants o f the medieval guilds o r corpora ,

tions o f craftsmen Although these guilds had declin e d

.

materiall y from the power and inuence they had wi e lded

duri n g the thirteenth and fourteenth century they still ,

remained the most conspicuous feature of industrial life .

They were in es s ence close a s sociations o f the m aster

, ,

workmen o n e association for each craft intend e d to

d u s t r i es
Thus the weavers guild included all the master
.

weavers and had the power to prevent others from eng a ging
I
ndependentl y in the weaving industry ; the shoemak e rs

guild i n cluded all the master shoemakers and prevented

others from engaging in this trade ; etc Inasmuch a s the .
 EI G HTEE N TH C E N T U RY EU ROPE I3

masters in the gui ld proted m ore as their numbers were

less they commonly put many Obstacles in the way Of the
,

apprentice s and journeymen w h o were ambitious them

s elves to gain membership in the association I n this w a y .
,

o f course the power of the masters o f the guilds w a s being

,

continually exerted to retard the natural expansion and

development o f industry Free competition among ski lled
.

workmen was rendered impossible No workm an could .

learn a trade except through apprenticeship to a master in

a guild ; and then after years o f work in this capacity he
, ,

mi ght n d himself barred from further progress by the

s el s h l y conservative policy Of the guild .

Both in the trade in grain and in the management Of

industry unwise and unscientic governmental interference
,

tended to hi nder natural e xpansion and development This .

interference took two forms : rst taxation and second , , ,

direct regulation O wing to their great extravagance and

.
,

to the lack O f any system in their nances the various ,

govern ments were always in dire need o f more money .

The obvious and easy w a y to get such money was by the

levy of taxes upon production Hence increased industry
.
,

in the elds or at the loom was met by incr e ased tax burdens
laid upon the producer Am bition and enterprise wer e
.

curbed ; trade lagged ; individual initiative was discouraged .

Governments p e rsisted in their s h ort -sighted policy of kill

ing the geese that laid the golden eggs Again by govern .
,

mental decrees th e govern ments endeavored to regulate

economic conditions Though the intention was Often
.

laudable the means adopted were usuall y the opposite

, .

Thus in the effort to keep the price O f grain low to con

sumers within a country the government ignoring the
, ,

inexorable laws o f supply and demand would regulate the ,

place and method of its sale and establish maximum and

minimum prices In an e ff ort to standardize craft prod
.

n e ts , the government disregarding the possibilities o f in

,

ven t i o n s which mi ght materially change condition s o f

14 THE HI STORY O F E UROPE

manufacture would regulate the amount of raw mat e rial

,

and the quality o f the production Thus both in the vast

.

grain industry Of the rural districts and in the limited

manufacturing industry in the urban districts w e nd ,

progress checked at every turn by conditions within the

individual industries and by governmental interferen ce
from without .

When we pass from industry to commerce that is to a , ,

consideration o f trade and exch ange in the articl e s Of pro

duction we nd similar h andicaps to ourishing develop
,

ment The selshness o f the separate states and within

. ,

the states the jealousy o f their traditional rights o n the

part o f the provinces and within the provinces the inherit e d
,

privileges o f the seigniors led to the imposition o f tariffs

,

at every boundary line and at most rivers and roads Though .

the amount i n question was in each instance relatively small ,

the total was considerable not to mention the annoyance of

,

having commodities held up fro m fteen to thirty time s

between the producer and his market for payment o f the
tariffs As examples of the amount and annoyance o f the
.

tariff s the following will sufce : cloth exported from Car

,

c a s s o n n e in southern France to a market in northern France

paid fteen per cent o f its value in tari ff s o n the wa y ;

goods going via the Rhine River from Strasbourg to Rotter
dam were stopped thirty times for the collection of tolls .

Th e channels o f international trade w e re clogged from

similar causes To be sure British cloths O f superior w e ave
.
,

and texture found their way to the French Prussian and , ,

Russian markets French silks and wines were exported th e

, ,

Russians sent their furs the Far East yielded its spic e s
, ,

and the colonies each it s indigenous products Govern .

ments however watched commerce with a jealou s eye ever

, ,
,

anxious to have the balance o f trade in their o wn favor y et ,

co n stantly b y unwise measures thwarting the natural gro wth

and progress o f international business O n one occasion a
.

government fearing the depletion of its food supply w ould

,
,
 EI G HTEE N TH C EN T U RY E U ROPE I5

forbid the e xportation of grain thus barring it s citi z en s ,

from the advantages of the higher price obtainable in a

foreign market A gain a governm e nt desiring t o force the
.
, ,

us e of home made products would impose a prohibitiv e

-
,

tax upon certain grades o f imported goods thus arbitrarily ,

s hutting off the supply Especially did each country jea l .

o u s l y regard its colonial markets a s a commercial invest

ment demanding an absolute monopoly of the colonies

,

trade in return f o r the mil itary protection it a o r de d its

'

distant subjects Freedom o f trade w a s the dream of u n

.

regard e d theorists National selshness misdirected forged

.
, ,

the shackles which bound commerc e .

With the vast and e asy current o f international comm e rce

in peaceful days o f modern times in o u r mind it is di fcult ,

to realize the n arrow and sluggish ow o f such commerce

in the eighteenth century W e m ust keep in mind the .

incr e ase in raw materials caused by improved scientic

methods of cultivation the incr e ase Of commodities manu ,

f act u r e d from such raw materials by modern machinery ,

the additional demand du e to the added population the ,

op ening and settling o f new lands the general rise in stand ,

ards of living the modern speed of transportation by rail

,

road and steamship and th e wisdom o f modern governments

,

in breaking down customs barriers and adopt ing the prin

cip l es of economists in their attitude toward industry and

commerc e In the eight eent h century e conomi cally we ar e

.
, ,

s till in th e dark age s .

0 . POL I T I CAL C O N DI T I O N S
Wh en we sp e ak of the politics of the later eig h teent h
century in Europ e w e are dealing with a game which
, ,

before the French Revolution only princes play e d The , .

ign orant peasant in t h e great e r part of Europe bound to

,

the soil which he cultivated was under the conditions in ,

capable o f speculation either upon local national o r inter , ,

national politics The bourgeoisie distributed in th e f ew

.
,
16 THE HI S TORY O F E U ROPE
servilel y followed the lead of
tow n s a n d cities in general ,

the n obles The modern .

newspapers and periodicals with ,

their vast in u e n ce i n the formation and gui dance o f an

i n depe n dent and i elligent
n t public Opinion were practicall y ,

u n kno wn Whe n we speak

.
as we shall following a ,

natural method o f the policy of Prussia o r of Austria , ,

or of
Russia it must be remembered that we do not refer
,

t o the policy of all o r even of any considerable

,
part of the
people o f these countries but to the policy arbitraril y ,

adopted by the reigning prince and his small circle of noble

advisers The peasant had no policy : his only desire
.

was to be allowed to gain his livelihood from his land .

When he warred it was in accordance with the demand ,

o f his lord n o t because he had any conception

,
Of the
issues at stake or because indeed he had any special
, , ,

sense Of natio n ality o r patriotism The prince with his .

nobles pla y ed the game : the mass of the people blindly

a n d unknowi n gly responded to his call and accept e d the
results .

N o t that pri n c es were unaware of the responsibilities o f

their position The best political theory o f the time de
.

m a n de d that the pri n ce should exert himself f o r the good

o f his people It was gen erall y understood throughout the
.

c l a sses which spe n t an y thought o n the matter at all that

go v ern me n t existed f o r the furtherance Of the safety wel ,

f a re a n d prosperity Of the governed It w as Frederick the

, .

Great o f Prussia o n e o f the most arbitrary despot s Of the

,

a ge
, who proclaimed himself the rst servant of his people .

The la t er eighteenth c e n tury wa s the period Of what has be !

c ome k n own i n history as the age Of the Benevolent o r E n

lighte n ed Despots t e O f autocratic rulers who according

, . .
,

to their lights administered their respective countries with

a n e y e to the general good Frederick the Great King of .
,

Prussi a from 1 74 0 to 1 7 86 Catherine II commonly called , ,

C a t heri n e t h e Great wh o ruled Russia from 1 7 6 2 to 1 7 9 6

, ,

Joseph II H ol y Rom a n Emp eror from 1 7 6 5 to 1 7 9 0 and ruler

,
 EI G HTEE N TH C EN T U RY E UROPE 17

of Austria from 17 8 0 to 1 7 9 0 Charles III King of Spain , ,

from 175 9 to 1 788 Gustavus III o f Sweden and the Arch

, ,

duk e Leopold O f Tuscany were all monarchs who were ,

familiar with the advanced political philosophy Of the day .

They associated with themselves men o f learning and j udg

ment and labored long and unceasingly along what t h ey
,

believed to be the right lines f o r the improvement o f gen

eral conditions within their respective countries .

These monarchs did not however because o f their a d , ,

v a n c ed and enlighten e d ideas of the responsibilities and

duti e s of their positions abate one j ot o f their belief in the

,

principle of autocracy The modern theory that govern .

ment should be more o r less directly under the control o f

the governed grew from the ashes Of the institutions de
stro y ed in the res o f the great revolutionary period Of
1 7 89 18 1 5
-
This theory formed n o part of the political
.

p hilosophy Of the period Of the Benevolent Despots The .

autocrats Of the earlier period still retained the conception

o f the divine origin o f their power and of their superior

ability f o r its exercise .

From the conditions we have outlined above it followed ,

that internation al politics consisted of intrigue among the

Various prin c es each striving to add to his dominions r e
,

g dles s of the method Of acquisition o r the homogeneity

a r

o f the resulting population The principl e o f nationality .

,

t e that people of the same race had an inherent right to

. .
,

a governm e nt Of their o wn was unrecognized before the ,

French Revolution w a s indeed an outgrowth o f that , , ,

Revolution Racial boundaries were regarded as unim

.

portant Princes intrigued to add to the number o f souls
.

in their territories irrespective o f blood lan guage o r r e , ,

l igio u s a f liations Austrian and Spanish princes ruled

.

Italian states ; the Austrian house governed what is now

Belgium ; the un feeling disruption o f Poland in the latter
half Of th e eighteenth century o ffered Opportunities to
Russia Prussia and Austria t o aggrandize themselves
, , .
18 THE HISTORY O F E U ROPE

No sympathy was extend e d to subjects thus living und e r ,

o r brought under the dominion of foreign princes

,
.

To summarize : I n the later eighteenth century the great

mass o f the people were still unenlightened in a political
sense and in c apable o f exerting pressur e u p on national
policy by an intelligent public opinion Personal libert y .

o f thought ,
expression movement for the people at large
,

was unkn own States were thought o f named directed

. , , ,

and typied by the persons of their sovereign s Al though .

monar chs in the leading s tates followed the dictates o f

advanced political philosophy in t h eir performance of their
duties the y still upheld the principle o f autocracy and
,

regarded themselves as divinely authorized and gifted f o r

absolute government And international politics consisted
.

o f the intrigues of princes to add to their dominions irr e ,

s p e ct i v e o f ties o f race language o r religion

, , .

With these general ideas of c o n di t i o n s in Europe

, _

ight e eii t h century

l

o f the lat e ! e we may n o w co n s i der in

-
, n

more detail the governments of the leading sep arate states .

These are o f special importance in o u r study f o f , although

as we have noted the prin ces had no body of intelligent
p ublic Op i n i on upon which to rely their governments con ,

trolled and directed the destinies of the millions o f m en

in Europe Historians are not without j ustication there
.
,

fore in devoting their space to the domestic and inter

,

national politics o f the gover n men ts Of the European states .

We should rst get an accurate notion of what the political

subdivisions o f Europe were in the latter h alf of the eight
e en t h century .We may use the map o f modern Europ e as
the basis o f o u r description in order to gain at the sam e
time an idea o f the vast changes which have taken place .

Begi n ning with the east we nd Rus si a t hen a s in 1 9 1 4

,
~ _
,

the greatest state territorially in Eu r op e Th e Russia o f .

that period however had not thrust herself s o far into

, ,

the heart o f Europe as s h e has since done for Finland was ,

a part o f Sweden and Poland was a great independent

,
 EI G HTEE N TH C EN T U RY EU ROPE 19

kingdom stretching from Posen to the Dnieper River and ,

from the Gulf of Riga to within about one hundred miles

of Odessa on the Black Sea To the southeast the Turkish .
,

empire than embraced all of modern Rumania Bulgaria , ,

Serbia Montenegro and Greece and stretched across the

, , ,

Bosphorus as today into A sia Minor Central Europe

, , .

was cut up into a large number o f independent units loosely ,

bound politically into the s o -called Holy Roman Empire .

Of these independent units the most important were Prussia

\ al ong t h e B alt l c I n the north with scattered
a
,
,

s t r ef n ,

their dependencies up to the Rhine and A ustria including Hun , ,

gary to the south The remaining units ranging from

,
.
,

dfor I n S I gn ica n t states with a few thousand inhabitants to

shi ed kingdoms of the size O f Bavaria and Saxony reached through ,

central Europe from the Baltic and North seas to Switzer

land In the south the Italian peninsula was cut up into
.
,

a number of independent states the most important Of ,

which were the Kingdom o f Naples which reached from ,

Naples south and included the island O f Sicily the States

, ,

of the Church which extended in a broad belt from Rome

,

north e astward to the head Of the A driatic Sea and Venice , ,

Lombardy ( or Milan ) and Piedmont ( including the island

,

o f Sardinia ) in the north Denmark at this time possessed

.

o r wa y ; and Sweden still retaining some ,

s former greatness had dominion over Fin ,

away in the northwest was independent

and south of it the Austrian Netherlands
, , .

Spain Portugal and Great Britain had s u b s t a n

, ,

h e same boundaries as in modern times .

he units we have m ention e d ; the most important -

i n t h a drama we are about to follow were Russia

'

and Great Britain These states .

n d : th e other states

r n i s h ed merely the battleground for the Opposing

r inject e d themselves onl y occasionally into the

L e aving France for e xt e nd e d tr e atment in th e
20 THE HI S TORY O F EU R O P E

next chapter we shall co n sider here political conditions

,

i n Russia Austria Prussia and England and outlin e the

, , , ,

n a ture and government of the Holy Roman Empire .

1 .

Catherine II of Russia Catherine the Great succeeded , ,

to the throne in 1 7 6 2 at the age of thirty -three after a ,

ill
palace revolution engineered b y her favorites had dethroned
and assassi n ated her husband Peter III She was a Ger , .

man princess by birth married to the Grand duke Peter o f

.
,
-

Russia b y the i n uence o f Frederick the Great o f Prussia

with the idea of cementing friendship between Russia and he
t

Prussia H er education as was customary at the time in

.
,

German princel y families was largely i n the hands o f French ,

i
sp
n

governesses and tutors W ith great good sense Catherin e .

, ,

o n ce her future was determined for her set o u t to t her ,

self for her assured position of Empress Of Russia She .

learned thoroughly the Russian language adopted the ,

orthodox religion o f the Greek church accustomed hers elf ,

to the convention s of Russian society and tried to und e r ,

stand a n d appreciate t h e nature and needs o f the Russian

people A woman Of strong a n d determined character sh e
.
,

found herself wedded to a degraded degenerate without

ambition ta s te or decency She could n o t but despise
, , .

him and he in turn both hated and feared h er A few

, .

months after Peter s accession t o the throne in January

1 7 6 2 a group of her favorites realizing his utter ine fciency

, ,

and willi n g to advance their o wn fortunes by placing Cather

ine in sole power proclaimed his deposition and Catherin e s
,

elevation to the throne as empress A f e w days later .

Peter s death b y apoplexy was announced He was .

probably murdered Though Catherine was not directly .

guilty o f this murder s h e connived at it The assassins, . ,

though gen erall y suspected were never punished , .

On c e empress this German born and French educ ated

,
- -

woman s howe d a force Of character and tal ent for gov e rn

 EI G HTEEN TH C EN T U RY E UROPE 21

ment which marked her as an unusual genius Though .

her private life was immoral and the story O f her amours
was common gossip throughout the court society o f Europe ,

though s h e had no innate lov e Of the arts s h e exhibited a

,

practical sense and judgment in affairs of state and a passion

for her adopted country which rmly secured her position
in the Opinions of her contemporaries and h ave w o n the
admi ration o f succeeding generations In internal a ffairs
.
,

Catherine wa s responsible for the organization o f local

administration in provincial governorships which per s isted
until the Russian Revolution in 1 9 1 7 By this innovation
.

the centralized administration which h ad pro v ed inef cient

,

because of the vast extent and varied interests in the great

empire was replaced by a system under which the country
,

was divided and subdivided for local government into

areas which local governors and provincial governors -gen
eral could manage The ultimate direction and control
.
,

o f course was to remain in the hands o f the sovereign ; but

,

the administration Of purely local interests was under this

system left in the h ands Of those who could best appreciate
the ne e ds and interests o f the people concerned The .

complete working out and installation Of this system thus ,

so briey stated occupi e d twenty years Of Cat herine s

,

e system marked an immense advance in ef

cy over the previous chaotic conditions That it did
.

accomplish more perfect results in following genera

s was due n o t s o much to the faults Of the theory as to

corruption and inefficienc y o f the Ofcials .

policy toward serfdom Catherine theoretically

,

v o ca t e d the uplift Of the serf socially economically and

, ,

lit ica l l y but in practice was forced by conditions to s u p

,

rt and continue the e xisting status Government in

.

s to all intents and purposes carried o n by a

alliance between the sovereign and th e
i n g which Catherine might do to antagonize
create an int ens e Opposition The no
'

.
22 THE HI S TORY O F E U RO PE

b i l it y , naturally since it lived upon serfdom con s idered

, ,

serfdom as a necessary institution in the empire Hence .

tion:
a
c
,

though Catherine endeavored to give an Opportunit y f or

improvement in the status o f serfs a n d actually appointed,

a Legislative Commission t o deliberate upon ways and

mean s for admitti n g serfs to limited rights in local affairs ,

the dead weight o f the nobility thwarted all her e ff orts .

It is to the credit o f her reputation f o r liberalism h owever , ,

that sh e had the i n terests o f the serfs so m uch at h eart

and actually projected sch emes for their gradual emanei
patiou .
this,

Again in the matter o f the laws and the courts Catheri ne ,

than,

showed advanced ideas She felt the need of a th orough

.

revision and codication of the bod y o f existing law and ,

even went to the length o f drawi n g up herself a draft of the

general principles to be followed by the appointed commis
sion Here however as in the case of serfdom we have
.
, , ,

t o c redit Catheri n e with good intentions rather than with

practical results f o r the magnitude of the task prevented
,

the c ommission from ever recommending radical changes .

I n her policy toward the eco n omi c life o f the country ,

Catherine achieved more She favored freedom of trade

.

and man ufacture and inasmuch a s these interests were

, ,

slight and did not materially aff ect the nobility was able ,

to promulgate decrees to bring about these conditions .

She removed export duties abolished monopolies per , ,

m i t t e d without special authority the establishment o f fac

tories by private enterprise and appointed a Tr ade Com
,

mi s s i on to handle matters connected with commerce .

Especially notable were her interest in the waterways

throughout t h e country and her e fforts f o r their
me n t Thus her policy in general stimulated the
.

o f industry and trade in the empire Here as in a .

,

t r a t i v e reforms failure t o ac hieve more w a s due

,

incapacit y and corruption O f many Of her agents

the ignorance and stupidit y of
 EI G HTEEN TH C EN TU RY E UROPE 23

Catherine appreciated keenly the need for gen e ral edu

cat io n a l reforms throughout the country but S he was ,

thwarted by the social and political conditions Education .

o n a scale involving the serfs w a s in the Opinion Of the ,

great landed nobility impracticable and undesirabl e She

, .

provided however specia l schools in St Petersburg f o r

, ,
.

the children of th e privileged classes cadet corps for the ,

boys and boarding schools for the girls and planned that ,

the capital o f each governmental distri c t should have a

national school But in the latter p roject as in so many
.
,

others s h e encountered obstacles o f ignorance super

, ,

their s t i t io n
,
incapacity indolence and corruption
, , obstacles ,

which o n e sovereign in a single generation could n o t hope

Wa
ll to overcome The few schools s h e founded remain to her
.

toil credit The new universities and the syst e m of nati o nal
.

schools in the provinces neve r materialized .

eh
w it We have indicated in the above paragraphs a few of the
interests which occupied the time o f this notable s overeign .

ment They give but a partial V iew of the diversity and activity

ang
e .
o f Catherine s mind and character She journeyed con .

s t an t l y through her empire striving to s ee in person the

,

reforms She created an I mp er i a l M edi ca l

.

Entirely irreligious by
a scheme f o r the secularization
the church lands and made the clergy the paid servants
the state at the same time af rming her allegiance to
,

e orthodox faith o f the Russian people She consistently .

to further the complete R u s s ica t i o n o f her

subjects She wrote voluminously not only
.
,

ts and instructions but memoirs columns in a , ,

p eriodi cal plays ( whi ch were actually per

,

letters to a number o f correspondents of ,

ick the Great and Voltaire were the m ost

Force brilliance genius vigor were apparent
, , ,

d e s e rv e d t he titl e o f Cath e rin e

24 THE HI S TORY O F E U ROPE

More notable than her internal reforms wer e her success es

in her foreign policy Russia s chief contemporaries were
.

Turkey t o the south and Prussia and Austria t o the west .

Hostility to Turkey was traditional in Russian circle s :

hostility t o Prussia o r Austria wa s spasmodic I t fell to .

Catheri n e s lo t to c arry through two wars against Turkey

,

a n d to i n trigue successfully to keep the peace wit h Austria

and Prussia yet t o continue clear o f any alliance which

,

would impede the independence o f Rus s ia .

As a result Of her rst Turkish w a r ( 1 76 8 she

separ a ted considerable territory in the neighborhood o f the
Bl a ck Sea from her enemy The most important parcel
.

wa s the Crimea which s he denitely annexed in 1 78 3

,
In .

1 7 8 7 war with Turkey again broke o u t and the great

,

Russian V ictory at O ch a ko ff ( 1 788 ) insured Catherine in

all the gai n s s h e had made before Early in 1 7 92 the treaty
.

o f peace was signed .

The most important single event in the relations between

Russia and her western con temporaries during Catherine s
reign was the rst partition o f Poland This once powerful
.

coun try had fallen into a s a d state o f decay Its govern .

ment con sisted o f a sovereign elected by t h

deliberative and legislative Diets composed
the n obility Public political life consisted
.

between the noble families in the struggle for

rivalries paral y zed government and kept the
in a state o f co n ti n ual anarchy W ith t
.

powerful and unied neighbors all around he

m a rked f o r exti n c tion : onl y the j ealousies
powers h ad saved her f o r generations past .

t u r i es before Catherine came t o the throne

,

o f European powers had intrigued in Polish p

erine therefore wa s doing nothing

, ,

the arena Her vigor and u n s cr u

.

however gave R
,

by agreement w
 EI G HTEEN TH C E N T U RY E U ROPE 25

election o f her favorite Stanislas Poniatowski as King o f

, ,

Poland She is credited with having suggested to Fred

.

erick s ambassador at St Petersburg a few years later the

.

advisability Of dividing up Poland to their mutual prot .

Austria of course had interests which could n o t be dis

, ,

regarded s o Maria Theresa was invited to join the agree

,

ment In 1 7 72 th e rst partition took place Poland losing

.
, ,

approximately one third O f its land and pop ulation Russia .

gained a rather more important se c tion than either of the

other countries Catherine s policy justied itself in her
.

eyes and in th e eyes of Russian political circles by its

success .

Catherine s foreign policy thus consisted in the assertion

o f Russia s p ower f o r what s h e conceived to be Russian

in tere sts She kept herself c o n s is t en t ly f r ee f r o m a llia n ces

.
_ _ _ g

unles s such alliances tended to yield n ational gain f o r

Ru s SiE: P articularly in the case o f Prussia and Austria ,

whO I ndividually were continually bidding f o r her friend

~

ship did she stand aloof preferring t o render Russia s

, ,

position stronger by the p ossibility o f casting her weight

on on e side or the other at any critical moment There .

was nothing altruistic in such policy to be sure but no , ,

governments at that time were altruistic In the game of .

pri n ces Catherine played her hand exceedingly well H er

, .

reign re s ulted n o t only in large and important territorial

additions but in an increase o f pre s tige for Russian diplo
,

mats in the councils o f central Europ e an statesmen As .

Peter the Great is credited with having introduced Russia

to we s tern Europe Catherine may not unjustly be credit e d
,

with having established Russia s position among the great

powers of Europ e and having made Russia a factor hence

forth to be reckoned with in diplomacy Catherine II wa s .

still Empr e ss o f Russia at the time the French Revolution

brok e ou t not dying until 1 7 9 6
, .
26 THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

Au s tr i a
. 0

ll .

f O

The r eI n s of go v ern m ent/1n the Au s t r I an domi n i on s at

0 O o
o

the time o f the beginning o f the French Revolution were in

the hands of Jo sep h I L one of the mo s t remarkable and
thorough going reformers among the Enlightened Despot s .

Born in 1 74 1 instructed from his early boyhood in the

,

mechanical details of governmental administration thor ,

oughly acquainted and wholly in sympathy with the lib

e ral a n d progressive political theories of his age Joseph suc ,

c ee de d to the throne upon the death o f his mother Maria ,

There s a in 178 0 He was then a man of thirty -nin e

,
.
,

equipped apparently as few monarchs O f his time were

, , ,

with the mental qualities the education and the training

.
, ,

s uitable for success He was serious -minded taking a

.
,

noble V iew o f the responsibilities of his position and s et ,

out at once to make his reign notable f o r i t s reform s Th o r .

oughly masterful and despotic in nature he e a ger l ,

the Opportunities o f his position Unfortunatel y .

and for conditions within Austria he lacked ju ,

that judgmen t which saved Catherine of Rus

times from attempting innovations wh ich social
conditions were too backward t o permit H e .

p r ec i a t e the nature and extent o f the i

his attempts to raise Austria from medievalis m to m oder

ism would face Thus the record o f his reign becomes
.

statement o f noble failures of well intentioned decrees nul

,
-

e d by sullen Opposition and open rebellion He died .

1 7 9 0 just after the outbreak of the French Revolution

, ,

s a d and embittered man .

With all the enthusiasm o f a h eaven -sent reformer Jo s ep ,

imm ediatel y he inherited the throne in 1 7 8 0 initiate ,

measures to cure Au s trian society of all its evils In .

he issued a Patent o f Tolerance giving freedom o f r eligi ,

worship within his dominions Along the same lines .

,

later decreed the suppression o f the contemplative r eligi

 EI G HTEEN TH C E N T U RY E U ROPE 27

orders characterizing them as usel e ss and thus decrea se d

, ,

largely the number o f monasteries and convents Further .

,

he interested hims e lf in the e ducation o f the secular cl e rgy

in his domains In order to broaden such education he
.
,

replace d the regular diocesan seminaries by g en e ral semi

naries having a curriculum including secular as well as
theological studies By these changes the education o f
.
,

the clergy was actually directed by the government As .

was to be expected these reforms incurred serious opposi

,

tion from the Catholic church The Pope departing from .

,

his custom visited Vienna in person at o n e tim e to plead

,

against Joseph s decree s

.

The sovereign endeavored to replace the Old and out w orn

judicial system with o n e more suited to contemporary
conditions . He therefore swept away the former court s
and substituted an admirable uniform j udicial hierarchy ,

ranging from numerous local courts in small areas to th e

High Court s itting in Vi enna with provisions for appeal ,

from o n e rank of court to another At the s ame tim e h e .

decreed a radical revision of t h e penal code along enlight

ened lines abolishing torture and the methods O f the i n
,

qu is it i o n and restricting materially t h e list of crimes punish

able by death In no eld w a s t h e wisdom O f th e monarch
.

more clearly displayed than in th e se reforms but h e met ,

the utmost di f culty in nding t h e men to carry through

details of the new system It s partial failure wa s due .
,

not to faults in t h e Emperor s plan but to the incapacity

,

and lack o f sympat h y o f h is agents .

The energetic r e former h ad been struck by t h e mis e ry o f

the peasantry in his travels through Austria before h e
ascended the throne The feudal system had held o u t
.

longer therein than in other parts of Europe except Russia , .

In large s ections as in Moravia and Boh e mia actual s e rf

, ,

dom still e xisted with cru s hing burdens laid upon t he

,

peasantry by the overlords Jo s eph undertook as Emperor

.

to rectify and improv e conditions He abolished s e rfdo m .

28 THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE

throughout the Slav provinces and secured to the pea s ant s ,

the right to o wn lan d to marry according to their own

,

choice and to move freely from place to place This r e

,
.

form s o admirable in theory turned an important body of

,
,

the nobility which he sorely n e ed e d f o r his political support

,
,

against him We cannot but compar e Catherine s action
.

under similar circumstances : though theoretically favor

ing the emancipation o f the serfs as whole heart e dly as
-

Joseph did her superior judgment warned her that eman ei

,

p a t i o n was not a politically wise step under the conditions .

Joseph headstrong and condent o f the correctness o f his

,

ideas issued h i s decrees and suffered the consequences

,
.

The Opposition to Joseph s government amed fort h in
rebellio n during the latter years of his reign Between .

1 78 7 and 1 7 8 9 the Austrian Netherlands revolted the ,

leaders ri s i n g t o defend their ancient institutions The .

revolutionists were indeed the conservative element led

, , ,

b y clerical inuence and aroused by the successive decrees

for religious freedom and toleration and f o r the decrease o f

mo n astic O rders These co n servative elements were sup

.
he.
ported b y the administrative circles when Joseph s later

decrees disrupted the existing judicial and civil system I n

the provinces At the same time serious trouble had
.
,

arisen in H ungar y There as in other par t s of his dominion

.
, ,

Joseph s religious reforms had been badly received Also .
,

indicatio n s that he favored a more liberal treatment Of the

pe a santr y and his innovations in the j udicial and a dm in is
,

t r a t i v e systems alarmed the privileged classes o f Hungary ,

who had s o long proted from the o ld conditions He faced .

formidable disorders in t h is great and supremel y important

part o f h is empire Though he w a s nally able by pouring
.
,

troops into the disaffected regions to prevent disaster the , ,

extent and force o f the Opposition broke h i s spirit He .

n a ll y awoke to the u n iversal discontent which his well

i n te n tio n ed reforms had created throughout his dominions .

I n bitterness o f sn i r it he decre e d at the e nd o f January ,

 EI G HTEEN TH C EN T U RY E U ROPE 29

1 7 9 0, the annulment o f his reform measures ( with the ex

cep t i on o f the abolition o f serfdom ) and the restoration o f

conditions in the empire to those exi sti n g at the time Of

h is succession to the throne A few weeks later he died .
,

and w a s succeeded by his brother Leopold II .

Austria as left by Joseph at the beginning o f the French

Revolution was internally in a dangerous state The lack .

o f tact and j udgment o n the part of the sovereign in carry

ing through his well intentioned reforms had alienated the

-

most powerful elem ents in the country At a period when .

the government was shortly to need all its united resources

to meet the inroads Of a new and determined invader ,

Joseph s policies had actually tended toward national dis

organization Austria was politically and militaril y weaker

.

at the close of h i s reign than s h e was at it s beginning less ,

capable o f resisting the forces set in m otion by the French

Revolution .

i ii N B ru s si a

Frederick II Fr e der ick i h e Great o f Prussia after a

, , ,

notable reign o f forty s ix years died August 1 7 1 7 8 6

-
, , .

He was succeeded by hi s nephew Frederick W illiam II a , ,

man then in his forty second year Frederick William II

-
.

remained King o f Prussia during the b egI n n I n g and early

years o f the French Revolution .

Frederick the Great had dur ing his long reign raised
Prussia from a s m all unregarded state in Europe to th e
position of one of the great continental powers A s a .

youth he had greatly offended his martinet o f a father

, ,

Frederick W illiam b y his frivolous tastes his apparent

, ,

lack Of interest in the army ( s o dear t o the Old Ki n g

heart ) and his stubborn Opposition to the ro y al plans f o r

,

his education As he grew to manhood however he y ielded

.
, ,

himself after some terrible experiences o f the results o f his

,

Opposition more fully to hi s father s will From the time

,

.

he w a s twenty years old ( 1 7 3 2 ) until he ascend e d th e thr on e

30 THE HI S TORY OF E UROPE

he performed the duties s et f o r him by Frederick

William s o thoroughly that he regained in a great degr e e
the esteem o f the King At the same time he continu e d
.
,

to be a diligent student of philosophy history and , ,

poetry .

At his accession to the throne upon the death of old

Frederick William ( Ma y 3 1 all traces o f the frivolity
,

whi c h had marked his youth were e ff aced He took his .

position and h is duties most seriously Considering himself .

a s the rst servant Of his people and believing it to be
,

his duty to raise Prussia s prestige and place in Europ e he

,

clearly discerned that the two foundations of h i s policy

must be a sound nancial s y stem and a powerful army .

He had inherited from his father a goodl y state treasure

and a strong army these h e undertook to increase in every
practi c able way .

A few mo n ths after his accession he plunged his country

,

into war with the new Queen o f Austria Maria Theresa in , ,

an attempt to enforce Prussia s traditional clai m s to Silesia

.
.

H is victories n this First Silesian W ar ( 1 7 4 0 1 7 4 2 ) and in
i

the Second Silesian W ar which followed ( 1 7 4 4 1 7 4 5 ) gained
him the territor y he desired and focused the attention
o f European chancelleries upon him He became the most
.

famous sovereign o f his time .

H is great military reputation was gained however in , ,

the Seven Years W ar ( 1 75 6

brought on by Maria

Theresa s attempt to regain Silesia Emerging nally suc
.

c es s f u l from this war, he had twent y -three years O f peace

at the c lose o f his reign .

His greatest qualities as a sovereign w e re displayed by

his policies during this period of peace His enlighten .

ment i n n o way encouraged liberalism in government :
he w a s absolute monarch in his dominions Indeed his .
,

success as absolute monarch i n creased the prestige of the

i n stitution in Prussia a n d rendered the people o f that
coun try less likel y to appreciate the liberalism loosed by
 EI G HTEEN TH C E N T U RY E U ROPE 31

th e forces o f the French Revolution By Frederick s orders

.
,

all ki nds Of publi c questions important and unimportant

, ,

were submitted to him f o r decision H e was a keen and .

accurate judge o f character and appointed t o public of ces

,

a group Of clear -thinking hard -working e f cient men wh o

, , ,

were stimulated to do their best by the knowledge that

Frederick himself was always in touch with what they wer e
doing He personally took the most i n tense interest in
.

the nances of his kingdom gaini n g a reputation for nig

,

ar dli n es s by his care f o r t r i e s : yet his interest and care

g
were responsible for the rapid recovery Of Prussia after
the disorganization and virtual ba n kruptcy o f the country
following the Seven Years W ar He instituted plans for

.

the encouragement of agriculture throughout his lands ,

going s o far a s to lend the army horses a n d to furn ish seed

to many lando wners whose propert y had been devastated
by war and arranging f o r the drai n i n g and cultivation O f
,

huge areas Of s w amp land He began measures f o r the

.

codi cation of laws in his kingdom a huge task not nished ,

until eight years after his death Above all he exerted .

,

himself continually to keep h is army in the most perfe ct

c ondition and training .

His succe s s as a sovereign wa s proved according to t he ,

standards accepted at the time by the changed condition s

,

in Prussia at the time he died H e had found Prussia a .

state o f four and a half million people regarded as o f the ,

second rank politicall y in the councils Of Europe : he left

Prussia increased twofold in t erritory with a population of
seven and o n e half million recognized as one Of the great
,

continental powers At his accession Austria w a s the

.
,

single great German power : at h i s death Prussia shared ,

German power with Austria begin n ing a rivalry which was

,

not settled until the eld of Koniggr atz in 1 86 6 H e had

'

waged the most devastating Of wars draining his country ,

o f both mo n e y and men : yet at h i s death his policies had

s o recouped Prussian re s ources that he left seventy million

32 THE HIS TORY O F E U ROPE

tha ler s in the state treasury ( c and a p er .

f ect ly equipped a n d drilled army Of

Frederick William II whose task in carrying on Fr e derick
,

the Great s policies was clearly outli n ed for him at his a c

cession failed miserably His reign m arks the begin n ing

,
.

Of the descent o f Prussia into the Valley Of Humiliation ,

whose nadir was rea ched in Napoleon s time Personally .
,

he was a gen t le well meaning man but lacked force of

,
-
,

character aggressive n ess and a grasp of the principles o f

, ,

wise government a n d admi n istration A vein O f m y s t i ci s .

in his n ature m a de him a prey t o the quacks who aboun ded

at a period S O famous for its S piritualists alchemists and , ,

prete n ded wise m en He became a member of one Of the

.

well known secret O rders Of the age and allowed himself
-
,

to be i n uen ced in his poli c ies by some o f the C harlatans in

his Order Frederick the Great must have turned in
.

his grave did he know the weakness and incapacity which

his successor showed in governing the magnicent h e ritage
he had bequeathed .

Frederick William I I S narrow religiou s Vie ws were in

di ca t e d when he reversed the policy Of tolerance followed

b y his predecessor a n d established a censorship to forbid
discussion of all questions Of religion or dogma Candidat es .

f o r the ministry had to submit to the most rigid t e sts of

orthodoxy and the famous philosopher Kant wa s r ep r i
,

m an ded for the tone of o n e of his works .

The immense fortune o f over seventy million tha lers

a ccumulated by Frederick the Great in years o f scrimping
and sacrice Frederick W illiam II dissolved in less than
,

ni n e y ears To gai n a temporary popularity he remitt ed

.
,

man y Of the taxes his un c le had levied and replaced them

b y n on e other so that the i n come o f the government steadily
,

decreased Whereas the Prussia Of Frederick the Great s

.

time was n an ciall y i n dependent Prussia under Frederick ,

I

William II descended to the nancial status of her great

rival Austria a n d became u n able to carry on an aggres s ive
, ,

pol i cy Wi thout liberal subsidies from without .

 EI G HTEENT H C E NT U R Y E URO PE 33

Fr e derick the Great had taken the keenest interest in his

army and h a d welded the interests Of the O fcer class to
those Of the monarch y b y h i s own leadership and by his
grants of sp ecial privileges Frederick W illiam II took no
.

interest in h i s arm y turned i t s management over to a

,

specially constituted board made n o effort to replace i n

,

competent and superannuated O f cers and allowed this ,

great prop of the monarchy and insurance o f Prussia s

position in Europe to degenerate sadl y in e fciency .

Frederick the Great had shown especially by his brillianc e

in his foreign policy : h i s successor failed here as elsewhere .

His vacillation and indecisio n cost Prussia advantages in

the rivalry with Austria f o r prestige in the H oly Roman
Empire His futile expeditio n into H olland t o maintain
.

the part o f his sister the wife O f the Pri n ce o f O ran ge had
, ,

n o result for Prussia but to dissipate its resources His .

neglect Of the Opportu n ities Offered by the French R ev o l u

tion lowered Prussian prestige and lost him the chance to
become practical arbiter in central Europe .

Thus in every department o f political a ff airs Frederick

William II broke with the policies o f hi s predecessor The .

decay o n ce begun proceeded rapidly By the time the

, ,
.

French Revolution had been accomplished and Napoleon

had assumed leadership Prussia had become but an empty
,

o f the splendid state Frederick the Great had left .

rick W illiam II died November 1 6 1 7 9 7 leaving it , ,

his s o n and successor Frederick W illiam III to s ee the

, ,

ull fruition Of his weak and incapable policies .

iv . Th e H o ly R om a n E mp i r e

No account of political conditions o n the continent would

e sufcient which did not indicate the nature and govern
of the H oly Roman Empire The title it w a s once .
,

said was a misnomer f o r this central European

, ,

er a t i o n of states was neither H oly n o r Roman

The territories no m
, ,

in ally p a Ft Of t hi s
' I

34 T HE HI S TO RY OF E UROPE

Empire however stretched through central Europ e and

,

,

played an important part in the events of the R e volutionary

and Napoleo n ic period .

Historicall y the Holy Roman Empire came into b e ing in

,

9 6 2 A D when Pope John XI I crowned O tto I as Emperor

. .
, ,

i n te n di n g t o renew under the auspices of the Catholic

church an empire as broad and as great as that o f ancient
Rome Actuall y however the Holy Roman Empire never
. , ,

fullled the Pope s intentions for it lacked the organization

, ,

uni t y and c entralized power which characterized Rome at

,

i t s height The Holy Roman Emperor had but shadowy

.

authority over the mighty feudal lords whose territories

formed a part Of the Empire The tendency toward the .

de v elopment o f individual political states was far greater

than the te n dency toward unity If we were to trace in .

detail the histor y Of the Holy Roman Empire from its

foundatio n in 9 6 2 t o its condition at the outbreak o f the
Fren ch Revolution more than eight centurie s later we ,

should record the various stages marking the decrease of

ce n tral authorit y and the crystallization O f state lines .

B y the end of the eighteenth century the disintegration

of the Empire had proceeded far Ital y and Burgundy . ,

whi ch had originall y been important components had been ,

deta ched a n d only The Germanies that is the lands in
, , ,

central Europe peopled b y Germans remained M ore than , .

three hun dred separate units could be counted ranging ,

from Austria and Prussia down to petty dukedoms o r

counties comprising a single castle with a miserable peasants

Village at its base Indeed if we should include all the

.
,

imperial baronies the number O f units would b e over twelve

,

h u n dred .

The Empire however still maintained a kind of political

, ,

o rga n ization The central Diet was compos e d of three

.

c o lleges the college Of the Electors the college O f Princes

,
, ,

a n d the college o f Free Cities In these colleges the sepa .

rate u n its o f the Empire had their representatives When .

 E I G HTEEN T H C EN TURY E UROPE 35

all th e s e co ll ege s agr e ed upon anything a most rar e

occasion their decision was present e d to th e Emperor
f o r his approval as a con cl u s u m o f the Empire The Em .

e r o r himself was elected not hereditary The election

p , .

for generations past however had fallen to the head of the

, ,

Austrian Hapsburg house .

Theoretically this organization might have been e f cient :

practically it was the reverse The intense rivalry O f Austria .

and Prussia the selsh aims of each individual unit the lack
, ,

of any genuine national f e eling o r p a t r i o t i s m combined ,

to defe at efficiency The Holy Roman Emperor though

.
,

cro wned with all the traditional ceremon y wielded in ,

u en ce not because he was head o f the Holy Roman Empire

, ,

but because he was head of Austria Any attempt o f an .

Emperor to exert m ore than a nominal authority aroused

instant opposition among the other states Each individ .

ual unit instead of considering itself bound t o further the

,

interests of the Empire as a whole sought only to secure ,

its o wn independence and safet y and to aggrandize itself

if possible at the expense Of its neighbors Mutual j ealousy .

and suspicion took the place o f patriotism The Ger .

manies Of 1 7 89 revealed nothing o f that solidarit y which
has marked the national lif e o f th e G e rman Empir e since
1 8 70- 1 8 7 1 .

V . E n gla n d

Across the English Ch an n el f s o ci a l economic and political

'

, ,

life had developed along lines markedly di er en t from those

'

o n the continent The earl y abolition in the seventeenth

.

century of the relics Of feudalism had favored the develop

ment o f the independent and self-reliant peasant -farm e r .

Though nobles retain e d their titles they preserved none o f ,

those irritating and Often burdensome privileges which o n

the contin ent distinguished the nobility as a class from the
peasantr y Taxes were levied alike against noble and
.

farme r rich and poor Forced and humiliating labor was

, .

unkno wn Furth e r th e successes in the Seven Ye ars W ar
.
,
36 T HE HI S TORY OF E UROPE

( 1 7 5 6 17
- und e r th e inspiring l e adership of W illia m Pitt
( Earl of Chatha m ) had stimulated national
,
patriotism and
had won for Great Britain vast colonial possessions in
Canada and India I n industrial development England
. ,

was decidedly in advance o f her neighbors across t h e channel .

The forerunners o f modern machinery calculated to increase ,

marvelously the speed and quantity of producti on were just ,

being introduced The number and the prosperity o f the

.

bourgeoisie the middle class which formed the bulwark of

, ,

liberal institutions in England were increasing by leaps and ,

bounds Isolated as s h e was geographically from the conti

.

nent England in her internal social and economic conditions

,

had progressed much more rapidly than her contemporaries

toward modern standards .

The differences were even more notable however in the , ,

English political institutions W hereas on t h e continent .

the sovereigns ruled in their respective states in England ,

Parliament ruled England had already become a Li mi ted

.

M on ar chy as distinguished from the absolute monarchies

,

which prevailed elsewhere t h roughout Europe The unique .

features in the Englis h system were the Parliament th e ,

Cabinet and the position and powers o f the King

, .

Although parliaments were not unknown in states upon

the conti n ent they had played but an unimportant part in
,

political life In England however the Parliament had at

.
, ,

the beginning O f the eighteenth century signalized its con

trol over the government by passing over the legitimate
claimant to the throne becaus e he was a Catholic and s u m ,

moning George Duke of Hanover m e mber of a collateral

, ,

bran ch in the English line becau s e he w a s a Protestant ,

.

The ascendancy which the Parliament thus established ll

te.

over t h e person o f the sovereign it never lost in succeedin g

years A n inner council of Parliament called the Cabinet
.
, ,

composed o f the leaders o f the dominant political party

and headed b y the Prime Minister determined the policies ,

o f the gov e rnment and pr e s e nted them to the King for

,
 EI G HTEE N TH C EN T U RY E U ROPE 37

conrm ation Although in theory the King r e tained the

.

power of v e to in practice he was forced to accept the pro

,

o s a ls of the Cabinet supported as they were by a maj ority

p ,

in Parliament He could o f course by his personal i n

.
, ,

u en ce and by the wisdom o f his advice wield an enormous ,

inuence with his Cabinet but in the last analysis he could

,

not r e sist its decision without running the risk Of losing

both hi s cro wn and his head Thus where upon the conti .

n ent w e have emphasi z ed the character and policies Of the

sovereign s in England we must consider both the sovereign
,

and the Prime Minister perhaps we should reverse th e

order and s a y the Prime Minister and the sovereign
,
.

George III the third in direct line from that Duke o f

,

Hanover who was summoned to the throne in 1 7 1 4 began ,

his reign in 1 7 6 0 and was King through the entire r ev o l u

t io n a r y and Napoleonic period Resenting the limitations .

upon his power he endeavored under th e existing forms to

,

dictate himself the national policy Ten years after his .

accession to the throne ( 1 7 70) h e Obtained a subservient

Prime Minist e r Lord North through whom he accomplished
, ,

his purpose for a time The tragic result of his policy f o r

.

England was the loss Of the American colonies by revolution

in the years from 1 7 75 to 1 783 Before the nal treaty was .

signed the strength of parliamentary and public Opposition

,

forced Lord North from his O fce There then en

sued a bitter conict in which the obstinate King endeavored
again to obtain a ministry of his o wn choice a conict ended ,

by practical V ictory f o r Parliament in 1 784 when William

Pitt son of the Pitt who had been Prime Minister during
,

the Seven Y ears W ar was appointed to head the govern
,

ment The younger Pitt continued Prime Minister with

.
,

one break between 1 801 and 1 804 until his death in 1 806 , .

At his elevation he was a man o f but twenty -four years o f

age It w as he and not George III who carried England
.
, ,

through the strain occasioned by the French Revolution

and the earl y years of the Napoleonic wars .
 C HAP TER II

FRAN C E : THE BE G IN N IN GS O F RE VOLU TION

W H EN revolt ame s up in a country the s park that sets ,

the re is usually lost to V iew in the general c o n a gr a t i o n .

Thus it was in France The immediate cause of the r ev o lu

.

tion was the vicious nancial system ( o r lack o f syst em)

which had brought the country face to face with national
in s olvency but when the spirit O f rebellion w a s once aroused
, ,

all persons with real o r fancied grievances Of any kind

pressed their demands for reforms along all lines To ap .

p r e c i a t e the causes O f the universality of t h is revolution in

France then we must gain a clear understanding of general
, ,

conditions in the country as well as trace the succes s ive

incidents which brought o n the nancial crisis .

A . TH E P EA S A N TR Y , TH E B O UR G E O I S I E , TH E

NOB L I IT Y , AND T H E C L ER G Y

i . The P eas a n tr y
The France o f the last quarter Of the eighteent h c entury
had a population o f approximately of whom
ninet y per cent were peasant farmers Serfdo m had p r a c .

tically disappeared n o t more than a m illion and a h alf o f

,

serfs remaini n g in the country and the peasants had liberty ,

o f person freedom to move from place to place the right to

, ,

marry according to their choice the legal power to make ,

contracts and to o wn mortgage lease and bequeath land

, , ,
.

I n deed as a class the peasantr y had prospered in France

, ,

compared with the conditio n s o f their neighbors in other

continental countries Th ough their lives seem pinched and
.

barren according to o u r modern standards their natural ,

38
 FR AN C E : THE B E GI NN IN GS O F RE V OL U TION 39

industry and thrift yield e d them a living and enabled large

numbers to become landed proprietors o n a small scale It .

has been estimated that o n e half the arable land in Franc e

belonged to the peasants and records S how that from year ,

to year m e mbers o f the peasant class were adding to their

holdings by purchase .

At the same time the peasant was subject to many i r r i t at

ing and humiliating reminders o f the previous condition Of
servitude o f his class He alone bore the burden O f the tax
.

call e d th e ta i lle levied directly in accordance with the s u p

,

posed wealth O i the individual The nobility w e re exempt .

from payment Of this tax on the theory that they rendered

direct military service to the King in i t s place ; and the
corporations Of the towns usuall y paid a lump sum f o r ex
emption Liability f o r the ta i ll e had thus become n o t
.
,

merely a nancial burden but a mark o f social inferiority , .

The tax and the conditions under which it w a s assess e d and

,

collected were important among the abuses Of which the
,

peasants complained .

A direct survival of the feudal conditions was the system

o f charges o r dues which descendants O f the former seigniors

were l egally able to collect from the land o f th e peasants .

Thus although a peasant might own his land and mort

, ,

gage lease o r sell it that land was always subj ect to an

, , ,

annual payment to the lord O ften t o o in case o f the sale .

, ,

o f land a denite proportion Of the sale

, price went to the
lord Further the peasant w a s r e quired to have his grain
.
,

ground at the lord s mill his grapes pressed in the lord s

,

winepress his our baked in the lord s oven For e ach s er

,

.

vice he had t o pa y a fee which went t o the lord And still .

further at the important road and river crossings he had

,

to pay toll which likewise swelled the lord s income The .

actual nancial burdens impos e d upon the peasantry by

these vestiges o f feudalism were n o t f o r any single individual
heavy but they were con s tant and exasperating reminders
,

of an outlived system which aroused the ke enest resent ,

40 T HE HI S TORY O F E U RO PE

ment among the people Th roughout most of France too

. , ,

the lords themselves seldom exiled thems e lves from t he

pleasures o f Paris to the V icinity o f their ancestral estates .

Hence the collection o f these dues and tolls lay in the

,

hands of baili ffs whose e fciency was measured by the

amounts they turned in Constant trouble resulted Th e
. .

disputes between the peasants and the lords baili ff s over
question s o f seigniorial dues charge s and tolls lled th e
, ,

rural courts and furnished a living f o r a h o s t o f petty lawyers .

The peasant al s o resented the inherited privil ege s of th e

nobility in regard to hunting This sport w a s l ega l ly r e .

s erved to the noble cla s s and game could not be harmed

,

by the peasant Each s eignior too h ad t he right to k eep

.
, ,

pigeons to an unlimited number pigeons who found their ,

food in the pea s ant s grain elds Any peasant who killed

.

o n e of these birds was liable to impri s onment Such privi .

leges were no slight matter to the peasant Large tracts of .

arable land in t h e neighborhood of h unting preserves were

left untilled .

The peasants again were the only cla s s o f the population

, ,

s ubject to the royal cor vee consisting of labor for from eight

to forty days annually upon the highways This labor was .

exacted O ften when the peasan t s attention to his crops

was mo s t necessary Exemption from the cor i e wa s a

.

privilege o f the nobility and a natural right o f the town s

,

people This labor added o n e more gri e vance to the long

.

list of complaints of the peasantry .

Added to the burdens imposed upon the peasant by the

survival s of feudali s m were the ta xes levied directly or in
directly upon him by the government The ca p i ta ti on or .
,

poll tax was one to be sure levied upon all heads o f house
, , ,

holds in France but its weight was proportionately heavier

,

upon the peasant than upon the wealthy nobleman .

nobles were rated f o r this tax according to their pers

declaration and commo n l y escaped the greatest par
,

their legitimate shar e The whole body o f the cl e rgy

.
 FRAN C E THE BE G IN N IN GS O F RE VOL UTI ON 41

f or y e ars compounded with the gov e rn m ent for its portion

o f t h e tax by a free gift ( don gr a tu i t) to the King at v e
year intervals such gift however amounting to much less
, , ,

than the tax would have yielded The townspeople were .

more directly taxed and paid more nearly their propor

,

ti o n a t e quota But the peasant at the bottom Of the scal e

.
,

helpless individually to resist injustice paid it is e stimated , , ,

eight times his just share Of the burden .

The indirect taxes collected through duties laid upon

,

such articles as tobacco powder saltpeter were commonly

, , ,

farmed out by the government By this system the go v .

,

er n m e n t leased to the Farmers -General ( as the l e a s ees wer e

calle d) f o r a lump s u m paid in advance the right to asses s

and collect these duties the Farmers General proting by
,
-

the amount yielded by the duties over and above the sum
paid to the government f o r th e concession The system .

gave enormous prots to the Farmers -General who us e d ,

all means to exact every possible payment from the peopl e .

The agents were intensely hated throughout all o f Franc e .

Voltaire in a circle where stories O f famous robbers were

,

being told when himself pressed for a tale start e d
, O nce ,

upon a time ther e was a Farmer General then s top p e d-

,

waited a moment and added , That is all .

Such were some of the most noteworthy gri e vances o r ,

abu s es under which the peasant suffered B y o n e writer
, .

he is termed the beast of burden Of the old rgime The .

brand of social and political inferiority and the greatest part

o f the weight of the direct and indirect taxation fell to his

lot He is estimated to have paid in excess o f fty per cent

.

of his income in dues charges o r imposts of o n e kind or an

, ,

other That he thriv e d at all under such a burden is t o be

.

marveled at ; that he was bitterly discontented is natural .

He was ready for revolution so long as it offered the promise

o f lifting some o f the burdens from him He had no a l .

truistic ideals He held no high theories of government

. .

His lack of education inexperienc e in political a ffairs and

, ,
42 THE HI S TORY O F E U ROPE

long unremitting toil in subordinate po s itions barred him

from taking the initiative o r leadership But he had come .

to such a pass that he w a s willing to throw himself whol e

heartedly into any movement which might better the hard
conditions o f his ordinary life Selsh as his motives must .

be acknowledged to have been they were yet th e k eenest ,

spur to his action an all s u fcien t reason which kept him

,
-

true to the revolution once started from its beginning to

, ,

it s end .

ii . The B ou r geoi s i e

The peasantry as we have said were the most nu m erous

, ,

and o n the whole the most important element in the p o p u

, ,

lation o f France : next in numbers and importance were

th e bourgeoisie B ou r geoi s i e derived from a word for
.
,

town originall y was applied to the class o f people living in

,

towns as distinguished from those living in the country .

By extension o f meaning the word came to be used as a

general term for persons o f the middle class of societ y i e , . .
,

belonging neither to the peasant o r laboring classes n or

to the nobility In the bourgeoisie would be included
.

merchants shopkeepers master craftsmen and professional

, , ,

men o f all kinds I n France in the last quarter Of the

.

eighteenth century this element contained some two mil

lion persons concentrated almost wholly in about 80 towns
,

o r cities containing o r more inhabitants .

What the bourgeoisie a s compared with the p e asantry

lacked in numbers it made up in intelligence V igor and
, , ,

prosperit y The average man o f this class had n ee d o f

.

sharp wits to keep h i s place in the keen competition with

his fellows in business H e was well educated in the en .

dowed schools o f his town He was widely read in the .

social and political philosoph y Of th e day H e had a part .

,

though small in the local administration He had property

, .

and capital From h i s c lass came the brightest lawyers

.
,

judges doctors professors nanciers and civil a dm in is

, , , ,
 FRAN C E THE BE G INN IN GS OF RE VOL UTION
: 43

t ra t o r s A common cla s s inter e st and property interest

.

bound the individuals together The bourgeoisi e was the .

most recent indeed the only ne w development in French

, ,

society since the feudal ages It was unfortunate for the .

monarchy that it did n o t r e cognize and appreciate the

qualities Of t his new class .

The very intelligence V igor and prosperity o f the

, ,

bourgeoisie made its members the most damning critic s of

the incapacity of the government The bourgeois had no .

inhe rited awe o r fear of the nobilit y He felt no sp e cial .

reverence for the members of the Catholic hierarchy He .

had indeed come to feel that t h e person o f the monarch

, ,

hims elf did not have th e peculiar sanctity which the Middl e
Ages had a s crib e d to him as V ice regent of G o d He resented -
.

th e arroganc e and insolence o f the nobles He was i n dig .

nant at the narrow class di s tinction which barred him from

commissions in the army and navy and from s ervice in the
diplomatic corps He obj e cted to the continual O f cial i n
.

t er f er en ce wit h the normal course and development Of i n

du st r y and commerce He understood the waste in high
.

places that was s o largely re sponsible for the nancial

stringency o f the country He sought for himself the wider
.

Opportunities that would come wit h the breaking O f the

traditional political and social barriers He wanted a .

greater share in the local and national government a plac e ,

p roportionate to h is wealth ability and education , , .

So he a s well as t h e peasant was ripe for a r e volution

, ,

which promised reforms He h owever had political .

, ,

the ori e s untested though they wer e by practical exp er i

,

ence and was willing to assume the leaders h ip He had

, .

had his imagination red by the success o f the American s

in their revolt from 1 7 7 5 to 1 7 83 and wa s proud of France s

part in helping them The peasantry c onstituted the body

.

of the French Revolution : the bourgeoisie the brains , .

In all the towns and cities there existed a class usually ,

disregard e d kno wn l at e r as t he proletariat These people

, .
44 THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

corresponded roughly to what we Often call in m odern days

the submerged tenth o f society that portion whose normal ,

life is passed in poverty and misery They furnished the .

common laborers the drivers the hod carriers the brick

, , ,

layers and the considerabl e multitud e of mere scaveng e rs

,

and hangers -o n of society W ithout education o r xed .

occupation they had no chance to rise in life and lived

, ,

o n the verge o f starvation m ost of th e time They w ere .

the rst t o su ff er from any lessening Of the food supply ,

and with unscrupulous leadership th e m ost daring and

, ,

unprincipled o f all classe s Although a s a factor in social .

conditions they are always important they merit tr e at ,

ment here solely because of the signicant part they play e d

lat e r in th e darker and mor e t e rrible part o f the R e volution .

iii . Th e N o bi li ty
The nobility the class wh ich proted by t h e s urviva l s of
,

the feudal system and which s tood intrenched in it s privi

,

leges was certain to resist with all its po w er any m e a s ures

,

of reform The nobility indeed formed a select group in

.
, ,

French social life into which every child of noble parentage

,

w as born and into which a few not of noble birth might

,

ent e r by virtue o f their ofcial position Although bitter .

animosity existed in many cases between the O l d nobility ,

tracing its lineage from former seigniors and the ne w ,

nobility raised from the wealthy bourgeoisie by appoint

,

ment to o r by open purchase Of an Of cial position the

, , ,

nobles as a whole stood together in their Opposition to any

change in the political and s ocial structur e of the Kingdom .

In numbers however they were unimportant compared

, ,

with the peasantr y and the bourgeoi s ie There were prob .

ably less than o f th e m in th e Kingdo m .

The noble however had all the pr e stige of tradition and

, ,

position He alone wa s eligibl e for co mm ission s in the

.

arm y and navy and f or diplomatic se rvic e Sinc e he was .

fr eely ad mitt e d to th e presence of hi s s ov e r e ign wit h wh om ,

 FRAN C E : T H E B EGI NNI NG S OF RE VOL UTI ON 45

so m any lucrative and important Ofcial appointments

originated he had unusual Opportuniti e s to secure good
,

position s in the gov e rnment He proted without labor on

.

his part from th e numerous s e igniorial dues charg e s tolls , , ,

and the like inherited from an obsolet e system T h ough

, .

h e mi ght not be rich his social position was assur e d and he

, ,

often exh ibited a careless arrogance and insolence b e for e

thos e whom he considered his inferiors He had every .

motive in the existing condition s and in prospect of futur e

Opportun iti e s to uphold the O l d r egim e .

An d yet the position o f the noble in t h e country at larg e

,

wa s not strong Where his ancestors th e feudal lords had

.
, ,

lived in the country and identied themselv e s with their

local districts were kno wn to and Often belov e d by th e ir
,

p easantry the noble o f Louis XVI s time found his sole

,

pleasur e in th e to wns especially in Paris He spok e of

, .

residenc e upon hi s ancestral estates as exi le He w a s .

commonly represented there by his agent o r bailiff Any , .

per s onal consideration the peasantry m ight have f e lt in

forme r times for their lords they had long since c e as e d to
,

have for the noble whom they rarely s a w a n d whos e po we r

wa s e x e rcised through the hands o f the hat e d baili ff A gain .
,

the noble wa s often not wealthy thus lacking the pow e r ,

which comes from the o wnership o f considerable property .

He was how e ver prohibited by the narrow prej udic es of

, ,

his class from engaging in any lucrativ e calling In many .

instances he pr e sented to the prosperous bourg e oisi e a

pi tiable if not contemptible gure living on a mis e rabl e ,

income r e fusing to engage in any busine s s o r prof es sion

,

which might benet him mat e rially y e t arrogantly m ain ,

tainin g his social s uperiority Another pr e judic e o f hi s

.

class forbade him to marry a woman n o t o f nobl e birt h .

He could not therefore recruit his failing fortune s and

, ,

extend his inu e nce in other class e s of s ociety by marriag e

with a s cion of on e of t h e w ealthy famili e s of the bourgeoisie .

Indee d the n obl e w a s h im self a u se l ess s urvival of an o bs o

,
46 THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE

lete and o n the whole discredited s y stem He was an

, ,
.

isolated gure clinging proudl y t o the frail glor y of a titl e

,

and an inherited social distin c tion in the midst Of th e n ew ,

and V igorous life surging around him .

iv . The Cler gy
The interest o f the Catholic c hurch and its clergy we r e ,

like those o f the noble class bound up closely with the ,

existing r egim e The Catholic clergy were the sole author

.

i z ed spiritual teachers of the people The Catholic r eligion .

was the only religion O fcial ly recognized by law Th e .

clergy formed the highest o f the three estates o r political ,

O rders in the country The church was vastly rich

,
. .

Their wealth and their privileges made the clergy an ex

ce e din gl y important element in French life They and .

their propert y were exempt from all manner of Obligations

o r taxes though they gave at v e year periods a free gift
,
-

( d o n g r a tu i t) to the King which may be considered as a

substitute f o r the taxes they might j ustly be exp ect e d t o '

pay The y were said to o wn about o n e fth o f the soil of

.

France a n d to have revenue from the tithes

,
church
taxes legall y collected amounting to approximatel y o n e
,

twelfth of a man s i n come ) and from their lands o f almost

livres a y ear ( about The mem

bers o f the c lerg y numbered about o n e hundr e d and fty
thousand .

The clergy however were not s o united in their clas s

, ,

cons ciousness as were the nobility and the bourgeoisie A .

sharp line o f demarcation existed betwe e n the higher clergy

and the lower clerg y The latter drawn mainly from
.
,

people of the middle class o r from the peasantr y w orked ,

hard in their parishes f o r miserable salaries Though their .

education was not usuall y broad and liberal they were ,

ordi n aril y men Of godl y lives sincerel y devoted to their ,

labors As their time w a s spent wholl y with the p e as

.

an t r y and bourgeoisie of their parishes they appreciat e d th e , h

 F RAN C E THE BE G IN N IN GS OF RE VOLU TION
: 47

g ri e vances people o f these classes felt against the exi sting

rgime and sympathized with them

,
.

The higher clergy on the other hand were appointed , ,

from the ranks o f the nobilit y Many Of them enj oyed .

immense incomes from the tithes o f parishes they seldom

Visited and lived th e life Of the wealthy lay noble They
, .

were more commonly courtiers and men o f the world than

pious and godly priests C onspicuous as they were b e .

cause O f their position and profession they t o o Often cast ,

discredit upon the church and their religion by their worldly

lives.

Thus the division o f interests within t h e clergy paved th e

way f o r di v I S I O n when the critical days O f revolution came .

The lower clergy with littl e t o lose and everything t o gain

, ,

were inuenced by a sympathy with their parishioners and ,

a natural long -standing human jealous y Of their superiors ,

to side with the peasantry and the bourgeoisie The h igher .

clergy drawing their great incomes from sinecures in the gift

,

o f the sovereign and allied by birth and association wit h

,

the nobility threw themselves enthusiasticall y into the

,

cause o f the King and the maintenance Of the existing

re i
g em .

B . POL ITI CA L I
PH LO S O P H Y A N D I TS A UTH O R S

We have upon several occasions in the preceding pages

refe rred to the political philosophy o f the da y It is worth .

o u r time to outline briey the nature of this philosophy and

s a y something Of the authors f o r literature Of this class ,

furnished to leaders Of the Revolution their ideas of what

government and societ y should be .

The marvelous achievements o f scientists during the

eighte enth century including such work as that o f Sir
,

Isaac Newton v o n Leibnitz Joseph Priestley Lavoisier and

, , , ,

Cavendish aroused thinking men everywhere to the pos

,

s ib il it
y of new and theretofore unsuspected facts n o t only ,

in the world o f matter but in the world of politics and ,

48 THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE

society .
Th e logical reasoning by which the scientists o b
t a i n e d their results suggested that a similar reasoning a p
plied to social and political conditions m ight reveal a ws
in the existing system and open th e way to constructiv e
theories of a better order Of things H e nce the writ e rs in .
,

th e eld of what would now be called sociology political ,

e conomy and political science attempted to apply the rule

,

of reason to existing institutions to measure everything by

,

logical and rational standard s .

Nowhere did these rationalistic critics ourish m ore

abundantl y than in Franc e and hardly anywhere could
they have found more to criticize The most famous and .

most inuential among them w a s Fr an go is Arouet or as , ,

h e called himself Fran cois Voltaire ( 1 6 9 4

, En
dow e d with a keen and activ e mind boundless courage , ,

and a ready pen he attacked in poetry and prose the out

,

worn system in his o wn country He resided for a time .

in England and conceived great enthusiasm for Engli sh

methods and institutions publis h ing L etter s on the
,

in which he exalted the English at the expense o f Fr e

conditions He directed his attacks especially against
.

Catholic c h urch and all the abuses that had gro wn
around it In 1 76 4 he published the H a n dy
.

Di cti on ary a collection 0

,

h im the condemnation of the P a r lemen t o f Paris

attack upon all that was sacred in religious te

m ysteries and authority
,
A voluminous writer
.
,

returned again and again to the attack in h i s epics ,

essays romances and histories Though oft en in

, , .

of hi s life he attained the greatest popularity am

,

bourgeoisie and the more liberal section of the nobility .

Voltaire was magnicently supported in hi s cru

again s t ignorance superstition and injustice by his
, ,

t emporary Denis Diderot ( 1 7 1 3

, Diderot
to produce an encyclop e dia which should contain t
advanc es m en had made in th e
 FR AN C E T HE BE GINNI N GS OF RE V OL U TION
: 49

knowl edge He associated with himself i n the ent e rpris e

.

the most noted scientists of the age The complet e d work

.
,

in seventeen volumes and eleven additional volumes of

engravings proved to be a forceful rationalistic argument
, .

Over four thousand copies were subscribed f o r at the time

o f its appearance Thousands O f readers were converted
.

by its text to the principles o f the liberal authors .

. Most radical among the writers in these elds and most ,

direct in his inuence upon the theories which ouris h ed

during the Revolution was Jean Jacques Rousseau ( 1 7 13
,

Rousseau presented in brilliant style arguments to

support the theory that men were over civilized that all -
,

the evils O f society developed from the fact that man had
gro wn away from his natural environment and methods Of
life He preached a return to nature and his theme struc k
. ,

a responsive chord in many of his contemporaries wearied

by the con s tant round of articial duties and amusements .

He clung t o the same thesis when he attacked the c onsti

tu t i on o f society in his most famous book The S oci a l C on
,

tr act He maintained that government law con , ,

ven t i o n s were the result o f a mutual compact in which all

members o f society had agreed at the da wn of history H e .

begins h i s book with the famous sentence : Man is born
free and yet is no w everywhere in chains and endeavors
to prove that the real sovereign s h ould be the people and ,

that a republic is the best form of government for a state .

We shall recognize the results o f h is teachings later in the

Declaration o f the Rights of Man and in the promulgation
,

a Republic after the overthrow of the monarchy .

Such were among the most notable writers who were

and inuencing public opinion a m ong
isie in the later eighteenth century Along .

lines too the rule o f reason when applied to

, , ,

brought forth scathing critici s m and con

gestions An Italian Beccaria ( 1 73 8
.
,

volume entitled Cr i mes a n d P u n i s hmen t a n ,

50 THE HI S TORY OF E U RO PE

a ly z ed the judicial and penal codes and propos e d r ef o r

E
G

In England Adam Smith ( 1 7 2 3 1 7 9 0) publish e d in 1
,

his Wea lth of N a ti on s from which the science o f polit ,

economy dates Montesquieu ( 1 6 89 1 7 5 5 ) in France

.
-

s e ct e d the legal and political constitution o f France ,

advocated the strict separation of the agencies for

executive legislative and j udicial duties o f go v er n m en
, ,

the best guarantee against tyranny o f the sovereign .

various writers had a wide audience among the bourgeoisie ,

and too among the most liberal elements in the nobility

, ,
.

It wa s the fashion f o r the wealthier citizens of the bour

o i i t o keep abreast o f the literature Of the times They
g e s e .

thus kept themselves alert critical and ready as a class , ,

with constructive theories o f reform .

C . TH E G O VE R N M EN T IN FR A N CE

Unsatisfactory socia l o r economic conditions invariably

lead men in modern democratic states to blame the govern
ment A nancial panic crop failure military o r diplo
.
, ,

matic reverse or general indu s trial depression will

,

enough votes today to oust the representatives o f a party

from their co n trol Although politics a s we know it did
.

not exist in the absolute monarchy O f France the same ,

tendency to blame the government was rife among the dis

contented classes I t is well therefore to gain an idea of
.
, ,

the main features Of the system O f government as it existed

under Louis XVI .

Under the mi n istries o f Richelieu and Mazarin the Kings ,

o f France h ad contrived during the seventeenth century to

break th e power of the last o f the feudal nobles and to

centralize admi n istration in the hand s of the monarch .

Louis XI V after the death of Mazarin in 1 6 6 1 with u n

, ,

usual ability personally governed the state and by his ,

success strengthened the inuences making for centrali za

tion In the years following his death in 1 7 1 5 the s ystem
.
,

h e had established remained essentially the s ame though ,

 F RAN C E THE BE GINNI N GS OF RE VOL UTION
: 51

his successors showed none O f his capacity f o r the business

of government France w a s therefore a highly central
.
, ,

i z ed monarchy the ultimate executive legislative and

, , ,

judicial power resting in the hands o f the King alone .

As behooved s o high a personage the King surrounded ,

hims elf with the pomp and luxury Of a brilliant court .

Louis X I V had built for this p urpose an enormous palace

at Versailles a sleepy little to wn a dozen miles from Paris
, ,

and there his successors commonly lived The cost of .

maintenance o f the royal h ousehold and court was a heavy

drain upon the resources o f the country The military .

and civil households o f the King and Of the royal family ,

writes E J Lowell
. . are s aid to h ave consisted o f about
,

fteen thousand souls and to have cost forty -v e million

,

francs p er annum And the King added to this expense
.

enormously by his generous distribution of gifts appoint ,

ments and pen s ion s t o h is favorite s Fo r he wa s t h e rst

, .

gentleman o f France and it w as h is duty as he conceived

, ,

it to support h is position in betting style and to S how

,

prodigal liberality to tho s e Of his o w n caste In the fteen .

years between the succession of Louis X VI to the throne

and th e outbreak Of the Revolution years when France was ,

in the grip of the worst nancial crisis in its h istory the ,

King is said to have presented to his favorites more than

on e hundred million dollars in gifts .

Since no one man however able could handle the num

, ,

ber l es s administrative details involved in the government

o f a state o f twenty -v e million people a great complex ,

bureaucracy of O fcials had developed for the King s assist

ance The existence o f this bureaucracy however in no

.
, ,

manner limited the powers O f the sovereign to assume

authority in any particular ca s e At the head of the .

bureaucracy and hence at the head of actual government

, ,

in France was the King s Council This Council contain
, .
,

ing about forty members including the several ministers o f

state and a number o f p e rsons without other Of cial pos i
52 T HE HI S TORY O F E U ROPE

tion was divid e d for practical operation into four com

,

m it t e es known respectively as the Council o f State the

, ,

Council Of Di s patches the Council o f Finance and Com ,

merce and the Committee o n W ar The Ki ng was o f

,
.
,

cour s e head o f the Council and actually presided at many

, ,

o f the sessions o f the committee s The Council wa s the .

supreme executive legislative and j udicial authority O f

, ,

the Ki ngdom exercising its power always in the name of

,

th e King All matters o f foreign policy o r dom e stic con

.

c ern were ultimately decided by the Council Not only th e .

important a ff airs Of state decisions of w ar or peace o r taxes

, ,

but such petty matters as th e building o f a bridge or the

r epairing of a church in some small to wn came u p to th e ,

Council .

The agents of the Council directly appointed by and ,

responsible to it were kno wn as I n ten da n ts These num

, .

bered thirty two each governing a district known as a

-
,

Gnralit and assisted by a number o f sub -delegates As

, .

p e rsonal representative s o f the royal power the I n ten da n t ,

conducted t h e entire admi n istration o f his G nralit He .

supervised the collection o f the direct tax e s apportioning ,

the share o f his Gnralit in the ta i lle among the S everal

pari she s and named the individual dues in the capitation
,

and the vi n gtiem e ; he had authority over the rural police

and the militia ; he had charge of public works and public
charity ; and he was empowered to over s ee all act s of local
bodie s in administration He was not ordinarily one of .

the n oble class but rather a law y er trained in the admin

, ,

i s t r a t iv e service As centralization Of power in the h ands

.

o f the King had proceeded in France the authority duties , , ,

and responsibilities o f this royal agent had necessarily in

creased until he and his colleagues had become r egarded
,

in their several Gnralits as t h e actual governm ent of

France .

Between the Gnralits the largest admini s trativ e unit ,

so m etimes containing as many as two million p e op l e and ,

 FR AN C E : T H E BEGIN NI N G S OF REVOL UTI ON 53

the rural village o r commune the s mallest ad m ini strativ e

, ,

unit no subdivision existed O utwardly t h e co mm un e

,
.

pos s es s ed some powers o f self-gov e rnment The genera l .

assembly of all inhabitants pa y ing t h e ta i lle constitut e d

nominally the supreme authorit y This assembly had t he .

management of the communal property ; w as charged w it h

providing repair s f o r bridges and churc h es ; and chose t h e
communal Of cers Actually however the assembly w a s
.
, ,

a feeble body The I n ten da n t controlled its every act He

. .

had pow e r to summon it He conr m ed o r disapprov e d its

.

nominees t o Of ce His sanction wa s neces s ary befor e any

.

of it s decisions o r r e comm e ndations could b e p ut into e ff e ct .

Though the towns and citi e s had won powers more free
from the control and interference O f the I n ten da n t of t h eir
Gnralit they had abuses peculiar t o the conditions o f
,

their development Each town had gain e d its own c h art e r

. .

giving it certain rights to self-government These charters .

,

however were by no means uniform so that so m e to wns of

, ,

importance had been able to obtain greater privileges t h an

others O rdinarily the two administrative bodies in to wn
.

government were the General Assembly and the To wn

Council Whereas originally the General Ass e mbly had
.

comprised most o f the citizens o f the to wn its member ,

ship had gradually become extremely limited Often in ,

cluding not more than sixty o r a hundred p e rsons I n .

most ca se s the great craft guilds for m ed th e most important

,

element in the membership This small Genera l A ssem b l y

.

elected the To wn Council which constituted t h e r e al execu

,

tive o f the unit with powers in local affairs suc h a s t he

, ,

purchas e or sale o f property the making o f loan s t he di, ,

rection of the town police and th e lik e , .

Thus to summarize the most notab l e feature of the a d

, ,

ministrative system in France was th e e xi s tence o f a great

bureaucracy with th e King and the King s Council as it s
,

head and the thirty two I n ten da n ts as its dir e ct agents

-
.

Local self -governm ent was not kno wn o r e ncourag e d e x ,

54 T HE HI S TORY OF EU R O P E

cept in the few to wns where its e xe rci s e had fallen into the
hands of a small number o f citi z ens The o fcial s Of this
.

bureaucracy though Often hard -working and capable men

, ,

were overwh e lmed by the mass of details of administration .

Their government was inef cient Public business wa s de

.

layed Though they Often realized their inability to do

.

well all the tasks that fell t o their l o t they were part Of the
,

system and were jealous of their position and pow e rs u n ,

willing t o intrust to others what they h ad to leave undone .

The reputation o f the government as a whole th e r e for e

suffered because o f the faults inherent in the bureaucratic
system .

If we turn from the administrative branch to th e e qually

importan t judicial branch we nd a still wors e state o f
a ff airs Though the increase o f royal power had naturally
.

been accompanied by the creation of a system of royal

courts the previous courts had never been suppressed No
, .

thoroughgoing reform and reconstitution o f the j udicial

s y stem had been attempted Thus in addition to the royal
.

courts were the ecclesiastical courts adm inistrating eccl es i

,

a s t i ca l law ; the numberles s feudal courts over which the ,

descendan ts o f the seigniors had jurisdiction ; and the

municipal courts of the to wns and cities guaranteed by ,

their respe c tive charters The confusion of jurisdiction u n

.

der such circum s tances was great and formed o n e o f the

,

grievances o f the people at the tim e of the Revolution .

W e need notic e f o r o u r purpose only the royal courts .

These were o f three degree s : ( 1 ) the P a r lem en ts ; ( 2 ) the

P r es i di a u x ; and ( 3 ) the B a i l li ages and S en cha u s s es The

.

two lower grades handled civil and criminal cases o f l e ss er

importance The highest grade the P a r lem en t was not only
.
, ,

the supreme court o f the country b u t a l s o had the tradi

t i o n a l function o f registering the edicts o f the King This .

latter function was interpreted by the P a r l em en ts as gi ving

them an implied right t o critici z e a new law before regis
tering it W ith them it w a s a question indeed whether
.
, ,
 FRAN CE : THE BE G IN N I N GS OF RE VOL UTION 55

they might n o t actually nullif y a law by refusin g t o register

it Their beliefs with regard to their prerogatives in this
.

connection and their attempt to exercise these prerogatives

, ,

played an important part at one stage in th e development

of the Revolution .

The most glaring fault in t h e judicial system in addition ,

to the multiplicity of courts of di fferent aut h orities was the ,

lack o f guarantees Of persona l freedom and of individual

equality before the law Many o f the j udgeships in the
.

lower court s were Open ly bought and sold The j udges .

were venal W e a lt h y suitors were thus able t o inuen ce

.

decision s The King and his Council had the right at any
.

s tage Of proceedin gs to remove a n y case from the court in

which it wa s bei n g tried and have it tried before himself .

The King also exercised the power Of arbitrary imprison

ment by means o f wh at was kno wn a s a l ettr e de ca chet ,

that is an order under the privy seal Such conditions

, .

inspired amo n g the people a thorough distrust Of and hatred ,

for the judicial s y stem Of the country

, .

D . TH E F I N AN C IA L CR I S IS IN FRA N CE

Sharp as their grievances were th e people Of Franc e as a ,

whole were dumb until a general nancial crisis brought

about conditions whereby their King afforded them O pp o r
t u n i t y to speak And when once the y had formulated th e ir
.

grievances in accordance with the King s invitation they ,

wer e encouraged in the hope o f reform The actual prepa .

ration O i a statement of the abuses brought full conscious

ness of their nature and their magnitude and inspir e d a ,

resentment which brooked no Opposition to project e d r e

forms .

The general nancial crisis which pr e cipitated the mov e

ment for reform and the Revolution had its ultimate source
in the extravagance o f Louis X I V wh o wasted the r e sources ,

of th e richest countr y on the continent in futile wars and

p e rsonal luxury His incapable successors Louis X V and
.
,
56 THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE

Louis X VI failed to remed y the disorganized nances either

,

by a reform in the s y stem o r by personal econom y The .

situation w a s serious at the accession Of the well -i n t en

t i o n e d but w e ak -will e d Louis X V I in 1 774 It became .

more acute as the years passed without decisive reform It .

came to a climax in August of 1 78 6 when the con troller ,

general o f the nances was forced to inform the King that

France was at the point Of ban kruptcy and that nothin g ,

would save the stat e but a radical reform of the whole

p ublic order It w a s not apparently until A ugust o f
.
, ,

1 7 86 that the Ki n g really began to appreciate the gravity

Of conditions During the dozen years of his reign p re
.

ceding this date Louis XVI S ministers had been able to

,

keep the state going only by constant borrowing A suc .

cession of n an ce ministers had wit h full knowledg e o f th e

,

decits running between S ixty and eighty m illion livres

and a year feared to disclose to ,

the King and his Council the true state of a a ir s and had ,

covered up the decits by oating loans But the proces s .

could not keep o n indenitely The credit of the gov ern

.

ment became s o impaired that further loans could not be

Obtained New measures had to be considered
. .

When Calonne the nance minister ( Controller -general

,

Of Finance ) revealed to Louis XVI the desperate condition

,

of the treasury he urged the assembl y o f a Council of

,

Notables composed of members of the three estates or

, ,

orders of the Kingdom ( the clergy the nobility the Third

, , ,

Estate o r the commoners ) appointed by the sovereign to ,

advise with the King concernin g the levy of new taxes to

m eet the expen ses o f the government There were pre .

cedents for the summoning of suc h a Council but these ,

precedents were few and remote The very act of assem .

bling a n advisory Council however constituted a confession

, ,

of incapacit y on the part o f the Ki ng and was not in accord ,

with the theory o f absolute power which Louis X I V h ad

bequeath ed Louis X V I hesitated four mont h s before act
.
 FRAN C E THE B E G IN N IN GS OF RE VOLU TION
: 57

ing upon h is nance minister s advice allowing Calonne to

struggle along in the interval as best he co uld The f o l .

lowing December he yielded appointed the members and , ,

made preliminary arrangements f o r the meeting .

The Opening session Of the Council O f Notables was held

February 2 2 1 7 87 Its membership in no wise represented
, .

proportionately the interests of the Ki n gdom for o u t of a ,

total Of o n e hundred and forty -four forty -s i x were nobles , ,

e leven were Of the clergy twelve were members Of the ,

King s Council and t h irty eight were magistrates o f the

,
-

higher courts making altogether o n e hundred and seven

,

whose interests were bound up with the existing sy s tem .

Yet the meeting of this Council unrepresentative though ,

it wa s marked s o distinct a departure from previous

,

meth ods that the entire country throbbed with interest and
anticipation .

Before this Council Calonne stated frankly the nancial

condition Of the country and h is projects for reform He .

stated that o n e and a quarter billion o f livres

had been borrowed during the la s t decade and that many
sums were at the mom e nt when the treasury w a s empty
, ,

due to creditors He announced t h at the existing taxes

.

could not be increa s ed s o that the only practical reform

,

lay in t h e suppression of the privileges o f the clergy and

nobility thus rendering persons o f these classes liable t o
,

the ir proportionate share in the nancial b u rden and light ,

en i n g t h e load upon the bourgeoisie and pea s antry He .

proposed the suppression of the cor vee and the vi n gtiem e ,

the reduction O f the ta i lle and O f some o f the indirect taxes ,

the creation of provincial assemblies freedom o f grain trade ,

from governmental regulation and numerous economies in ,

administration All of these were measures to conciliate

.

the people A t the same time he explained a scheme for

.

new taxes ,a land -tax payable by all lando wner s upon the
,

assessed value o f their lands and a stamp -tax , .

The Council w a s aghast at Galonne s statements and

58 THE HI S TORY O F E U ROPE

proposal s . Intense Opposition at once developed Th e .

abolition o f their time honored privilege s was too bitter a

pill for the clergy and nobility to swallow Members O f the .

Council called f o r a nancial s tatem ent giving accurate

gures and r e venue and exp enses s h ow e d th e insufci ency ,

of C a l o n n e s proposals to meet the imm e diate needs of the

govern m ent and argued the practicability o f strict economy

,

to overcome the decits Precious weeks passed away with

.

nothing accomplished .

I n the meanw h ile the nobility outside o f the Council i n ,

censed at the p r O p o s a ls to suppress their privileges intrigu e d ,

to un dermine C a l o n n e s position with the King The Queen

.
,

Marie Antoinette was mo s t active in thes e intrigues and

, ,

because o f her i n uence over Louis X V I w as responsible for

their success April 8 1 7 87 the Controller General was
.
, ,
-

di s missed and at the end o f the followi n g m onth the Council

Of Notables w a s dissolved Under a new minister Lom enie
.
,

de Brienne appointed not Controller G e neral but Chief o f

,
-

the Committee of Finance in th e King s Council the Kin g

,
lrax

o n ce more attempted government along the Old familiar lines .

The policy o f Lomenie de Brienne precipitated a bitt e r

conict between the government and the P a r lemen ts .

Lom enie de Brienne was forced by the immediate n ece s

sities o f the government t o advise the King to order by
edict s ome Of the reforms and some of the taxes which the
Council o f Notables had refused The P a r l em en ts es .
,

p eci a ll y the P a r l em en t o f Paris registered the reforms such

, ,

as free grain trade a n d the replacement o f the cor ve by a

pay ment in money without comment or criticism but im
, ,

mediately Opposed the lev y of a stamp -tax the rst o f the ,

new taxes proposed In the discussions the P ar lem en t o f

.

Paris prepared an address to the King declaring that only ,

the nation as repre s ented in the Estates General could

authorize a new permanent tax The King and Lom enie .

de Brienne before the question of the s tamp tax could be

,
-

decided forwarded t o the P a r l emen t for regi s tration an e dict

,
 F RAN C E THE BE G INN IN GS OF RE VOLUTION
: 59

imposing a general land -tax such as Calonne had present e d ,

to the Council o f Nota bles Again the P a r lem en t refused .

to act and demanded the s ummoning of the Estates Gen

,

eral Ther e upon the King in accordance with ancient

.
,

custom held what was kno wn as a li t de j u s ti ce at Versailles

, ,

August 6 1 7 8 7 and declared by V irtue O f his supreme power

, ,

that the edicts were registered The P a r lem en t Of Paris .

prot e sted and formally declared the registration null and

,

void following up this declaration by renewed demands

,

f o r a meeting Of the E s tat e s General .

This conict of authority between t h e King and the

P a r lemen ts e s pecially the P a r lem en t of Paris arou s ed the
, ,

bourgeoisie as no previous incident in the political situation

had done The bourgeoisie w a s composed Of men o f affairs
.
,

as w e have seen and they had during the past few troubled
,

years analy z ed the s ituation from a practical standpoint .

They believed that the cau s e Of the nancial dif culty

lay in the exemptions o f the privileged classes and the ex
t r a v a ga n ce s O f the government They wanted reforms .
,

and n o t new taxes They welcomed the resistance of th e.

P a r l em en ts as a step in the right direction and applauded ,

their stubbornness In Pari s especially where the most .

, ,

numerous most prosperous and most intelligent o f the

, ,

bourgeoisie dwelt the P a r lem en t s action w a s immensely
,

popular W hen the P a r l em en t was temporarily banished

.

from the capital riots broke out in the streets W hen th e

, .

P a r l em en t return e d to Paris September 2 4 1 7 8 7 an d the , , ,

King consented to suppress the edicts for a stamp -tax and a

land -tax the people welcomed it with the enthusiasm en
,

gendered by a sen s e o f victor y over the sovereign .

The demand o f the P a r l em en t for a meeting Of the Estate s

General had in particular struck a responsive chord in the
hearts o f the people As popular respect for the authorit y .

and p e rson of the King had declined during the demon

s t r a t i o n Of his incapacity in the preceding months popular ,

hop e s o f the advantages to be gained by a meeting o f the

60 T HE HI S TO RY OF E U ROPE

Estat e s G e n e ral st e adily ro s e People knew l ittle of what

.

the E s tates General were it h ad not been in se ss ion for

a hundred and seventy -v e years but look e d forward t o a
body of representatives of the various class e s of the people
as better qualied than the King and his advisers to a pp r e
ciat e the popular grievances and formulate measur e s of r e
for m Before the continu e d pr e ssure of opinion in in u
.

e n t i a l bourgeois circle s accompanied by increa s ing disorder

,

amounting to actual rebellion in section s of the country ,

th e King yielded . He seemed indeed to have no other , ,

recours e His trea s ury was empty th e nation s creditors
.
,

were pres s ing for paym ent important elements of th e people

,

w ere demanding th e convocation of the Estates General b e

fore they consented to n ew taxation and his ministers had , ll

failed to nd any way o u t o f his di f culties W ith some .

trepidation and regret therefore the King by royal d e cree

, ,

O f Augu s t 8 1 78 8 announced the m e etin g of th e Estat e s

, ,

General f o r May 1 1 7 8 9, .

In the interval between his decree and th e me e ting of the

Estates General th e King mad e a bid f o r popularity b y
,

dismi ssing Lom enie de Brienne H e r eplac e d him w ith .

Jacques Necker a w e alth y S wi ss -born Prot e stant banker

,

w h o as Dir e ctor of the Treasury and D irector -General of

Finances in France from 1 7 7 6 to 1 7 8 1 had gained the con
den ce of the peopl e by his practical reforms This time .
,

upon Lom enie de B r ien n e s retirement (August 2 5

Necker was made Minister o f Finance and became a m e mb e r

of the Ki ng s Council The bourgeoisie w e r e enthu s iastic

.

over the appointment Necker however made no att empt

.
, ,

to do more than tide the government over until the meeting

o f the Estates General By his personal inuence he man
.

aged to scrape together small amounts of money from t I m e

to time in order to pay the most pressing d e mand s upon the
treasury He in common with all the ministers and all the
.

people could s e e no s alvation e xcept in th e action of the

Estates General .
 FRAN C E : T HE BE G INN IN G S O F REVOL UTI ON 61

E . TH E E S T A T E S G E N ER A L AND T HE FO R M A T I O N
OF T HE NA TI O N A L A S S EM B L Y
The elections to the Estates General were held during
a period O f great distress throughout France The h arvest .

o f 1 78 8 was e xc ep t i o n a l l y p o o r I n the autumn the govern

, .

ment took measures in its mistaken efforts to alleviate

conditions to restrict the grain trade These regulations .

increased the panic and by causing the individual hoard

, ,

ing o f grain in the rural districts intensied the distress o f ,

the poorer urban population I n addition all of western .

,

Europe e xp erienced the most severe winter weather The .

rivers were frozen hindering the natural means o f transport

, ,

and even the harbor of M arseilles in southern France was

covered with ice Many of the poor died of starvation and
.

cold Serious disturbances were common not o n ly among

.
,

the p rol etariat in the cities but among the peasantry U n, .

der the conditions the gov e rnment h esitated t o use ex

treme mea s ures to suppress t he disorders but it s clemency ,

was interpreted as w eakness and actually resulted in the

spread o f di s order Rumors Of the speculation in food
.

stuffs by members Of the ministry helped further to discredit

the admi nistration Th e people were therefore in an ex
.
, ,

cee din gl y dangerou s frame o f mi nd as t h e tim e f o r t he

meeting of the Estates General drew near .

Anxi ously as the people o f all cla s ses h ad look ed forward

to the meeting of the Estates General none could know the ,

View its members would take regarding t h eir powers and

duties The last meeting had been in 1 6 1 4 o n e h un dred

.
,

and s eventy v e years before

-
It had then been literally
.

an assembly o f the Estates o r O rders or Classes o f the , ,

Kingdom The cl e rgy th e nobility and t h e Third Estate

.
, , ,

or Commonalty each with its o wn int e r es t s and traditions

, ,

had acted s eparately The a ss embly as a whole had no

.

powers o f legislation : it had merely the power to petition

the King O n his side the Ki n g was not bound to observe
.
,
62 THE HI S TORY O F E U ROPE

this petition His absolute authority was subject to no

.

restrictions from the Estates Undoubtedly when Louis .

X VI summoned a meeting of the ancient E s tates General

for 1 7 89 he expected a body O f the same Obsequious kind as
that o f 1 6 1 4 In his summon s he ordered in ge n eral terms
.

that the deputies be i n structed and empowered t o propose ,

advise and agree to measures concerning the needs o f th e

,

s tate the redress o f grievances and the general and in

, ,

dividual welfare and he pledged himself t o execute what

,

should be agreed upon between hi m and the Estates .

Firmly believing in h i s o wn unlimited authorit y Louis X VI ,

certainly did not intend in any way to surrender h i s o wn

legislative o r executive rights to the Estates But he .

failed utterly to comprehend th e changed condition s in

France duri n g the hundred and seventy v e years that had -

elapsed sin ce the previous as sembly He failed to estimate .

the different relative importance o f the Estates especially ,

to realize the gro wt h of the Third Estate or Commonalty , ,

in numbers wealth and intelligence And he failed e s

, , .

p ec i a lly to appreciate the discredit which had attached to

him and his government as a result O f the incapacity sho wn
during the recen t decade The important elements among
.

the peop le had no idea that the Estates General was to be

merely a petitionary body without authority or l egislative
,

power Pamphlets appeared by the thousand spreading

.
,

in popular form the liberal theories of the political phi

I OS O p h er s
. The Estates General was to be a real parliament
o f the people charged with the task o f reforming all abuses
, ,

r econstructing the administration and the government and ,

reconstituting society Their very inexperience in practical

.

politics made the difculties in such a great program seem

triing to these pamphleteering theorist s They succeeded .

in awakenin g amon g the people at large the highest exp ec

t a t i o n s o f what the Estates General should accomplish .

Elec tions began in January 1 78 9 and dragged on t h rough

, ,

the following months The roy al decrees had mad e

.
 FRAN C E THE BE GIN N IN GS OF RE VOL UTION
: 63

frage in the various classes very liberal In the clerg y al l .

,

member s had the vote from the Archbishops and Bishops

,

down t o the parish priests E very noble twenty -v e years Of

.

age o r above had the vote In the Third Estate every .

,

Frenchman twenty v e y ears o f age o r above whose name

-
,

was inscribed o n the tax register had the vote Thus only , .

the very poorest laborers and the actual paupers were ex

cluded from the franchise .

At the same time that the elections were h eld voters were ,

invited to draw up a list Of grievances known as the ca hi er ,

( from its full title hi r des p l a i n tes et do lea n ces ) It i

ca e , s .

from the contents Of these ca hi ers that the modern historian

gains much of his information concerning the social p O ,

lit i ca l and economic abuses Of the late eighteenth century

,

France The representatives o f the people responding to

.
,

the King s invitation presented in each district an aston
,

i s hin gly frank and direct statement o f their grievances and

o f the r e forms advocated It w a s perhaps in the formula
.
, ,

tion o f the ca hi er s that the people rst became fully co n

s cious of the nature number and extent o f the abuses o f
, ,

the old rgim e The deputies were pledged to present t h ese

.

ca hi er s before t h e Estates General .

Monday M ay 5 1 7 89 the e leven hundred and eighteen

, , ,

deputies met in a great hall Of the palace at Versailles f or

their rst business session In numbers the members Of . ,

the Thi rd Estate were equal to the c o m b in e d m em b er s hip p

o f the clergy and nobility B y decree o f t he King the

.
,

deputies had followed the traditions o f 1 6 14 in th e matter

o f dress s o that the clergy and nobilit y appeared in all
,

the splendor of their O fcial garb whereas the representa ,

t iv es Of the Third Estate were in plain black The ancient .

formalities too were carefully Observed the clergy and

, , ,

nobility being allowed to enter and take their seat s while

the Third Estat e were kept standing in the entrance way .

The King in person opened th e s e ssion He was follow e d .

by the Keeper o f the Seals who in a long address outlined a

64 THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

large number of reform s for the consideration o f the depu

ties Then Necker the Minister o f Finance submitted a
. , ,

lengthy report on the condition of the tr easury These .

preliminaries took up the w hole of the rst day s session .

Th e next morning the real nature Of the im m ediate prob

lem before the Estates Ge n eral became apparent for wh en ,

the deputies o f the Third Estate reported at the hall they ,

found themselves alone The nobility and clergy having

.
,

resolved t o organize and deliberate after the ancient fas h ion

in separate bodies had met in di ff erent h alls The deputies
,
.

o f the Third Estate were determined that all thre e O rd ers

should be organized and should meet deliberate and vote

, , ,

as a single body They sen t committees to the other O rders

.

to invite them to join the representatives of t h e p e ople ;

and they held conferences with th e leaders o f the other
O rders ; but these were with out practical result Th e .

weeks dragged by with noth ing done t h e deputie s o f the ,

Third Estate refusing even to organize except temporarily ,

for fear such organization might be accepted as agreeing

to deliberation by separate O rders Finally June 1 0 1 789
.
, , ,

it was m oved and carried that for the last time t h e represent
atives O f the Third Estate should invite the clergy and
nobl e s to joint organization When no answer was received
.

to this invitation the deputies organized themselves ( June

,

1 2 14 ) and adopted the name ( June 1 7 ) o f N ational A s

-

s em b l y .

The act of the deputies was in deance o f precedent and

o f the power o f the King i t w a s indeed the rst step
, ,

in revolution Their new National Assembly usurped its

.

position and though allowing admission to members of th e

,

clergy and nobility as i n dividuals refused to recognize ,

these O rders as Estates o f the Ki n gdom Their only de .

f en s e f o r their revolutionary decision was o n e based o n

reason namel y that the representatives o f twenty-four
, ,

million s should prevail over the repr ese ntativ es of a few

hundr e d thousand .
 FRAN C E : THE BE G INN IN GS OF RE VOL UTION 65

Three days later Ju n e 2 0 1 7 89 the King s agents with

, , ,

o u t previous warning t o the deputies of the Third Estate ,

barred them from their hall o n the excuse that arrange

ments had t o be made for a royal session a few days later .

The discourtesy o f this act done in the King s name inc e nsed

the deputies Adjourni n g to a neighboring hall used often

.

as a tennis court the nearest room large enough to a e com

,

m o da t e them they took a solemn oath neve r to separate

,

until a constitution had been established Every deputy .

but one subscribed solemnly to this o ath The Tennis .

Court O ath as it is commo n ly called was evidence Of t he
, ,

sincerity and earnestness Of the Third Estate .

In the meanwhil e the Ki n g and the nobi l ity fai l e d to

,

take seriously the acts o f the Third Estate They were .

blind to the true signicance o f what had been done The .

clergy o n the other hand swayed by the large repre s enta

, ,

tion Of the lower ranks the curs parish priests and the , , ,

like were more inuenced by the stand th e Third Estate

,

had taken Individual members o f the clergy began to j oin

.

the Third Estate June 1 3 and o n June 1 9 the whole body ,

decided by a vote of 1 2 8 to 1 2 7 to yield June 2 2 the bulk .

of them took their s eats with the members of the C o m

m on alt y The strength o f the po s ition o f the Third E s tate
.

during these weeks h ad indeed been s trong The other , , .

Orders could do nothing without it It s passive refusal to .

organize s eparately had pr e vented all action by the Estates

General Encouraged by their succ e s s in winning over
.

mo s t of the clergy the T h ird Estate a w aited w ith keen

,

anticipation the royal session announced f o r June 2 3 All .

Orders recognized t h at the action of the Ki ng and his go v

er n m en t o n that day would be decisive .

Enormous crowds lined the streets O f Versailles to w atch

the assembling o f the deputies for the royal session Spon .

t an eo u s demonstrations of enthusiasm f o r the Third Estate

broke o u t but none was evident for the nobility o r f o r the
,

Ki ng hi mself The deputies O f the Commonalty were again

.
66 THE HI S TORY O F E UROPE

h umiliated by being forced to wait at the entrance until

clergy and nobility were seated I n the meeting the .

King s secretaries announced that it w a s the Ki ng s w ill

that the disti n ction between the separate Estates should be

Observed The acts of the Third Estate were declared null
.

and void and a long list of reforms w a s read The King

,
.

in person then spoke sa y ing that if the Estates Gen e ral

,

failed to help him he alon e would take measures to insure

,

the happiness Of his people and directing that the three

,

Estates meet the following day each in its separate chamber .

The King s speech ended the se s sion Upo n his withdrawal

.
,

the bulk o f the nobility a n d a number o f the clergy al so

withdrew The remainder o f the deputies kept their seats
. .

When summoned to withdraw their most prominent spokes ,

man Mirabeau replied that they would n o t leave exc ept at

, ,

th e point o f the bayonet Before such contumacy the

.

King took n o e ff ective mea s ures still failing to appreciate

, ,

apparently the signicance o f their opposition The depu

,
.

ties proceeded t o declare that their previous decrees were in

force c on trary to the expressed statemen t o f the King and
, ,

that the persons o f members Of the assembly were inviolable .

The meeting thereupon adjourned .

The n obility now S howed signs Of yielding to the co m

mons June 2 5 forty seven Of them left their o wn hall and
.
,
-

joined the common s The nal S ignal Of surrender was

.

given when the King h imself receded from his po s ition and
urged personally (June 2 7 1 7 89 ) the remainder of the
,

nobility and O f the clergy to join the assembly The Na .

t io n a l Assembly was n o w complete all three O rders being ,

fully represen ted meetin g together a n d voting together

, , .

The E s tates General had in these weeks o f trial and con ict
become tran sformed by the act Of the representatives of
the Third Estate into the National As s embly .

This transformation marks the completion o f the rst

denite stage o f the Fren ch Revolution The representa .

t i v es o f the Third Estate had w o n a notable victor y O ver .

 FR AN C E : T H E B EGI NN I N G S OF REVOL UTI ON 67

thro wing precedent and defy ing tradition the y had co n

,

stitut e d themselves a National Assembly and h ad forced

the submis s ion o f the other orders Th e body sum m on e d
.

according to ancient style h ad prov e d itself mo s t mod e rn

in its id e as had re f used to be merely petitionary and was
, ,

on its way to becoming a regular legislative if not an execu

,

tive assembly The King and his Council h ad foreseen

, .

nothing of these results : they were too blind to interp r e t

the ir signicance for th e futur e .
 C HA P TER III

THE N ATION A L A S S E MBLY AN D THE RE VOLU TI ON

1 7 89- 1 7 9 1

TH E representatives of the people ha d won the r s t battl e

in their campaign for reform The task still ahead o f them .
,

however was far more di cult than the inexperie n ced depu
,
f l ugh t u nt e

. O r i
ties realized The adherents Of the l d eg m e were not h
t lC hl ll

to give up after the loss Of a single ght Th e nancial hatch .

.

pressure was to force itself upon the assembl y at moments huis had
when the deputies sorely needed time f o r other matters p
p areut to . .

The disorders throughout the country were to ca s t almost

unbearable executive and administrative burdens upon men threeto (t
already engaged t o the uttermost with a legislative program ranu

O f reforms And the formulation o f a c onstitution wa s to

. th e:

develop di fferences o f Opinion among the deputies which on !esextraonl

several occasions threatened disaster The National As henotpopu .

s e m bl y expect e d to nish i t s work and dissolve within a fe w lhtrianw

months : it was actually in s ession more than two y e ars general sum ,

from June 2 7 1 789 to September 3 0 1 7 9 1

, ,
hidh ai ed
, .

Whippd e

A . C H I E F F I G UR E S IN TH E FA C TI O N S I N FR A N CE tescribable

The natural leader o f the court and the nobility was

!herevol
,

of course the Ki n g A poorer gure for s uch a leader in

, .

s o critical a period can scarcel y be imagined When he .

ascended the throne in 1 7 7 4 upon the death o f his grand

father the ill famed Louis XV Louis XVI wa s a youth of

-
, ,

v
e
twenty large ungainly sh y sluggish and indolent He
, , , , , .
er I I

heth
dn

w as ill -t t e d to shine in a court Of the kind Louis XI V had e

established He had interested himself curiousl y enough

.
, ,

in the trade Of a locksmith and whiled away hours in his

,

10d
68 an
 THE N A TIO N A L A S S E M B LY 69

little workroom practicing this occupation He enj oy e d .

,

too th e pleasures o f the c h ase He w a s morally admirable

,
.
,

a devot e d husband and a fond father He wa s naturally .

well -meaning generous and kind hearted but his v e ry

, ,
-
,

mercy prov e d a weakne s s with his rebellious people Above .

all he was unready and vacillating at times when s t e a di

,

nes s constancy and decision were essential f o r the safety

, ,

of his crown and the welfare o f his kingdom As a private .

ml citizen he might have been a commonplace mechanic : a s a

them King of France in a critical period he ruined himself and ,

dept brought untold suffering upon h is country The fall of the .

monarchy was due to the weakness and incapacity of t h e

monarch
my Louis had been married at S ixteen while he was heir ,

,u ,
e apparent to Marie Antoinette daughter Of Maria Theresa
, ,

am , of Austria This marriage had been arranged by Maria

.

M cement the political alliance then existing b e

ce and Austria Marie Antoinette was but
.

en she became Queen Of France H er position .

a r i l y d ii cu l t for the Au s tro French allianc e

,
-

H
, Especially after the revolution began this
nah
as s he wa s called became the focus
, Of
Hg
In ordinary times Marie Antoinette
d the throne She was beautiful in per
.

all the s ocial graces and po s ses s ed Of an ,

She proved her s elf how ,

h a r a ct er extent and force , ,

the revolutionary movement Extravagant by nature .

,

e failed to check her expense s even when France w a s o n

e v e rge of bankruptcy Incapable by birth environment
.
, ,

education o f s y mpathy with the mass of the people ,

never understood the nece s sities and passion s w h ic h

e revolution Wh en her .

c e over the
70 THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE

great sympath y f o r Marie Antoinette thus cast unwittingly ,

into the maelstrom o f politics of the r e volution but her ,

ignorance and h er misguided interference played a great

part in ha s tening the ruin o f the monarchy .

hejut
In the N ational Assembly o n e gure soon topped the rest
on the popular side the Count de Mirabeau Mirabeau .
,

scion o f a noble family of Provenc e was born in 1 74 9 Hs

'

, .

y outh and early manhood were mark ed by constant quarrels

with h is irascible father and by a series of more o r less dis
graceful love intrigues His father obtained lettr es de cachet
.

from the King time and time again to imprison this unruly
youth in punishment for excesses Mirabeau spent part of .

these years in practical exile in Switzerland Holland and , ,

England He studied assiduously the governm ent o f thes e

.

countries made comparisons wit h French institutions and

, ,

wrote scathing criticisms o f the latter Before the r ev o lu .

tion he was conspicuous for h is defense O f t h e cause o f p O p u

lar liberties W hen the King convok e d th e Estates General
.
,

Mirabeau o ff ered himself to the nobility of h is nativ e dis

tri e t but his writings had discredited him with t h em He
, .

then appealed to the Th ird Estate Th e fact that t h e n o b il

.

it y had rejected him was a strong argument in h is favor with

the Third Estate and h e was chosen deputy both from
,

Marseilles and from Aix A s deputy from A ix he was

.
,

present at the opening session o f the Estates General May 5 ,

1 789 That he won a commanding place was due so l ely to

.

his superior abi l it y for neit h er faction h ad cond ence in

,

him The nobles looked upon him as a renegade : the

.

people distrusted the possible inuence upon h im of his

noble birth and traditions He emerged from the crowd .

because of his vision his enthusiasm and his practical

, ,

sense At ever y crisis in the deliberations his voice was

.

heard He had indomitabl e courage clear logic passionate

.
, ,

fervor and a denite policy He never was abl e to gather

, .

around him a party The great inuen ce he had upon the

.

course of ev ents w as wholly the result of his cour age his ,

 T HE N A TIO N AL ASSEIWBLY 71

reasoning and his vigor As we gain a clearer p e rsp e ctiv e

, .

of th e French Revolution Mirabeau appears as o n e man

, ,

indeed as the only man in public a f fairs who had the n eces
,

sary vision to comprehend the drift events were taking and ,

the judgment t o advise measures o f relief .

B . TH E K I N G A N D N O B I L IT Y VS . T HE P E O PL E

W e cannot w onder that the King and the nobility failed

to appreciat e the crumbling o f the edice in which they and
their predec e ssors occupied suc h privileged positions few
peopl e living in the tumult of e vents which mark the fall of
o n e order of human society an d the rise o f another are able

to e stimat e justly the situation It is n o t surprising that.

,

aft e r th e rst success of the Third Estate in the formation

o f the N ational Assembly t h e King and the nobles prepared
,

a counterstroke wh ic h w a s int e nd e d to re s tor e th e s ta tu s qu o

in Franc e .

Louis X VI hims e lf h ad b e en temporarily aroused from his

customary apathy by the deance o f the Third Estate .

Th e Queen and the indignant nobles at the court prodded

h im to action Under their guidance he planned t o dismis s
.

Necker reorganize h is ministry and resume his former

, ,

powers aggressively To m e et any popular disturbanc e s

.
,

he ordered a concentration o f troops especially of foreign ,

mercenaries free from r e volutionary contamination near ,

Paris and Versailles .

It was o f course impossible to conceal the troop mov e

, ,

m ents from the National Assembly The deputies o f th e .

Third Estate distrusting th e King spread the news and

, ,

imparted their fears to the people July 8 1 7 89 the N a .

, ,

t i o n a l Assembly took O fcial cognizance o f the military

preparations and on motion by Mirabeau vo t ed to request
the King that the troops be withdrawn Two days lat e r .

the King feeling secure in his preparations refused th e

, ,

Assembly s requ e st stating however that h e had no de

, , ,

s ign s against the deputies He and hi s agent s secretl y hur

.
72 THE HI STORY OF E UROPE

ried their plans The following day Jul y 1 1 t h t h e King

. , ,

dismis s ed N ecker and his supporters in the ministry and ,

directed him t o leave the Kingdom secretly and immediately .

O bedient to h is sovereign s request Necker started toward

Switzerland that same evening .

At this critical moment Paris cam e to the rescue o f the

,

a s sembly and s et an example o f revolt which in the follow

ing weeks was imitated throughout France Radical politi .

cal discussion had ourished in the capital The harvest .

failure in 1 7 8 8 and the severe winter o f 1 7 88 1 7 8 9 had -

caused ten s of thousands of half starved wretche s to ock -

to Pari s to liv e upon the municipal c h arity The prole .

tariat was thus swollen in numbers in the city A keen .

sen s e of their wrong s lled the minds Of thes e poor people .

Their only salvation lay they thought in the success o f the

, ,

N ational As s embly A rallying plac e was furni s hed in the

.

square before the Palais Royal home of the p r o iga t e and

-
,

unprincipled Du c d O r l ea n s cousin Of the King There th ey

, .

assembled day and night stirred by the harangues o f r e v ol u

,

t i o n a r y demagogues Through the crowds during July 12 th

.

the rumor passed that N ecker had been dismiss e d An .

impassioned young scribbler Camille Desmoulin s gave th e , ,

throng purpose a n d activity H e leapt upon a table shout .

,

ing that N ecker had been dismissed that hi s departure was ,

the S ignal bell f o r a St Bartholomew s massacre o f the

.

patriots that the Swiss and German mercenaries w ere to

,

march against them The crowd took re at his words

.

and surged away to nd arm s .

The next two days were days of uncontrolled riot in Paris .

The m o b looted the gu n s h o p s took the gun s and a m m u n i ,

tion in the H otel de Ville ( City Hall ) and the Hotel des
Invalides and sacked stores and houses The police dis
, .

appeared and the ro y al troops decimated by desertion and ,

left without orders were withdra wn beyond the city bar

,

r i er s
. O n the 1 4 t h the m o b concentrated in front o f the
,

B astille the last remaini n g position in the capital h eld by

,

the King s soldiers

.
 THE N A TION AL A SS E MB LY 73

The Bastille had once been a fortress but in recent years

had been used as a state prison Stories were abroad Of .

unlit subterranean dun geons and Of instruments Of torture

therein To the maddened mob the fro wning walls seemed
.

the embodiment of the evils o f despotism Yet its t e n foot .

-

thick ma s onry could defy any artillery the crowd could bring
against it Though manned by but a handful Of Swiss
.

mercenaries it could have stood a s ieg e The governor

, .
,

however chose to parley with the crowd In an unguarded

, .

moment he let th e massive drawbridge down for a deputa

tion Masses Of men swarmed across it into the court and
.
,

the governor upon promise o f safet y f o r himself and his

,

men s urrendered the fortress The unrul y crowd di s r e

,
.

garded the promise of i t s leaders and in a most brutal

fas hion murdered the governor and most o f his soldiers .

The anniversary Of the fall o f the Bastille Jul y 1 4 1 78 9 , , ,

is s till celebrated as a natio n al holiday in France Though .

the event in itself was unimportant for the place had little ,

or no s trategical value and no unlit du n geons or instruments

o f torture were fou n d the people regarded it as marking
,

the s urrender o f the most striking symbol of the o l d rgime .

As such its fall meant to the people the end Of autocracy

, ,

the beginning Of a new era .

The disorders quickly communicated themselves to the

provinces Throughout the length and breadth Of France
.

an unreasoning panic seized the people especiall y the ,

peasants Rumor s that brigands were coming le d the peo

.

ple t o band themselves together f o r protection The agen .

cies Of the government everywhere abdicated Authority .

was unkn own When the rst fear p assed the peasant
.
,

leaders began to attack the C hateaux Of the nobles each ,

chateau being t o the district a symbol o f the Old rgime as

the Bastille w a s to Paris Sacking and burning s eeki ng
.
,

especiall y f o r destruction the o ld manorial records contain

ing the list o f seigniorial charge s and dues the peasant ,

bands ravaged the country France descended t o anarchy . .

74 T HE HI STORY OF E UR OPE

Yet not all the work of these tumultuous wee k s w as

destructive The bourgeoisie in Paris had at the height of
. ,

the disorders recognized the need for the establishment o f a

,

municipal authorit y to take the place o f the wreck o f the

royal power in Paris Their r ep r es en t a t i Ves therefore h ad
.
, ,

organized a local governm e nt chosen a mayor and mad e , ,

plans for a municipal council t o be elected by the vot e rs in

the several districts of the city At the sa m e tim e th ey .
,

provided for th e organization of an a rm ed civic soldiery to

be kno wn a s th e N ational Guard and appointed the Marqui s ,

de Lafayett e its commandant Other communes quickly .

followed the example of the capital The form of municipal .

government thus organized survived in its main outlines the

Revolution Th e N ational Guard became in the trying
.

years o f foreign warfar e the chief dependence of the go v

e rn m en t .

The insurrection in Paris and the di s turbance s through

o u t the country defeated t h e King s intended coup d etat

.

July 1 5 Louis XV I appeared before the National A s sembly

,

and stated that the troops would be withdra wn A w e ek .

later Jul y 2 1 N ecker was recalled amid the rej oicing of the
, ,

people The nobility however realizing now the wreck o f

.
, ,

the royal authority began to leave Franc e deserting t heir

, ,

homes and their property During the summer and autumn .

of 1 7 89 about sevent y thousand of these migr s ed
across the borders The success o f the popular uprising o f
.

July was s o great that these migr s saw no h ope in the im

mediate futur e e xcept from int e rv e ntion on th e part of a
foreign power .

0 . W OR K OF TH E NA T I O N A L A S S EM B L Y
The N ational Asse mbly in the m e anwhil e proce e d e d in it s
efforts to reorganize France Its various committees w ere .

hard at work upon the material f o r a constitution It s .

e f ciency was seriou s ly handicapped by the ine xperience of

many of it s members the con s tant succ es sion of d eputa
,
 THE N A TIO N AL A S SE MBLY 75

tions from all parts o f France the long set s peeches t h e

, ,

lack of rules governing debate and the failure to keep order

,

among the spectator s It was indeed remark able that it

.
, ,

was able to produce results at all .

O n e important part Of its labors was achieved in a peculiar

way A committee appointed in July to inv e stigate the
.
,

disorder in the Provinces pres ented i t s report to the A s

,

s em b l y in the session o f Augu s t 3 It proved to be a grue

.

some r e cital o f pillage and outrag e perpetrated by a peas ,

autry in their reaction against the system so long responsible

for th e ir oppr e ssion Th e follo wing evening ( August 4 5 )
.

m e mbers o f the nobilit y stung by implications that they

,

we re s elsh ly clinging to their traditional right s began to ,

o ff e r m otions for the suppression o f privileges The rs t .

motion was to proclaim equality of taxation T h is w a s .

followed by o n e to make all men equal before the courts '

by another to admit all men to o f ces in the public service ;

by anoth e r to abolish the right s of the chase The co n .

t a gi o n Of self -s a cr i c e rapidly spread A madness Of liber .

a li s m sei z ed th e deputies Of the privileged orders I n a few .

hours succ e ssive motions carri e d by acclamation swept away

the whol e body of special rights The slate was wiped
.

clean for the N ational Asse mbly to write out a new social
order . Never has t h e impulsive g e nerosity o f the best
elements o f th e French p e ople s h one forth so brilliantly .

The wisdom of such hasty legislation o n matters o f such

great import m ay be questioned : the motives cannot but
be praised .

W ith the way thus clear e d the Assembly s et to work

,

pon th e constitution debating it provision by provision

, .

long discussion it agreed that the body of the docu

should be preceded by a Declaration of Rights Many .

w e r e spent in framing thi s De claration As read to .

s s em b l y August 2 6 1 7 89 this Decl a r a ti on of the Ri ghts

, ,

of the Ci ti zen was a noble statement of princi

76 TH E HI STORY OF E UROPE

France It proclaimed the liberty and safety o f th e i n

.

dividual security o f property and freedom of s peech pub

, , ,

lic a t i o n and religious belief

,
Its paragraphs reected th e .

reaction from the abuses o f the O l d r egim e In it s prea m .

ble it acknowledged the force o f the Am er I ca n e x ample :

O ur soil should by right be the rst to which thi s grand

idea conceived in another hemisp h ere should be trans
, ,

planted We co Op er a t ed in the events which gav e N orth

.

America her liberty and now s h e s hows us o n what prin

,

cip l e s we oug h t to bas e the pres e rvation o f o u r o wn .

The Decla r a ti on of the R i ghts of M a n stands with the Dec

l ar a ti on of I n dep en den ce as on e of the notable documents
in th e history of democracy .

After the report on the Decla r a ti o n of R i ghts h ad been

submitted the National Assembly began discussion of th e
,

important articles in the propos e d con s titution bearing o n

the executive power and the organization o f the legi s lative
body This discussion occupied most of th e f o ll o wm g
.

m onth ( September ,

D . R EM O VA L OF T HE K I N G A N D T HE N A T I O N A L
A S S EM B L Y

The position of th e King following the revolt o f July , ,

had been pitiable He wa s but a pa s sive spectator Of

.

e v e nts His nobles had ed the country in great numbers

.
,

l e d by his own younger brother the Comte d Ar t o is His ,

.

royal administration had broken down His authority had .

ceased His advice was not asked H e had become in a

. .

few months a puppet King Though the country was dis .

organized local authority n o t obeyed and taxes not paid

, ,

people were looking not to the King but to the N ational

, ,

Assembly f o r their orders And the N ational Assembly .

,

without his royal sanction wa s framing a constitution which

,

would forever limit him in his aut h ority .

A more pressing danger existed in the conditions within

Paris The proletariat h ad tasted po w er in the tumults o f
.
 THE N A TIO N A L A SS E MBLY 77

July
and were stirring uneasily in anticipation of
12 14 ,
another outbreak Economic conditions in the city were
.

bad Foo d w a s scarc e and prices high The pr e vailing

. .

disorders in the country w ere adding cro w d s of pov e rty

s tricken refugees to the capital The ight of many of t he .

wealthy clas s es and the disorganization O f indu s try threw

, ,

thous ands o u t of employment Agitators were ever pres .

ent in the Palai s Royal to harangue the crowds Any in

-
.

eident o r rumor wa s enough to start s erious troubl e .

The King appreciating the danger of the situation

, ,

ord e red f o r protection a r egiment from Flanders to rein

force the gu a r d du cor p s and the N ational Guard at Ver
s ailles Upon the arrival o f the Flanders regiment the cus
.
,

t o m ar y banquet was given O ctober 1 1 7 8 9 to its O fc e rs

, , , .

The arrival of the Fland e rs r e giment and news of the ban

quet proved the signal for an outbreak in Paris Rumors .

ew about o f another attempt to rein s tate the o l d rgime by

force Lurid stories Of the banquet were circulated T he
. .

red white and blue cockad e adopt e d by th e N ational

, , ,

Guard and already a symbol Of liberation had b ee n tra m ,

p l e d under foot it was said by the O fcer s pledging loyalty

, ,

to the King and Queen Versailles had been banqueting.

while Paris was starving .

Riot started in Paris the morning of O ctober 5 1 7 89 , .

A crowd gathered around the H l el de Vi lle clamoring for

bread Members forced their way into the building and
.

distributed a quantity o f arms and ammunition stored there .

Lafayette at the head of the N ational Guard h e sitated to

use force hoping to persuade the people to disp e rs e His
, .

h esitation gave the mob time to increase Some on e se iz e d .

a drum and led the way to Versailles The crowd in a

, .

disorderly march all day long streamed o u t toward th e Ki ng .

Lafayette with the National Guard followed I n th e e ven .

ing during a drizzling rain weary and bedraggled th e crowd

, ,

reached the V icinity o f the royal palace Later Lafay e tt e .

bivouacked h is troops in the squar e s and posted guards

78 THE HI STORY OF E UROPE

around the building The cro w d built gr e at bon re s and

.

camped around them f o r the night .

Early the next morning O ctober 6 1 78 9 a f e w prowlers

, , ,

found an unguarded door gave a signal which brought ,

others to their aid brok e into th e palace and began to

, ,

search for the Que en Marie Antoinette was forced to ee

.

from her rooms The mass O f the crowd surged into the
.

courtyard o f the palace To appease them Lafayett e per.

,

s u a de d the King and Queen to show themselves o n th e

balcon y While there the King plac e d a red white and

.
, , ,

blue c ockade in his hat and Lafayette harangued the people

, ,

saying that Louis X V I had resolved to conrm the Decla

ration O f Rights and to go with his people to Paris At .

noon the King Queen and the Dauphin

,
the baker th e
, , ,

baker s wife a n d the littl e cook -b o y as the crowd call e d

, ,

them , surrounded by th e triumphant mob w e r e driven t o ,

Paris The National A s s e mbly declaring it s elf inseparable

.
,

from the King resolved to accompany him to the capital

, .

L o uis X VI went to the Tuileries : the National A ss embly

a few days later resu m ed its se ss ions in a riding -scho o l
'

near by .

The removal o f the King and the N ational As s embly to

Paris mark e d the beginning of a new s tage in the R ev o l u
tion Both were henceforth subj ect more directly to mob
.

pressure in the capital The King was virtually a prisoner

.

in the Tuileries The most radical elements in the National

.

Assembly had a weapon clos e at hand in t h e violenc e of th e

proletariat to e nforce their policies upon the As se mbly .

E . C O N TI N UA TI O N TH E
OF W ORK O F TH E NA T IO NAL
A S S EM B LY IN PAR S I
After the rioti n g of O ctober 5 6 the N ational A ss embly ,

again took up its consideration of th e constitution and th e

reorganization of government in Franc e As a preliminary .

m easure it reconstructed by decr ee th e administrativ e areas

O f the country .
 T HE N ATIO N AL A SSE MBLY 79

France under the o l d rgime retained in the numb e r and

character of its areas for administration many historical and
traditional distinctions The gnralits previously men
.
,

t i o n e d had been recently created but the dioceses dated

, ,

back to the break -u p of the Roman Empire and certain o f ,

the Province s represented duchies formerly independent .

It was the de s ir e of the N ational As se mbly to destroy these

distinctions between the various areas which Often gave rise ,

to consideration of local rather than national interests and ,

to establish in their stead a new and uniform administrative

division Thus they hoped to inculcate national rather
.

than local feeling as well as to simplify the Operation Of

,

gove rnment .

They therefore divided France into eighty three Dep ar te

-

men ts ( including Corsica as one ) subdivided each Dep ar te

men t into s ix o r seven Di s tr i cts ; further subdivided each

Di s tr i ct into eight o r nine C a n ton s Each Ca n ton contained
.

eight o r nine o f the form e r Comm u n es The Dp a r tem en ts .

,

Di s tr i cts and Ca n ton s were wholly new ; the Comm u n es

, ,

altogether about in number were the only historical,

divisions retained in the system Fo r each o f the s e areas

.

the National As s embly provided a government and a j udi

ci a r y
. Fo r both Dp a r tem en ts and Di s tr i cts were created
an e xe cutive council of ve and an administrative council
of thirty -s i x members and criminal and civil court s Fo r
, .

the to wns were provided a mayor and council and local

courts The Ca n ton s b e ing merely electoral areas i e areas
.
, , . .
,

s erving as unit s f o r election purpose s n e eded no govern ,

ment I n all the ar e as the O f cers were elected by the

.
,

people the s uffrage being given to all men over twenty

,

v e wh o paid in taxe s the equivalent of three days labor

.

A more radical readj ustment o f administration could

s carcely be imagined In a country Where previously
.

autocracy had existed a simple decree revolutionized con

,

dit ion s .The people had the whole power Where s uch a .

chang e has tak en place in other states it has been brought ,

80 THE HI S TORY O F E UROPE

by gradual stages during which the people gained exp e rience

little by little The theorists in the National Ass e mbly
.
,

h owever were anxious to create in a moment the s tructure

,

of a democratic government Henc e they erased ancient .

and familiar local divisions to establi s h a new and uniform

system whereby they might b e free to devise what govern
,

ment they d e sired Their w ork i s one o f the most impor

.

tant and con s tructiv e acts o f t he Revolution yet under ,

the circumstance s it can s carcely be j udged wholly wi s e .

A s econd preliminary mea s ure was an adj ustment o f the

relation s betw ee n the s tate and the Catholic c hurch Th e .

abuses which followed from the privileged po s ition of the
clergy and the immunity bot h o f the clergy and of church
,

property from taxation constitut e d an important gri e vance

,

under the Old r egim e The deputi es th e refore esp e cially

.
, ,

tho s e of th e original Third Estate were prepared wh en they ,

arrived at Ver s ailles to take radical measures to insure s tat e

control of the church revenue s Many of them were if not .
,

atheistic at least irreligious The rationali s m of Voltaire

, .

and hi s attacks upon t h e evils of t h e church s yst em had

inuenced them greatly .

I n their con s ideration o f the c h urc h probl e m the lead e r s ,

were also inuenced by the nancial situation The country .

had been practically bankrupt in May 1 7 8 9 The con i n , .

sion of the s ucceeding months had prevented any e ect i v e

'

measure s f or relieving the nancial stringency Money h ad .

to be Obtained At th e moment vast properties of the

.
,

church were the asset most ready at hand .

Debate on the project for taking over the c h urch l and

began O ctober 1 0 1 789 and the decisive vote was cast
, ,

November 2 Thus in le s s than a month th e National

.

Assembly introduced debated and passed a m easure radi

, ,

cally altering the age -long right s and privileges o f the church
in France Such haste was due rst to the need of money
.
, , ,

and second to the radicali s m of the deputie s As nally

, , .

sh ap ed b y M irabeau t h e m o t io n con s ist e d of a d e claration

,
 T HE N A TIO N AL A SSE MBLY 81

that the property o f the church in France was at the dis

po s al Of the nation o n condition that the expenses o f wor
ship the s upport O f the clergy and the care of the poor
, ,

were ad e quately provided for At the sam e time it w a s

.
,

moved and passed that cur s ( the lowest rank of the clergy )
should be p aid a minimum s alary Of 1 2 00 livre s ( 0 $ 2 5 0) .

per annum wit h lodging A littl e ov e r a month later De

.
,

cem b e r 1 9 , 1 7 8 9 the sale o f a part Of the church lands w a s

,

authorized to meet the needs Of th e governm ent .

The value o f the property thus taken over by the nation

was estimat e d at between two or three thou s and million
livres ( c. and To make the
p roperty immediately available in cash the Assembly ,

plann e d to use it as security for the issue of paper not e s ,

call e d a s s i gn a ts This plan wa s s ound providing that the

.
,

issue Of a s s i gn a ts was limited and that the value o f the

property wa s not depreciated by the s ale o f it s most desir
able s ections o r by poor management At the same time .
,

therefore that the Assembly aut h orized the sale Of part Of

,

the ch urch lands ( December 1 9 , it authorized the

issue o f the rst lot of a s s i gn a ts ; four months later ( April
1 7 1 7 90) th e a ss i gn a ts to the amount o f
, livres
wer e voted and began to be put into circulation This .

issue me t with dangerous s uccess succe s s because it r e

li ev e d the government o f its pres s ing money di fculties ;
dangerou s becau s e it s uggested to th e inexperienced depu
ties a reservoir from which issues o f money could be author
i z ed whenever the treasury was l o w The dang e r s becam e
.

evident later when the deputies voted successive issues

,

livres additional September 2 9 1 7 9 0 and , ,

mor e June 1 9 1 79 1
, with the re s ult that t he
a ss i gn a ts depreciated rapidly in value .

In the meantime the taking over of the church lands on

,

the proviso that the clergy should b e provided for made it

neces sary for t h e Assembly to draw up a plan for further
relations betwe en th e government and the clergy The .

G
82 THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

way was cleared for a sweepin g mea s ure by a p r e l iminary

law (February 1 7 9 0) wh e reby m onastic ord e r s w ere sup
,

p ressed and their properties taken over by the state I n .

May 1 79 0 came t h e general plan in a report from the

, ,

Ecclesiastical Committee of t h e Assembly upon a p roposed

law for The Civil Constitution of the Clergy By t h e .

provisions of t h i s proposed law the ancient eccle s iastical ,

division s were wiped out Henceforth there were to be .

e ighty -three Bishops one Bishop in each Dp ar temen t A l l

, .

intermediat e ranks betw e en the Bishop s and th e parish

priests and curs were to be d e stroy e d Th e s alary Of each .

ecclesiastic wa s xed The clergy were to b e elected t he

.
,

Bishops by the el e ctors in their Dep a r tem en ts and the paris h

priest s and cur s by the assemblie s of t h eir d i s t r ict s Frenc h .

citi z ens were prohibited from recognizing the aut h ority o f

any Bishop who s e see w a s out s ide th e Kingdom a pro
vision designed against the authority O f the Pope And .

each member of the cl e rgy was required to m aintain h i s

residenc e in his parish district or Dp a r temen t , , .

Debates upon this propos e d Civil Constitution of t he

Clergy began immediately after th e s ubmi s sion o f the
report in May 1 79 0 and continued for s ix week s Th e
, , .

most bitter opposition to its feature s dev e lop e d among t he

clergy The National A s sembly was planning changes in a
.

domain heretofore r egard e d as wholly under eccle s ia s tical

authority The Pop e w a s naturally w h olly out of sympathy
.

with the law and th e clergy both of their o wn accord and

,

by i n spiration from Rome fought its adoption The will o f .

the radical element in th e A ssembly however was u n y i eld , ,

ing . The plan was adopt e d July 1 2 1 7 9 0 and received , ,

the reluctant assent of th e helpless King August 2 7 1 7 9 0 , .

The Civil Constitution of the Cl e rgy was from the ,

point o f V iew of practical state s manship a most unwis e ,

measure The Assembly anticipating trouble voted N O

.
, ,

v em b e r 2 7 1 790 t o require the clergy to subscribe publicly

, ,

to an oath to s wear to watch with care over the faithful
 THE N A TION AL A SS E MB LY 83

of the dioce s e o r parish intrusted to them to b e faithful t o ,

th e nation the law and the King and to maintain with

, , ,

all their power the constitution decreed by the N ational

A ssembly and accepted by the King Any cleric who .

refu s ed to take the oath would be regarded as havi n g r e

s ign e d his po s ition January 4 1 7 9 1 t h e roll o f the clergy
.
, ,

in the National Assembly was called and one after another ,

the Bishops and priest s declined to s ubscribe Only four .

Of the hig h er clergy a n d less t h an h alf o f the priests and

curates yielded U nder the law the non -j uring priests were
.

regarded as having resigned Many parishes were thu s left

.

without prie s ts or religious s ervices Though elections were.

at once held to determine successors the people in t h e ,

p arishes were divided in their allegiance s ome h olding ,

s tubbornly t o the o l d and other s accepting the new priest s .

Disorders broke o u t in many sections s o serious a s to cause ,

troops t o be dispatc h ed for their s uppression .

i . The Fli ght to Va r en n es

Humiliated as he had been b y the successive assumption s

of power by the N ational Assembly the King w a s aroused ,

by th e Civil Constitution of th e Clergy as he had b e en
by nothing else He had ever been a devout Catholic and
.
,

the provisions o f the law had outraged his de e pest instincts .

Though h e r e alized that his acceptance wa s forced and ,

that the Pope recogni z e d this fact he felt the abiding s ense
,

of guilt He believed not only that he had done wron g

.
,

him se lf but that his own acceptance might imp e ril the
,

spiritual welfare of millions Of his people

Stung by remorse the King again determined to make an
,

e ffort to resume wh at h e considered his legitimate functions .

He still failed to appreciate the univer s ality Of the R ev o l u

tion thinking that it was the work of a s mall faction and
,

that if he himself were free the greater part o f the nation

, ,

would rall y to him Mirabeau w h o had f o r months past

.
,

en deavored t o assist him by counsel died April 2 1 7 9 1 , , .

84 TH E HI STORY O F E UROPE

Louis d e cided as a preliminary step t o ee from Paris ,

establish himself among loyal troops at the northern border ,

and with the help o f friendly Powers regain his power .

His plans w e re carried out w ith the utmost s e crecy He .

s elected M ontm edy where was station e d a con s iderable

,

body of dependable troops as his obj e ctiv e and intrusted , ,

arrangements to a Swedish nobleman resident at the court .

N O intimation of his purpose w a s allowed to e scape On .

the night of June 2 0 1 79 1 the royal family in di s guise

, ,

entered a trav e ling coach and wer e driv en rapidly toward

the frontier .

All w ent w e ll until the carriage reached the town of

Varennes twenty -ve miles from Montm edy There June
,
.
,

2 1 1 7 9 1 during a delay in Obtaining a fresh relay of horses

, , ,

the King carelessly show e d h imself at the door O f the coach

and wa s r e cogni z ed The . m
t i o n a l Guard o f the to wn wa s
assembled and formally detained him until orders came
from the capital Four days later he was ign o m l n l o u s ly
.

conducted back through the streets of Paris to the T u i ler ies o

.

The ight of the King revealed to France at large h o w in

alterably Opposed h e was in spite o f his public declarations ,

to the contrary to all the principle s underlying t h e R e v o l u

,

tion Though the N ational Assembly created the ction

.

that he had been abducted and passed motions to punish ,

his abductors the people were not deceived Th e King

, .

himself was now a prisoner under guard and groups of ,

radicals were openly discussing his punishment Some a d .

v oc a t e d his deposition for treason A small group kno wn .

,

as Republicans began agitation f o r the abolition o f the

,

monarchy and the establishment o f a democracy .

ii . The M as s a cr e
f the Cha mp de M ars o

The Republicans e specially were determ ined to inu ence

, ,

the N ational Assembly Fo r this purpo se they pr epared a .

petition to be pre s ented to the Ass e mbly calli n g for t he ,

depo s iti on and trial of the King and placarded Pari s with ,
 T HE N A TI ON A L A SSE MBLY 85

summonses to patriots to a sse mble in t he C h amp de
Mars July 1 7 1 7 9 1 for the ceremony o f signing
, , .

On the morning of the 1 7 t h in answer to th e summons , ,

an immense crowd streamed out of Paris t o the Champ de

Mars Th e bas e r elements of the city predominated seei n g
.
,

the pos s ibility o f using this demonstration for a new in s u r

rection The National Assembly fearing th e temper o f the
.
,

mob and out O f sympathy with its purposes dir e cted the ,

Mayor o f Paris to take the neces s ary mea s ure s f o r the s afety
of the capital Th e N ational Guard was assembled
.
,

marched to the Champ de Mars and stationed around the ,

sp e ake r s stand Th e Mayor read a procl a mation order

.

ing the crowd to disperse but wa s answered with shouts of ,

derision and a volley o f stones The National Guard then .

red killing and wounding a dozen or mor e and s o frightened

,

the rest that they ed in confusion .

Such was the massacre o f the Champ de Mar s It s .

e ff ect was twofold to embitter still further the proletariat

,

against the King and to create intense ho s tilit y b e tween t he

,

proletariat and the bourgeoisie in Paris The bourgeoisi e .

had accepted gladly the c o Op er a t i o n Of the proletariat in

the insurrection o f July 1 2 14 1 78 9 and had connived at -
, ,

the mob acts which had brought the royal family to Paris
October 4 5 1 7 89 But the b ourgeoisie had established and
, .

kept control o f a stable municipal government and was ,

chiey inter es ted in maintaining order Its intere s t s w e re .

at bottom incompatible with those o f the proletariat Du r .

ing later days when the proletariat gained the asc endancy
, ,

they took bloody revenge upon the leader Of the bourg e oi s i e

f or t h is m a s sacr e o f the Champ de Mar s .

F . TH E N EW C O N S TI TUT I O N , AND T HE DI S S O L U T I O N
OF T HE NA TI O N A L A S S EM B L Y
The con s titution upon which th e N ational A s s e mbly had
been working more o r less steadily was now near com
p let i on Certain of it s provisions such a s the a dm in i s
.
,
86 THE HI STORY O F E UROPE

t r at ive division of the Kingdom and the relation of the

government to the church and clergy had actually been ,

put into e ff ect during the Assembly s deliberations To .

exhibit their o wn purity of motives the deputies nally ,

incorporated a self denying clause providing that no dep
-
,

uty wh o s a t in the N ational Assembly S hould be regarded

as eligible for the succeeding assembly a mischievous

article in that it insured a new assembly Of members prae

,

tically a s inexperienced as the deputies of the Estates Gen

eral had been in Ma y o f 1 7 8 9 The draft of the C o n s t i t u .

t i o n a l Act w a s voted o n and carried September 3 1 7 9 1 , .

Eleven days later t h e King publicly took the oath to S l i p

port it .

The new constitution provided for government by a King

and a unicameral legislature Royalt y wa s to be hereditary
.

in the male line O f the Bourbon hou s e according to the rule

o f primogeniture At h i s accession the sovereign was to
.
,

take an oath Of allegiance to the nation the law and the , ,

constitution His person was inviolable and s acred but

.
,

he was to be regarded as having abdicated if he failed to

take o r O bserve h is oath o f allegiance if he took part in any ,

military enterpri s e against the state or if he quitted the ,

Kingdom He was under the constitution the nominal

.

supreme executive and as such was head of the a dm in is

,

t r a t i o n and had extensive power s O f appointment in the

,

higher grades o f arm y navy and diplomatic service He

, , .

had a suspensive veto upon legislation operative through ,

two assemblie s but any bill passed in spite of his veto in

,

three successive a s semblies became law without his con ,

sent being required Though i t might seem from the above

.

s tatement that the King had retained important powers in

the new government we must n o t lose sight o f the vast
,

di ff erences between his position under this constitution and

his position previously He n o w had n o control over the
.

duration Of the legislati v e bod y He had no i n itiative in .

making laws being empowered merel y to suggest to the

,
 THE N A TIO N AL A SS E M B LY 87

Assembly subjects for its consideration He was unable .

to declare o r to wage war without the consent o f the legis

lat u r e He had no j udicial power He had no control
. .

over the agencies of local government in h i s Kingdom And .

he had no direct o r nal control o f the army and navy He .

had indeed descended far from the absolute sovereignty Of

, ,

a Louis X I V .

The legislature was t o consist o f a single Chamber of

seven h undred and forty v e members apportioned among
-
,

the eighty -three Dpartements according to area p O p u l a ,

tio n and amount paid in taxes The deputies were elected

,
.

by a system Of indirect elections The duration o f a legis .

l a t u r e was t w o years and it could not be prorogued o r di s

s olved by the Ki ng The legislative body had full power
.

over legislation except as qualied by the King s s u s
,

pensive veto .

W ith the completion o f the new constitution and its ,

acceptance by the King the labors Of the National Assembly

,

came to an end At its nal formal session September 2 9

.
, ,

1 7 9 1 the King attended in perso n as he had at the Opening

,

o f the Estates General May 5 1 7 89 He made the retiring

, .

deputies a short speech concluding with the words :
, In
returning t o your constituents you have still an important
duty to discharge ; you have to make known to the citizens
the real meaning o f the laws you have enacted and to ex ,

plain my sentiments t o the people Tell th e m that the .

King will always be their rst and best friend ; that he has
need of their a ff ection ; that he knows no enj oyment but in
them and with them ; that the hope of contributing to
,

their happiness will sustain his courage as the satisfaction ,

o f having done s o will constitute h is reward In the .

evening magnicent fetes were ordered by the Ki n g to

celebrate the beginning of a new order and as the royal ,

family drove through the Champs -Elys ee th e y were greeted ,

with demonstrations Of enthusiasm The people believ e d .

that the Revolution was completed .

 88 THE HI STORY O F EU R O PE

Th e dis s o l u t idn of the N ational Ass e mbly marks the

denite end O f the rst part th e relativ e ly peaceful period
, ,

of the French Revolution Confronted by the gigantic

.

probl em s involved in th e reconstruction of th e entire polit

ical and social life of a Kingdom of twenty -v e million souls ,

the deputie s had accomplished much They had swept .

away completely the system of privileges which had b e en

th e chief characteristic o f the o l d r egim e They had se .

cured freedom O f religious worship They had abolished .

torture and punishment by breaking on the wh ee l They .

had establish e d a uniform j udicial sy s t e m They had put .

into effect a complete new admini s trative syst e m Th ey .

had opened care e rs in the military and diplomatic service

to all who proved their capacity f o r advancement They .

had brought about the distribution of land among the

laboring classes They had framed guarante e s of civil
.

liberty for the individual No similar body under analogous

.

conditions h as ever in so short a time accomplished as much .

That their work should h ave been perfect is too m u ch t o ,

e xpect Their errors were serious were indeed the direct

.
, , ,

cause of the later and m ore terrible phases of the Re vo

l u t io n.They created schism in the Catholic church o f
France by the Civil Constitution Of the Clergy They gave .

full exerci s e o f the suffrage to great clas s es o f men wholly

unaccustomed to the right uses of such power They gave .

s upreme legislative power to a legislatur e o f a single cham

ber in spite of the fact that every contemporary example
,

emphasized the value of two chamber s And most impor .

,

tant o f all in their anxiety to destroy the autocracy of the

,

O l d rgime they s o curbed and weakened the executive

,

authority as to render it unable even if well disposed to

, ,

maintain order and security w ithin the Kingdom .

With all o f its virtues a constitution which h ad such

,

fundamental errors was doomed to failure A s a m atter .

of fact it s urvived les s than a year

, .
 C HA P T E R IV

E U ROPE AN D THE RE V OLU TI ON

DUR I N G the two preceding chapters we have conned ,

our attention exclusively to the course Of events in France

from M ay 1 7 8 9 to the dis s olution o f the National Assembly
, ,

September 1 7 9 1 The other governments of Europe

, .
, _
,

though not indifferent to the Revolution preferred to r e ,

gard it as an issue in the internal politics o f France Even

p

.

the a pp e a l Of the migrs failed to move these governments

t o intervene Guided solely by motives o f self -interest
.
,

AIIStTia Russia and Prussia s a w n o Objects to be gained

, ,

by a war with France comparabl e with those to be easily

wo n in other quarters Austria was at the time engaged .

in war against Turkey ( 1 7 88 1 7 from which she hop e d

to absorb what is n o w northern Serbia and w e stern R iI
mania Russia was at war both with Turkey ( 1 7 88 1 7 9 2 )
.

and with Sweden ( 1 7 8 8 and was at the same time

intrig ui ng against the new government in Poland ( estab
ll?
l is h ed May 3 1 7 9 1 ) to bring about ultimately a secon d
,

partition for her territorial advantage Prussia tradi .

,

t i on a l l y hostile to Austria was holding hers e lf in readiness ,

to intervene for her o wn advantage in the Austro -Turki s h

War and was follo wing with jealous anxiety the Rus s ian
,

intrig u e in Poland The small German s tat e s o f th e Holy

'

Roman -
Empire could mak e no move against France without
t hel Caf l e r Sh ip o f Austria o r Prussia
I

Across the E n gli s h

'

Ch ap n el public O pinion was divided with regard to t h e

,

mer i t S o f the Revolution Strong voices were rais e d in .

W N ot until the n e ws of the e xcess e s o f t h e r a di

cal e lem ent s r e ached England did the governm e nt lean to

89
90 THE HI STORY OF E UROPE

the Opposition and even then no hostile move w a s proposed

, ,

unless English rights should b e ih f iirige d upon

'

C o n SIdef a t i OI i s o f internal politics however led the , ,

French factions to provoke foreign war war that lasted ,

with few intermissions f o r over two decades W e have .

to trace from now o n therefore both the cour s e Of politics

, ,

in France and the re s ulting crises in international politics

in Europe .

A . TH E L EG S L A
I TI V E A S S EMB L Y ,

O CT . 1, 1 7 9 1 S E P T 2 0 1 792
.
,

Since the convocation of the Estat es General in 1 7 89 ,

political life in France had rapidl y developed Though .

parties in the modern sense Of the term with their com

plex machinery and their platform Of policies were u n

kno wn men O f like O pinions naturally tended t o coalesce
,

into well den e d groups

- These groups centered about
.

Clubs successors in many cases to the informal salon s
,

in which the bourgeoisie under the o l d r egi m e had met f o r

social plea s ure and f o r dis cu s s I on O f economic and political
conditions As these new Clubs became important factors
.

in directing the policies of the ir members in the Legislative

Assembly the most important deserve mention here
, .

In the early da y s o f the Estates General and the National

Assembl y a group of deputies entitling themselves Friends
,

O f the Con s titution met in a hall o f a n abandoned Ja co b in
convent At rst composed onl y Of deputies this group
.
,

soon admitted many prominent Paris revolutionaries and ,

established branches i n prominent town s Of France By .

t h e fall o f 1 7 9 1 the Jacobins had over 4 00 a i li a t e d
,

branches each in correspondence with the central Club
,

at Paris Through their large membership they exerted

.

a wide inuence upon public Opinion and upon the decisions

o f the National Assembl y In the elections to the Legis
.

lative Assembly they carried 1 3 6 seats their deputie s S itting ,

together on the left Of the hall As the Revolution had pro .

 E UROPE AN D THE RE VOL UTI ON 91

the Jacobins had become more radical and had

gr es s e d , ,

drawn into their membership sections o f the r e stless prol e

tariat a s well as the most daring o f the bourgeoisie Their .

power in the Legislative Assembly lay in their compact and

disciplined organization and their willingness to use th e
spirit of insurrection in the Paris mob to ov e rawe other
deputies .

A second radical Club was th e Cordelier s organi z ed in ,

May 1 790 as the Society O f the Rights o f Man and o f
, ,

the Citi z en and holding its early meetings in the church
,

of the monaster y of the Cordeliers From the beginning .

it was ultra -revolutionary encouraging measures against ,

the monarchy and rallying to its support the baser e l em ep t s

of the Paris populace Its members worked with t he
.

Jacobins in promoting insurrectionar y movements in Paris

in 17 92 but later attacked the leaders Of the other party
,

for their moderation It gained importance b y the
.

vehemence of its attacks and the radicalism o f i t s policies .

The chief Of the more moderat e Clubs w a s th e F e uil
lants an o ffshoot of th e Jacobins The F e u ill a n t s Club w a s
, .

organized in July 1 7 9 1 by Jacobins w h o refused to a dv o

, ,

cate the extreme measures against the Ki ng adopted by

the majority o f the Club Their early meetings were held
.

in the buildings o f a former religious order called The

Feuillants They supported the constitution framed b y
.

the N ational Assembl y granting how e ver the advisability

, , ,

of some amendment In the Legislative Assembly th e y

.

were numerically the strongest group comprising 2 6 4 mem ,

bers on the right o f the Chamber and the King chose his ,

rst ministry from them They did n o t have however .

, ,

the compact organization o f the Ja co b in s and their modera ,

tion found n o sympathy with the radical Paris populace .

The absence of national party organization is revealed

by the fact that more than 3 00 deputies in the Legislative
Assembly s a t in the center professing no xed political ,

policies El ec ted because o f local prominence the y a rriv e d

.
,
92 THE HI STORY O F E U ROPE

at Paris presented their credentials and awaited d e velop

, ,

m ents read y to throw their votes as expedi ency might

,

demand This drifting mass held the balance of po w er :

.

whichever group could inuence it could rule the A s s e mbly , ,

and with the A s sembly France , .

O utside of Paris the people were drifting politically as

,

were many of their representatives in the Legislative As

s em b l y All hoped that the Revolution w a s nished yet
.
,

the sporadic disorders and uprisings o f the peasantry

a gainst their former lords the continued fall in the value
,

of the assignats and the general stagn ation o f trade were

,

preparing the ground f o r further revolutionary excesses .

The French people were restless and unhappy : t h ey were

expecting from the Legislative Assembly more than that
body could possibly accomplish W ithin the capital the .
,

forces Of Radicalism the Jacobins Cordeliers and their

-
, ,

allies though not numerically in the majority had the ,

power that results from organization and daring Since .

Lafayette had resigned the command of the Paris National

Guard the s a n s cu lottes h ad lled its ranks and undermined
,

its discipline The newly elected mayor o f Paris P etion

.
, ,

w a s an avowed Republican and Willing to go to great le n gths

to aid the radicals The Club s were functioning per
.

f e ct l y keeping their repre s entative s worked up to a h igh

,

pitch o f enthusia s m and b i n di n g t h em together with com

m o n political i n terest s Thus the Jacobins and their allie s

.

wielded a power out o f proportion to their actual number

in the one place from which the y might hope to dominat e
France .

The Legislative A s sembly believed that before under ,

takin g internal reforms it s to insure t h e

,

m
m ce d f

p e r a n en groups
still deed this Revolution the migrs o n the border a rid , ,

the non juring priests I n France The rst a cts o f the

-
.
-

an d the non -juri n g priests . November 9 , 1 79 1 , it decr eed

 E UROPE AN D T H E R E V O L U T I ON 93

th e con s tit ution within on e we e k on penalty of expulsion

decrees the Legislative A s s e mbly In a dew kn own it s p u r p o s et l q

to defend and perpetuate the Revolution .

Th ese decrees placed the Ki n g in an embarrassing po s i -e .

p ositi on but he Wa s unwilling from loyalty to his nobility

,

an d h is ch urch to approve mea s ures against them He .

w a s not lackin g in personal courage At the sacrice .

o f much o f what was left of h is popularity he u se d h is ,

royal prerogative and vetoed both decr ee s ( N ove m b e r 1 2

and December 1 9 ,

During these

months the faction s in the French ass e mbly
I
-

took a dVa I I t age o f the troubled international relation s to

force a f o rgigIL war In their initial e fforts they were aided
_ _ ,
.

b y the n d the ill j udged actions Of the Austrian -

g a

afid Prussian s overeigns After the arr e st o f the royall .

family at Varennes Leopold o f Austria urged by the , ,

en ig r s persuaded Fr ederick W illiam o f Prussi a t o join

l
,

,

h im in a declaration ( The Decl a r a ti on of P i ll n i tz August ,

2 7 I 7 9 1 ) addressed to the migr princes stating that the ,

restoration o f th e monarchy in France was a matter o f

common intere s t The migrs hailed this declaration .

with j oy publishing it broadc a st and falsely adding that

, ,

n o t only Au s tria and Prussia but England and t h e ot he r

p ower s w e r e preparing for intervention .

Naturally the Declaration of Pillnitz served the purpo ses

O f the Fre nch factions who desired to iname the passion s

Of the people for f o r eI gn war Even though Leopold aft e r .

Louis XVI S acc eptance O f the new constitution in Septem

ber 1 7 9 1 Showed that h e had no real d e sire for war wit h

, ,

France b y wi t h dr a win g the Declaration Of Pillnitz c e rtain

. _
,

r a di Cal faction s continu e d their agitation I n the Legisla .

94 THE HI STORY OF E UROPE

tive Assembly they passed measures requi ring t h e French

,

King t o demand that the Elector of Treves di sperse the

migrs in h i s electorate and t o que s tion in s o l en t ly Li o po l d
, _

o n his support o f the German princes in their p rotection

o f the migr s Again Leopold yielded and advised the

. ,

Elector Of Treves to accede to the French demand s Shortl y .

afterward Leopold died ( March 1 1 7 and A u s trian affairs

,

passed into the hands o f his less competent s o n and successor ,

Francis .

Neither th e w ithdrawal o f the Dec l aration o f Pil lnit z

nor the disper s ion O f the migrs allayed the sentiment
for war I n March the Feuill ant m in isg y was replaced
.
,

by a Girondin ministry a m i nistry whose memb er s were

from a Jacobin group hailing from the Gironde district o f
southern France The Girondins ardently desired war
.
,

believing that the French peopl e would be uni ted b y war

in the defense o f the Revolution and that the Ki ng would ,
.

be forced to S how his true colors The King him s el f jde .

s ired not w a r but intervention by the foreign powers in

, ,

his favor He was still deluded by the belief th at the

.

Revolution w as the work of but a small group of radical

in France He and the Queen at this time began their
.

secret communications with their fellow sovereigns Friend .

of the King however actually connived at the maneuvers

, ,

o f the Girondins in the belief that w a r would rally the

nation n o t to the Revolution but to the King and would

, , ,

thu s be a step toward the re s toration of the former con

dit i o n s .

Before the forces plotting to engulf France in foreign

war the King was t o o weak to stand April 2 0 1 7 9 2 he
, .
, ,

app e ared before the Legislative A ssembly H is minister .

read the ground s o f complaint again s t A ustria Louis .

then add e d : Yo u have heard gentlemen the result o f , ,

my negotiation s with the court o f Vienna : they are con

formable to the sentiments more than once e xp ressed to
m e by the A sse mbly and conrmed by the great majority
,
 EU ROPE AN D THE RE V OLU TI ON 95

o the Kingdom All prefer a war to the continuance of

f .

outrages to the national honor o r menaces to the national ,

s afety I have exhau s ted all the means of p a cica t i o n in

.

my power ; I now come under the terms o f the co n s t i t u

I -
,

tion to p r o p OS e tO th e Xs s em b ly that we s hould declar e

I f i

.
, ,

ar agai nst the King of Hungary and Bohemia I n the
"
*
'

WT .

Vo t e o n t h e declaration all but seven voted in favor

m

It
'

, .

had b e en hoped that Prussia might be detached fro m

Austria but Frederi ck W illiam took th e ground that an
,

allianc e h e h ad for med with Leopold in February com

p ell ed h im to consider the declaration o f war to be directed
against him also By the vote Of April 2 0 1 7 92 therefor e
.
, , ,

Franc e wa s committed to war against both Austria and

.

Pruss ia .

B . TH E B E G I NN I N G OF TH E W AR

It was fortunate for France that the volatile A s sembly

which plunged her into conict with all Europ e did not
h ave control o f t he war Although the Revolutionary .

p rin ciples which were spread rapidly throughout the country

had not left the army untouched that ery ardor f o r and ,

contagious faith in the new order which marked the armies

o f a year later and made them a glorious instrum ent on
,

which the impulsive leaders might play were y e t to be ,

developed The soldier on the frontier wa s still the product

.

o f the old r eg im e trained in its sy s tems obeying and r e , ,

O f cers it supplied him and a s yet living and , , ,

moving in a w orld apart from the Revolutionaries in Paris .

Discipline instead o f enthusiasm a sense o f duty rather than ,

patriotism actuated thi s army in the beginning and carried

it on to victory when success seemed impos s ible Behind
.
.

the bulwark o f this remnant o f the B ourbon Army France ,

called o u t and prepared tho s e levies which formed the

great armies of the Revolution but t h e honor and glo ry o f ,

m
h o l d g the gate agains t the united a t t a ckSI iel o n gs to the
96 THE H I S TORY O F E UROPE

It m ust not be supposed that the army o f France wa s

without aw To begin with it wa s far below the
. ,

troop s which were its peace quota Three months befor e .

w ar was declared N arbonne the Minister of W ar reported

, , ,

to the Assembly that it was under strength In .

addition t o the regulars it contained a militia element o f

,

which was but little better than u s eless It was .

recruited entirely by voluntary enlistment ; and becau se

th e pay was poor barracks bad and food worse its r e
&
, , ,

cr u i t s were often o f a l o w type Its o fcers scion s o f ble .

,

houses and hence faithful to the King had deser t ed in

, , , ,
_ _

gr e at numb e rs at the time of the ight to Va r en n es f an d

had left the army sadly l ackl n g I n experienc e d leaders .

And nally although th e years following the Seven Years
,

W ar had witnessed spasmodic attempts to better the

organization O f the army and improve th e condition of the
soldier these attempts were made in the usual torpid
,

fashion of the Bourbons and the outbreak of the war had

,

f oun d an army with no adequate s ystem o f 11n or _

transport with an ephemeral general staff directed by a

, ,

w ar o f ce who s e chief c h anged with every new politica l

Wind .

To mak e a clumsy organization still mor e unwieldy ,

the Assembly in August 1 7 9 1 pas s ed a decree authorizing

, , ,

1 6 9 new volunteer battalion s men o f which

6 0 plundering turbulent battalions were actually form e d

, .

Six months later a new decree disabled this force most

,

e ffectively : all volunteers wer e permitted t o return home

at th e end of a campaign ( suppo se dly December and
they were privileged to choose their o wn ofcers .

Ye t several things combined to make this army a too l

sufciently effective to save the countr y Disorderly and .

drunk e n as the individual s oldier often was he had in im ,

mediate command a n o n -commissioned o f cer who was

intelligent and zealous A s y stem of examinations in.

sured certain lit e rary and practical qualitie s in this part

 E UROPE AN D T H E RE VOL UTION 97

of th e personnel and gav e the army at least on e focus

, .

The n o n commissioned O c er s kept alive an es p r i t de cor p s

-

in the various regiments throughout the unquiet months

which preceded the war and upon the dereliction Of their
,

Ofcers furni s hed the substitutes f o r the j unior ranks

, .

Under their guidance the privates soon settled do wn into

,

ways O f discipline once the forces were actually in the eld

, .

Further the artillery and engineers had e s caped the de

,

moralization which had attacked the infantry and cavalry .

The volunteers called by the As s embly were brigaded w ith

the regular troops and soon showed signs Of worth
, .

But the greatest factor in enabling this army to safe

guard Fr a rfce until new armies could be formed and trained ,

was the fact that the canker which h ad eaten s o deeply into
"

th e Fr en ch army had been equally destructive in its e ff ect

upon the forces o f Pru s sia and Austria Even before the .

close of the Seven Years W ar the s p l n di d infantry O f

,
_ _

Fre deric k t h e Great had begun t o degenerate and though ,

at the death o f the great captain Prussia was left with the ,

nest army I n Europe with the passing o f the O l d King the

,

e died ; a n d those e v i l s wh i ch culminated in the di s a s ter

'

r
o f 1 806 began to show themselves It was still imposing .

in appearance and its well adverti se d self-esteem gave it

,
-

an apparent formidability unjustied by i t s actual s trength

and e fciency Moreover the suspicion wit h which the
.
,

King of Prussia regarded his Austrian ally and his insist ,

ence upon independent commands gave t o h is army the ,

nishing touch O f impotency .

It is perhap s harder to justify the statement that Au s

, ,

tria s army was on the decline In 1 76 3 S h e had been at

.
,

war continuously for a hundred years and S i n ce that date ,

s h e had twice fought Turkey Her force was unqu e stion

.

ably the most powerful in Europe but her commanding ,

generals were always subject to the orders o f the Aulic

Council in Vienna and in proof that decay had s et
,

h ave at least o n e authority wh o says that her army was
H
98 THE HI S TORY O F E UROPE

disgraced by th e frequent occurrence of large bodies laying

down their arm s At any rate we know that her greed
.
,

for Polish territory kept her attention divided until France ,

thoroughly arou s ed had become an armed nation against

, ,

which the numbers and organization Of A ustria prov e d

Wholly inadequate .

When war was declared France found herself in possession ,

of e ffectiv e s stationed along her frontiers and divided

, ,

into three armies The names o f two of the commanders

.

Rochambeau and Lafayette are very familiar to American

ears but the former resigned before activities began Du
, .
g

mouriez secretary for foreign affair s Of the Girondin t

,

i st r y and the real driving power o f the w a r in t en ded t o

, , _

begin with an invasion Of the Au s t r l a n N etherlands by

Lafayette s army Nothi n g could hav e been more dismal

.

than the attempt O f the three columns which advanced

.

o n Namur Mons and Tournai in late April 1 792 only

, , , , ,

the one commanded by Lafa y ette made a creditable s ho w

ing the other two eeing in most shameful fashion Lafay
, .

ette was forced to withdraw after having accomplished

nothing except to arouse Austria to a realization that war
w as actually upon her Immediately Prussia was asked .
,

for assistance under terms o f the treaty and armie s wer e ,

started toward France with the Duk e o f Brunswick in ,

command However the mutual j ealousies of Prussia

.
,

and Austria kept them from adopting t h e active policy ,

w hich would have defeated France and gav e he r a little ,

.

respite in which to improve her defense .

The only movemen t in this direction w a s a decree o n the

p art o f the Ass embly to establish a camp of feder es near
Paris At the same time it decreed the deportation O f the
.

non juri n g priests and the sacrice of the King s guard

-

.

Louis accepted the last named decree but vetoe d the other
two thereby arousing an Opposition which resulted in the
,

dismissal o f the Girondin ministry ( June Only ,

Du m o u r iez wa s retained in the new position o f Minister o f

 E UROPE AN D THE RE VOL UTION 99

War Th e latter always with the war before his eye s

'

.
, ,

urged upon Louis the acceptance O f the decrees but without ,

succes s Convinced now that he could n o longer s e rve

.

the war in Paris he resigned and j oined Lafayette s arm y ,

of the North The storm aroused by Louis stubbornness

.

waxed and nally found e xpression through a mob which

,

invaded the Tuileries o n June 2 0t h and imperiled the ,

life o f both the Ki ng and Queen Still Loui s remained .

obdurate and meanwhile the armies Of Prussia were slowly

,

approaching .

Expression s Of sympathy for the King began t o be heard

from all over Fran ce among them being o n e which had a ,

direct bearing o n the war Lafayette libe ral though he .

,

was still had h O p e of reconciling the monarchy and the

,

Revolution Accordingly he came to Paris thinking to

.
, ,

make use Of the enormous popularity which had been his

in the early days o f the Revolution His time had passed .
,

however and he returned t o h is command under s u s

,

p i ci o n from both parties from o n e for having tried to
control the Revolution from the other for having failed , .

This suspicion grew and his trial as a traitor was discus s ed ,

in the Assembly s o that upon receipt o f the news Of th e ,

Insurrection of August 1 0 ( s ee below ) Lafayette s a w t h at ,

his usefulness was past O n August 1 9 he crossed th e .

,

frontier and surrendered himself to the Austrians choosing ,

imprisonment rather than an abandonment O f his prin

iet
cip l es .He was succeeded in command of the Army of the
North by Du m o u r i ez .

O n Ju ly 2 5 t h the Duke O f Brunswick start e d his march

_ ,

from Coblent z and the same day he issued h is famous

,

M eSf o to the people Of France I n it he declared that .

t he allied sovereigns without h O p e o r intention o f terri ,

had taken up arms f o r the purpose

of p ut H E dOWh the anarchy wh ich now prevailed in France ,

and re st or ing t o t h e throne its rightful occupant He

. .

end ed by warning the Assembly and t he p e opl e of Paris that

1 00 THE HI STOR Y OF E UROPE

if they did not liberate the King and return to t he ir ,

allegiance they should answer with their h eads for their

,

disobedience ; and that if the palace were the

slightest insult offered to the royal family an exemplary ,

and memorable punishment should be i n ic t ed by t he total L '

destruction of the city o f Paris .

In justice to the Duke of Brunswick it must be said

that he was far -seeing enough to consider the manif e sto
ill -timed The allied sovereigns however insisted upon
.
, ,

it s publication Curiously enough the document is largely

.
,

the work o f Calonne former Minister o f Finance f o r Louis

,

XV I Its e ff ect upon France was electri c Immediate

. .

i n dign a t iOII wa s am used at the arrogance of the foreign

kings and everywhere were seen S i gns that France now
,

appreciated the task before her and was earnestly prepar

ing for it .

0 . I N S U R R EC TI O N OF T HE P AR S I C O MM U N E

The threat of invasion had produced the greatest tu m ult

in Franc e centering naturally at the seat o f governm ent
, , , .

The Legislativ e Assembly decreed L a P a tr i e en dan ger

Jul y 1 1 and o n July 2 2 and 2 3 the tocsin was sounded r e
, ,

cr u i t i n g bur e aux were established at the chief corners in

the towns and the people called to arm s Th e general

, .

fear led to an outburst Of indignation a ga l n s t the King .

He was believ e d to be as ind ee d h e w a s in corr e spond

ence with th e allied governments ; and the Queen was
susp ect e d o f furnishing the French plan of campaign t o th e
commander of the hostile army From Marseilles came a .

deputation July 1 2 demanding the deposition o f the King ,

and from th e same city marched into Pari s July 3 0 a force

of volunteers singing Rouget de Lisle s new stirring r ev o l u

t i o n a r y anthem now universall y known as L a M ar s ei ll a i se

, .

In Paris the Jacobins favored deposition and plotted

, ,

insurrection to accomplish thi s result Under cover of th e .

fer m ent in Paris they planned t o gain co n t r o l o f t he gov

'

,
 E UROPE AN D T HE RE VOLU TION 1 01

ern m en t th e commune
Of the regular municipal go v
er n m en t of the capital ) and with the support o f the mob to

coerce the Assembly The pr e sence of the Marseillais e

.

troops the constant marching and counter -marching in

,

the streets and nally the publication o n August 3 d o f th e

,

ill advise d proclamation o f the Duke o f Brunswick worked

-

the people up to a fever of excitement and prepar e d the wa y

for the success Of the plans Of the conspirators .

The r o y a l f a m ily were aware Of the danger o f in s u rr ec

w
t io
thq gh
u they took measures to strengthen the
at the Tuileries their hope lay in the advance Of the allied
guard
,

armies The King was in correspondence with his broth e r

.

sovereigns The Queen was furnishing copies o f the Fr ench

.

plans to the allied g enerals Both hop e d for relief if t he y .

could hold out f o r a month .

Insurrection broke o u t in the early morning o f A ugust 1 0 ,

1 79 2
. A council o f commissioners elected I n p r I m a r I es
at the dictation o f the conspirators deposed th e regular
communal assembly and established itself in the HOt el
de Ville as the Provisional Commune o f Paris A t the .

Tuileries the Swis s guard at rst repelled the mob but

, ,

the King and the royal family little under s tanding the ,

true situation decided to throw thems e lves o n the mercy

,

of the Legislative Assembly They therefore made their .

way t p the hall o f the Ass em hly where they present e d

T m
,
_ _

s el v e s the King saying S imply : I am come her e t o
,

save the nation from the commission o f a great crime ;

I shall always consider myself with my family safe in , ,

your hands He then sent written orders to his guard
.

to withdraw orders which resulted in the extermination

of the guard by the mob He and hi s family were giv e n . ,

seats in a gallery o f the Assembly wh e re they re mained ,

August l 0t h until 3 A M August 1 1 th p assive

, . .
, ,

witnesses of the debate which determined their fate .

The Provisional Commune o r the Revolutionary Com ,

mune as it is oft e n call e d assumed direction o f the revolt

, , .
1 02 THE HI S TOR Y O F E U RO PE

It pr e ferr e d to have the Legislativ e A s s em bly re m ain in

s e ssion thus keeping in existence a body which was nominally
,

repr e sentativ e o f all France and which retained the alle ,

g i a n c e o f the provinces The Assembly how e ver. w as , ,

helpl e ss before the Commune supported by the Paris mob ,

indeed only 2 8 4 of the 7 4 5 d eputies dared to appear in

,

their seats August 1 0 Before this subservient Assembly .

deputations from the Commune j u s t after the fall o f the

Tuileries on the morning o f the l 0t h urged the depo s ition
o f the Ki ng and the dismissal o f the ministry The As .

s em b ly Ob e diently followed the dictates o f its masters ,

decre e d the deposition Of the King the dismis s al o f th e ,

ministry and the convocation Of a Convention to frame
,

a new constitution Three days later the C o m m u fie de

.
,

m an ded the custody Of the King and th e royal family :

again the Assembly perforce yield e d .

Between th e succe s s of t h e insurrection and th e mee ting

o f the Convention August 10 to September 2 0 1 7 92 t he
, , ,

Provisional Commune Of Paris governed France Rob es .

pierre Danton and Marat then rst became conspicuou s

, ,

a s leaders o f the radicals Maximilien Robe spierre born .

,

1 7 5 8 was a successful lawyer in Arras when the Revolution

,

b egan . Elected to th e Estates G e neral he became an im ,

portant gure there and a leading member o f the Jacobin

club Fanatically sincere in his belief in th e principle s
.

o f the Revolution he found an audience in the bourgeoisie

,

and the proletariat of th e Club and was soon idolized by ,

these elements as their natural and inspired leader The .

power he exercised over the Jacobins is di fcult to explain ,

for he had no gift of eloquence no commanding presence , ,

and n o breadth of vision H e was however strictly honest .

, ,

and moral gaining the surname of The Incorruptible
, ,

and preached the popular doctrines o f Rousseau time with

o u t end He knew the Jacobin plans f o r the insurrection
.

of August 1 0 but took no active part in their execution

, .

He s a t in the Provisional Commune and as the most in ,

 EU ROPE AN D T H E REVOLU TI ON 1 03

u en t i a l
man o f the Jacobin organi z ation wield e d an i m ,

mense power .

A more direct practical and forceful leader was G e orge

, ,

Jacques Danton Born 1 75 9 Danton was practicing law

.
,

in Paris in 1 7 89 Although President O f the Cordeliers

.

Club in the early days O f the Revolution Danton did n o t ,

emerge from political Obscurity until the August 1 0 1 7 9 2 , ,

insurrection He is given cr e dit today for the succ e ss of

.

that revolt I n the reconstitution of government follow

.

ing it h e was appoint e d to the prominent po s t Of mini s ter

,

of justice Huge in body endowed with a loud and vibrant

.
,

voice and great natural eloquence brave honest and , , ,

p ractical Danton from this time until his execution less

,

than t w o y e ars later had an important part in shaping events

in France History today however much it condemns
.
,

c ertain errors in judgment gives him unre s erved praise ,

for the s incer e patriotic motives which und e rlay h is every

act .

W e can admire much in Rob e spierr e and Danton but ,

almost nothing in Marat Yet Marat s character is o n e .

o f the enigmas o f h istory Jean Paul Marat born 1 7 4 3 .

, .

wa s a Paris physician o f great reputation when the R e v o l u

tion began H e had published a dozen notable books had
.
,

been honored by election t o learned societies had been a ,

favored doctor among the autocracy holding a privileged ,

position in the hou s ehold of the King s younger brother

the Comte d Ar t O i s and was a recognized leader in scientic

,

circles At the R e volution he laid aside completely h is

.
,

professional life and threw himself into the popular cause .

During the rst y e ars he e dited a paper (L A m i da P eu p le

Friend O f the People ) notable for its scurrilous viol ence , .

His attacks on persons in power placed him in jeopardy

again and again s o that he wa s forced to hide o r e e from
,

time to time He won however the condence O f the

.
, ,

bas e st element s o f the Paris proletariat In the insurrecti on .

of A ugust 1 0 1 7 9 2 he took a seat in the Provisional Com

, ,
1 04 THE HI S TORY O F E UROPE

mune wh ere h e was in a position to give full scope to his

,

suspicious zeal .

The Provisional o r R e volutionary Commune undertoo k

, ,

energetically the task Of carrying on the governme n t ( under

th e shadow o f the Legislative Assembly ) until the Con
v en t i o n should be elected They dictated the appoint
.

ment Of a ministry Danton being t h e mo s t prominent gure

, .

They approved the A ss embly s decree ordering the con

s ca t i o n and sale of the land of the migr nobles h O p in g ,

thu s to bolster up the depreciated a s s i gn a ts They ord e red .

the n o n -j uring clergy to leave the country under penalty

of transportation to Guiana They were especially inte r.

es t e d however in measure s to discov e r and punish traitors

, ,

to the Revolution those su s pected o f desiring the r es t o r a

,

tion o f monarchy and the Old r egim e For such purpo se .

they demanded from the Assembly the cr e ation o f an ex

t r a o r di n a r y tribunal with judges and j urors chosen by th e
,

people empower e d to try conspirators : and the cowed

,

Assembly consented A ugust 2 7 1 7 9 2 Thus began the , .

Revolutionary Tribun al later S O conspicuous during Th e

,

Terror .

Th e Provisional Commune felt the need of a demon

s t r a t i o n to terrorize the disloyal Lafayette had deserted .

Aug u st 1 9 ; the fortres s o f Longwy had fallen August 2 7 ;

the enemy were before Verdun August 3 0 O n the pretext .

of a s e arch for concealed weapons agents o f t h e ministry ,

conducted a house to house canvas o f Paris the last days

of August 1 792 lling the prisons with suspected reaction
, ,

aries W ith the fall o f Verdun momentarily expected and

.

the allied armies then within a fe w weeks march o f Paris

,

the Commune s aw no Opportunity of trying judicially all

the cases To s ome desperate minds the remedy sug
.

gested itself In the afternoon of September 2 1 7 9 2 while

.
, ,

crowds in the Champs de Mars were being roused by speeches

t o patriotic fervor assassins started the round of t h e prisons
, .

During the n e xt f e w days mor e t han 14 00 of the sus p ected

_ _
 E U ROPE AN D THE RE VOL U TION 1 05

reactionaries were murdered The authorities indi ff erent .

,

o r helpless took no measures t o check the slaughter The

, .

excuse for the massacre was the oft -repeated question :

How can we go to war and leave three thousand pri s oners

wh o may break out and S lay o u r wive s and children ?
The remaining fortnight after the massacr e was chiey
taken up with the elections t o the Convention In Paris .
,

the acts Of terrorism contributed directly as was partly ,

in tended to the success o f the most radical Of the Jacobin

,

elements Robespierre led the list ; Danton and Marat

.

were colleagues Throughout France as a whole the radical

.
,

Jacobins had a strong representation At the meeting of .

t h e Convention September 2 1 1 7 9 2 they form e d t he m ost , ,

important group .

D . TH E W AR TO TH E CL O S E OF 1 79 2

With the advance o f Brunswick s forces strong

, ,

t h e French army o n t h e frontier underwent all the terror

and panic which marked the restless days in Pari s FO l l o w .

ing t h e ight o f Lafayette Du m o u r i e z had succeeded to ,

the command o f the Army o f th e North and a few days ,

l ater Kellermann became commander o f th e Army o f the

,

Center Both chang e s w e re for the b e tt e rment Of the

.

army but the latter change at least came late K e ller

, , , .

mann s in e rt predece s sor h ad eith er stupidly o r willfully

, ,

l keep the border fortresses in a state o f prepa

n
eg gt d
e e t o

,

ration to resist attack W hen Bruns wick app e ared before .

LOII gw y August 2 7 that important fortication w a s s o

, ,

ill armed and ill -garrisoned that it surrendered without

maEi n g even a S h o w o f r es i s tance It wa s th e same at .

Verdun What should have been France s sturdiest stron g

.

:

hold o n her eastern frontier went through only a mockery

o f defense and then both h er military garrison and her
, ,

civilian population terried by the shells o f the allies de

, ,

m a n de d that the fort be surrendered Against their fr e n z ied .

clamor the Commandant was helpless and in despair h e

, ,
1 06 THE HI S TORY OF E UROPE

committed s uicide Th e gat e s of the to wn w e re Op en e d to

.

the i nvader S ept e mb e r 2 Brunswick wa s free to m arch

,
.

on Paris .

Had the Prussian command e r take n advant age o f th e

situation whic h s tupidity and in e rtia h ad cr e ated for h im ,

a few days more would have m ade him master of t he French

capital But the l e thargy of the French s e ems to have
.

be e n contagious for n o w th e same inertness marked their

,

Oppon e nt as had previously characterized French move

ments Da y after day o f allied inaction gave Du m o u r i ez
.

one last chance to save France By a rapid and daring .

ank march he moved his force s along the front o f Bruns

wick s army part o f the time in contact with the enemy

,

outposts and took up a strong position in the Argonne

,

hill s which lay across the road to Pari s At the same time .
,

he gave orders for Kellermann to move nort h from Metz

with h is troops and O in the main army at once In po s ition
, .

in the h ills he awaited the attack which he kne w wa s certain .

The Duke w a s halted elev e n days by t h e detachments I

holding the pa s ses o f the Ar go n n e H i lls

'

Then he pushed

.
,
-

through the northern pass and f o rEe d Du m o u r ie z to fall

back to the southern end of the hills with th e Pru s sians ,

o n th e direct road to Paris b et vy een t h e Fr e nc h and th e ir

, w

b a se C h alons
, O nce more a V igggo u s move w ould have
.

brought succe s s to t h e Duke but h e delay e d until th e ,

tardy Kellermann had j oined Du m o u r iez and brought the

Fi en ch s trength t o
O n September 2 0 w a s fought the battle of Valmy It .

wa s insignicant as a battle between armies but it ,

w a s of the greatest moment to France Against an accurate .

and vigorous artillery re Brunswick wa s unable to force

'

forward his infantry columns and at nightfall abandoned ,

the attack H is losses in numbers w e re triing as were

.

m
,

also those o f the French b u t t he i n u en Ce OII t h e morale

I M M

o f the t w o armies was remarkable The allies already .

,

we akened by hardships hunger and di s ea se were r e ady

, , ,
 B RUS S ELS

H an

B et h u n e

B ea um o n t

o Am i e ns

S KE TCH M AP TO I LLU S TR ATE

CAM PA I G N S O F
1 7 9 2 -1 7 9 3 , 1 7 9 4 -1 7 9 5 1 8 1 4 -1 8 1 5
SAE
C L I ES
OF M L
.

0 IO 20 30 40 60
 E U ROPE A N D THE RE VOLU T I O N 1 07

to retire whereas the Fr e n ch were ins p irited o u t of all

,

proportion t o the size o i the engagement

_
.

Du mgg i e g l vh m had long been intriguing to detach

r

Prussia from
the alliance continued h is secret
"
negotiations ,

T i ck an d failed t o harass hi s beaten enemies

with run s w ,
m

unt il t h ei r retreat was well organized Thereupon a half .

,

hearted pursuit drove across the frontier the e e ct i v e s

which remained of the allied army O ctober 2 2 , .

Meanwhile in late September and early O ctober 1 7 9 2

, , ,

the Frenc h Army o f the Vosges under General C u s t in e , ,

had captured Speier Worms Mainz and Frankf ort in , , ,

Brunswick s rear Th e expedition as carried o u t had

.
, ,

neither strategical nor permanent political value but the

occupation of the cities proved a thorn in the esh which
the allies were unable to re m ove f o r months At le a st .

three attacks were launched again s t Gustine be f ore he

abandoned all his gains and fell back once more to the
line o f the Vosges ( April 1 ,

\In N o v e m b er
w
1 792 Du m o u r i ez found leisure to carry
,

,
T r x ~
out 11 18 Interrupted plan of the i n v a s mn o f the Netherlands .

m i nk? an O pponent wh o had seriously weakened his

strength by extending his lines the French commander ,

led sup erior f orces which struck the Austrians at the little
t ow
w n

h o f Jem ap p es near M ons He discovered his enemy

, .

i n r O n g p o s it i o n o n the hills ne ar Jemappes Making

u s e of his superior numbers Du m o u r i e z launched an envelop ,

ing attack against the Austrian left ank He was at rst .

succe s sful on the right but wa s forced to halt because o f

disastrous cavalry attack s against his center When this .

danger had been averted another became imminent on th e ,

right ank which had halted The situation was relieved

, .

by the extreme right column of the French These troops .

found boats where with to cross the Haine and thus were ,

enabled to get completely around t h e Austrian left When .

they appeared in rear o f the enemy lines the Austrian s

, ,

broke and ed .
1 08 THE H S TOR Y I O F E UROPE

Th is f ortunate and rather showy victory roused both

France and Belgium to the wildest excitement There .

after the invasion became almost a triumphal entry Mons .

,

Brussels Li ege Ypres Antwe r p and Namur fell one after

, , , ,

another and by the end o f the year the a r m l e s o f France

,

occupied all of the Austrian Low Countries .

It was time to call a halt The army wa s in a sad shape .

,

supplies were scarce and uncertain the soldiers took t o ,

plundering and the indiscipline in the new lev1 es proved a

,

serious defect in the milita r y organization By the end of .

December the invading army which had numbered

,

before Jemappes had been reduced to , They n o

longer had the Austrians to fear but by the new year the , , ,

Belgians had begun to foresee their fate at the hands o f

the new republic and outbreaks were f requent bet w een
,

them and the invading soldiers .

E . TH E C ONV EN T I ON
The Convention met September 2 1 1 7 9 2 un der the b est , ,

auspices Its rst legislative measure was to de

.

September 2 2 1 792 the abol, ,

the allied arm i es at Valmy

report into a great French victory reached Paris on the 2 2 d ,

and heartened the nation Followed as it was by the with .

dr a wa l o f the Prussians in the middle o f O ctober the spec ,

t acu l a r raid o f C u st in e in t h e Rhine countries and his seizure

of Mainz O ctober Q! the s uccess at Jem ap p es N ovember 6
, ,

and the occupation of Brussels November it removed for

the time all menace o f e ffective f oreign intervention .

Although the occupation of Nice on September 2 8 1 7 92 , ,

had added Sardinia to France s enemies the succe ss es of

their armies determined the enthusiastic deputies inspired ,

by Danton to constitute their new republic an apostle o f

,

liberty to Europe The occupation o f Brussels Nove m

.

ber 1 4 had been largely aided by an inuential grou p of

 E U ROPE AN D T HE RE VOLU T I O N 1 09

Belgian liberals w h o e xpressed desire to be forever freed

,

from Austrian tyranny In accordance with these desires

.
,

the Convention in a paroxysm of fervor for the principles

of the new found liberty decreed
-
~
November
,
u
1 9 1 7 9 2 its
-
Q
, ,

protecti on o f all nations struggli ng for f reedom Appeals

i

fm
.

r di F e ct i o n two days later determ i ned the depu

ties to extend their decree Delegations from the people .

o f Savoy r e q u est e d n n e xa t i o n to France A committee

m
.

q r t e d that the Convention would not repulse
from their bosom men brought near to the m by an identity

o f principles and interests and November 2 7 the deputies
,

voted the annexation The next m onth December 1 5

.
, ,

17 92 the Convention under the leadership o f Danton

, , ,

decreed a denite policy o f revolutionary propaganda in

-

nE gli b oi ifi g countries providing that the institutions of

T
,

the n e w; R ep u b l ic should be transplanted to them and ,

d ecl ari ng that any people which should refuse the offered
liberty would be treated as enemies and considered as slaves .

national re lations The French were just i ed in carrying

.

through a Revolution in France and few governments in ,

Europe cared to intervene They were n o t j ustied .

,

however under any of the conventions o f international

,

relations in attempting to spread their revolutionary p r o p a

ganda an d system b ey o n d t h eir b orders especially when

'

f
,

a IEIExa t i o n

followed .

in
the Convention between the e xtreme Jacobin s and the
Gironde Jacobins the Jacobins from the Gironde
district in southern France Up to the meeting o f the .

C onvention the Gironde Ja c ob in s had been in power They .

had furnished the ministry o f Louis XVI f o llo wm g the fall

1 10 THE H S TORY I OF E UROPE

of the Feuillants ( M arch and were indeed th e m inis ,

ters of the gove r n m ent at the opening of the Convention .

They had been in s trumental in forcing France into foreign

war Their leaders gathering frequently in the s alon o f
.
,

the brilliant M me Roland in Paris had become the most

.
,

conspicuous persons in France After the suspension of .

the King however their policy differed sharply from that

, ,

advocated by the extremists ( the en r ags as they came to ,

be called ) They were not whole -heartedly in favor of a

.

Republic They did not sincerely desire the trial and

.

punishment o f the King They leaned toward modera .

tion involving the retention of t h eir o wn p osition a s the

,

head of the government .

The opposing group headed by Robespierre was com , ,

p a c t l y organized and could rely upon the support of the

Paris proletariat The proletariat had so terrorized the
.

bourgeoisie of the capital that in the municipal elections

f or the new co m mune to replace the Provisional or R ev o l u ,

t io n ar y Commune only about ten per cent of the voters

, ,

dared to appear at the polls This proletariat was ready at .

Robespierre s call to overawe the Convention In contrast .

to the en r ags the Gironde Ja co b in s were not well organized

,

and had no popular support in Paris and relatively little ,

throughout the country The leaders B r i s s o t Roland .

, ,

( husband of Mme Roland ) Ver gn i a u d were not men of

.
, ,

f orce and political vision and were not unjustly suspected ,

o f personal ambition They had no direct common policy

.

to suggest but wasted critical hours in rhetorical fulmina

,

tions against the opposing group The Girondins lacked .

the capacity for leadership and the denite policy which

might have carried a m aj ority o f the independent deputies

with them .

As the Robesp i erre group the en r ags o r the M ou n ta i n , ,

( so called from their seats in the top benches of the Con

v en t i o n ) saw that the disposition of the King was the key to
,

the situation they pressed the issue t o a decision Novem

, .
 E U ROPE AN D THE RE VOLU T IO N 111

b er 3,
M
committee brought in its report o n the charges
fgg ins t
z Lo uis, recommending that he be tried before the
Convention for treason L ate in the same month the .

dis covery l n a secret safe o f the Tuileries o f the correspond

en ce Louis h ad carried on with his brother sovereig ns
_ _

r v eale d how he had intrigued against the Revolution

December 3 1 7 92 the Convention formally decreed that

, ,

the recommendation of its committee be followed and that

Louis Capet be tried for treason December 2 6 1 7 9 2 .
, ,

Louis appeared f o r trial at the bar o f the Convention .

The Girondists were placed in a dii cu lt dilemma To .

vote guilty wa s to betray their convictions to vote not guilty

was to arouse the populace invite accusations o f disloyalty , ,

and endanger their lives They had not the courage to take .

the second course and t o attempt to carry the independent

deputies o f the Cen ter o r the Plain with them O n the de , , .

c is i v e vote they yielded before danger and voted the King s

,

guilt Januai 9 1 793 th e Convention with the Girondins
_

m earg g the dangers of opposition decreed the immediate

.
, , ,

execution of the Ki ng Two days later January 2 1 1 7 93 .

, , ,

Luis bravely mp u n t e d the sca ffold and was guillotined .

The execution o f the King together with the Convention s ,

decrees o f No vember 1 9 and December 1 5 1 79 2 w a s a , ,

gauntlet thrown down by republican France to t h e go v _ _

ern m en t s o f Europe and the challenge was strai ghtway

, _

accepted The English government expelled the French

.

dipl omatic agent from its country and cemented its alliance ,

with the United Provinces o f Holland The Convention .

thereupon waited no longer but decl a r e d wa n a ga in s t n g ,

w

land and Holland February 1 1 7 9 3 W a r ag ain s t Spain ,

.
M _ ,

VVlTOs e a m b ass ado? Ha d v ainly attempted to save the lif e

'

o f Lo u is XVI and with the Holy Roman Empire followed

, ,

a month later By early spring 1 7 93 France was at war

.
, ,

M ? First C oalition compri sing Austria Prussia

m
, , ,

S a r din i a E Ho ll a n d Spain Portugal Ti i sgan y

, , , , *
,

Naples and the Holy Roman Emp ire

, .
 CH APTER V
FO RE I GN WAR : THE TERROR AN D THE REA C TI ON IN ,

FRANC E MAR C H 1 7 93 O C TOB ER 1 795 . , ,

I

HA D the coalition energetically pressed th e wa r its troops ,

would soon have forced their w a y to Paris and there dictated

the terms of peace The governments however were either .
, ,

impotent o r interested in other enterprises Prussia con .

s i de r e d the dissolution of Poland more i mportant th an war

against France and had by treaty with Russia l n January

, , ,

1 7 93 ,gained liberally in the Second Partition Spain .

,

Holland ,
_
had not s u i cien t forces to att empt-

I n v a s mn E n gl arf d had no foothold from which t o launch

.

an army and was reduced to the exercise o f her sea power

,

and to t h e o er of subsidies to the continental governments

'

The burden o f the land o ff ensive therefore fell upon , , ,

Austria and even Austria did not contemplate a decisive

invasion o f France .

To the French however the war was of vital interest , , .

The decree of L a P a tr i e en da n ger awakened every loyal

instinct From their government they a s ked measures
.
,

organization and leaders to insur e success Hence every

, .
,

military movement found its direct re ection in internal

politics ; and every faction argued f o r its policies on the
ground that they were best tted to save the country .

In the confused events of the next few years therefore , ,

w e shall gain a proper perspective by making the ebb and

'

ow of the military campaigns the background of our

narrative of the course of politics in France .

Th C on v ntion h d intro duced a

p ub l ica n ca l ndar w i t h m o n t h na m d
1
e e w a ne re e , s e

f ro m t h s a s on s
e e I t h a s b n t h ough t s im p ler h o wever to da t
. ee v n t by the , , e e e s
comm on ly kn ow m t h od n e .

1 12
 FORE I GN WAR 1 13

A . M I L I TAR Y O PE RA T I ON S
FE B R UAR Y 16 , 1 7 93
AU G US T 1 4 , 1 793

The success o f the fall and wi nter o f 1 7 92 the advances

o f Du m o u r i ez in the Netherlands and those o f C u st in e on ,

th e Rhine had given the French an estimate o f t h eir

military prowess which wa s not upheld by their actual
condition Their political ambitions knew no bounds and
.

they determined to make their army the handmaid of their

ambitions England and Holland protesting against the
.
,

destruction of a treaty which had closed the Scheldt River

to commerce were offered their freedom at the hands o f
,

the Revolutionists wh o proposed an invasion to assist

,

Republicans in the two countries O n February 1 7 93 .

,

France defi ar ed war o n England and Holland and a f ew ,

weeks later served a Si milar declaration on Spain Before

, .

the close o f the year the gauntlet ung do wn by France

,

had been taken up by the Kings o f Portugal and Naples ,

by the Duk e o f Tuscany and by the Holy Roman Empire , .

Against this First Coalition France light heartedly sent

-
,

an army unorganized undisciplined and u n t r a l n e d with

, , , ,
"
( j g
h ord of two chance -w o n
battles V a lm y a n d

iy j e c , ..

Jey j p p es to ju sti fy its existence

,
.

Undaunted by the news that large allied armies were

concentrating against him Du m o u r i ez boldly started his ,

advance into Holland A few cities fell to hi s arms but he

. ,

soon f o u fi d h im s elf compelled to lay siege to a Prussian

'

force which had occupied Maestricht As he was maki ng .

h is preparations news came that the Austrian army under

,

Coburg was beginning to advance into Belgium coincident

with a similar movement by Brunswick directed agai n st
Custine s forces on the Rhine The French commander

.

ordered a retreat a n d himself hastened back to Belgium

,

to forestall disaster He found his troops in a panic and

. ,

all his e o r t s toward reorganization enabled him only to

make a reasonably well -ordered retreat before h i s adversary .

1 14 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

At the end of ten days he determined to risk battle On , .

March 1 8 t h he drew up his line in front of Neerwinden

, .

The favorable position o f Valmy the overwhelming num ,

bers o f Jemappes were absent O n the level ground b e .

fore Neerwinden the well -handled Austrian battalions

,

were everywhere successful and created havoc among the

disordered Republicans It w a s not a great battle but it
.
,

appeared to the French in the light o f an overwhelming

disaster Du m o u r i ez withdrew his disheartened troops
.

to the border fortresses .

The Prussian advance on the Rhine had met with similar

succes s and ended with C u s t in e forced back to the fortied
,

town o f Landau his left resting on the Vosges Mountains

, ,

his right o n the Rhine There wa s this diff erence with .

Custine s army however

it had been forced to retire
, ,

but it had not been shaken by any such reverse as Neer

winden .

It would look then a s though nothi ng remained in th e

, ,

path o f the advancing armies It must be remembered .

,

however that C u st in e was undefeated and his army

, , ,

though pushed off the direct road to Paris still menaced ,

the communications o f an advancing foe And o n the .

northeast Coburg had to contend with the ghosts of Louis

,

XIV and his famous military engineer Vauban Fo r there , .

,

directly on his road to the French capital lay Cond , ,

Valenciennes and Maubeuge masterpieces o f Va u b a n s

, ,

skill constructed in the days o f the ghting Louis and

, ,

considered well nigh impregnable Behind them lay Du .

*

mouriez his army battered but still capable of resistance

, .

Should Coburg go on to the destruction o f the French army ,

he must leave in his rear the unconquered fortresses from

which the garrisons would continually harass him And .

his army though considered by all the military experts o f

,

Europe of su fcient strength to crush the makeshift o r

ga n i z a t i o n s o f the Republic w as nevertheless n o t strong ,

enough to mask these fortresses and still permit of the

 FORE I GN WAR 1 15

continued advance on Paris by a force powerful enough to

cope with Du m o u r i e z Coburg therefore w isely deter
.
, ,

mined to reduce the fortresses and accordi n gly early in , ,

April settled do wn to the siege of Cond

, .

Attention now centers o n Du m o u r i ez A constitutionalist .

at heart he had long since expressed his regret at the de

,

struction of the monarchy His dislike o f the Republican

.

commissioners in Belgium had broken out into open quarrels

which had aroused the suspicions o f the leaders in Paris .

His defeat at Neerwinden handled by the skillful orators

,

in the Convention began to take on the look o f treason and

, ,

Du m o u r i e z s a w his life in danger In the black days of .

late M arch 1 7 93 therefore he opened negotiations with

, , ,

Coburg in which he agreed to turn over the border fortresses

and the army to the Austrian commander the latter in ,

his turn pledging himself to the restoration o f the Bourbons ,

with proper compensation supposedly for Du m o u r i ez

, , .

The army proved the stumbling block It was devoted .

t o Du m o u r i ez but more to the Republic and when its

, ,

commander attempted the transfer t o the Austrian co m

mand it revolted The disgraced leader ed to his country s
, .

enemies with a mere handful of followers mostly merce ,

naries We may condone the defection of Lafayette who

.
,

maintained his principles and left his army prepared to

defend his country ; but Du m o u r i e z w h o repudiated the ,

government which he himself had helped construct and

who bent every effort to steal from France her safeguard ,

we can only condemn .

Evil times now fell upon the army o f the North Le ader .

f ollowed leader through the slough o f defeats Dampierre .

,

attempting to relieve Cond was killed at the head of his

,

columns ; C u s t in e called from the Rhine and Kilmaine

, ,

fell under the displeasure of the Convention to whom ,

blunders and treason were now equivalent and the former ,

was guillotined M eanwhile Coburg had continued his

.
,

siege s Cond was starved out and surrendered July 1 0

.
,
1 16 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

1 793 ; Valenciennes capitulated two weeks later There .

remained now M aubeuge and t o the commander of the ,

beleaguered city the Convention sent the curt information

that the price of the surrender o f the fortress would be its

commandant s head .

But the defeats had convinced the French government

that a greater national e ffort wa s n eces ggr y a n d th e Vi ct o ,

ri es had pers uaded the allies that n oth ing was n o w l eft

~_

but t o divide their plunder These t wo states o f mind .

brought about circumstances W hi cli i n a u gu r a t ed brighter

'

days for France The Convention appointed to the Com

. ,

m it t e e o f Public Safety with full power over the personnel

,

o f the army Carnot the O rganizer of Victory
, , The .

allied attitude manifesting itself in an open declaration

,

by Austria that she meant to hold Cond and Valenciennes

and extend her conquests even further enabled England ,

to make a similar claim which she planned to substantiate

by seizing and holding Dunkirk Accordingly the allied .

army w a s divided and there was dispatched toward t he

,

coast the Duke o f York s unlucky expedition which w a s to

incur the rst of that long line of defeats which were not
to be checked until Leipsic .

B . TH E C ONVENT I ON : MAR CH S EP T EM B ER , 1 793

Within the Convention the factional ght between the ,

Robespierre Jacobins ( the Mountain or the en r ags ) and ,

the Gironde Jacobins (the Girondins ) was brought to a

crisis by the successive reverses in the war and the revolts
within France News o f the advance o f Coburg reached
.

Paris the same day as a report of a formidable insurrection

in L a Ven dee a district in the west just south o f the Loire
,

River Following this came still more alarming news

.

the French defeat at Neerwinden March 1 8 the evacuation ,

o f Brussels March 2 4 the withdrawal from Belgium March

,

3 0 the treason o f Du m o u r i e z April 5 the investment o f

,
,

M a l n z Ap ril 1 4 and a long series of failures by the repub

,
 FORE I GN WAR 117

lican forces in their attempts t o suppress the Vend e an u p

risi ng i n the month of May Though the Girondin minis .

ters endeavored to meet the danger each disaster weakened ,

their position and strengthened that o f their opponents .

The Convention again decreed L a P a tr i e en da n ger ( March 8 ,

1 793 ) and appointed Representatives o n Mi s sion to go
to each o f the Dp ar tem en ts in France to stimulate recruiting .

After the bad news from Belgium and the treason o f Du

mouriez the mi nistry under pressure from the Robespierre
, ,

Jacobins re established the Tr i bu n el Cr i mi n el E xtr a or di n a i r e

,

( soon kno wn as the Revolutionary Tribunal ) March 2 9 ,

17 9 3 and created a Committee o f Public Safety o f nine

,

me mbers empowered to deliberate in secret and to override

the ministers In thi s Commi ttee Danton was the most
.

prominent and e f cient member Supported by the Robes .

pierre Ja co b i n s he was virtually dictator in France for the

,

next two months .

These several m easure s however f ailed to save the

, ,

Girondin ministry The Robespierre Jacobins when in

.
,

May the Vend e an peasants continued their successes began ,

to plot actively to overthrow the Girondists O nce more .

the Ja co b i n s called the Paris Commune to their aid Similar .

procedure to that o f August 1 0 1 7 9 2 wa s adopted Com , , .

missioners from the Sections the electoral divisions )

of Paris deposed the Commune though for appearances ,

sake afterwards uniting its members t o thei r o wn number ,

and demanded of the Convention ( May 3 1 1 7 93 ) the ,

arrest of the Girondin members Two days later ( June 2 .

,

1 7 9 3 ) the Paris proletariat surrounded the Convention ,

placed artillery in readiness and again demanded the ,

immediate arrest o f the Girondin deputies The few mem .

bers who dared to be in their seats were overawed by t h e

m o b and helplessly decreed the arrest of nine leadi n g
Girondin deputies and of the Minister of Finance and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs .

The coup d e tat of May 3 1 June 2 was a success in that

1 18 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

it overthrew the Girondin government and eliminated the

important Girondins from the Assembly The three fac .

tions which had co operated in the insurrection however , ,

the Danton and Committee of Public Safety faction the ,

Robespierre faction and the Commune faction were not

, ,

united upon their subsequent policy Danton favored .

moder ation and the conciliation o f parties The Robes .

pierre group wished the utter des truction of the Girondists ,

with the elevation o f themselves to power The Commune .

,

led by such unscrupulous men as Marat and H ebert a dv o ,

c a t e d the supremacy of the Commune and s uch socialisti c

measures as the extinction of the bourgeoisie and the dis

t r i b u t i o n of property among the proletariat The de .

struction o f the Girondists served to bring the O pposing

interests o f the three factions ( which had temporarily acted
together ) in sharp opposition .

All the advantage lay with the Robespierre group .

Danton had never gained more than a personal follo wing .

His counsels of moderation t o o commonly interpreted as

,

weakness met with little favor The H b er t is t s had

, .
,

and could have no following outs ide of the proletariat

, .

The Robespierre Jacobins were well organized and in ,

the name o f the unity and safety of France rallied to them

selves the conservative -revolutionary mass of the people .

The terrible condition in which the French people found

themselves in the s ummer of 1 793 demanded a strong
government Foreign invasion w a s combined with acute
.

economic distress and civil war The fortress o f Cond

.

wa s captured July 1 0 ; Mainz capitulated July 2 3 Valen

c i en n es was occupied July 2 8 ; and Toulon surrendered to

an English eet August 2 3 The a s s i gn a ts had depreciated

.

to a small fraction of their value Domestic industry was

.

at a standstill Foreign commerce was throttled by the

.

English navy The need o f the starving urban population

.

had led t o a L a w of the M a xi mu m by which dealers were

forced to sell their grain at a xed price O n top o f these .
 FORE IGN WAR 1l 9

troubles important cities o f the south and west Mar

, ,

seilles Lyons Nimes and Bordeaux refused to a ckn o wl

, , , ,

edge the authority o f the Convention and put anti -republican ,

forces in the eld In the face of such conditions the Robes

.

pierre group took over the power Their main agent was .

to be not the Convention but the Committee o f Public

, ,

Safety legally endowed with powers superior even to the

,

ministry Hence when the term o f the rst Committee

.

expired July 1 0 Danton and his friends were replaced by

,

o u t -and -o u t J a co b i n s and Danton s policy o f conciliation
,

was di scarded for ruthless suppression of domestic revolt

and energetic prosecution o f the foreign war Robespierre .

and his group were determined t o give France a strong

government in the great national emergency a government ,

which would search out and punish treason at the same

time that it repulsed the armies o f the invader Their .

measures to meet the domestic and foreign emergency

resulted in The Terror

0 . MI L I TARY O P ERAT I ONS . A U G U ST 1 4 , 1 793 , To TH E EN D

OF TH E Y E AR
There remain o n e or two more defeats to be recorded for
the Fi en ch In Flanders Coburg , preparing for the siege
.
,

o f Maubeuge fell upon the French and pushed them back

,

bey ond the Scarpe River in order that he might be free

from interference with his siege operations The Repub .

l ica ns now commanded by Houchard took up an en

, ,

trenched position between Arras and Douai This was the .

moment which England chose to demand that an expedition

be sent to the Channel to capture and secure for her the

port o f Dunkirk If we turn for a moment to glance at .

conditions o n the Rhine we shall have completed the picture

'

O f Fr a n ce in her darkest hour .

Custine s o l d Army o f the Rhine had been reinforced

by an Army of the Moselle each army numbering close to ,

The s e armies were holding the situation n ear

12 0 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

Landau described above their left o n the Vosges their

, ,

right o n the Rhine kno wn as the lines of W ei s s e m b u r g

, .

Opposed to the m were superior Prussian and Austrian armies

under Brun s wick Hohenlohe and W ur m s er A con
, , .

cer t e d movement would doubtless have crushed the Armies

o f the Rhine and the Moselle but the clashing political aims
,

of Prussia and Austria prevented co Opg r at io n Austria s .

evident plan to add Alsace to her conquests wa s not agree

able for Prussia to contemplate Bruns wick might at any .

time have annihilated the Army of the Moselle but such ,

an action appeared to the Pr u ss 1an foreign s ecretary as a

play directly into her greedy ally s hands Consequently .
,
~

it was not until mid -O ctober 1 793 that a combined move , ,

ment could be agreed upon When the advance began it .

,

broke the French lines and completely s epar g d t h e t w o

,
~

French armies but even then the mutual j ealousies o f the

,

allies prevented them from taki n g the fullest advantage

of their successes Here for the moment , we wil l leave the
.

situation the Army o f the Rhine badly shaken at Strass , ,

burg the Army of the M oselle in like condition to the west

,

o f the Saar and return t o the campaign in Flanders .

In the north the lowest ebb of the military tide came a

,

little earlier than in the Rhine valley The retirement .

behind the Scarpe in A ugust was the last O f the movements

dictated by the force of the allied arms To the govern .

ments o f the coalition the time seemed ripe to secure their

,

individual advantages and Coburg since his o wn govern

, ,

ment had announced its intention with regard t o Cond

and the surrounding country could scarcely prote s t when ,

the Duke o f York insisted that he lead a force against

Dunkirk o r when the commander o f the Prussian detach
,

ment made a similar demand with regard to the cities o f

Luxemburg The plan o f an e xpedition to the Channel
.

was acquiesced in and in late August a force o f English

, ,

Austrians and Hanoverians numbering

, s et out for

Dunkirk Carnot was fully cognizant of the movement

.
 FORE I GN WAR 12 1

and managed by the rst week in September to get t o

gether an O pposing force of for the relief of the city .

Two roads lead out of Dunkirk one to the east and one ,

to the south with an impassable marsh in the angle b e

,

tween them Along the road from the east the Duke o f
.
,

York marched with the ma in army his intention being to ,

advance directly to the siege of the to wn A portion of his .

force , in number he dispatched to the south of the ,

marsh to seize and hold a point on the south road cover

, ,

ing his operations at Dunkirk at the same time preventing ,

the advance of a relieving French force along the southern

route The two armies were in position several days before
.

Houchard was ready to begin the operations for relieving

Dunkirk but the siege had progressed but little owing
,

to the fact that the inhabitants of the city had opened

the dikes and ooded the elds .

Once againi h e force of superior numbers rather than the

skill brought success to the French O f .

Houchard brought a bare half against the

Han Ov er i ans and those were advanced with trepidation
'

, .

Fortunately there was present one o f the Convention s

commi ss i oners who assumed command o f the right wing

and led it forward with such spirit that the remainder
caught the enthusiasm They dashed against the allied -
.

16f ? RT H Onds cli OOt e an d drove o u t their foe with heavy

f d

lO E TS pf em b er 8 Houchard proved a most r e

,

11765 3 ? v

iOtor for at a time when he might have pursued

vigorously and cut o ff the entire expeditionary army he

, ,

delayed inexcusably until the D u ke had retreated east

ward and saved himself Houchard had w o n a victory
, .

and saved Dunkirk but his actions were not to the liki ng ,

of the pitiless Committee o f Public Safety They wanted .

a u dace tou j o u r s l a u dace
, and plainly Houchard was not ,

the man to supply it He was recalled to Paris and before .

,

the year was o u t had been sent to Heaven through the

Little Door .
12 2 I
TH E H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

Still the victory was loudly acclaimed in France and had

, ,

proved the worth o f C a r n o t s idea o f concentrating his
troops for results He w as to demonstrate still more ably
.

the correctness o f his methods Immediately after Hond .

s ch o o t e Coburg had brought his whole strength to bear

,

o n Maubeuge the last o f the strongholds If Paris were

,
.

to be saved the siege of Maubeuge must be raised and the

,

Austrians forced to retire T0 this end Carnot bent every .

ef fort He put in command o f the army a young general

.

named Jourdan who had seen service in the American

,

revolution The t w o working together planned and exe

.
,

cu t e d a speedy concentration near Guise of m en

drawn from both ends of their line and without giving their ,

enemy time to surmise their subsequent actions without ,

even giving their o w n men a much needed rest after their

marches they advanced to the attack
, .

The allied army numbered about but of these

were engaged in the siege of the fortress and the ,

remainder spread out in a long covering line east south , , ,

and west a line so extended that when Jourdan made

his attack he was able to mass very superior numbers

against that position which he chose to strike This was .

an entrenched sector lying along a low wooded crest with

, ,

its right resting o n the valley o f the Sambre and its left ,

on a hill near the village of Wattignies Against the posi .

tion Jourdan feinted o n the afternoon of O ctober 14 mean

, ,

while reconnoitering his ground thoroughly .

The battle proper began the following day with a general

attack all along the line But although the assault was .

sharply pressed the well trained Austrian troops again

,

asserted their superiority and repulsed their opponents .

At nightfall an observer walking among the exhausted

,

Republicans would have said that the battle was lost But .

Jourdan knew better than to spare his men at this j uncture ,

exhausted though they were so under cover of darkness ,

he moved reinforcemen ts from the left and center to the

 FORE I GN WAR 123

extreme right o f his line A heavy mist enabled him to .

mass his artillery and infantry without their positions

being known When at noon o n O ctober 1 6 the weather
.
,

cleared Jourdan hurled his columns full at the plateau of

,

Wattignies and captured it The little hill was the key to

, .

Coburg s position for it en l a ded his lines and although
, ,

his troops were everywhere else successful he deemed a ,

withdrawal necessary The siege o f hI a u b eu ge was aban .

do n ed and the allies withdrew behind the Sambre

, .

The success was not an isolated one With the armies .

o f the Rhine and the Moselle the representatives from ,

the Convention had employed to the fullest extent their

arbitrary power The armies had been reorganized and.

increased and two new commanders Hoche and P i ch egr u

, , ,

had been placed at their heads In November they began .

a forward movement which by the end o f the year had not

only recaptured the W ei s s em b u r g lines but had retaken
the important fortress of Landau as well .

In the Pyrenees in the Maritime Alps and on the Var , , ,

France had waged a desultory warfare during these same

months There had been no notable successes but there
.
,

had been only minor defeats which were more than com
p en s a t e d f o r by the achievements in Flanders and on the
Rhine .

Thus the year closed France was still hemmed about .

by enemies and vexed by internal disorders but the period ,

h e end of 9 3 is notable in

of her despondency was past
T
.

her m ili t ar y histg r y not so much f Or ant ual b attl es w o n o r

'

, ,

W t a k en as it is f o r the birth
,
o f that great military

a si asm which was to keep the whole world a a m e for

twenty years Ca f n o t was its father Under his leader

. .

E p t h whole c ountry thrilled to the martial spirit The

w

m
.

raw l e hi h h e ha d hur r i ed into the ranks were proving

themselves excellent soldiers t t o take the place of the ,

regular army which had saved the day in the beginning .

The cities hummed with the business o f preparation for

124 T H E H S TOR YI OF E U ROPE

war Huge foundries were recasting -

. bells into
cannon ; f act ori es were turning out a f h Ousan d muskets a

day ; new methods of steel working p r o d uced great q u a n t i h

/

ties o f swords and bayonets ; and a new proces s powder

making was increasing the supply by pounds daily
France had risen to meet the great issue THO co u ntry was

o u t of danger .

D . TH E R E I G N OF T E RROR

These successes however were not sufcient to allay

, ,

the fears and suspicions engendered by the misfortunes o f

the preceding spring and summer The new J a co b in gov .

er n m en t was determined that never again should France

be weakened by internal treachery and revolt The policy .

this government pursued to suppress the existing i n s u r

rections to punish rebels and to destroy the seeds o f f u ture
, ,

uprisings brought about The Reign o f Terror .

The Terror lasted from September 1 7 93 to July 1 794 , , , .

Its origins were psychological ; its motives both political ,

and patriotic ; its agencies the Revolutionary Tribunal ,

and the guillotine ; its victims those wh o by word or act ,

had raised a suspicion o f their loyalty to the principles of

the Revolution .

Defenders o f the policy o f terrorism consciously adopted

by the J ac o b in leaders have been few If w e can however .
, ,

imagine ourselves f o r a moment in the France o f September ,

1 793 and regard ourselves as fanatically faithful to the

,

democratic principles to which o u r o n e -year -old Republic

has been dedicated w e shall discover if not a defense at
, , ,

least an explanation o f the Terror At the beginning of .

September we have suf fered the shocks of a series of national

disasters O ur general ih -chief h as deserted to the enemy ;
.
-

and a great section of the west has amed into insurrection .

City after city Lyons Marseilles Nimes Bordeaux

, , , , ,

has revolted and in some cases openly advocated restoration

o f the monarchy Danton has attempted conciliation and
.
 FORE I GN WAR 12 5

f ailed Econo m ic lif e is stagnant O ur friends are in dire

. .

need O ur nerves are shaken We have perforce become

. .

suspicious o f everyone even of our colleagues ; but our

,

determination to save the Republic a n d the Revolution is

stronger than ever A weak Girondist government has
.

f ailed Danton s conciliation has failed We propose to
. .

try force Controlling the new Committee o f Public Safety

.
,

we add to it Carnot noted for his organizing abilities We

, .

leave to him and to his generals the question o f repelling

the invaders We turn to the task o f stamping o u t the
.

res o f disloyalty within the Republic Such might have .

been our temper in the France o f September 1 7 93 : such ,

certainly was the temper o f Robespierre and the Jacobins

at that crisis .

The signal f o r the beginning o f the Terror was the treason

o f Toulon which admitted the English eet August 2 3
, ,

17 93. As soon as the news reached Paris the Jacobins ,

acted September 5 1 7 93 they proposed a decree divid

.
, ,

ing the Revolutionary Tribunal in to four sections to ex

p edi t e its work September 1 7 1 7 9 3 they passed the
.
, ,

terrible Law o f the Suspects This law dened suspects.

as all who had befriended tyranny not paid taxes o r , ,

who were not furnished with ca r i es de ci vi s m e ( cards o f

citizenship ) from their Sections and provided that such
,

suspects might be accused and haled before the R ev o l u

t i o n a r y Tribunal f o r trial O ctober 10 1 7 9 3 the Con
.
, ,

ven t i o n put aside for a time its constitutional function

(for which it had been chosen ) and decreed that the

government b e revolutionary until the peace December 4 .
,

1 7 9 3 the Committee of Public Safety was made supreme

,

throughout all France by a law permitting it to send out

National A gents to supervise act of local authorities .

These several measures of September 5 S ptember 1 7 ,

e
,

O ctober 1 0 and December 4 gave to the Jacobins the

,

extraordin ary powers they needed .

Their p unishment o f the revolted cities showed early t h e

12 6 THE H STORY I OF E UROPE

merciless use t hey intended to make of their powers In .

July Marseilles w a s captured : the guillotin e soon took

,

toll to the number of 4 00 September 1 9 Bordeaux was .

,

captured : 5 00 prisoners were summarily shot and over ,

1 5 00 guillotined December 1 9 the English eet was

.

forced from Toulon and the city captured : 8 00 prisoners

,

were shot and 1 8 00 guillotined December 2 3 the last

,
.
,

organized band o f Vend e an insurrectionists was cut to

pieces : an inhuman monster Carrier by name took terri , ,

ble vengeance upon his prisoners having 2 000 shot under ,

the walls o f Nantes and drowning as many more by scut

,

tling shipfuls in the Loire And in towns which had n Ot .

rebelled the guillotine w as busy during these months of

the Terror Cambrai Arras O range Brest Toulouse
.
, , , ,

each had its long roll o f victims Probably more than .

suspects were executed in accordance with the

J a co b in s political policy

.

Paris suff ered heavily Marie Antoinette went bravely .

to the guillotine O ctober 1 6 Twenty Girondists were .

executed O ctober 3 1 As factional ghts developed the .

,

Robespierre group resorted to the guillotine : thus several

leaders of the Paris Commune including H ebert were , ,

executed March 2 4 1 7 9 4 ; and Danton and a few of his

,

friends April 5 1 7 94 Persons o f less prominence daily

, .

mounted the guillotine and suf fered the extreme penalty .

Eighty per cent of the cases tried before the Revolutionary

Tribunal resulted in sentence o f death The record in Paris .

shows that between September 1 1 7 93 and July 2 9 1 7 9 4 , , , ,

2 6 2 5 people were guillotined .

A curious accompaniment o f these excesses was the spirit

of irreligion Here the Commune of Paris took the lead
. .

November 1 0 1 79 3 the great cathedral of Notre Dame was

, ,

consecrated to the worship of Reason In the month fol .

l owing November 2 5 December 2 5 some 2 5 00 churches

in France were converted into Temples of Reason Robes .

pierre however felt the futility of attempting to destroy

, ,
 FORE I GN W AR 127

the evidences o f the religious instinct and after H ebert s , ,

fall procured from the Convention a decree solemnly

,

afrming the existence of a Supreme Being and the I m

mortality o f the Soul June 8 1 7 94 he o fficiated in person
.
, ,

at a great festival to the Supreme Being in the garden of
the Tuileries .

Yet France was not gloomy and horror stricken during -

the Terror The usual run o f executions touched the

.

interests and emotions of relatively few The ordinary .

citizen lived without fear o f the guillotine Many of the .

victims were really guilty o f disloyalty in spirit if not in ,

act Twenty thousand executions constitute a very small

.

proportion of a population o f less than 1 o u t

o f every 1 000 Even in Paris the loss of 2 6 00 was hardly
.
,

n oticeable from a population o f Shops were open ,

fe te days celebrated and theaters crowded as usual

, .

In the meanwhile the continuation of French victories

,

brought renewed condence t o the people and rendered

any further extension o f the Reign o f Terror unnecessary .

E . M I L I TAR Y O PE RAT I ON S , 1 7 94

Spring o f 17 94 found the allied armies in spite o f their ,

defeats o f T111 preceding autumn still ensconced rmly in

3
,
,

the fortied cities o f Flanders and entrenched along the ,

BEIgi a n f f On t i er From Ypres to Longwy their detachments

.

we r e po s t e d

strong their greatest strength centered

,

near Tournai Opposite them were ranged under the hand

.

of Carnot the armies of the Republic P i ch egr u s Army

o f the North and the Army o f the Ardennes ( combined ,

were in a position to menace Brussels and Charleroi ;

Jo u r da n s Army o f the Moselle

w a s south o f Longwy ,

but not actually threatening any portion o f the enemy s

lines Strategically n ei t h er force could be said to have

.
,
x

the advantage o f the other but morally the balance inclined

,

heavily to the side o f the French The spirit o f 9 3 w a s .

everywhere and the tide o f Republican enthusiasm ran full

,
128 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

and strong With the allies however the political di f

.
, ,

f er en c e s of the governments caused di s s en s i OIrs m

- -

n
a r m l es. Fo r Prus s ia in particular the O der w
, atered a ,

ground more fertile f o r gain than did the Meuse and only ,

England s monthly subsidy o f

kept F r ed erick
William s soldiers in the N etherlands

.

Notwithstanding the moral superiority o f the Republicans ,

Coburg struck the rst decisive blow o f the year by ca p t u r

ing Landrecies In May So n ham commanding a French
.
, ,

column retaliated by defeating Clerfayt and thrust his

,

division well in between Clerfayt and Coburg s main army

.

His position was an isolated one and to Coburg seemed , , ,

to invite annihilation A ccordingly he issued orders for.

,

an attack which would cut o ff Sonham from the remainder

of Pi ch egr u s army and crush him completely Three

.

columns from the allied center near Tournai were to march

on Tu r co in g and gain control o f S o u h a m s road to Lille
.

A fourth from farther s outh was to march due west unite ,

with the Archduk e Charles column arriving from a point

two days march so u th drive o ff the nearest supporting ,

French troops and join the r s t named columns near

,
-

T u r c o in g Finally Clerfayt from the north was to cross

.
,

the Lys River and march upon the s ame spot whereupon ,

all s i x detachments were to fall upon S o u h a m s helpless

division and shatter it .

It was an excellent plan needin g only synchrony to ,

make it a brilliant success B ut from th e rst the scheme .

went awry Archduk e Charles marching his tired men

.
,

from the south fell further and f urth er b ehind th e sch edule
, .

The fourth column delayed f o r the Archduke Clerfayt .

from the north dawdled in a fashion which had he been ,

commanding a Republican army would have cost him his ,

head The supporting French who were to have been

.

beaten o ff marched in to assist Soub am together they

, ,

repelled the three assaultin g columns from To u r n a i and ,

then turned and pus hed Clerfayt back across th e Ly s

 BRUSS ELS

B et h u n e

B ea u m o
nt

SK E TCH M A P T O I LL U S T R AT E
CAM PAI GN S OF

1 792 -
1 793 , 1 7 9 4 -1 7 9 5 , 1 8 1 4 -1 8 1 5
S CALE O F MILES
 FORE IGN WAR 12 9

before the battalions o f the Ar chduk e Charles could come

w1t h i n striking distance The English and Hanoverians
.

in the center fought stubbornly h O p i n g that the Archduke ,

and Clerfayt would retrieve their origin al blun ders and

save the day .

The allied losses were inconsiderable but the defeat told ,

heavily none the less The Duke o f Y ork commented

.

openly and unfavorably o n the Archduke Charles defection

.

The allied commander fearing f u rther activities where this

,

cala mi tous beginning had been made reinforced hi s right ,

wing heavily to forestall a French march o n Brussels .

But it was o n the Sambre in stead o f the Scheldt that

disaster nally overtook the enemies o f France By the .

end o f May Carnot had matur ed a plan calculated to make

,

the most o f the conditions resulting from his previous

successes Up from the south came
. self -s a cr icin g
r a ga m u fn s from the Army o f the Moselle the competent ,

Jourdan at their head to combine them with the Army of

,

the Ardennes and form the Army o f the Sambre and Meuse
, ,

strong His orders sent from Paris directed hi m

.
,
.
,

against Li ege and Namur unwise orders when it is

remembered that a s trong undefeated enemy lay to the
northwest o n the Sambre But fortune w a s ghting f o r
.

the Republic The Austrians themselves recalled Jour dan

.

to his proper task the destruction o f the opposing army

b attacking o n e o f the French garrisons o n his left
y
ank Immediately Jourdan changed his plan and pushed
.
, ,

back the Austrians by indecisive ghting until his army

found it s el f o n the le f t bank o f the Meuse Here new orders .

from Paris awaited it to move at once on Charleroi and

essay its capture Jourdan found his new command the
. ,

Army o f the Ardennes in a depressed state after i t s third

,

attempt to cross the Sambre in the face of the guns o f

Charleroi Together the two armies (now to be known as
.

the Ar my of the Sambre and Meuse ) ventured the crossing ,

and on the second endeavor extended their jubilant lines

K
1 30 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

around the city Within a week the 3 000 e xhausted I m

.
,

p e r i a l i s t s of the garri s on unacquainted with that buoyant

,

spirit i mpelling the French gave up the struggle and sur ,

rendered ( June 2 5 1 7 ,

To o late Coburg realized that the disj unctive acti vities

,

in Flanders did not constitute the real danger and hastened ,

to rep air the fault which had incapacitated his left Hur .

r i e dly , he assembled about men and marched toward

the ill -defended stronghold o f Charleroi He found Jour .

dan s army ( now strong ) near Fleurus occupying ,

the arc of a circle three miles in radius with Charleroi as

, ,

its center Ignorant of the fact that the city had sur
.

rendered Cob urg on the early morning of June 2 6 p re

, , ,

ci p i t a t e d the battle o f Fleurus .

His plan called for a converging attack by ve colu mn s ,

impinging on the French line s from the west northwest , ,

north northeast and east Such was the di s semination

, , .

O f his troops that Coburg could do no more than give the

order which initiated the assault Thereafter his s u b or di .

nates did ea ch what he could in hi s separate eld As a .

result Fleurus may be considered as made up of ve co m

,

ponent battles waged with mutual disregard O n the west .

and northwest the French in the late afternoon gained

,

the day and beat o ff their assailants ; on the north and

northeast an undetermined struggle raged But the
, .

eastern ank was the most hotly conten ded o f all Here .

the allies came in contact with th e old Army of the Ardennes ,

inferior in training and discipline to the other portions of

Jourdan s army and worn out by weeks o f effort A fter
, .

six hours the defense broke and ed and the victors pre ss ed ,

forward until they were checked by the reserve under

Lefebvre Urged on by this ery commander and by
.
,

M arceau another of the s a m e stamp the Republicans

, ,

wi thstood four attacks o f the f o e Then just as Coburg .

,

had ordered the retreat they launched a counter -attack ,

which swept their re m aining O pponents from before them .

 FOREI GN W AR 13 1

Th e allie s were beaten but the exultant French were t o o ,

e xh austed to pur sue Unmolested the defeated army .

,

withdrew from the eld .

The battle of Fleurus changed the whole tenor o f the war

and indeed of the Revolution In Paris men s a w that
, , .
,

the need of The Terror as a form o f government had passed .

Fleurus made possible the overthr ow o f Robespierre As .

for the war itself it ceased to be a war o f defense and b e ,

came thereafter one of o ffense The cities of Cond .

,

Valenciennes and Maubeuge fell to the Republicans who

, ,

at once began preparations for wa r o n foreign territory .

With the allies the di sinteg ration of the Ir s t Coalition

"
,
-
I

n e l

was already in sight The Imperialists fell back toward

.u

th Bh in e abandoning the Netherlands Prussia frankly

L , ,

wit hdrew and the English and Dutch retreated into Holland
, .

F . TH E END OF TH E T ERROR

The clos e o f The Terror came with the overthrow of

R obespierre He had been even before the death o f
.
,

Danton practical dictator , His consent to the use o f the .

guillotine to rid hi m self o f political enemies aroused his

colleagues in the Convention and o n the Committee o f
Public Safety These men could n o t conscientiously always
.

approve every measure Robespierre introduced ; yet O pen

O pposition might take them to the steps o f the gui llotine .

From their fears therefore w a s born the plot to overthrow , ,

him The mi litary successes o f the government cu l m in a t

. ,

ing at Fleurus June 2 5 1 7 9 4 gave the plotters the chance , ,

to rely f o r support upon the more moderate elements in

the Convention The necessity for a policy of Terroris m .

once removed these elements would favor the overthrow ,

o f him who was held responsible for it .

The plot came to a head July 2 7 1 7 9 4 In a tumultuous .

s ession Robespierre wa s denounced on the oor of the

,

Convention His efforts to procure a hearing were futile

. .

After hours of turmoil the Convention decreed his arrest ,

132 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

on the charge of dominating the government The Ja co b in .

mob rose delivered him from prison and took him in

, ,

triumph to the H Ot el de Ville The Convention however .

, ,

s a w the necessity now that it had gone so far o f carrying

, ,

o u t i t s full purpose It declared him an outlaw rallied

.
,

troops to its aid and July 2 8 attacked the H Ot el de Ville

, , , .

Forcing an entry the soldiers found Robespierre stretched

,

out on the oor h is jaw broken by a bullet The s ame

, .

evening he was guillotined Within the next few days .

1 03 of his partisans in the Convention and the Jacobin

Club followed him to the block The Jacobin power was .

denitely broken .

Since Robespierre had become the personication o f

The Terror his execution w a s hailed with rej oicing by those
,

who looked forward to internal peace and conciliation and

the resumption of normal conditions Though the leaders .

of th e movement for Robespierre s overthrow had them

selves been Terrorists they recognized the political wisdom

,

Of moderation In the weeks following July 2 8 1 7 9 4

.
, ,

therefore they made no attempt to combat the various

,

meas ures introduced to s tamp out the remains of the Terror

ist system N o t until t o o late did they recognize that
.

their power was gone forever and that the moderates were
establishing themselves rmly in control .

Since the Committee o f Public Safety the Revolutionary ,

Tribunal and the Paris Commune had been the chief means
,

by which The Terror had been maintained the moderates ,

attacked these rst in a serie s of reform measures in August ,

1 794 . The Paris Commune was abolished and commis ,

s i o n er s from the Convention designated to govern the

capital The Revolutionary Tribunal w a s reorganized
.
,

its procedur e changed and ample means o f defense allowe d

,

to prisoners The Committee o f Public Safety was limited

.

to the province of War and Foreign a ffairs fteen addi ,

t i o n a l committees created to exercise the other powers

formerly intrusted to it and provision made that o n e ,
 FOREIGN WAR 133

f ourth o f its members should retire each m onth and be r e

placed by appointees o f the Conventi on These change s .

were fundamental : they undermined the Jacobin power

in the government .

As the moderates became s urer o f their position they ,

acted with greater force and directnes s In November .

,

1 7 94 they abolished the Jacobin Club

, In the following .

month they decreed amnesty to the remaining bands of

rebels in the west ( Vend e e and Bretagne ) repealed the Law ,

o f the Ma ximum and ordered the stoppage of the sale o f

,

conscated lands Finally March 2 1 7 95 their committee

.
, , ,

recommended that the old Terrorist leaders be arrested and

sent before the Revolutionary Tribunal f o r trial .

The dismay o f the Jacobins at these measures and their ,

justied fears for their own safety led them to have recourse ,

to the familiar expedient of insurrection The misery of .

the proletariat in Paris aided them in their designs The .

conspiracy came to head April 1 1 7 9 5 A disorderly rabble , .

broke into the hall of the Convention and for hours inter
r u p t e d proceedings The moderates however had learned
.
, ,

their power Loyal troops from the National Guard cleared

.

the hall The Convention decreed the deportation o f the

.

Jacob in prisoners arrested March 2 voted to seize sixteen ,

other leaders to disarm the Terrorists in Paris and to purge

, ,

the National Guard o f members o f the proletariat N o t .

only was the insurrection a failure but the penalties i m ,

posed by the moderates in the Convention weakened the

Jacobins greatly Six weeks later ( May 2 0 1 7 9 5 ) a second
.
,

Jacob in uprising met a similar fate and the subsequent ,

arrest of 6 2 J a co b in s f o r complicity wholly destroyed that

f action The Mountain ceased to exist
. .

In the meanwhile the pop ular reaction had taken a Royalist

tone Though these moderates had checked the Terror they
.

had no intention o f r es t o r in g t h e monarchy Econo m ic dis .

tress however had embittered many against the republican

, ,

experiment The as s i gn a ts had fallen to less than twenty

.
 13 4 T HE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

ve per cent of their nominal value yet the Convention con ,

t in u ed to issue them at the rate o f forty o r fty million

francs a day until there were in circulation nineteen billion
francs o f this depreciated currency Industry was stag .

nant ; foreign and even coastwise trade was choked by

, ,

the English eets Though the Law of the Maximum had

.

been repealed grain had not been marketed and the people
,

in the cities were starving The feeling grew that the R e .

public was a failure and that a monarchy such as that

,

accepted by Louis XVI under the constitution of 1 7 9 1 would

again bring prosperity .

Events o f the early summer of 1 7 94 however blaste d , ,

the hopes of the Royalists The D auphin a boy of ten .

, ,

who had been in prison since the arrest of the King sickened ,

under the hard and unusual conditions and died ( June 1 0 , ,

At his decease his uncle the migr Comte de

, ,

Provence younger brother of Louis XVI issued a proclama

, ,

tion announcing himself as legitimate King of France with

the title of Louis XVIII and declaring his adherence to ,

the rights of the ancient Bourbon house and his contemp t ,

and hatred for constitutional principles He thus eff ec .

t u a lly removed himself from the eld for few persons who ,

desired restoration wished for a return o f the old r gime .

A fortnight later a little band of migrs borne in English ,

ships landed on the peninsula of Quiberon in Brittany to

, , ,

rally Royalists and ght for the restoration of the monarchy .

Fatal division o f councils and military incapacity made

the expedition futile Republican troops under Hoche
.

defeated it July 2 0 1 7 9 4 and 6 90 of its members were shot

, ,

after a summary court -martial .

The Convention seized the moment o f the collapse of

the Royalist movement as opportune for the formation of
the republican constitution the task for which it had
originally been chosen June 2 3 1 7 94 its committee
.
, ,

presented its draft Debates continued for about seven

.

weeks The constitution was denitely accepted by t h e

.
 FORE IGN W AR 13 5

C onvention in the middle of August 1 7 9 4 In accordance , .

with precedent it was submitted to the primary assemblies

,

o f the people and ratied The Convention thereupon

, .

proclaimed it ( September 2 3 1 7 9 5 ) and set the rst meeting

,

o f the new legislature for November 6 1 795 , .

The new constitution w as framed in an attempt to avoid

some of the palpable errors o f the old and was decidedly ,

more conservative Universal suffrage was abolished ;

.

residence and tax ation were made necessary qualications

for the franchise Further a property qualication was
.
,

established for membership in the legislature a provision

tending to throw the legislature und er the control o f the
bourgeois class The legislature was b i cameral consist
.
-
,

ing o f the Council o f the Five Hundred and the Council o f

the Ancients initiation o f legislation being solely in the
,

power o f the C ouncil of the Five Hundred The duration .

of the legislature w a s three years one third being renewed ,

each year The executive consisted o f a commission of

.

ve members known as the Directory and chosen by the

,

legislature O ne member of the Directory retired each

.

year.

Its work done the Convention prepared to dissolve

, .

But it had o n e more crisis to meet A decree supple .

mentary to the constitution had been passed providing that

two thirds of the m embers of the Convention should be
admitted to the new legislature Its purpose was to insure
.

a maj ority of experienced men in the new legislature but ,

the bourgeoisie especially in Paris took great o en s e

, , ,

believing it intended to prevent the election o f members o f

their class The proletariat was of course willing to side
. , ,

temporarily with the bourgeoisi e to overthrow the C o n

v en t i o n
, feeling a grievance in the property quali cations
for membership in the legislature Plans were hastily laid .

for insurrection With the bourgeoisie taking part such

.
,

an uprising was certain to prove formidable .

The C onvention was informed of the disaff ection in Paris

136 I
THE H S TORY OF E U ROPE

and of the intended insurrection It intrusted measures .

for its own protection to a committee o f its members ,

headed by one Barras who was head of the Army of the

,

Interior B arras called to his aid a young artillery O i cer

.

by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte wh o chanced to be ,

in Paris at the time seeking reinstatement to the army .

O n the night o f O ctober 4 1 7 95 Bonaparte concentrated

, ,

artillery against the approaches to the Tuileries and dis

posed his troops to await attack The insurgents advanced
.

to the attack the afternoon of the 5 t h Bonaparte with .

his artillery repulsed them without difculty Before .

dark the mob had dispersed and o n the following day loyal
,

troops policed the disaf fected quarters of the city Bona .

parte himself received his reward in the shape of appoint

ment as second in command to the Army o f the Interior ,

his friend B arras being his immediate superior A few .

weeks later when B arras was chosen a member o f the

,

Directory Napoleon Bonaparte succeeded to his command

, .

Its work now completely nished and all danger of a

coup d e tat having been removed the Convention dissolved
,

O ctober 2 6 1 79 5 and was succeeded by the Directory

, , .
 CHA PTER V I

C O N TE MPORAR Y E U ROPE .

1 789 1 795

S IN C E our outline in Chapter I of general conditions in

Europe we have concentrated o u r attention upon events
,

in France We are j ustied in devoting proportionately

.

s o much space to these events not merely because o f their ,

i mm ediate and lasting importance in French history but ,

because of their ultimate ef fect upon the destinies o f all

Europe We must not however in stressing the course
.
, ,

o f the Revolution in France neglect the other states of

Europe for we thus run the risk of losing that j ust per
,

s p ect i v e which is the basis of true comprehension of history .

Before we go further with o u r narrative of the Revolution

in France therefore we shall outline conditions in France s

, ,

great neighbors and indicate briey the reaction of the

,

Revolution upon them .

A A U S TR I A .

Joseph II of Austria Holy Roman Emperor died Feb r u

, ,

ary 2 0 1 7 9 0 His next brother and successor the Arch

, .
,

duke Leopold who had already made a reputation for

,

wisdo m and j udgment in his twenty -v e years o f enlightened

rule in Tuscany faced a most di fcult situation Joseph s
,
.

hasty reforms had brought rebellion in the Austrian Nether

lands and created strong disaf fection in Hungary and

throughout Austria proper Further Joseph s desire for .
,

territorial aggrandizement had led him to ally himself

with Catherine the Great of Russia in a war upon the Turks ,

and the Russian -Austrian successes which by the end o f ,

1 7 89 had gained the allies all of the frontier Turkish for

tresses had aroused Prussia and England to active measures
,

13 7
13 8 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E UR OPE

of hostility Such then was the situation Leopold in

.
, ,

h er i t ed : internal discontent ; o n e great province in revolt ;

a war with Turkey ; and the imminent formation of a great
hostile alliance against him .

Leopold II a man o f forty -three at the ti m e of his acces

,

sion to the Austrian and Holy Roman Imperial throne ,

lived only two years thereafter but acco mplished m uch in ,

that short time to re establish stable conditions in hi s

coun try As soon as he reached Vienna he decreed the
. ,

abolition of the new hated land -tax and the return to the
ancient and familiar taxation system He restored to each .

section of the monarchy the form of government existing

under Maria Theresa thus wiping out the arbitrary terri
,

t o r i a l divisions formed by Joseph II He removed the .

irritating regulations which had fettered foreign commerce .

These measures were received with j oy by the m p o r t a n t

and substantial elements in Austria proper and were r e ,

sponsible for a revulsion of extre m e loyalty at the cere m ony

of Leopold s coronation His concessions to the Hu n

.

g a r i,an s consisting of the restoration of all their ancien t

privileges were at rst less warmly received His appear
, .

ance in person at his inauguration however and his gracious , ,

address nally won from the Hungarian leaders expression s

of loyalty as warm as those he received in Austria proper .

In the meantime he had not been idle in his endeavors to

compose Austria s foreign relations Realiz ing the i m p o ss i

.

b ili t y of standing against allied Prussia and England

especially since his natural ally France was beco m in g m ore
, ,

and more a prey to revolutionary activity he at once

made a direct personal appeal to Frederick William o f Prussia
in a most conciliatory spirit and also got in touch w ith the
,

English cabinet By most delicate and adroit di p lomacy

.

he avoided the imminent war with Prussia In the Con .

v en t i o n of Reichenbach August 5 1 7 90 he agreed to enter

, , ,

i nto an armistice with the Turks and to open negotiations ,

for peace on the basis of the s ta tu s qu o a n te bellu m He .

 C ON TE MPORAR Y E U ROPE 139

then to b e sure relinquished all the high hopes with which

, ,

Joseph II had inaugurated the war in February 1 788 ,

hopes o f gaining Bosnia Serbia Moldavia and Wallachia

, , , ,

and expelling the Turks from Europe but he secured the

safety of his dominions and freed his forces for the subj uga
tion of the rebels in Flanders In accordance with the .

terms o f the Convention of Reichenbach the armistice ,

with Turkey was concluded in September 1 7 9 0 and nal , ,

terms o f peace between Austria and Turkey signed at

Sistova August 4 1 7 9 1 , .

Leopold was less successful in his treatment of the Aus

trian Netherlands He m ade a few ef forts to conciliate
.

the disaf fected elements but when these eff orts were u n
,

availing prepared to use force In September 1 7 9 0 his

, .
, ,

armies freed by the Convention o f Reichenbach and the

armistice with the Turks he began to reinforce his troops ,

in Luxe m burg At th e same time he issued an ulti m atu m

.

p ro m ising the restoration o f the government as it existed

u nder Maria Theresa and a general amnesty xing the ,

date f or acceptance of these terms at November 2 1 1 7 90 , .

When no formal acceptance reached hi m he ordered his ,

troops to advance The factional ghts among the Belgian

.

revolutionaries prevented them from m aking any eff ective

resistance December 3 Brussels was captured ; and by
.

the end o f the year the entire country w as again under

Austrian power His use of force however though o u t
.
, ,

war dly successful had intens ied the bitterness of the

,

opposition It was responsible in succeeding months for

.

the constant turmoil in trigue petty insurrections and

, , ,

spread o f sympathy with the principles of the French

Revolutionists Leopold s policy of force actually paved
.

the way for the later French successes in winnin g the Aus
trian Netherlands .

With all these i n ternal and foreign di fculties Leopold ,

kept an anxious eye upon the progress of the Revolution

in France Although fro m general p olitical consideration s
.
140 THE H STORY I OF EU ROPE

he could hardly regret the loss of French power and prestige ,

he felt keen sympathy for the predicament of his sister ,

Marie Antoi nette and his fellow sovereign The obvious

, .

policy to follow would have been to intervene forcibl y and

restore the sovereign to his for m er power Such a policy .

was dictated by his feelings urg ed by the body o f the ,

migrs headed by the Comte d Ar t o i s and would have
, ,

received the approval of the other states of Europe and the

active assistance o f Prussia He w a s deterred by two factors
.

in the situation : l s t his doubt as t o the ef cacy of ar m ed

,

intervention as a real cure for Louis XVI s di fculties ;

and 2 d his fear of the aggressive designs of Catherine o f

,

Russia It required no great political astuteness to s ee

.

that foreign intervention woul d unite revolutionary France

against the invader and would actually imperil the position
o f L ouis XVI He hesitated therefore to commit his
.
, ,

country to what might be a long and costly war with no

assurance that at the end the position of Louis XVI and
Marie Antoinette would be any better established than
before A nd in the east Catherine of Russia was obviously
.
,

anxious to have both Prussia and Austria e mbroiled in a

war with France in order that she m ight t ak e advantage o f
their preoccupation to seize Poland .

N ot until the indignities s uff ered by the French King

and Queen after their capture at Varennes in June 1 7 9 1 , ,

did Leopold act He then reluctantly issued a general

.

appeal to his fellow sovereign s in Eur ope to unite in co m

mon measures in view of events which immediately com
promised the honor o f all sovereigns and the security o f all ,

gover nments A few weeks later at Pillnitz near Dresden
.
, , ,

he met Frederick William of Prussia and issued ( August 2 7

1 7 9 1 ) the famous Declaration He still continued to hope
.

that intervention would not be required however and , ,

after Louis XVI formally accepted the Constitution of

September 1 7 9 1 professed to believe that a settled govern
, ,

m ent h ad a g ain been established in France .

 C ON TE MPORAR Y E U ROPE 14 1

His hope as we know proved futile When he attempted

, , .

to negotiate with the new government concerning the

grievances o f the German princes along the Rhine whose ,

hereditary rights had been infringed by the meas u res passed

in the N ational Assembly he was sharply rebu ffed He did
, .

everything possible to avoid war incurring among his o wn ,

people a reputation f o r weakn ess and vacillation but the ,

political leaders in France actually desired hostilities to

further their o wn immediate ends In the face of con .

t in u e d insults and provocations Leopold concluded an ,

alliance with Frederick William of Prussia and m oved ,

troops toward the west In the midst of the nal n ego t ia

.

tions and preparations Leopold suddenl y died March 1

, , ,

1 7 92 .

Le opold s eldest s o n succeeded him on the throne as
Francis I o f Austria Francis was at this time a young
.

m an of twenty -four The negotiations with France had

.

at the time o f Leopold s death reached a point where wa r

was inevitable s o this situation was of course the most

,

important o n e confronting the new Emperor He straight .

way issued an ultimatum demanding the restoration o f the

monarch y in accordance with Louis XVI s concessions to

the Estates General in 1 7 8 9 and satisfaction for the gr i ev

,

a n ce s of the German states along the Rhine The French .

leaders answered this by forcing their King to a declara

tion o f war April 2 0 1 7 9 2
,
.

The outbreak of the war was the signal for rapid and
important action in a new quarter an action which had ,

been f oreseen by L eopold I I The Polish patriots had .

taken advantage o f Russia s preoccupation with the Turkish

War o f 1 7 87 to shake o ff temporarily the grip which Cath

e rine had obtained o n their country A Polish Diet n o w .
,

kn o wn as The Four Y ears Diet m et at Warsaw O ctober 6

, ,

1 7 8 7 abolished the Russian Council ; de m anded the with

dr a w al o f Russian troops ; and arranged a defen s ive treaty
with Prussia ( March 2 9 Then f or over a year the
,
142 THE H STO R Y I O F E U R OPE

deputies debated the provisions of the new constitution ,

nally adopting o n e by acclamation May 3 1 7 9 1 Cath , .

erine of Russia had been t o o busily engaged in the Turkish

War to interfere With the coming o f peace with Turkey
.

January 9 1 7 9 2 and the preoccupation o f Austria and

, ,

Prussia w ith war ag a inst France April 2 0 1 792 her hands , ,

were freed She ordered her armies across the Polish

.

border May 1 9 1 7 9 2 Within six weeks Russian troo ps

, .

had overrun all of Poland and the short -lived constitution

was a memory .

The negotiations of the following months paralyzed

Austro -Prussian activitie s against France A new partition .

o f Poland was known to be imminent and both Au s tria ,

and Prussia were far more interested in territo ial a dv an r

tages to be gained therefrom than in barren victories against

France In the unedifying bickering o f the autumn and
.

winter of 1 7 92 Prussia had one great advantage over Aus

tria : Prussia could withdraw from the war against France
without loss whereas Austria could not withdraw with o ut
,

yielding the Austrian N etherlands By threats Prussia .

,

induced Austria to agree to a separate Russian -Prussian

treaty on Polish affairs This treaty signed January 2 3
.
, ,

1 7 93 and kno wn as the Treaty of the Second Partition of

,

Poland secured to Prussia the strongholds o f Dantzig and

,

Thorn and the district o f Posen with one and o n e half ,

million inhabitants and secured to Russia a large slice o f

,

territory in the east with nearly three million people .

Francis I of A ustria and his advisers were amazed at the

a mo unt of territory Russia and Prussia had taken from
Poland Their anger was especially directed against Prussia
.
,

and the diplomats of the two countries indulged in bitter

mutual recriminations during the spring and s ummer of 1 7 9 3 .

The military campaign against France was neglected while

Prussia poured troops into her new Polish acqui s itions and
Austria sought in some way to gain satisfaction So intense .

wa s the feeling aroused that at the end of September 1 7 9 3 , ,

 C O NTE MPORAR Y E U ROPE 14 3

Fr ederick William left the Prussian camp in the west ordered ,

his troops to remain inactive and hurried eastward to be ,

sure that none o f the Polish booty should be taken away

from him .

A Polish uprising the following spring ( March 2 4 1 7 ,

led by Kosciuszko opened up the possibility o f a nal par

,

tition of the country in which Aust ria should regain her

proper allotment Kosciuszko s cause was hopeles s from
.

the start Prussian Russian and Austrian armies were

.
, ,

in motion against him by the end of the summer His .

army was defeated and he himself wounded and captured

O ctober 1 0 1 7 9 4 Warsaw fell before the Russian assaults
, .

N ovember 8 1 7 9 4 Rus s ia calmly claimed the country

, .

up to the Bug River leaving the remainder to be partitioned

,

between Austria and Prussia Austria having received no .

,

territory in the partition o f 1 7 93 n o w sought Russian aid ,

f o r extensive gains in the coming treaty Catherine under .

s tood well the wisdom o f the policy of dividing her favors :

she had supported Prussia before ; s h e leaned to the aid o f
Austria now By secret treaty January 3 1 7 9 5 Russia
.
, ,

and Austria agreed upon the line o f division A ustria bei n g ,

a ss i gned the districts of Cracow and Sandomir and a con

s i der a b l e addition to Galicia In Augus t 1 7 9 5 terms o f
.
, ,

this treaty were divulged to Prussia With a few slight .

modication s these terms were accepted in the nal agree

,

ment between the three powers Rus s ia Austria and Prussia , , , ,

signed January 2 6 1 797 and kn own a s the Treaty o f the

, ,

Third Partition o f Poland .

Francis I had thus avenged his diplomatic defeat by

Prussia in the partition o f 1 7 93 but the negotiations and ,

the bickering had cost him his alliance with Prussia ( for
Prussia signed the Treaty o f B asle with France April 5 ,

the whole o f the Austrian Netherlands ( which the

French h ad overrun and annexed ) and defeat after defeat ,

in the campaigns o f 1 7 9 3 1 7 9 4 and 1 7 95 During the

, , .

critical years of the French Revolution years when the ,

1 44 THE H S TOR Y I OF E UR OPE

raw French levie s might have been crus h ed and the objects
o f the allies gained Francis and his colleague Frederick
,

William II had been deeply interested in plans for selsh

aggrandizement at the expense o f helples s Poland to push
their advantage And n o w in 1 7 9 6 it wa s t o o late f o r
.
, , ,

the French levies were no longer raw and untrained and ,

a new military genius was ready to take the lead in French

operations .

B . PR U SS I A
In the s ketch we have given o f Austria s course during

the early years o f the French Revolution we have had

occasion to refer continually t o the diplomacy o f Pr u ss I a .

We have seen how Frederick William 1 1 vacillated during

these fateful years between his interests in the east and
his opposition to the French Revolution in th e wes t and
how nally he deserted entirely the allied caus e against
France and left Austria t o bear the burden of the war alone .

It is easy now with the fullness of o u r knowledge o f s u b s e

quent events to criticize Prussian policy to point out h o w ,

energetic co Op e r a t i on by Prussia and Austria would have

captured Paris restored the ancient monarchy and pre
, ,

vented the vast evils to the European system which a c

companied the rise o f N apoleon ; but no o n e at that time ,

least o f all Frederick William II with his limited political

vision could have foreseen the disasters o f the next fteen
,

years The Prussian Ki ng and his advisers were playing

.

the game of international politics according to the con

v en t i o n a l standards of t h eir age They stand condemned.

today by the ultimate results o f their policy results which ,

they could not foresee In their o wn time up to the debacle

.
,

at Au er s t a dt -Jena they considered themselves

, and were
considered by many o f their contemporaries a s tute and
successful .

From the outbreak o f the B en ch Revolution Frederick ,

William II showed the keenest interest in the course o f

 C ON TE MPORAR Y E U ROPE 145

events and deep sympathy with his fellow s overeign Louis

XVI . The Prussian King was among the rst to urge
intervention to s ave Louis He was largely responsible
.

f o r inducing Leopold of Austria in the little town of Pillnitz

, ,

to issue the famous Declaration August 2 7 1 7 9 1 that the , ,

two monarchs s tood ready to j oin other European rulers

in endeavoring to place Loui s XVI in a po sition to establish

in France a government that shall once more be in accord
with the rights o f sovereigns and shall promote the welfare
,

of the French Nation At the same time he was also
.
,

acutely concerned with a ffairs in Poland He had long .

been jealous o f Russian inuence there He took advantage .

o f Cat h erine the Great s preoccupation with her war against

Turkey to encourage the movement for independence in

Poland in 1 789 1 7 9 0 He viewed with sympathy the acts
.

o f the Polish Diet in abolishing the Russian Council and in

demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops He s igned .

an offensive and defensive alliance with Poland May 2 9 ,

1 7 90 and ratied the Polish con stitution o f May 3 1 79 1

, , .

Frederick William s interests then were involved in the
, ,

events both upon his eastern border and in France He .

wa s probably sincere in what he had done up to this point ,

willing on the o n e hand to make the sacrices required by

intervention in order to save Louis and to restore the posi
tion o f the French monarchy and glad to have a strong
,

independent Poland as a bu ffer state between Prussia and

Russia The incidents o f the next few years however
.
, ,

introduced s o strong a temptation to Prussian self-interest

that Frederick William II was unable to resist .

The te mptation was presented by Catherine the G reat

of Russia Having made a hasty peace with Turkey
.

(January 9 1 7 , s h e prepared her forces to redeem Rus

s ian power in Poland She waited until Austria and Prussia

.

were both committed to war against France (April 2 0 ,

then straightway marched her army across the

border Poland of course under the terms of her treaty
.
, ,
146 THE H STOR Y I OF E UROPE

wit h Prussia called upon Frederick Willia m f o r aid : at

,

the s ame time Catherine o ffered him the prospect o f li be ral

increase o f territory in Poland if he gave no aid Frederick .

William s position wa s n o t easy He had already set his

.

army in motion toward the French frontier He could not .

rai s e equip and put in the eld against Russia on his east
, ,

another army with any prospect of success Y et not to .

aid Poland was to break h is pledged word He chose to .

repudiate the treaty to denounce the constitution which

,

he had ratied a year before and to dispatch a small force ,

himself t o the Polish border to insure the possession of

the territory he might be assigned in the coming partition .

As the French War progressed the chances f o r glory and ,

prot in t h e west diminished and the opportunities in the

east increased His army was checked at Valmy in the
.

autumn o f 1 79 2 His Austrian ally was checked at Je m a p p es

.

in November of the same year The Austro -Prussian .

successes of the spring and s ummer of 17 93 were o ffset by

the failures in the fall In the east o n the other han d
.
, ,

Catherine had granted him liberal acce s sions of territory

with o n e and one half million inhabitants by what is known
as the Treaty o f the Second Partition of Poland and the ,

Polish Diet was assembled in deliberation upon r a t ica

tion of the territorial concessions Fearful lest Austrian .

intrigue o r Russian cupidity might rob him o f part o f his

Polish spoils he nally left the Prussian camp giving his
, ,

generals directions to remain absolutely inactive and ,

hastened eastward .

An inuential body of his counselors wh o from t h e ,

beginning had disapproved the alliance with Austria n o w ,

praised his policy Self -interest was the guiding principle

.

o f their doctrine and self -interest was immediately pro

,

moted apparently by the extension of territory in Poland

, , .

Through the year 1 7 94 the army in the we s t remained

practically inactive while Frederick William now thoroughly
, ,

committed to and in sympathy with the policy of territorial

 C O N TE MPOR AR Y EU ROPE 1 47

aggrandize m ent concentrated all his ef forts upon Poland

, .

When Kosciuszko led the Polish revolt in the spring of

1 7 9 4 Prussian troops were the rst to march against him
, .

Frederick William now s a w the extinction o f Poland as an

immediate probability and devoted all his energies to
,

establishing himself in a position where he could again

claim a liberal extension of territory He defeated Kos .

ci u s z ko in the battle o f Rawka June 6 1 7 94 occupied , ,

Cracow June 1 5 and gathered his troops for the siege of

,

Warsaw July 2 1 7 9 4 ,Kosciuszko s cause was hopeless
. .

Russian and Austrian armies aided the Prussian By .

November the unequal contest was decided and Poland ,

w a s aga in garrisoned by i t s enemies .

Frederick William II had now lost all interest in the French

War Knowing that he would have to meet Austrian
.

opposition in his attempt to gain what he wanted in Poland ,

he decided to make peace as soon as possible with France .

Hence in January 1 7 95 his emissary beg an negotiations

, , ,

in Switzerland with the French representative and the ,

treaty of peace was signed at B as le April 5 1 7 9 5 The , .

treaty was o f course an outright betrayal o f Austria

, , ,

England Holland and other members o f the First Coalition

, ,

against France but Frederick William and his counselors

,

j ustied it by the additional forces it placed at their dis

posal to strengthen their demands for Polish territory .

As we have seen Austria this time outwitted Prussia

,

by means of secret intrigue with Russia In January 1 7 9 5 .

, ,

even before Prussia had signed the peace with France ,

Austria and Russia had come to an agreement on the terms

o f partition All through 1 7 95 and 1 7 9 6 the unedifying
.

squabble over the spoils continued Before the prospect .

of war against united Russia and Austria Frederick William ,

II was nally obliged to yield his ground and accept terri ,

tory much less than he had hoped The Treaty of the .

Third Partition o f Poland was signed January 2 6 1 7 9 7 , .

Though the Prussian court was disappointed at Prussia s
148 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

share in the nal partition it was inclined in 1 7 9 7 t o loo k

,

upon the international situation with pride and condence .

The King had on the whole shed with good success in

, ,

the troubled waters of European politics Pr u s s i an t err i .

'

tories had been extensively increased by additions from

Poland O ne o f the chief rivals o f Prussia
. France
was s o weakened by the Revolution that s h e ceased to be
a factor in international considerations Another Aus .

tria had been continuously since 1 7 9 2 engaged in war

with ever -mounting sacrices in men and wealth No .

Prussian counselor evinced any remorse f o r his country s ,

broken engagements The King and his advisers were

.

proud of their policy For the King himself his success

.

was the last as well as the crown ing glory of his life for ,

he died in this very year ( 1 7 9 7 undoubtedly believing that

he had served his country well The Prussian awakening .

did not co m e f or a decade .

0 . S PA I N
A cross the Pyrenees the French revolutionary movement
met with no favor The Spanish peasantry groaned under
.

burdens as excessive as those laid upon the same class in

France a n d the idle nobility inherited a caste prej udice
,

against labor or business ; but two important factors pre

vented the spread o f revolutionary doctrines First the .
,

ignorance and the strong racial and religious prej udices of

the masses of the people prevented them from being inter
e s t ed in or aroused by the literature o f contemporary
French political philosophy The antipathy to French .

literature because it was foreign and the knowledge that ,

Voltaire Rousseau Diderot and others were conde m ned

, ,

by the Roman Catholic church united to b ar these en ,

lightening inuences from such part of Spanish circles as

might have proted from them And second the bou r .
,

geo i s i e class which as we have seen played s o important a

,

p art in the Revolution in France w a s weak small in num , ,

 C O NTE MPORAR Y E U ROPE 14 9

bers and n o t energetic o r liberal minded in Spain The

,
-
.

keen aggressive shopkeeper business or professional man

, , ,

trader was a type which had n o t become prominent under

,

Spanish conditions Intensely loyal to the monarchy .

,

th en u n i n u en ce d by advanced political doctrines and

'

uninspired by the leadership of an active bo u r geoi s i e the ,

Spanish people in 1 7 8 9 showed n o sign o f revolutionary

contamin ation .

Charles III King o f Spain died in December 1 7 8 8 and

, , , ,

his s o n and successor Charles IV was duly proclaimed in , ,

Madrid in January 1 789 Charles IV was at this time , .

a man o f forty who though simple in his habits and honest

,

in his principles lacked conspicuous force o r mental gifts

, .

His wife Maria Louisa of Parma a woman o f decided

, ,

character exercised a strong inuence over him His

, .

immediate problem was di fcult His father and prede .

cessor had committed Spain to long and expensive wars

against England and to costly improvements in naval
armament with the result that the Sp anish treasury was
,

empty A harvest failure in 1 788 and intense cold in the

.

winter of 1 7 8 8 1 7 89 increased the general suffering through
o u t the country .

C harles IV s eff orts to alleviate the misery in Spain

during 1 7 89 bore witness to the generosity of his temper
more than to his good j udgment He remitted taxes .
,

forcibly cheapened the price of grain and borrowed large ,

sums at exorbitant terms in order to tide over the treasury .

At the same time he cut expenses on the navy to the min

,

imum and reduced the standing army until it numbered

,

less than forty thousand men The temporary relief w a s .

soon followed by national bankruptcy for the government ,

was wholly unable to pay its new obligations and the ,

weakening o f the national armaments proved fatal when

war came .

In the midst o f these distressing internal conditions he ,

took the keenest in terest in the course of events in France .

1 50 THE H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

Himself a Bourbon he looked up to Louis XVI as the head

,

of the Bourbon house and sympathized deeply with the

difculties of the French King As the Revolution pro .

g r e s s e d he
, took arbitrary and unnecessary m easures to
prevent its spread in Spain For example : in April 1 7 9 1
.
, ,

he decreed the suppressi on o f all newspapers in Spain

except the Oi ci a l Gazette ; he endeavored to keep from
his country all French news o r propaganda ; and in July ,

1 7 9 1 he required every foreigner in Spain whether resident

, ,

or mere traveler to swear allegiance to the King o f Spain

,

and to the Catholic religion and publicly to renounce all

,

claim or right o f appeal f o r protection to his own country .

With the imprisonment of Louis ( August 1 7 9 2 ) Charles ,

IV bent all his energies to saving the French King s life

.

Charles was willing indeed to accept diplomatic rebuff s

, ,

and even insults from the ministers o f the Convention if

only he might succeed in saving Louis XVI At the crisis .

of the negotiations he summarily dismissed ( November 1 5 ,

1 7 9 2 ) his old and tried minister Floridablanca and a p , ,

pointed to his place General Don Manuel de Godoy Duk e ,

o f Alcidia .

All the opprobrium due to the Spanish humiliations of

the following twenty years has become attached by history
to the person of Godoy Godoy had come to the Spanish
.

court in 1 7 8 4 at the age o f seventeen to be admitted to the

King s bodyguard His handsome gure and his pleasing
.

personality captivated the Queen though she w a s old enough

,

to be his mother By the Queen s inuence he was rapidly
advanced from honor to honor until as recorded above he , ,

was appointed in 1 7 9 2 at the age o f twenty v e Prime

,
-
,

Minister He was not equipped by training or by natural

.

genius t o cope successfully with the di fcult internal and

foreign problems of the government .

G o d o y s rst f ailure was in his dealings with France

.

It was essential that he should avoid war for the Spanish ,

nances and the Spanish army were as has been indicated , ,

 C ONTE MPORAR Y E U ROPE 151

in no condition for war Y et it was the King s desire that

.

Godoy should m ake every effor t to save the head o f the

Bourbon house The Spanish ministers at Paris at G o do y s
.

direction intervened again and again during the course of

Louis XVI S imprisonment and trial and used immense

,

sums in the attempt to bribe the leaders in the Convention ,

but their e o r t s were without avail Indeed Spanish .
,

intervention really served to concentrate the hostility o f

the Convention upon Spain After Louis XVI s death .

the French leaders declared war upon Spain March 7 ,

17 93 .

Although th e Spanish people accepted the w a r loyally

and enthusiast ically the decien cie s in size organization
, , ,

equipment training and leadership of the army prevented

, ,

any success The series of disasters in 1 7 93 and 1 794 aroused

.

strong discontent with the government The initial en .

t h u s i a s m died down and the people clamored for peace Both .

the King and Godoy were genuinely anxious to arrange

terms so in the spring o f 1 7 95 the repre s entatives of the
,

two nations got in touch By the nal treaty signed in .

,

July 1 7 9 5 France agreed to evacuate Sp anish territory

, , ,

and Spain ceded the Spanish part of the island of Santo

Domingo This peace was generally popular The Spanish
. .

court considered that it had come out of the war with honor
and with its continental boundaries and its national in
s t i t u t i o n s unimpaired The loss of part o f Santo Domingo
.

was triing Godoy still the obj ect o f the Queen s infatua
.
,

tion retained his position as Prime Minister and received

,

f ro m the King the title of Prince of Peace .

D . EN G L AND

The f ate of England w a s in trusted during this dangerous

period to one of the most remarkable men who has ever
risen to the fore in English politics William Pitt a younger .
,

son of a former Prime Minister the Earl o f Chatham was , ,

called by Kin g George III to the pre m iership in Dece m ber ,

1 52 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

1 7 83 Pitt was at this time a man o f twenty four He had

.
-
.

been the favorite of his gifted father and from his youth had
been trained and designed for political life His precocity .

gained him an unusual reputation even as a child ; and

when he came o f age he had the great advantage of his
,

father s reputation to give him the necessary start He .

entered the House of Commons in January 1 7 8 1 and at , ,

once established his position as a great orator and a nat

ural leader A year later 1 7 82 he accepted the place o f
.
, ,

Chancellor o f the Exchequer in a weak cabinet and b e ,

came the acknowledged government leader in the House o f

'

Commons And in December o f 1 78 3 the King called

.
,

upon him to form a ministry .

The di fculties before him wer e very great His ex .

treme youth and his relatively limited experience at acces

sion to power made it so improbable in the eyes of his con
temporaries that his ministry would last that he had the
utmost dif culty in gaining the consent of men to enter the
Cabinet The political opposition in the Commons a coali
.
,

tion comprising such men as Burke Fox and Sheridan , , ,

w as exceptionally strong And the prestige of the country

.

w a s at the moment ve r y l o w for England had j ust lost her

,

American colonies and had been hu miliated by the treaty

of peace with France and Spain Indeed on the continent .
,

and in some English circles England was regarded as ,

having gone into a decline as having descended to the ,

position of a second o r third rate power At the same time .

,

the burden of the great war had greatly embarrassed the

national treasury and the Irish were in a deant mood
, .

In the face of such complex problems it is scarcely to be ,

wondered that the English political world hailed the a p

pointment of the twenty -four -year -old Prime Minister with
derision .

Pitt conceived it to be his rst duty to re establish the

material prosperity of England His policy therefore .
, ,

from 1 7 8 3 to 1 7 9 3 was chiey concerned with scal a a ir s ;

 C O NTE M PORARY E U ROPE 1 53

his chief interest l ay in the preparation o f the annual budgets .

Thoroughly familiar with the doctrines o f Adam Smith ,

he brought his enlightened intelligence to bear upon methods

f o r reducing the national debt and raising the credit of the
country At the same tim e he advocated though without
.
,

practical success parliamentary reform and measures for

,

the alleviation of conditions in Ireland His concentration .

upon domestic concerns was rewarded by a steady rise in

public credit and increase in volume of trade England .

recovered rapidly from the depths into which she had ap

p a r en t ly descended at the time of the conclu s ion of the
American -French Spanish peace
-
.

This concentration upon domestic concerns did not pre

vent the youthful premier from keeping a watchful eye
upon foreign a a ir s His purpose w a s to threaten English
intervention at any time that the balance o f power was
disturbed and to uphold English rights wherever and when
ever threatened Thus i n 1 7 87 w h en France was on the
.
,

point of interfering in Holland Pitt s government took a

,

rm stand again s t her and conc luded an alliance (the

,

Triple Alliance of that day ) with Prussia and Holland to

uphold Dutc h rights Two years later 1 789 when Spain
.
, ,

in an endeavor to establish her rights to the n orthwestern

coast of North America seized an English merchant vessel
in Nootka Sound near Vancouver Island Pitt promptly ,

demanded redress and prepared for war His rm stand .

forced the Spanish government to come to terms ( 1 7 90)

and the Nootka Sound incident was concluded with honor
to England Again in 1 79 1 he endeavored with his allies
.
, ,

Prussia and Holland to check the Rus s ian aggressions

upon Turkish territory basing his protest especially upon
,

the Russian seizure o f t hefortress o f O ch ako ff at the mouth

of the Dnieper River In his endeavor however he was
.
, ,

f oiled by the unwillingness o f his Parliament to offe r a threat

of war over territory so remote from English intere s ts He .

had then as these examples indicate not neglected inter

, , ,
1 54 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

national politics in h is concentration upon the re establish

ment of domestic prosperity .

The outbreak of the French Revolution did not divert

Pitt from his policy From international considerations
.
,

naturally he could feel no regret at witnessing the apparent

,

break

u p of England s greatest rival but he was not tempted ,

to take advantage of her weakness He refused to commit .

England to any action in answer to the Austro -Prussian

Declaration o f Pillnitz and determined to remain neutral
,

after the declaration of war In England his course was .

, ,

on the wh ole approved The beginning of the Revolution

, .

had excited the sincere sympathy of English liberals but ,

the excesses o i the Convention and the reports of The

Terror had quickly alienated the great body o f sound and

conservative public O pinion Even with the general hos .

t il it y to the leaders and methods of the Revolution however , ,

the English people were disposed to accept Pitt s View that
it was not a matter for English concern so long as it did not
infringe upon English interests So remote seemed the .

prospect of departure from his peaceful policy that Pitt ,

in surveying the national nances in February 1 7 9 2 made , ,

proposals for repealing certain taxes adding to the Sinking ,

Fund f o r the reduction of t h e debt and reducing the num ,

ber of s eamen in the English navy from to

and declared that unquestionably there never was a time
in the hi story of the country when from the s ituation of
Europe we might more reasonably expect fteen years of

peace than at the present moment And a s late as Nove m .

ber 13 17 92 he wrote to a political friend : Perhaps s ome
, ,

opening m ay arise which will enable us to contribute to the

termination o f the war between di fferent powers in Eur ope ,

leaving France ( which I believe is the be s t way ) to arrange

its own internal aff airs as it can .

In spite of Pitt s policy and desires the French leaders

,

forced the war The extreme decrees of N ovember 1 9

.
,

and December 1 5 1 7 9 2 the one promising assi s tance to

, ,
 C ON TE MPORAR Y EU ROPE 155

revolutionary peoples in all countries and the second f o r c ,

ing French institutions upon territories occupied by the

French showed that the revolutionary le ader s were not
,

only prepared to foment rebellion in other countries but ,

that they had adopted a policy of territorial aggrandize

ment in deance o f the rights o f their neighbors At the .

same time these leaders inj ected an intensely practical

,

issue into the situation by demanding from Holland the

freedom o f navigation o f the Scheldt River This issue .
,

taken in conjunction with the revolutionary decrees brought ,

a sharp prote s t from England for by treaty in 1 788 ( the ,

treaty o f the Triple Alliance between England Holland , ,

and Pruss 1 a ) England had solemnly guaranteed to Holland

the navigation o n the Scheldt River T0 allow Holland to .

be forced to yield to French demands would be a gross

violation o f good faith Pitt wa s compelled to stand by .

the provisions of the treaty to assist Holland War then .

became inevitable Popular feeling aroused to a high

.
,

pitch became even more intense after the execution of

,

Louis XVI The nation went into mourning : crowds

.

surro u nded the King and demanded an immediate declara

tion o f war The French themselves nally put an end to
.

the he s itation by a declaration of war February 1 1 7 9 3 , ,

followin g this by a similar declaration against Spain in

March .

Thi s First Coalition of France s enemies comprised after ,

its additions during 1 7 93 all the chief powers of Europe ,

except Russia Turkey Switzerland Denmark and Sweden

, , , , .

In nearly every case France had been the aggressor and had
,

actually is s ued the declaration o f war We have already .

spoken o f England Austria Prussia Holland and Spain

, , , , .

Rome which wa s the Papacy had been alienated in the

, ,

early days of the Revolution by the law o f the Civil Consti

t u t i o n of the Clergy to which the Pope had never agreed
, .

In 1 79 1 the French annexed the Papal city o f Avignon by

, ,

this aggres s ion sh o w in g that they considered themselves

_
156 T HE H S I TORY OF E U ROPE
a s enemies o f Rome In September 1 79 2 the Convention
.
, ,

declared w a r upon Sardinia and poured troops into the

provinces of Savoy and Nice The decree of December 1 5 .
,

1 7 9 2 w a s the j ustication for the actual annexation o f

,

these rich provinces to France Portugal followed Spain .

into the war in March 1 7 93 signing an alliance with Spain

, ,

and contributing 5 000 troops for an invasion of France .

Wh en Francis I of Austria became Holy Roman Emperor

( with the title o f Francis II ) he naturally committed the ,

empire to the war nding sufcient reasons in the

infringement o f France upon the rights o f the Ger m an
princes in Alsace and along the Rhine Tuscany and .

Naples joined the coalition in the summer o f 1 7 93 the ,

Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany because of his Haps

burg origin and King Ferdinand IV of N aples because of
,

his Bourbon relationship and hi s antipathy to liberal doc

trines Thus France faced a coalition including England
.
,

Holland Prussia Austria the Holy Roman Empire

, , , ,

Sardinia Naples Rome Tuscany Portugal and Spain

, , , , , .

The coalition however was stronger in appearance than

, ,

in reality Austria and Prussia could n o t work in harmony

.

because of their jealous rivalry in other directions Holland .

was not prepared to meet an attack in force The Holy .

Roman Empire was a poorly organized and inefficient con

federation whose military strength was negligible Tus .

cany Naples and Rome added no armies o f importance

, , .

And Spain was on the verge o f bankruptcy Pitt himself .

could contribute nothing but liberal subsidies to help the

land warfare : the English navy however swept the seas , ,

of French ships .

The campaign was as we have already seen in part a, ,

series of disasters By the close of 1 7 9 5 Austria by land

.
,

and England by s ea were the chief remaining members of

the great coalition In 1 79 7 Austria retired The rst
.
, .

popular enthusiasm for the war in England had long before

died away The hardships accruing from the interruption
.
 C ON TE MPORARY E U ROPE 1 57

of commerce and a series o f harvest failures caused general

misery and depression The National Debt had increased
.

by Public credit was so undermined that

government loan securities issued below par in a few months
, ,

wer e quoted at a loss of fteen per cent Irelan d was in revolt

.

and Scotland apparently on the verge of an outbreak And .

the navy wa s paralyzed in the spring o f 1 7 9 7 by general

mutinies Pitt was insulted and his life threatened Cries
. .

for bread and for peace were raised Yet there wa s nothing
.

for the prime minister to do but continue the war He .

endeavored both in 1 7 9 6 and 1 7 9 7 to make peace but the

,

French would n o t meet the English representatives in a

conciliatory spirit In the dark days o f 1 7 97 and 1 7 98
.
,

therefore Pitt struggled to raise a new coalition against

,

France .
 C H A P TE R V1 1

THE R I SE OF N APOLEON

WH EN the directorate took o fce O ctober 2 7 1 7 9 5 the ,

outlook f or the country was brighter than it had been for

years In France the people were weary o f the turmoil o f
.
,

Revolution They longed f or order and peace that they

.
,

might enjoy the blessings the Revolution had promised .

Though it was then generally recognized that reorganiza

tion w a s a most di fcult task France accepted the new ,

government hoping that the combined wisdom o f it s mem

,

bers would nd the means to success The Directory then .

, ,

was on trial be f ore a p eople inclined to be pre j udiced in its

favor .

Abroad a seri es o f success f ul O perations for a year pre vi

,

o u s to their a s sumption o f the government seemed to prom

ise a speedy general peace A fter the victory of Fleurus .

,

Jourdan drove the Austrian s from Namur and Li e ge forced ,

them from their position behind the B o er and nally ( O cto ,

ber 1 7 9 4 ) pursued them across the Rhine and captured

,

Cologne and Coblentz Simultaneously the Army of the

.
,

Rhine and hI o s ell e advanced from position to position on

the upper river occupied Mannheim and connected o n their
, ,

left ank with Jourdan Austria pretended that the u n.

favorable situation in Poland d emanded the withdrawal of

her armies but it was believed by the triumphant Republi
,

cans that the retreat was dictated by France s armies

.

M eanwhile in Holland Pi ch egr u s Army of the N orth had

, ,

given the English and Dutch no rest In O ctober 1 7 9 4 . , ,

he began an impetuous advance before which the allies

evacuated city after city until they had abandoned Old
Holl and A m sterdam Rotterdam and the Hague fell one
.
, ,

158
 T HE RI SE OF N APOLEON 1 59

after another ; and then cro wning triumph o f all M o r e a u s

, ,

cavalry charged across the ice o f the Zee at Texel Island and
captured a Dutch eet In disgust England embarked her ,

troops f o r home It was a terrible campaign f o r the French

.
,

carried on by ill -fed badly clothed men in the dead o f wi n

,
-

ter but in the end Holland paid for it Clothing provisions

, .
, ,

mi litary stores and money were requisitioned and the entire

,

state passed under the military domination of the Republic ,

and became virtually a part o f France Early in 1 79 5

, , .
,

France began t o reap her reward Prussia had asked f o r .

peace and in April signed the treaty o f Basle by which s h e

, ,

withdrew from the coalition and engaged to exist o n friendly

terms with the Republic the Rhine being the boundary b e
,

tween them .

By late July another enemy capitulated The Spaniards

, .

wh o had invaded France from both ends o f the Pyrenees ,

had barely been checked at the close o f 9 3 The next year

.

brought more success In a well conducted campaign the

.
-
,

French reconquered what they had lost cleared the passes ,

o f the east ,and advanced into Spanish territory The .

fortresses throughout Catalonia were in French hands by

the end of 1 7 94 In the west they were no less successful
. .

The new commander Moncey focused his attention o n the

, ,

western p asses where he soon outgeneraled the foe O nce

, .

across the mountains his troops fought skillfully into p o s

,

session of Tolosa Vittoria and Bilbao In July 1 79 5 the

, ,
.
, ,

treaty o f peace ended the campaign and necessitated the

evacuation o f the conquests when the French armies were at
the height o f their successes .

But the work w a s not yet ended Austria and Sardinia .

still had armies in the eld and Holland and Be lgium ,

required an army for garrison purposes M o r ea u s Army

.

o f the North undertook this latter task while J o u r dan s

Army o f the Sambre and Meuse and Pi ch egr u s Army of the

Rhine and Moselle faced t w o Austrian armies in the Rhine .

valley one under Clerfayt and the other under W u r m s er

, .
 16 0 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

The plan o f campaign called rst for the reduction o f

Luxembur g and then for an advance acros s the Rhine
, ,

which s hould drive the enemy back on the Danube Lux .

e m b u r g fell June 2 5 Within a few weeks J o u r da n s

1 7 95 , .
,

army was across th e Rhine at Dii s s el do r f and Clerfayt had ,

withdrawn to the line of the Main Pi ch egr u had taken .

M annheim and could assist Jourdan by pushing his army

in between Clerfayt and W u r m s er and preventing their
co operation The campai gn would h ave been S hort and
'

decisive but it was destined never to be executed Pi ch egr u

, .
,

a prey to his ambition s thought that the Austrians and the

,

Bourbons would give a more generous recognition o f his

worth than did the Republic In return for the promise of .

the b aton of a Marshal of France titles political advance , ,

ment and enormous sums in money he agreed to use hi s

, ,

army to overthrow the Directory and establish the Count

of Provence on the throne of Louis Instead therefore o f .
, ,

giving Jourdan his assistance he sent forward two divisions ,

without supports which he knew would be powerless before

W u r m s er Jourdan attempting to save the day from the
.
,

disaster he could not understand was defeated and driven , ,

back across the Rhine All France stood incredulous and

.

aghast before another great treachery this time one which

had throttled her at t h e moment o f victory .

There remains to be outlined the situation in Italy The .

revolt in the M idi ended the Committee of Public Safety

,

turned in good earnest to the Sardinian problem Two .

armies that of the Alps and that o f Italy were in the

,

eld the former operating on the frontiers of Savoy the

, ,

latter based o n Nice along the Riviera The presence o f

, , .

the English eet in the Ligurian gulf made the Corniche

road which runs from Nice toward Genoa an unsafe line
, ,

of communication f o r the Army o f Italy and made n eces ,

sary the establishing o f a route free from attack by naval

raiding parties In April of 1 7 9 4 therefore an attack was
.
, ,

directed against the Sardinian left which resulted in the

 THE RI SE OF N APOLEON 16 1

capture o f the Col di Tenda the most important pass 1n ,

the Maritime Alps Simultaneous operations on the part

.

of the Army o f the Alps secured the Mont Cenis and Saint
Bernard passes the principal passes to the west and north
,

o f Piedmont .

Here however activities ceased The fall of Robespierre

, , .

removed f o r a time the actuating spirits o f the Army o f Italy ,

and the year 1 7 9 4 ended with the passes in the hands of

the French but with no advantage accruing fro m their
possession N o t until the peace with Spain in July 1 7 9 5
.
, ,

d id forces become available with which to conduct a deter

mined o ffensive .

In Jun e 1 7 9 5 the A ustro

, Sardinian forces conducted a
,

series o f attacks o n the coast towns in the h ands of the

French and o n the passes o f the M aritime Alps The
, .

passes held rm but the to wns fell and the whole right
, ,

wing o f Kell er m a n n s Army o f Italy f ell back The Allies

.

failed to take advantage o f th eir success and Kellermann ,

was about to recoup his disaster when he was relieved by an

order from Paris and Sch e rer was appointed in his stead
, .

Sch e rer took up his predecessor s plan in November 1 795

, .

He proposed to capture the pa s ses o f the Apennines move ,

down the valley o f the Tanaro and thus into the Piedmont ,

plains Accordingly he instituted a surprise attack which

.
,

routed the Austro Sardinians from Loano November 2 3

-
, .

On the next day Mass ena s forces drove the hostile left O ff
,

the Corniche road and Au ge r e a u pushed through the pas ses

,

o f Loano and San Giacomo in the center The s e two suc .

cesses compelled the retreat o f the allied right which was

making a bold stand against S e rrurier Sch e rer was now .

in absolute control of the coast the Ap en in n e s crest and , ,

the Tanaro valley as far as Ceva He had inicted serious .

losses on his enemy and had O pened the road to Turin the ,

Piedmontese capital A continued offensive would have car

.

ried him into Turin but Sch e rer was o f the o l d type of gen
,

eral who fought by rule Winter was upon him and it was .

M
16 2 T HE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

time to go into winter quarters Pied m ont wa s sa v ed for .

the moment and the allies were given opportunity to re

,

habilitate their broken armies But Sch e rer had played his .

part in m aking way f or a greater general than he The .

Italian stage wa s set for the entrance of Napoleon Bona

parte .

Just as the end of 1 7 93 marks a denite period of France s

m ilitary career so does 1 7 95 The days when the s tate was

, .

in danger from her enemies were past Wattignies and .

Fleurus had ended the menace of invading troops and had

guaranteed the right of France to choose what form of
government s h e would Nor can the claim be made that .

the wars wh ich follow 1 7 95 were waged to carry the doctrine

o f the Revolution The greed for conquest for loot for
.
, ,

annexation had entered into the scheme of things and

, ,

m ake s its mark in all the subsequent campaigns But one .

great step had been made At the end of 1 7 95 France had .

,

an army Her battalions had served a s laborious an a p

.

prenticeship as any since the days o f Hannibal and fro m ,

the ruck of indifferent commanders there were emerging

those names Vandamme Lef ebvr e S errurier M ass ena , , , ,

Au ge e
r a u Kl e ber Soult and many more which were to
, , ,

make France glorious in military history for all time .

Thus with the favor of France and the auguries of a serie s

of m ilitary succes s es the Directory assumed power in ,

November 1 7 95 , .

A . TH E DI R E C T O R Y FR OM I T S OR GAN I ZA T I ON To

TH E CO UP D
ETA T OF S EP T E M B E R 1 7 9 7 ,

Under the constitution o f 1 7 9 5 the power of the Dir ec ,

tory was great Its members appointed the commandin g

.

o fficers in the army foreign ministers and diplomatic agents

, , .

They signed treaties and submitted to the legislature decl a

rations o i war They could by messages propose legisla
.

tion though they could not initiate laws Their commis

, .

s i o n er s resided in each Dp a r temen t of France with p ower to

 THE R IS E OF N APOLEO N 16 3

ap prove or disapprove the acts of local authorities Their .

mi nisters instead of forming an advisory council were s u b

, ,

ordinates o r clerks The Directors thus formed a strongly

.

concentrated executive power controlling directly both ,

domestic and foreign policies .

The peace treatie s of the spring and summer o f 1 7 9 5

had been favorable to France Moreover there was .
,

little prospect o f further trouble in these quarters provided

France herself did not provoke it Spain was on the verge .

of bankruptcy A strong liberal party in Holland was will

.

ing to support the French alliance And Prus s ia had its .

armie s mobilized to guarantee its o wn s hare in the third and

nal partition of Poland .

The rst problem o f the Directory w a s of course to bring , ,

'

the war to a successful conclusion In o er in g a s olution .

to this problem Napoleon grasped his second great o p p o r

,

t u n ity
. He had gained the favor o f the political leaders by
serving the Convention the preceding autumn ; he was at
the moment in command of the Army o f the Interior with
headquarters in Paris ; and he had a plan to present f o r
consideration His friendship with Barras a Director and
.
, ,

h is previous service with the Army o f Italy gained him a ,

h earing His plan s o impressed the Directors that t h ey

.

adopted it and made him Commander -i n -C h ief of the Army

,

o f Italy ( M arch 2 and authorized him to carry out

,

hi s part of the campaign along his o wn lines .

None could have foreseen that the future o f France wa s

bound up with the career of this twenty -seven -year -o l d

general Born in Corsica in 1 7 6 9 Napoleon Bonaparte
.
,

graduated from the French military academy at Brienne at

fteen ( 17 8 4 ) and entered the artillery His poverty and .

Corsican birth o ff ered him no chance of advancement under

the old r gime For nine years he took long leaves of
.

absence to mingle in t h e political intrigue s of his native

i s land until the failure of an uprising led by him in 1 79 3
caus ed a decree of bani s hment to be is s ued against hi m and
164 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E UR OPE

his family Upon rejoining his command he shared in the

.
,

operations against Toulon his ski ll exciting the co m m en

,

dation of the commissioners o f the Convention and winning

for him a commission as General o f Brigade in the Army o f
Italy Early in 1 7 95 he was transferred to the Army o f the
.

West then engaged in suppre s sing the last traces o f the

,

Vend e an revolt Considering his new assignment u n des ir

.

abl e he went to Paris to protest His petition w a s di s r e

, .

garded and September 1 5 1 7 9 5 his name was o fcially

, , ,

stricken from the list of generals o n duty because o f his

failure to report as directed He waited in Paris his hope .
,

of reinstatement lying in the favor of a few prominent men .

He was still there in O ctober when Barras summoned hi m ,

to help save the Convention His success brought its i m .

mediate reward i n his appointment to the Army o f the

Interior from which position he was able to urge his plans
, .

Napoleon s plan called for two s imultaneous campai gns

o n e in Germany and one in Italy The one in Germany .

,

aimed at the heart of Austria was expected by the Di r ec ,

tor y to be the more important ; but the o n e in Italy led by ,

N apoleon himself proved decisive , .

i . M i li tar y Op er a ti on s Ger m an y , , 1 796

The armies o f France gave at Fleurus their very best f or

the Republic and the ideals of the Revolution In the 1 79 6 .

campaign in Italy and from then on they gave their very

best to a man w h o w a s a wonderful leader But in the .

campaign o f 1 7 9 6 in Germany the rst ideal had died and ,

the second had n o t been born We nd the armies going .

forth in obedience to the Directory to ght and subsist o n ,

foreign soil to plunder and conquer However acceptable

, .

to the leaders in France such a war might have been to her ,

people it has always been a business which they s et about

with reluctance Throughout all that lamentable cam
.

a i
p gn o f Jourdan and Moreau there was lacking that en ,

t h u s i a s m either f o r a cause or for a man which makes for

, ,
 THE RI SE OF N AP OLEO N 16 5

v ictory For once C a rn o t s schemes took wings and passed
.
,

beyond his control He planned a march down the Dan .

e

ube valley which should un ite the V ictorious armies before

the walls of Vienna with those of Napoleon from the plains
o f Italy The impracticability o f such a plan killed it but
.
,

there was left the possibility o f a campaign in the Danube

valley .

Facing Jourdan and Moreau o n the Rhine the for m er ,

near Dii s s el do r f the latter near Strassburg were two Aus

, ,

trian armies under the Archduke Charles and W u r m s er .

From Italy came a cry for help o n account of N apoleon s

successes there and W u r m s er with

, men set out over
the mountains Immediately Jour dan crossed the Rhine
.
,

and advanced southward to the Lahn where he was en

gaged by Charles with the bulk of the Austrian armies and ,

f orced to retire His advance w a s a ruse however to

.
, ,

enable Moreau to cross with ease at Strassburg (April ,

Unfortunately here co operation between Moreau

'

and Jourdan ceased and though Charles made the mistake ,

o f dividing his army perilously to oppose both hi s adversa

ries the French continued to operate as separate armies and

,

came t o grief Charles himself O pposed Moreau leaving

.
,

W a r t en s l eb en t o confront Jourdan Both armies were i n .

f er i o r to the French and before them retreated rapidly ,

W a r t en s l eb en up the M ain Charles into the Danube valley , ,

unable to unite .

But at last when Jourdan at Amberg was preparing to

attack W a r t en s leb en o n the Naab River the Archduke ,

m arched rapidly across from N euburg and struck the

French ank at the moment o f W a r t en s l eb en s frontal a t

tack Jourdan was outnumbered and retired down the

.

Main in great haste nor did his retreat end until with heavy
,

loss he had been forced across the Rhine ( September 2 1 ,

Meanwhile Moreau had advanced against the small

,

Austrian force left in the valley of the Danube as far as the

166 THE H STORY I OF E UR OPE

line o f the Lech but there hearing o f Jourdan s disaster

,

,

he turned again to the Rhine He was none t o o soon f o r .

,

Charles having nished with Jourdan marched rapidly up ,

the Rhine valley and but for M o r ea u s brilliant general

,

ship would have cut him o ff and destroyed his army .

Moreau closed the whole disastrous episode by recrossing

the Rhine O ctober 2 5 1 7 9 6 , .

ii . N a p o leon

s Ca m p a i gn i n I ta ly ,

1 7 9 6 1 7 97

The territory in which N apoleon was to operate in 1 7 96

was n o t new t o him h e had served with the Army o f
Italy i n 1 7 94 and had even outlined a plan for the subjection
o f Piedmont B ut the army with which he was called to
.

carry o u t his proj ect must have struck dismay to his heart .

It was one of those bodies of tatterdemalions to which the

greedy Director y had said Y ou must from now on subsist
,

o n the enemy N evertheless Napoleon knew his material
.
, ,

and from the moment when he rst addressed them as

S oldats instead of Citoyens it became evident that ,

th e new hand on the reins was a dexterous one .

He found an army o f occupying the pri ncipal

passes of the M aritime Alps and town s along the coast as
far as V oltri In command o f them were men o f ability
.

and experience S e rrurier Au ge r ea u Mass ena Laharpe

, , , .

Opposed to him was the Austro -Sardinian army occupying

positions from Coni to Voltaggio the Sardinians
strong under Colli h olding the line Coni -Millesimo the ,

Austrians strong under Beaulieu strung out fro m

Sassello to Voltaggio .

N apoleon s plan contemplated a thrust at the allied center
from Savona an attack which was to fall on the Austrian
,

right wing near Sassello By great good fortune the Aus

.
,

trian commander assisted h im by moving forward o n both

anks o n the day of Napoleon s c o ntemplated O peration .

The brigade at Voltri resisted Beaulieu s left while Napo

,

leon opposed the advancing right by Laharpe s forces in the

 THE RIS E OF N APOLEO N 16 7

pass at S avona Meanwhile he ordered Mass ena over t h e

.

mountains from C a dib o n a to fall upon the rear o f the Aus

trian wing in the Savona pass and there as between mill , ,

stones the Austrian battalions were crushed The remain

, .

ing Austrians fell back o n both anks and endeavored to

collect their shattered forces (April 1 2 1 7 ,

With the wedge thus ski llfully inserted between th e

portions o f his O pponent s army Napoleon left one division ,

to watch the disconcerted Austrians and then turned wi th

his remaining force o n the Sardinians In the next f ew .

days by repeated attacks near Millesimo Ceva and Mon

, , ,

dovi he drove the demoralized Sardinians back on their

,

communications un til on April 2 3 Colli in the na m e of

, , ,

the terried King asked f o r an armistice Bonaparte while

, .
,

treating with the envoys push ed o n almost to Turin By , , .

the ar m istice o f Cherasco ( which he signed April 2 7 1 7 9 6 )

the Sardini ans denitely withdrew from the war surren ,

dered the fortresses of Alessandria Tortona Mondovi and , , ,

Ceva and guaranteed to the French a line of co mm unications

,

through the Mont Cenis pass .

Within a few days Napoleon renewed his attack on the

,

Austrians who had meanwhile accomplished nothing except

a wi t h dr a w a l t o the Po at Valenza o n the road to lVIi l an , .

The French general feinted against their position but ,

p lanned his real crossing at Piacenza fty miles dow n ,

stream His ruse succeeded but before he could mass his

.
,

troops o n his opponent s communications Beaulieu learned ,

of the French stratagem and retreated precipitately to the ,

line of the Adda By doing so he denitely gave up Milan

.
, ,

and after being forced by the battle of Lodi fro m the Adda ,

retired on h is base Mantua Napoleon entered Milan in

, .

triumph ( May 1 5 1 7 ,

The Directory meanwhile had conrmed the ter m s o f

, ,

the Armistice of Cherasco and Bonaparte his communi , ,

cations secure once more took up the pursuit of the Aus

,

tr ian s He found them occupying the line o f the Mincio

. .
16 8 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

River their left protected by the fortress o f Mantua Here

, .
,

too Beaulieu was dislodged and withdrew through Vene

,

tian territory leaving Napoleon to invest Mantua

, .

The subsequent episodes of t h e rst Italian campaign all

center in attempts to relieve the beleaguered fortress There .

were four o f these all of which were conducted in the vicinity

,

of the Italian Quadrilateral ( V erona Peschiera Mantua , , ,

Legnano ) and all o f which came to grief

, .

The rst w a s conducted by W u r m ser who Wi th ,

m en advanced on both sides o f Lake Garda and do wn the ,

Brenta O pposed to them wi th about

. men o f whom , .

were conducting the siege o f M antua Napoleon ,

f ound himself in a serious predicament He proved equal .

to the emergency by raising the siege uniting his troops , ,

striking rs t the western column and defeating it and then ,

repeating the blow a g ainst t h e combined eastern columns at

Castiglione (A ugust 3 W u r m s er was able in the
,

early successes of his advance to r e -victual and r e -garrison

Mantua but Castiglione forced him into the Ty r o l leaving
, ,

the French still in possession of the Quadrilateral and sit

ting doggedly before the fortress .

In early September 1 7 9 6 j ust as W u r m s er was beginning

, ,

an advance down the valley of the B renta Napoleon pushed ,

north as far as Trent defeated the holding force left there

, ,

and then turning to the southeast deliberately pursued ,

W u r m s er overtook him near Bassano and inicted a sharp

, ,

defeat He pursued the remnants of the army down the

.

Brenta across the Adige and nally forced them to take

, ,

re f uge in the very fortress they had set out to relieve .

The third attempt in November 1 7 9 6 nearly succeeded

, , , .

Two columns totaling under the command of Alv in z i

advanced on Verona by way of the Adige and the Brenta
valleys Napoleon near Verona with
.
, was confronted
with the problem of meeting attacks from two directions .

O n the north his brigades were pushed in and he himself ,

wa s roughly h andled at C a l dier o Under cover o f night .

,
 T HE R I SE OF N APOLEO N 169

he crossed the Adige moved downstream recrossed and

, ,

came up on the Austrian ank near the little town of Arcole .

Here for three days ( November 1 3 1 4 and 1 5 1 7 9 6 ) in the , , ,

marshes and fens raged a most confusing battle The .

French we re outnumbered and in a disadvantageous posi

tion but they fought with a desperation which was r e
,

ect e d from their commander O n the third day at a.

,

moment when the battle hung in the balance Napoleon ,

sent a number o f cavalry trumpeters around in rear of the

Austrians with instructions t o blow the charge The r i dic .

u l o u s trick succeeded and Al vin z i s warriors ed in co n

,

fusion M eanwhile the northern Austrian force had r e

.
,

mained unaccountably idle and as a result both column s

,

futilely retreated .

In January 1 7 9 7 the fourth and nal relie f e xpedition

, , ,

strong again under the command o f Al v in z i started

, ,

in three columns one down the Adige

, a second
( 6 0 0 0 ) from the east o n Verona and a third ( 9000 ) o n ,

L egnano Napoleon soon learned what the nature o f the

.

advance was to be and massed his command to meet the

,

main column At Rivoli the two armies met f or what

.

proved to be the decisive battle o f the campaign Alv in z i .

,

underestimating the troops which were to meet him under ,

took a n enveloping attack o n both anks That o n the .

lake side succeeded in getting behind the French left but was ,

there caught by Mass ena and annihilated The general r e .

treat which now began became a rout when t h e Au s t r i a n s

f ound in their path a French regi m ent whi ch had crossed the
lake in boats Fifteen thousand prisoners remained in the
.

hands of the Republicans .

The remaining operations were short lived M antua sur .

rendered February 2 1 7 9 7 and N apoleon turned his atten

, ,

tion to the Archduke Charles now commanding the Aus

t r i a n s forced him through the Carnic Alps and at Le oben
, , ,

within a hundred m iles of Vienna signed o n April 18 1 7 9 7 , , , ,

the armistice which ended the campaign .

1 70 THE H STOR Y I OF E UROPE

( a ) Political reconstruction in Italy

When the French entered the peninsula what is no w ,

Italy was cut up into a dozen or more independent units ,

large and small The term Italy was as called later a
.
, ,

mere geographical expression The nu mber of separate units .

was greatest in the north the very section which N apoleon

,

invaded The Kingdom of Sardinia ( also called Piedmont )

.
,

the Duchies of M ilan Parma M odena M antua Lucca

, , , , ,

the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Republics of Genoa ,

and Venice occupied the territory north of the Papal states

the Kingdom o f N aples stretched south from the Papal
states to the tip and included the island o f Sicily Most
, .

of the sovereigns were foreign in blood to their subj ects ,

being princes of the Austrian Hapsburg or o f the Spanish

Bourbon house The governments were o f the old rgime
. .

Most notable wa s the absence of any general desire for unity

or independen ce .

The rst change came in the little Duchy o f Modena Af ter .

a revolt against their Duke the people with t h e approval of

,

Napoleon organized ( O ctober 1 7 96 ) a republic along t h e ,

lines of the French Republic A few weeks later delegates .

fro m Reggio Modena Bologna and Ferrara m et at Bologna

, , ,

and established a federation I n Dece m ber of the same .

y ear 1 7 9 6 a regular congress met and founded the Cispa

, ,

dane ( this side south o f the Po River ) Republic In the

, , .

spring of the following year 1 7 9 7 delegates encouraged by , ,

Napoleon m et and united t er r it o r l es north of the Po between

the Kingdom o f Sardinia and the Republic o f Venice into
the Cisalpine Republic At the formal inauguration of this
.

new state ( July 9 deputies from the Cispadane

,

Republic appeared to request a greater federation The .

young conqueror approved and the Cispadane and C is a l ,

pine Republics were united under the name of the latter ,

including territory extending from the Alps beyond L ake

Como to the Adriatic Sea at Rimini During the s a me .
 T HE R I SE OF N APOLEO N 1 71

period Napoleon took advantage o f a local disturbance in

,

Genoa to force a reorganization o f its government along

French lines Genoa then became ( June 1 7 9 7 ) the Ligu
.
,

rian Republic .

The precise boundary lines and the constitutions o f these

new creations are not important f o r they were all destroyed ,

by Austrian victories a few years later What was i m por .

tant however was the b irth o f a widespread popular de

, ,

mand for unity and independence In the delegations .

,

conventions and congresses pro mi nent Italian leaders from

, ,

different states f or the rst time in the modern era became

convinced of the essential unity of their interests and of
the desirability of throwing o ff the yoke of foreign pri nces .

Once born this demand never died though the ideal was
, ,

not realized for more than half a century .

iii . Gover n m en t i n Fr a n ce

The successes of N apoleon s campaign left t h e memb ers o f
the Directory free to concentrate their attention upon do
m est ic concerns The most pressing problem wa s nancial
. .

The thousands of millions of a s s i gn a ts had depreciated until

it took 3 4 00 francs worth o f them to buy one gold lou i s

(nor m ally valued at 2 4 francs ) Th e poor su ffered terribly . .

Bread sold at 6 0 francs a pound and beans for 1 4 00 francs ,

a pint The Directors resorted to a forced loan exacted from

.

th e more wealthy classes but this expedient failed yielding , ,

barely francs The Directors then issued a n e w .

paper money a kind o f preferred a s s i gn a t but the only r e

, ,

sult wa s to m ake the original a s s i gn a ts wholly worthless while

the new money quickly depreciated to thirty v e per cent -

of its face value The only income which saved the state
.

was that received from Napoleon s invasion and that levied ,

upon the conquered territories o f the Austrian N etherlands .

According to instructions Napoleon went upon the principle ,

that the liberated peoples must expect to reimburse their

liberators He forwarded great sums to the hard -pressed
.
1 72 THE HI STOR Y OF E U ROPE

Directors Milan was forced to pay

. f rancs ;
Modena ,
The D uke o f Parma paid
and the Duke of Piacenza for immunity The .

Pope submitted to the conqueror and gave

Murat one of Napoleon s generals in a raid upon Leghorn
, , ,

seized English goods which were subsequently sold for

francs .

In the eld of religion the Directory faced an anomalous

,

condition The new constitution provided freedom o f wor

.

ship but the Convention had decreed ( O ctober 2 5 1 79 5 )

, ,

that the laws against the non -juring priests should be strictl y
enforced Priests o f the orthodox religion were therefore
.
, ,

liable to arrest and transportation yet people were permitted ,

by the constitution t o have freedom o f worship In actual .

fact the Directory enjoined their commissioners to watch

,

the non j uring priests never to lose sight o f these in s t r u
-
,

ments o f murder royalism and anarchy but it took no
, , ,

active measures against them .

Throughout all its term the Directory was constant ly ,

threatened by conspiracy The uprisings were sternly sup .

pressed The only o n e which deserves special mention here

.

was a communistic plot under the leadership o f one Babeuf .

Babeuf wa s chief of the members o f a society known as

S oci t des E ga u x ( Society o f E quals ) whose principles ,

were briey that all land should belong to the state all
, , ,

production should be common property all people should ,

contribute their labor to the general good and all the socia l ,

and economic di fferences due to relative wealth and poverty

should be forever destroyed Curiously enough this U t O .
,
?

pian scheme gained thousands o f followers including even ,

members of the legislature Attempts were made t o under .

mine the soldiery O n the eve of a revolt the Directory

.
, ,

May 1 0 1 7 9 6 seized the leaders and sent them before a

, ,

special High Court of Justice to be tried for treason A .

few months later September 7 1 7 9 6 a remnant o f the

, , ,

Equals again tried to foment insurrection but the arm y ,
 THE RIS E OF NAPOLEON 1 73

remained loyal The High Court o f Justice and a M lit a r y

.

Comm i ss i on ( for the September cases ) acted expeditiously .

Thirty four were executed ; thirty three sentenced to trans

- -

o r t a t i on ; and the remainder acquitted The last case was

p .

disposed o f by the end of April 1 7 97 ,

The Directory suff ered too from schism among its own
, ,

members Three o f the ve Directors represented the

.

Conventionalists or Revolutionists Their intention was

, .

to continue the Revolution by progressive legislation in

internal a ffairs and by aggressive war upon foreign powers
, .

Their policy was inuenced by self interest f o r any decided -

,

reaction throughout the country would imperil their posi

tions and even their lives The Constitutionalists o n the .
,

other hand comprising two members o f the Directory

, ,

Carnot and Barth e lemy believed that the Revolution ,

should be regarded as h aving ended with the Constitution

o f 1 79 5 . Th eir policy was to establish a well organized -

government acceptable to the people to remedy r ev o l u ,

t i o n a r y mistakes and above all to bring the foreign war

,

to an honorable close as soon as possible .

The division in th e Directory was reected in the legis

la t u r e
. O wing to the decree of the Convention that t wo
thirds of its members should be elected to the ne w legisla
ture the Conventionalist o r Revolutionist group had a
, , ,

strong majority at rst With the successive elections by

.

thirds as provided by the constitution the Conventionalists

, ,

lost their majority for the country as a whole was heartily

,

in favor of an end o f the Revolution and o f foreign wa r .

The crisis came w ith the elections o f the spring o f 1 7 97 .

The 2 1 6 Conventionalists due to retire stood for re election ,

but only 1 1 gained seats The legislature therefore had a

.
, ,

majority o f Constitutionalists and the Constitutionalists ,

planned to gain control of the Directory .

The Conventionalist Directors decided to take forcible

steps to perpetuate the power of their faction Gathering .

on the night of September 3 1 7 9 7 they prepared a proclama , ,

1 74 I
TH E H S TOR Y OF E UROPE

tion announcing that a great Royalist conspiracy had been

unearthed Early September 4 they arre sted Barth e lemy
.

and attempted to arrest Carnot but Carnot escaped to ,

Switzerland Troops under one o f N apoleon s generals

.

,

Au ger ea u who was released by N apoleon for the purpose

, ,

marched to the legislature and arrested a number o f the

constitutionalist deputies The remaining m embers o f the .

legislature passed a decree September 8 1 7 9 7 annullin g the , ,

elections of over 1 50 constitutional deputies and summarily

punishing by order f or transportation 5 0 more The coun .

try a t large surprised and unprepared made no resistance

, , .

The trumped -u p charge of a Royalist conspiracy deceive d

many for none desired the restoration of the monarchy
, .

The Conventionalist Directors established for themselves a

dictatorship as absolute as any in history They quickly .

replaced Carnot and Barth e lemy by Conventionalists ; ap

pointed new local agents in districts too pronounc ed ly Consti
t u t i o n a l ; and by wholesale deportations lessened the number I

.

of their enemies September 4 5 1 797 marks the real end , ,

of the government under the Constitution o f 1 7 9 5 although ,

the Directors remained in power for two years longer .

B . TH E DI RE C T OR Y , 1 7 9 7- 1 7 9 9

Misgovernment o f France durin g these two years p re p ared

the way as nothing else could have done for the overthrow of
the Directory With all power in their hands
. for the
legislature became a m ere puppet the Directors f ailed to
relieve do m es tic conditions and brought on a new f oreign
wa r . We can nd few parallels in history to the criminal
inefciency and corruption of the Directors during the two
years f rom 1 7 9 7 to 1 7 9 9 .

Since they failed to extricate the country from its nancial

di fculties they accepted the odium of repudi ation In
, .

February 1 7 9 7 before the cou p d eta t they repudiated
, , ,

a s s i gn a ts o f a nominal value of forty billion francs Three .

weeks after th e cou p d eta t th ey paid o ff two thi rds o f the
 THE RI SE OF N APOLEO N 1 75

huge remaining debt by the issuance of a new paper money ,

called bons but the bons straightway fell to thirty
,

per cent of their face value and later to three per cent , .

The government continued to roll up decits at the rate of

twenty v e million francs a month Metallic currency had
-
.

been forced o u t o f the country by the cheap paper money .

In many sections the poor people had to resort to primitive

,

methods o f barter and exchange to obtain the necessities o f

life
.

Suspicion was aroused too of the honesty of the Di r ec

, ,

tors and o f their agents suspicion j ustied by subsequent

researches The Directors especially Barras and R e wb ell
.
, ,

were the centers of a dissolute group Just h o w much of the .

spoils turned in by Napoleon went into the Directors pock
ets we shall never kn ow for the agents o f corruption kept
,

no books O ne o r two instances however indicate that

.
, ,

the total amount was great Information leaked o u t that .

the Portuguese mi nister had paid to Barras and R ewb el l

in 1 7 9 7 to hasten the treaty o f peace Lord .

Malmesbury negotiating f o r peace was invited t o pay

, ,

to assist the negotiations A s rumors o f such .

corrupt bargains s p read the Directors o f course were more

, , ,

an d more discredited .

Their incapacity in forei gn affairs however was more , ,

directly the cause o f their overthrow After the peace of .

Campo Formio ( O ctober 1 7 1 79 7 ) Napoleon returned to ,

Paris ( December 5 1 79 7 , He was appointed commander

i n -chief of the army against England and laid plans secretly ,

to strike at the English power in the far east by an expedi

tion through Egypt In May 1 7 9 8 he set sail with the
.
, ,

pick of the French army The peace h e had made h o w. ,

ever stopped at once the ow of treasure which had f o r

,

two years maintained the government Though the Di r ec .

tors were glad f o r political reasons to see him go they had ,

to nd a means of replenishing the empty treasury Their .

sole scheme was t o continue the creation o f republics in the

1 76 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

name o f liberty and then to mulct these republics Hence

, .
,

through 1 79 8 the Directory used its armies to overthrow

,

e x isting governments create nominal republics and extract

, ,

huge sums from these helpless states In January 1 79 8 .

, ,

they intervened in Holland established the Batavian R e ,

public and forced the helpless Dutch t o pledge the support

,

of French troops and the payment o f

guilders ( 0 . In the spring of the same year they ,

compelled the Cisalpine Republic to sign a treaty agreeing

to support a French army of occupation of and to
keep mobilized an Italian army of A factional
quarrel in Switzerland gave excuse for French intervention

( January September after which the Directors
,

formed the Helvetic Republic forced it to enter an alliance ,

with France seized , francs in specie in the treasury ,

and dispatched a commissioner to levy further co n t r ib u

tions A riot in Rome caused the dispatch o f a French
.

army the capture of Rome the imprisonment o f the Pope

, , ,

the establishment o f a Roman Republic with the payment

of francs in specie large indemnities and mil , ,

lions o f francs worth of supplies Agents o f the Directors .

fomented rebellion in Piedmont and the King was f orced to

ee to Sardinia and abandon Piedmont to the French :
the booty there reached more than francs And .

at the end of the year N aples opposing the French in the , ,

Roman territories was quickly subdued its King forced to

, ,

ee to Sicily its name changed to the Parthenopean Repub

,

lic its country looted by French soldiers and its treasury

, ,

assessed sixty million francs Thus in o n e short year the .

Directors had used French armies to establish the Batavian ,

Helvetic Roman and Parthenopean Republics with huge

, , ,

levies in each case and to extract great assessments fro m

,

the Cisalpine Republic and from Piedmont .

Such policy however aroused again the resistance o f

, ,

Austria and enabled her to gain a powerful ally in Russia .

The Congress o f Rastadt opened in December 1 797 to , , ,

 TH E RI SE OF N APOLEO N 177

arrange terms O f peace between France and the Holy Roman

Empire w a s making little progress Austria was di s a p
, .

pointed for s h e hoped to use the Congress to revise in her

,

favor the terms of the Treaty of Campo Formio and to gai n

additional territory in Italy The determined tone of the .

French delegate s and the aggressions o f the French armies

, ,

balked Austria in her plans The Austrian government .

made representations to the Russians already hostile to ,

France because of the French seizure o f Malta June 1 798 , ,

by Napoleon o n his wa y to Egypt and received an im m e di ,

ate favorable reply Russian troops subsidized by England

.
, ,

began t o move through Galicia t o Austria s aid in July ,

1 79 8
. The information of this movement was carried to
th e Directors and brought from them immediate inquiries
and threats Negotiations dragged through the fall o f 1 7 98
. .

January 3 1 1 79 9 the Directors issued an ultimatum to the

, ,

Austrian government demanding the withdrawal o f the,

Russian troops A month later when no answer w a s r e

.
,

turned the French armies were thrown across the Rhine

,

and the War of the Second Coalition w a s begun ( March 1 ,

April 8 1 7 99 the Emperor of Austria summarily

, ,

dissolved the Congress o f Rastadt and annulled it s acts .

The immediate disasters t o French arms following the

outbreak o f war fatally undermined the already tottering
Directory The Archduke Charles o f Austria defeated
.

Jourdan at Stockach ( March 2 5 1 7 99 ) and forced the with ,

dr a wa l o f the French invaders t o the Rhine the Russians

and Austrians in Italy quickly cleared Italy in a series of
battles (AprilAugust the Cisalpine Roman and
, , ,

Parthenopean Republics ceased t o e xist and the French ,

troops were everywhere o n the defen s ive .

i . The C a m p a i gn i n E gy p t an d S yr i a , 1 7 9 81 7 9 9

In the meanwhile the one successful French general

, ,

Napoleon had been conducting a remarkable campaign in

,

Egypt The purposes of the Egyptian e xp edition as out

.
1 78 THE H STORYI OF E U ROPE

lined i n the decrees which Napoleon wrote f or the Directory

to sign are suf ciently startling to satisfy the most romantic .

To destroy the English power in the Mediterranean to ,

acquire control of the Red Sea to investigate the antiqui,

ties arts and natural resources of Egypt to construct a

, , ,

Suez canal here wa s a list o f objectives to ll m any

m onths of toil .

The eet which w a s to carry N ap oleon s ar m y o f
set sail from Toulon M ay 1 9 1 7 9 8 Thirteen ships -o f -the
, , .

line fourteen frigates an d nu m erous smaller wa r craft

, ,

safely convoyed the three h undred transports to Malta ,

the rst stopping place Here a S ham assault completed

.
,

what French gold had begun and the rst o f the important
,

strongholds in the Mediterranean fell to the Republic ( June ,

Tw o weeks later t h e eet came to anchor O ff A le x

andria and disembarkation o f the troops began N apoleon .

must have believed himself f avored by fortune for twice ,

his eet had narrowly escaped the Englis h squadron under

the redoubtable N elson sent into the Mediterranean for t h e
,

very purpose of destroying this menace to England s power

Within a few hours o f his landing Napoleon had seized ,

Alexandria and had dispatched Desai x toward Cairo a

, ,

hundred and twenty -v e miles distant The following day .

( July 3 ) Bonaparte followed with the main army after hav

ing dispatched a otilla up the Nile O nly once o n the .

march did the army encounter the Mamelukes but the ,

sufferings from heat and thir s t were terrible to the m en

accustomed to the temperate climate o f France .

Within sight of Cairo Napoleon encountered the armies

,

of Ibrahim and M urad drawn up on both banks o f

,

the N ile the former o n the right the latter o n the left
, , .

Since the French army was entirely on the left bank it h ad ,

only the army of Murad to contend with Against this the .

French divisions marched in great squares in echelon the ,

right leading The Mamel u kes launched a furious charge

.

against this leading wing but were halted by th e dev as t a t

 THE RI SE OF N APOLEO N 1 79

ing re of the Europeans and were forced back in disorder

into the waters o f the Nile A little hand -t o hand ghti n g .
-

in the streets of the city left Napoleon unquestioned victor

in this battle of the Pyramids Murad retreated up the .

Nile ; Ibrahim withdrew toward Syria ( July

Desaix immediately began his pursuit o f Murad while ,

Napoleon advanced eastward o n Ibrahim s track as far as

S a l a l i eh
. These operations were barely begun however , ,

when news came from the coast that Nelson had completely
destroyed the French eet in the battle o f the Nile (August
1, To heighten the gloom came the information that
Turkey had come to an understanding with England and ,

wa s preparing two armie s to drive the French out of Egypt ,

one at Rhodes the other in Syria T o the soldiers the

, .
,

army seemed doomed but their indomitable commander

,

was still far from defeat He saw that he must proceed at

.

once to destroy Turkey s armies before they could unite

against him Without a eet he could do nothing agai n st

.
,

Rhodes but Syria was open t o h im At once he began

, .

preparations and within a few months started into the desert

( January 3 1 ,

His army of Syria numbered only but it wa s ably

commanded O n February 2 0 it captured the fortress o f
.
,

El Arish and paroled about 1 5 00 prisoners O n March 7

, .
,

it successfully stormed Ja f fa taking some 2 000 prisoners , ,

among whom they found many who had been paroled at El

Arish Unable to guard the m feed them o r send them
.
, ,

back to Egypt Napoleon ordered the entire 2 000 to be shot

, .

The sentence was carried o u t and the imperturbable general ,

continued his advance .

Acre proved the stumbling block of the campaign Here .

the Turks and English commanded by Sir Sidney Smith, ,

an English naval commodore had mounted the guns o f two ,

frigates o n the walls o f the o l d mud fort Bitterly they .

defended it while waiting for the Turkish army in the eld t o

come to their rescue The French short o f artillery a t
.
, ,
1 80 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

tacked with their accustomed fury but were always at a ,

disadvantage O nce Napoleon r aised the siege while he

.

proceeded against the army of the Pas h a O f Damascus At .

Mount Tabor he de s troyed the hope o f t h e b eleaguered gar

rison (April 1 6 1 7 99 ) and turned once m ore to the siege o f
,

Acre Two o f the towers fell and in the ass aults which
.
,

followed the French too k an d held a p ar t o f th e w orks .

The remainder held rm h o w e v er and Napoleon seeing the

, , ,

enor m ous loss in men and time gave up the struggle He , .

had had news of the entrance of Naples into the war and a ,

return to Egypt seemed inevitable .

O n May 2 0 he began the weary 3 00 mile march back to

Egypt and twenty s ix days later entered Cairo with per
,
-

haps half of his army left He was j us t in ti m e to learn of

.

the landing at Aboukir o f the second Tu rkish army Desaix .

was ordered to evacuate upper Egypt and t h e other troops ,

were concentrated before the defenses o f A boukir In a .

furious assault which lasted two days the fort was taken ,

at enormous cost to the defenders only 2 000 o f the original ,

surviving .

This was Napoleon s last e xploit in E gy p t He had long

.

since determined to return to Europe and accordingly , ,

early in August wit h many of his leading o f cers he set sail

, ,

for France .

C . TH E FALL OF TH E DI R E C T O R Y

A s a result o f the Austrian successes and the proved in

competency of the government both in foreign and domestic
affairs the political turmoil in Paris was great May 1 6
, . ,

1 7 9 9 the Abb Siey e s was elected a Director

, Siey e s had .

long been one o f the most conspicuous m en in French public

life He had been in the Estates General had helped to
.
,

draft the Tennis Court oath and the rst Revolutionary

constitution had voted f o r the execution of the King and
, ,

had been a member of the great Committee of Public Safety

d u ring the Convention Yet h e was vain self-co n den t
.
, ,
 THE RISE OF N APOLEO N 181

and lacked force succeeding i n concealing his deciencies by

,

an air o f reserve and an appearance o f wisdom At the .

moment however he wa s con s idered by the people as the

, ,

o n e man capable o f saving the situation ; and he assumed

the leadership at once in the Directory Largely through .

hi s inuence t h e m ost unpopular Directors were induced

,

to resign (June 1 8 1 7 99 ) and their places lled by his

,

friends .

To save France however he recognized the need of a

, ,

competent general He therefore with the other Directors

.
, ,

prepared t o negotiate ( September 1 0 1 7 9 9 ) with the Turk ,

is h government for the return o f Napoleon and the French

ar m y and sent word t o Napoleon to this effect N apoleon
, .
,

however never received the message f o r he had already

, , ,

as we have s aid set sail f o r France He landed on the south

, .

coast O ctober 9 1 7 9 9 , .

N apoleon s appearance in Paris O ctober 1 6 1 7 9 9 was the

, ,

signal for a great p opular ovation Y et people did n o t .

dream of a dictator s h ip : they welcomed Napoleon as a

Republican general returned in time t o save the country .

Napoleon himself prepared to familiarize himself with the

political situation before taking any decisive step .

N apoleon could not have had any well -den e d plan o f

action wh en he rst reached Paris His b rother Lucien .
, ,

was th ere f ore o f the greatest assi s tance to him f o r L ucien ,

was President of the Council o f th e Five Hundred and in

touch with the political intrigues N ap oleon s most direct .

course was to ally himself with the leadin g faction and ride

with it to success in a cou p d eta t This course he followed . .

He f ound a colleague in Siey e s who him s elf a Director , , ,

w a s actually enga ged in an intrigue against the Directory

and t h e constitution h O p i n g to replace the existing system
,

with one evolved from his own f ertile brain The alliance .

between the two men was cemented in late O ctober The .

date for the coup d etat was set for November 9 1 7 9 9 The

, .

p osition of Lucien Bonaparte as President o f the Council o f

1 82 I
T HE H S TORY OF E U ROPE

Five Hundred and the prestige o f Siey e s and Napoleon

, ,

apparently guaranteed success .

The plan went through with scarcely a hitch November .

8 1 7 99 the necessary decrees proclamations pamphlets

, , , , ,

and other literature were ready for distribution Early .

November 9 the Council o f the Ancients inuenced by men

, ,

in the plot passed a decree t h at the meeting place o f the

,

legislature should be transferred to Saint Cloud ( a suburb

of Paris ) because o f the danger from a popular uprising in
Paris and that General Bon aparte should be given com
,

mand of troops in and about Paris to insure the safety o f (

the deputies This decree was read to the Council o f the

Five Hundred and that Council was immediately adj our ned
,

by Lucien Bonaparte before any question could be raised .

Siey e s Barras and o n e other Director resigned and the

, , ,

remaining two were kept under close guard at the Tuileries .

The following day N apoleon appeared in person before the

Council of the Ancients and made a confused s peech a n
n o u n ci n g the resignation o f the Directors and hinting at .

his o wn p urpose to save the country The Ancients were .

astounded but did nothing A few minutes later Napoleon

, .

entered the h all of the Council of the Five Hundred but ,

met with furious O pposition Th e deputies rose in a tumult .

and rushed at him crying Do wn with the Dictator , O ut
law him N apoleon was forced to retire in momentary
di s co m t u r e Lucien Bonaparte then saved t h e situation
. .

He refused to put to vote motions to outlaw h is brother ,

held the oor himself with a long speech to gain time and ,

nally left the chamber and addres s ed the troops outside in

ringing tones His speech and the appearance o f N apoleon
.

carried the day The grenadiers advanced a n d in a few

.

minutes cleared the hall Shortly afterwards the O b s equi ous

.

Ancients decreed the appointment o f Bonaparte Siey e s and , ,

Ducos as provi s ional Consuls pending the preparation of a

new constitution In the late evening a rump council.
,

composed o f a group of the former Council o f the Five

 THE RI SE OF NAPOLEO N 1 83

Hu n dred gathered under the leadership o f Lucien and in

,

do r s ed the decree o f the Ancients thus giving it a certain

,

constitutional authority which otherwise it would n o t have

had With t h is act the cou p d eta t w a s complete No
.

.

lives had been lost ; the plans o f the conspirators had s u c

cee de d. At A M November 1 1 Lucien Bonaparte
. .
, , ,

the Abb Siey e s and Napoleon drove back to Paris Napo

, ,

leon silent and wrapped in thought .

Unsuspected as the cou p d eta t had been it excited nothing

but approval in Paris and throughout Fran ce The u n .

popularity o f the Directory the renown o f Siey e s and Napo

,

leon the h O p e that now indeed the evil days o f the R ev o l u

,

tion were over ins p ired everyone to acce p t the chan g e with
,

enthusias m .
 C HA PTE R V III

THE C O N SU LATE , N OVEMB ER 1 799

DE C E MB ER 1 804

F OR T Y -FO U R days elapsed between the cou p d eta t of

November 9 1 7 9 9 and the organization o f a new govern

, ,

ment During this interval the three provisional consuls

.
,

Napoleon Siey e s and Ducos were intrusted with the

, , ,

powers o f the defunct Directory and were theoretically ,

assisted by t wo committees chosen by the former Council

of the Five Hundred and the Council of the Ancients In .

pursuance of their proclaimed purpose to organize order
in all parts of the administration to restore tranquillity at ,

home and to procure an enduring and honorable peace
, ,

these provisional c onsuls undertook a few urgent a dm in is

t r a t i v e reforms and h a s t en e d t h e i r work on the new con

s t it u t io n .

O f the three provisional consuls Siey e s was pre eminent

in civil fame Napoleon in military and Ducos in political
, , .

At the beginning of the Provisional Consulate the reputa ,

tion of Siey e s overshadowed that of his colleagues for ,

Ducos was not considered more than a politician and the ,

administrative genius o f Napoleon was as yet unkno wn .

Siey e s had good reason to expect that in the new govern

ment he would be the logical chief executive able to rely ,

upon the military ability of Napoleon to contribute to the

success of his government The few weeks of the Pro.

visional government s existence however changed the , ,

situation rapidly By mutual consent Siey e s took up the

.
,

task of framing the new constitution and Napoleon o f a d ,

ministering the government Napoleon s duties brought .

him prominently into the public eye He gained the credit .

for the wise and conciliatory measures decreed by th e

184
 THE C O N SU LATE 1 85

government His appointments to o f ce o f men o f recog

.

n i z e d ability irrespective o f previous factional af liations

, ,

revealed his broad minded political views His suppression

-
.

of the hated Law of Hostages whereby relatives of persons ,

implicated in royalist uprisings had been seized and held

by the government raised his reputation for j ustice His
, .

substitution of a xed war tax for the obnoxious forced -

loans gained him the condence of the banking and nancial

interests His prompt measures for the revision of the
.

tax lists and f o r the collection o f arrears gave proof o f his

soun d national policy Rumor magnied his wisdom In
. .

the popular mind he supplanted Siey e s as the logical

,

candidate f o r chief executive in the new government .

I Within the Provisional Consulate a similar transformation

took place Invited informally at the beginning o f its
.

m eetin gs to take the chairman s seat Napoleon soon estab ,

lish ed his ascendancy over the older and ( in civil af fairs )

more experienced Siey e s When it became evident in the
.

later stages of the discussion o f the proposed constitution

that he rather than Siey e s was t o be the chief executive ,

he wielded a determining inuence in molding the most

important part o f the document Siey e s had planned a .

chief executive to be known as Grand Elector whose

, ,

actual powers were small and whose prerogatives were ,

carefully limited o n every side : Napoleon ridiculed the

idea refusi n g as he said to be kept as a fatted h o g
, , , .

Napoleon planned instead a strong executive w h o should ,

have the power o f appointment to the chief legislative

council to all o fces in the army navy and diplomatic
, , ,

branch wh o should designate ministers responsible indi

,

vidually to him who should have the right with the advice
,

of his picked legislative to conduct foreign aff airs The .

theorist Siey e s w a s forced to yield before the practical

Napoleon In its essential feature i e the nature and
. , . .
,

powers of the chief executive the new constitution was ,

Nap oleon s work : in the remaining features the power o f

,
1 86 I
THE H S TORY OF E U ROPE

the electorate and the formation o f the legislative branch ,

the document was the creation of Siey e s .

Realizing the restlessness in political circles pending the

production o f the new constitution Napoleon hurried it ,

through the nal stages once he had gained his point with
,

respect to the chief executive As nally drafted the

.
,

document gave universal suf frage but limited the voters

,

in their elective powers It provided ( 1 ) that the

.

voters in France should have merely the right to choose

o n e tenth of their number as candidates for o fce
in the communes nal appointment from these
,

to be made by the chief executive ; then ( 2 ) that these

should in turn elect one tenth of their number
as candidates for O f ce in the Dp ar tem en ts nal ,

appointment likewise to be made by the chief executive ;

and lastly ( 3 ) that these
, should choose o n e tenth
of their number (5 000) a s candidates for t h e national
l egislative bodies ( except the Council of State and the
Senate ) nal appointment to the lower houses to be m ade
,

from these 5 000 by the Senate Fo r the formation of the

.

legislative branch the proposed constitution provided four

,

houses or chambers : ( 1 ) The Council o f State whose

, ,

members were designated by the Chief Executive having ,

the power to initiate legislation ; ( 2 ) The Tribunate having ,

the power to discuss legislation ; ( 3 ) The Legislative body ,

having the power to vote upon legislation ; and ( 4 ) The

Senate whose members were appointed for life by the
,

chief executive having t h e power to conrm o r annul

,

legislation For the executive the constitution provided

.
,

a First Consul and two Associate Consuls with a ten -year

term the First Consul to have the large powers demanded
,

by Napoleon as outlined above and the Associate Consuls

,

to have merely advisory functions It is easy to under .

stand that from his extensive powers of appointment as

well as his independent prerogatives the First Consul was , ,

in the organization outlined above the actual head and ,

 TH E C O N SU LATE 187

soul of the entire government Indeed he held m ore .

,

authority than Louis XVI under the Constitution o f 1 7 9 1 .

He was the legitimate successor o f the Committee o f Public

Safety with its autocratic powers of the Reign o f Terror .

The constitution was promulgated December 15 1 7 9 9 , ,

and the people invited to register their approval or di s a p

proval by vote Popular enthusiasm for Napoleon w h o
.
,

was named as First Consul swept the country O ver , .

votes were recorded in favor o f the new co n s t i t u

tion and a beggarly 1 5 00 against it By decree Christmas
,
.

Day was s e t f o r the in auguration of the new government ,

and Napoleon as First Consul and Cambac e r e s and Lebrun ,

as Associate Consuls were then inducted into o f ce

, .

A . TH E C ONS U LAT E AN D I TS P RO B LEM S

Napoleon intended to have the date o f the inauguration
o f the new government Christmas Day Peace on earth
, , ,

good will toward men accepted as signicant He
, .

appreciated the fact that the success o f his rule over France
depended upon bringing the war to a speedy and honorable
conclusion However favorable the rst e e ct of his
.

conciliatory political measures and his wise nancial and

economic reforms he knew that the French people desired
,

peace His failure to bring peace would loose all the h o s

.

t ili t y of opposing factions and his reforms and his govern,

ment would quickly be dissolved He therefore signalized .

his accession to power by addressing personal letters De ,

cem b er 2 6 1 7 9 9 to King George III of England and Em

, ,

p er o r Francis I o f Austria in which he deplored the miseries

,

o f war and expressed his o w n earnest desire to enter upon

negotiations for peace These letters constituted an adroit

.

political move : if they resulted in a favorable peace ,

France would applaud ; if his enemies rej ected his over

tures France would lay the blame f o r the continuation o f
,

the w ar upon England and Austria and not upon h is ,

government .
1 88 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

Napoleon s letter was not received well by Pitt and his
ministry The English government had no assurance of
.

the enduring power of the newly -instituted consulship

in France ; the military situation with the French forced ,

o u t of northern Italy besieged at Malta and hopelessly

, ,

isolated in Egypt pro m ised substantial gains in the near

,

future Hence though the war had become unpopular

.
,

and a strong group in Parliament favored meeting halfway

Napoleon s prof fer Pitt and his ministers determined upon
,

a resolute refusal to treat Their reply however was need.

, ,

lessly impolitic After reciting the cause of the war and

.

laying all the blame upon France the note went on to state ,

His Majesty cannot place his reliance on the mere renewal

of general professions o f pacic dispositions The .

best and most natural pledge o f its reality and per m anence
would be the restoration o f that line o f princes which for ,

s o many centuries maintained the French nation in pros

p er i t y at home and in consideration and respect abroad .

This mention of the restoration o f the Bourbons deepl y

incensed the French people and enormously strengthened
the position of Napoleon He could henceforth not only .

blame England for the continuance of the war but picture ,

her as ghting for a Bourbon restoration .

The Austrian reply to Napoleon s note was more m oderate

in tone but still was non -committal in substance Although

, .

Francis would have welcomed peace his armies had pushed ,

through Italy to the very boundaries of France and he was ,

in no mood t o make concessions When therefore Napoleon .

, ,

deni tely o er ed to discuss peace on the b asis o f the treaty

of Campo Formio the Austrian government ref used to
,

pursue the subj ect without agreement with its allies a

courteous method o f breaking o ff negotiations .

Napoleon had at no time deceived himself as to the pros

peets of the acceptance of his peace moves He had how .
,

ever accomplished his purposes All the negotiations had

, .

been conducted on his part with ostentatious publicity so ,

 THE C O N SU LATE 1 89

that France as a whole might be convinced of his pacic

intentions The blame for the continuance of the war he
.

could n o w logically lay upon his enemies He proceeded .

,

therefore coincident with his reforms in internal a dm in i s

,

t r atio n
,
to lay his plans and make his dispositions f o r a
decisive campaign against Austria .

B . MAREN G O AN D H O H E NL I N D E N

When the First Consul turned from throwing the dip lo

m atic burden of proof o n his enemies to the armies which
had now to take up the discussion he found in the eld ,

about men Brune commanded an army o f o ccu

.

p atio n strong in the Netherlands ; Moreau with

was arrayed against the Austrians along the upper
Rhine from Schaf fhausen to Strassburg ; and Mass e na with
confronted a greatly sup erior Austrian force in
Piedmont His O pponents commanded by h I el a s num
.
, ,

bered men distributed at various points throughout

North Italy Tuscany and the Romagna O n the Rhine
, , .
,

Kray opposed equal forces to those o f Moreau .

The Rhenish frontier was the keynote t o the Austrian

situation for here o n the most direct road to Vienna lay
,

the bulk of the Emperor s forces Napoleon s rst plan .

contemplated the formation o f an army o f the Reserve

which he should unite with M o r ea u s advance o n the Aus

trian left wing from Schaf fhausen cut o ff the army from its ,

communications and end the war by a single campaign

, .

Unfortunately he had in Moreau a general whose quality

,

di er ed greatly from his own Jealousy o f Bonaparte and
.

caution for his o wn safety caused the lesser general to

oppose the greater so consistently that the plan of a decisive
campaign in Germany had to be abandoned The resist .

ance to his plans irked Napoleon but his position as yet ,

was t o o insecure t o warrant a summary dismissal o f a general

so inuential as Moreau Accordingly Italy was chosen
.
,
1 90 T HE H S TOR Y I OF E UROPE

as the eld o f operations Here the consul knew he would .

have a free hand .

Slowly but surely the situation in Piedmont was becoming

,

impossible for the French Mass ena s army now divided had .

, ,

been forced back toward the Gulf o f Genoa until o n April ,

1 9 1 800 Mass e na with about

, , men was blockaded
in the city of Genoa while Suchet in command o f the left, ,

win g 1 0 000 strong had been forced b ack to the line o f the
, ,

Var Superior forces opposed them both and it became

.
,

apparent to everyone that if they were to be saved help ,

must come and come quickly

, .

Napoleon s original intention had been to debouch o n to
the plains of Lombardy from the S p l ii gen pass north of
Lake Como and to cut the Austrian communications with
Mantua well to the east but as M ass ena s need became

more and more urgent he shif ted his point o f crossing ,

westward until he had chosen the great St Bernard as his .

principal route Toward this point he began moving his

.

Army o f the Reserve stron g) early in May To

augment this force he ordered M o n cey s corps o f

to be detached from Moreau and to j oin the Army o f the ,

Reserve in Lombardy by a march over the St Gothard pass . .

The First Consul forbidden by the constitution from com

,

m anding an army in th e eld le f t Paris secretly to take ,

charge o f the expedition which he felt could succeed only

under his personal direction U nder him were Berthier .

as Chief-o f -Sta ff Lannes as advance guard commander

, ,

Murat with the cavalry reserve and Victor and Du h es m e ,

commanding corps .

With great toil his advance guard crossed the snow and
ice of the great Saint Bernard o n May 1 5 and immediately ,

began the descent to the plains of Piedmont Halfway down .

the valley the little fortress of Bard perched high on the

, ,

cli ffs threatened to halt the entire army But at the end
, .

of the second day a tortuous path across the mountain had

,

been discovered and over this precipitous route went

,
 THE C ON SU LATE 1 91

cavalry and in f antry alike leaving a division to reduce the

,

troublesome fortress This latter task w as not a ccom

.

l i s h e d for two weeks and as a consequence only such ar

p ,

tillery as could be slipped through B ard at night j oined

Napoleon f o r immediate use .

Meanwhile Lannes had arrived at the fork of the way

, ,

from which led the road to Turin and that to Milan To .

p ersuade M elas that an immediate advance on Turin wa s

to be looked f o r Napoleon ordered Lannes forward o n the
,

Turin road while his main army pushed on rapidly to

,

Milan This latter move ap pears as a direct aban don m ent

.

o f the b eleaguered garri s on in Genoa but it was not m ade ,

without cogent reasons A t Milan the Consul knew he .

,

would capture arms and supplies he would unite M o n cey s ,

corps from Germany with his army and he would secure ,

for himself a new line o f retreat by way of the St Gothard .

pass Moreover he did not mean only to save Mass ena ;

.
,

h e meant to destroy Melas O n Jun e 2 the French army .

,

entered M ilan pushed the A ustrians in Lombardy acros s

,

the Adda o n the 6 t h united with Moncey and at once

, ,

p res s ed southward to secure the cro s sings o f the P0 .

The A ustrian commander awakened but s lowly to the

true situation He was incredulous when told that an
.

entire army had crossed the Saint Bernard and began a ,

rather leisurely concentration o f h is forces He was loat h .

to withdraw the troops from before Mass ena a n d Suchet at

the moment when success was in sight His O pposition to .

Lannes feint toward Turin was n o t spirited f o r he felt that

,

if the French did come over the A lps the crossing m us t ,

neces sarily be by way of the more accessible Mt Cenis .

pass And he was encouraged in this belief by the timely

.

arrival at Mt Cenis o f Th u r r e a u whom Napoleon had dis

.

patched with about 4 000 men to create that very idea in

his opponent s mind
.

Even when the true situation was no longer hidden f rom

hi m M elas might have saved hi m self by vigorous m e a s u res
, .
1 92 I
THE H STORY OF E U ROPE

But his orders for a concentration near Alessandria were

delayed in arriving at their destinations ; O tt bes i eg i ng ,

Genoa delayed two days to receive Mass ena s surrender ;

,

and E l s n it z retiring from before Suchet was so harassed

, ,

by that enterprising soldier that less than half o f his army

reached the rendezvous O nly when Mass ena had been .

allowed to march out with the honors of war en route for

Nice di d O tt move northward to seize the points of im
,

portance o n the Po ( June 6 ,

He was t o o late Already Lannes and Victor had crossed

.

near Stradella to the right bank o f the river and were

marching rapidly toward Alessandria followed by M u rat ,

who had crossed at points farther east At Montebello .

,

t h e two forces came into contact and the Austrian s fell

back in all haste to Alessandria (June 9 Napoleon s ,

generals reinforced by the arrival of Desaix from Egypt

, ,

pushed o n to Casteggio O n the right bank o f the Po .

,

Moncey kept Melas from attempting a dash around the

right ank In eastern Lombardy Du h es m e was forcing
.
,

the f o e toward the Mincio The Austrian communications .

were completely severed ; they must now either ght o r

retire o n Genoa To prevent this latter contingency
.
,

N apoleon wh o had pushed forward to the Bormida River

, ,

on June 1 3 dispatched Desaix with one division towards

,

Rivolta in search of information In Des a ix s absence the .

blow fell .

M elas made desperate by his situation had determined

, ,

on battle and on the morning o f June 14 crossed the B ormida

,

to meet Bonaparte s leading unit s o n the plains o f Marengo .

The advantage wa s all with Melas f o r he numbered ,

to N apoleon s The brunt of the battle was borne
by Victor and Lannes whose line s were steadily pushed
,

back by the superior numbers attacking them Napoleon .

was soon convinced that Melas entire army was O pposing
him and threw in the single division he had held as a reserve .

Hastily he sent couriers to Desaix but with little h O p e of ,

 Vi l l an o va

ro
o B a b tt a

La n n e s
Ke l l e r m ann
 THE C ON SU LATE 1 93

his general s arrival By mid -afternoon the A ustrians
.
,

conceived of the battle as won Their solid columns were .

pushing steadily forward against the disordered French ,

and their general returned to Alessandria to write the

dispatches telling o f his victory .

Then came Desaix His perfectly f ormed lines struck

.

the head of the hostile columns and though they lost their ,

valiant general they checked the onslaught At the same

, .

m oment Marmont on the right opened a vicious cannonade

, ,

and the younger Kellermann launched a cavalry charge which

struck the amazed Austrians midway o f their left ank .

The shock w as too great to be sustained They wavered .

,

broke and streamed away to Alessandr ia in hopeless

,

disarray .

The next morning Melas dazed by a defeat wh ich he

, ,

could n o t understand signed a truce by which he agreed to

,

retire to the line o f the Mincio The triumphant Napoleon .

,

although he had not destroyed his O pponent by his s plendid

victory at Marengo had rendered him impotent and was
, ,

ready to return to Paris .

Meanwhile M oreau had assisted Bonaparte s m ore
,

brilliant maneuvers by well conducted O perations in the

-

Rhine country The battle of M o s ski r ch in May 1 8 00

.
, ,

and that of H Och s t adt in June had kept Kray fully occupied , .

But the time o f M o r e a u s greatest feat o f arms was not yet

come A truce was instituted in June which lasted until

.

November Dur ing the cessation of hostilities Kray was

.

replaced by the Archduke John When t h e war was r e .

newed activities began both in Germany and Italy but this

, ,

time despite sharp skirmishes on the Mincio Italy wa s to ,

be the secondary theater of operations Interest now .

centered in the territory about the Inn River .

The Archduke John began a bold o ffensive hoping to ,

take the scattered forces o f M oreau by surprise His .

maneuver o f crossing the lower Inn and passi n g around

M o r ea u s left in such fashion as to isolate hi m ca m e to a

O
1 94 THE H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

halt in the face o f incle m ent weather and impassable roads .

M oreau wh o was determined to retrieve his mistake o f

having allowed himself to be caught napping kept moving ,

in spite of all di fculties and on December 3 encountered ,

the f o e in the forest o f Hohenlinden .

The blow which the French general delivered was sudden

and decisive While he engaged the head o f the Austrian
.

columns in resolute fashion he dispatched o n e corps to,

attack their left ank and rear This corps although it .

,

was itself cut in two by a chance -met Austrian column ,

nevertheless kept bravely on and accomplished its mission

First the baggage and artillery trains were captured and ,

then an attack was begun o n the rear of the Austrians ,

already smartly assailed by M o r ea u s frontal attack There

.

could be but o n e outcome to such an encounter and night ,

fall o f the short winter day s a w a confu s ed retreat from a

eld where the Aust rians had left ten thousand pri s oners
and as many dead .

Hohenlinden completed what Marengo began The .

second coalition was dead T h e armistice of Steyer o n

.
,

December 2 5 1 800 terminated the actual ghting and the

, ,

treaty of Lun eville v e weeks later brought peace

, , .

C . NA P OL E ON I N I N T ER NA TI O NA L DIP LOMA CY

With peace negotiations following Marengo and Hohen

linden Napoleon made his appearance upon the stage of
,

European politics as an actor of the rst importance When .

he arranged the treaty o f Campo Formio he was

m erely a general of the French Republic acting as his gov

ern m en t s servant ; when he administered northern Italy ,

his work was in a relatively limited theater ; when he

governed Egypt he ruled an inferior population in a distant
,

country ; but in the negotiations with Austria in th e winter

of 1 800 1 801 he was head of the French state and was
,

negotiating upon aff airs a ffecting the greater part of western

Europ e I nternational diplomacy had long been as we
. ,
 THE C ON SULA TE 1 95

have said th e game o f p rinces ; but fro m hi s rst ap pear

,

ance this Corsican interloper played the game a s if to the

purple born .

He was greatly aided by his foreign mi ni s ter Ta l ley r a n d , ,

another o f the remarkable gures o f this remarkable epoch .

Ta lley r an d was born in Paris in 1 7 5 4 the scion o f an ancient ,

and powerful family A childhood fall had s o crippled him

.

that the usual line o f noble advancement the army was , ,

closed to him His fami ly therefore directed his studies

.
, ,

f o r the church At the outbreak o f the Revolution he w a s

.

Bishop o f Autun and was cho s en the representative o f the

,

clergy o f h is diocese t o the Estates General The world .

o f politics proved s o much more attractive to him than h is

prospect s in the church that two years later ( 1 7 9 1 ) he

resign ed his Bishop s see and sought employment in di

p l o m ac
.
y After ve years o f vicissitude at o n e time on ,

special mission to London at another ( it is reported ) sell

,

ing buttons on the streets o f New York to make a living ,

he was appointed by the inuence of Barras the same

man wh o so advanced Napoleon s fortunes
minister of
foreign affairs There h e remained for three years gaining
.
,

valuable exp eriences and following the prevailing custom

of lining his pockets with bribes When he realized the .

depth o f unpopularity into which the Directory had sunk ,

he resigned hi s post ( 1 7 99 ) and associated h imself though ,

in a minor capacity with the conspiracy o f Siey e s and

,

Napoleon He was n o t at once appointed mini s ter o f

.

foreign a ffairs during the provisional consulate for the taint ,

of h is reputation for of cial corruption and private im

morality made him undesirable In December however .
, ,

the new government needing badly the benet of his ex

,

p er i en c e reinstated him in his old o f ce and Napoleon as

, ,

First Consul continued him there For diplomacy under .

Napoleon Talleyrand w a s well suited He was unemo

,
.

t i on a l and cynical thoroughly familiar with diplomatic

,

form s and procedure unscrupulous and endowed with a

, ,
1 96 THE H S TORYI OF E UROPE

philosop h ic ability to detach himself from the e v ent o f th e

mo m ent and discern the general trend of a ffairs He had .
,

withal a genuine love of France and sought according to

,

his understanding to advance her interests The close .

alliance between him and Napoleon formed in the winter ,

of 1 7 99 1 8 00 continued until the ambitions of the con
,

q u e r o r passed the bounds of what Talleyrand believed to

be e xp ediency : then 1 807 Talleyrand left ofce and with
, ,

calm cynicism watched the s uccessive stages of th e E m

p ero r s do wn f all

.

i . Au s tr i a

Though Austria s army in I taly was shattered at Marengo ,

Francis waited until after the disa s ter o f Hohenlinden ( De

c em b er 3 1 800) before agreeing to treat for peace i n dep en d
,

ently o f England In the negotiations it was understood

.

that the terms of Campo Formio would hold s o far as

in Italy was concerned so that the discu s sions ,

turned mainly o n th e question o f Germany Austria wa s .

in no condition to resist N apoleon s demands She pro

.

tracted negotiations h owever until February 1 8 01 thus

, , , ,

living up to the letter O f the agreement with England under

which s h e had been receiving heavy money subsidies The .

nal terms signed at Lun e ville February 9 1 801 provided :

, , ,

( 1 ) the boundaries in Italy to be as determined by the treaty

of Campo Formio ; ( 2 ) the cession to France o f Belgium ,

Luxemburg and the German districts o n the west bank o f

,

the Rhine ; ( 3 ) the co m pen s atjgri of the dispossessed Ger

man p nees to be m ade by the Holy Roman Empire subject
_

to the approval of the French government The Aiis t r i an .

diplomat who signed the treaty referred to its conditions

as terrible : the French people were elated Had Na .

p o leo n been defeated at Marengo he and his government ,

would have been overthrown : the indisputable triumph .

o f the Peace of Lun e ville secured his hold on po w er .

 11 . Gr ea t B r i tai n

One important enemy still remained Great Britain .

At the moment however prospects brightened for Na

, ,

o l e o n in this contest also Pitt had left o ff ice in February

p .
,

18 01 because o f his failure to obtain concessions which h e

,

h ad pledged to Ireland and had been s ucceeded by the ,

acknowledgedly weak Addington Ministry Furthermore .

,

British aggressive measures in seizing contraband in neutral

bottoms had caused the formation o f a Northern Maritime
League ( December 1 6 comprising Russia Sweden
, , ,

and Denmark pledged to resist by force such seizures It

, .

looked therefore as though Great Britain under a weak

, , ,

government would be f orced into war against France Russia

, , ,

Sweden and Denmark

, truly a formidable coalition .

At the critical time h owever Great Britain w a s saved

, ,

by two events : the assassination o f the Russian Czar ;

and Nelson s naval victory at Copenhagen The Czar

.

Paul who succeeded Catherine the Great upon her deat h

,

in 1 7 9 6 quickly alienated by his mad conduct the most

,

important elements in his empire In March 1 8 01 a group .

, ,

o f nobles brutally assassinated him and the throne passed ,

t o his s o n Alexander O ne o f Alexander s rst steps was

.

to reverse h is f ather s anti British policy especially for the

-
,

sake of the much -needed British trade Russia and Great .

Britain quickly a greed Great Britain yielding her most

,

exorbitant demands ; a n d Russia thereupon resumed her

former attitude o f neutrality In April 1 801 t h e British . , ,

govern m ent treating the declarations o f the Northern

,

Maritime League as equivalent to wa r sent Nelson against ,

the Danes In a most daring and spectacular battle

. ,

Nelson sailed into the harbor o f Copenhagen and destroyed

the entire Danish eet (April 2 The defection o f ,

R ussia and the loss o f Denmark s navy broke up the Mari

ti me League France was again left alone to struggle

.

against Great Britain .

198 TH E H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

Duri ng the summer the British pushed O perations against

th e only French force they could reach that in Egypt .

Landing an army o f in March the British proted ,

by French errors in dispositions captured the bulk of the ,

French army in Cairo June 2 7 1 801 and the remainder , ,

in Alexandria August 3 0 1 801 Inasmuch as Malta had , .

surrendered the preceding September all the French colonies ,

and those o f France s allies had been captured French

commerce had long been swept from the seas and the people ,

of Great Britain were sincerely desirous of peace the ,

Addington government sa w no reason for continuin g the

war .

Preliminaries o f peace providing for the cession o f Ceylon

,

and Trinidad to Great Britain but not touching upon the

continental situation were signed in London O ctober 1
, ,

1802 After long delay the nal peace the Treaty o f Amiens
.
, ,

was concluded March 2 7 1 8 03 , .

iii . H o l l a n d I ta ly
, , an d S wi tzer l a n d

In the meanwhile during the months following the Treaty

,

of Lun e ville N apoleon w a s busy with readjustments in the

,

minor republics dependent upon France He had it is .

,

true guaranteed their independence at Lun eville but he

, ,

did not choose to interpret such a guarantee a s preventing

him from intervention to change their forms of government .

The Batavian Republic ( a s Holland was called ) had been

in continual political and nancial di f culties since its
formation By 1 800 its government
. a Directory modeled
o n the French system was thoroughly discredited Na .

p o l e o n thereupon framed a new constitution creating an

Executive Council of twelve members with broad powers ,

and a unicameral legislature whose functions were limited

to the right to vote aye or no upon propositions laid
before it With callous contempt for the O pen or sullen
.

op p osition of the Dutch people he dissolved the existing ,

chambers disregarded t h e hostile vote of the ple b iscite

, ,
 TH E C ON S U LATE 199

and i mposed the constitution upon the free republic
(October ,

Plans f o r the reorganization o f the Cisalpine Republic

were perfected in Paris during the summer and autumn o f
1801 . The new constitution provided for a Republic
headed by a President and Vice President with a legislature -
,

of four chambers and a very limited electorate The

, .

name of the state w a s changed from Cisalpine Republic

to the Italian Republic ( later the Kingdom of Italy ) and the ,

presidency was o ff ered on the suggestion o f Talleyrand to

Napoleon himself By January 2 1 8 02 these arrange

.
, ,

m ents were completed Napoleon accepted the presidency .

and the independent state began i t s career .

At the same time N apoleon revised the con s titution o f

,

the Ligurian Republic changing the name to the Republic ,

o f Genoa and replacing the Directory and the two legislative

chambers with a Doge and a single chamber ( Senate ) .

At the end of June 1 8 02 this new government took of ce

, ,

without open O pposition .

One other important part o f north ern Italy Piedmont , ,

remained Since Marengo Piedmont had been occupied

.
,

by French troops By decree o f April 2 1 1 801 it was con

.
, ,

stituted a French military province In September 1 802 .

, ,

French civil admini s tration replaced the military the ,

country was divided into s i x departments according to the

French system and Piedmont became to all intents and
,

purpo s es a part of France .

In S witzerland republican agitation following the suc

,

cesses o f the French Revolution had resulted in a succession o f

cou p s d ta t o n e faction following another in its few months

o f s upremacy Napoleon was ready to sh to advantage

.

in these troubled waters His secret agents instigated .

political demands and engineered popular uprisings In

, .

the m idst o f civil w a r Napoleon directly intervened ( O cto

ber, Su mm oning the leading Swiss represent atives
to Paris he laid before t h em an Act of M ediation providing
,
'
 2 00 TH E H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

for a Helvetic Republic a confederation o f nineteen sovereign

,

cantons with a chief magistrate kno wn as the L a n da mm a n n

, ,

and a Federal Diet o f twenty -ve members The differin g .

factions accepted this Act o f Mediation February 1 9 1 803 , ,

and Switzerland The Helvetic Rep ublic ) forthwith

began its new r gime .

iv . Ger m a n y
The Treaty o f L un eville it will be remember ed had pro , ,

v i de d for the compensation of the dispos s essed German

princelings by the Holy Roman Empire subject to the a p

proval of France The lands f o r their compens ation were
.

gained by the arbitrary secularization of the many ch urch

territories A special Imperial Deputation was in session
.

from A ugust 1 8 02 to February 1 8 03 to consider the allot

, , , ,

ment of compensations but as the terms of the treaty b e

,

came kn own the claimants recognized that the determination

,

V o f boundaries w a s going to be made at Paris and not at

the session o f the Imperial Commission Hordes o f petty .

nobles moved in person upon Paris hoping by inuence or ,

bribes to add a few square miles to their allotment Ludi .

cr o u s stories were current o f how these supplicants haunted

Talleyrand s anteroom tendering gifts o f j eweled snuff

boxes fondling his poodle and playing b lin dm a n s buff and

, ,

drop the handkerchief with his favorite little niece .

In the end as usual the more p ower f ul states ab sorb e d

, ,

the greater amount o f the spoils A ustria Prussia Bavaria .

, , ,

Wii r t em b er g Baden increased and consolidated their terri

,

tories In addition to th e 9 7 separate G erman s tates o n

.

the we s t bank of the Rhine ceded to France the nal ,

distribution extinguished 1 1 2 other states of the Empire .

The Principal Decree of the Imperial Deputation signed ,

February 2 5 1 8 03 and ceremonially ratied by the Diet

, , ,

partitioned some square m iles of territory containing

people Though Germany reached the depths
.

of hu m iliation in such read j ustments at the v irtual dictation

 TH E C ON SU LATE 2 01

of a f oreign power the seeds o f regeneration were at the

,

same time so wn in the increase and consolidation of the

V
territories of the larger and more important states .

D NA P OL E ON
.

S D OM E S T I C P OL I CI ES
At the s ame time that he was winning diplomatic suc
cesses N apoleon was initiating and supervising a series o f
,

domestic reforms He found conditions in chaos The

. .

decade of disturbance which had preceded him had pro

f o u n dly affected matters political nancial economic , , ,

religious legal and educational

, , It was h is problem to.

re establish order Complete ins u rance of his position

.

wo u ld follow the double triumph of diplomacy abroad and

wisdom at home .

From the beginning o f his consulate N apoleon occupied ,

a favorable position for conciliating the political faction s

in France Reputed to belong to no f action himself he
.
,

was free to draw the ablest men from all parties and to
compose their differences by employing them in the great
work of reorganizing and administering the government .

Thi s policy he followed His appointments gratied the

.

s oun d elements o f French society for distinguished men ,

were dra wn from all ranks of life to prominent po s itions in

the government His mercy toward the migr s relieved
.

p eople of the fear of another reign o f terror such as a cc o m ,

p a n i ed the p revious strong revolutionary government .

His f riendly negotiations with the remainin g rebels in

B rittany and La Vend e e ( Chou a n s as they were called ) ,

speedily brought an internal peace such as had n o t been

kno wn since the days of Louis XVI With the greatest .

success N apoleon emphasized in these early days his desire

,

to conciliate all the factions in the distracted country .

With political conciliation came a plan for the reorganiza

tion of local government throughout France The R ev o l u .

tion had gone further than the average education of the

mass of the peop le warranted in placing the burden of
2 02 THE H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

local government in the hands of local authorities The .

result was inef ciency and confusion The authorities .

elected in the comm u n es and dep ar temen ts were lax in pur

pose and slipshod in method By a comprehensive law .

,

passed February 1 7 1800 a centralized system based on

, ,

the new revolutionary divisions of France Dp a r temen ts ,

A r r on di s s em en ts Com m u n es ) was established

, At the head .

of each division was an administrative of cial appointed

by and responsible to the central government o f France
the Prefect for the Dp a r tem en t the Sub Prefect for the ,
-

A r r on di s s em en t and the Mayor f o r the Comm u n e

, In each .

division w a s also an elected council with merely advisory

functions the General Council for the Dp a r tem en t the ,

District Council for the A r r on di s s em en t and the Municipal ,

Council for the Commu n e Realizing the urgency o f r e .

organization Napoleon appointed the Prefects under the

,

new s ystem March 2 1 800 As w a s his custom he chose

, .
,

men of ability and reputation whose energy soon brought ,

order from the universal chaos The people than kful for .
,

the re s umption o f normal conditions actually welcomed ,

the re establishment of centralized government though it ,

meant the end o f their direct elective power over the

administration .

Equally urgent was the need f o r nancial measures .

The decade of civil disorder and foreign war had broken

do wn utterly the nancial system of the country At .

Napoleon s accession to power the governmen t; ofcials ,

had not received their salaries f o r months The army was .

starving The administration was trying to pay its debts

.

with paper money which had no value except that it was

legal tender in payment of taxes The tax -arrears for the .

years 1 7 9 6 1 7 9 7 and 1 7 9 8 were huge and s o distracted

, , ,

was the country that a third o f the tax lists f o r 1 7 9 8 had

not been made out and the lists for 1 7 99 had scarcely been
,

considered For some years the Directory had existed

.

merely o n the money exacted from the countries dependent

 T HE C ON S ULATE 2 03

on France N apoleon thus faced small cash receipts great

.
,

dif culty o f collection and abnormal expenditures due to

,

war His nance minister M Gaudin was o f the greatest

.
, .
,

assistance to him in reforming the nances He had been .

a thorough conscientious upper clerk in the Treasury De

p a r t m en t up to the time he was elevated by Napoleon .

He and Napoleon worked together in the early days o f the

consulate several times a week over their problems After .

securing an advance of francs for the immediate

necessities of the government they proceeded to formulate ,

legislation f o r a sound nancial system By this legisla .

tion it was provided that a Director General of Taxes and -

an Inspector o f Taxes should s upervise the collection o f

taxes in each Dp a r tem en t and that 8 4 0 Controllers of
,

Taxes should be scattered through the A r r on di s semen ts to

see to the details o f assessment and payment At the same .

time ( January 1 800) t h e Bank o f France was organized

,

with a capital stock of franc s o f which the go v

ern m en t and t h e First Con s ul s ubscribed a part to be the ,

central authorized nancial agency in France With i n .

credible energy and ability th ese measures were carried

through The Directors General the Inspector s and the
.
-
, ,

Controllers were appointed the arrears o f taxes collected

, ,

the new tax lists made up The budget was mercilessly .

cut economy promised and order guaranteed The con

, , .

den ce o f the sound elements o f French society rapidly rose .

In th e autumn o f 1 8 00 the government began the pay m ent

,

of its annuity obligations in specie ; in 1 8 02 1 803 for the ,

rst time in a score o f years the nancial statement actually

,

showed a surplus instead o f a decit .

The nal indication o f the success of his nancial measures

led N apoleon to order certain public works of importance ,

works which had been much needed but which could n o t ,

be forwarded during the civil disorders of the preceding

decade Thus the repair of roads the con s truction o f
.
,

canals the b uildin g of bridges wer e n anced by the g overn

, ,
2 04 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

m ent A t the s a m e time M C h a p t a l the broad -minded

.
, .
,

and energetic M inister o f the Interior took steps to improve ,

and encourage French industry Through his foresight .

,

French manufacturers were made acquainted with the latest

improvements in machinery as in weaving cloth French , .

industries started o n a new career of progress and pros

p er i t y The moral effect of this resumption of the normal
.

activities o f the government and economic life was excellen t ;

m en welcomed the end of political agitation and the return
of regular conditions .

In hi s de s ire to prove himself the conciliator o f faction s ,

friend o f peace and restorer o f order and regularity Na

, ,

p o l eo n bent his best eff orts toward a s ettlement of the

religious problem From the time when the N ational
.

Assembly had passed the Civil Constitution o f t h e Cler gy

religious conditions had been in a turmoil For a .

decade the French people had not had the opportunity

,

to wors hip after the manner o f their innermost desires .

N apoleon recognized the force and sincerity o f the peopl e s

faith and therefore sought to make a pact with the Pope

,

by which the familiar ceremonies could again be celebrated

throughout Fr ance Negotiations were extraordinarily di f
.

cu l t for the Pope began by demanding the restitution of

,

all right s and properties the church had possessed prior to

the Revolution By threats of establishing a new church
.

( a s Henry VIII did in England ) and by making it evident ,

after hi s Victory of M ar e ngo how completely the Pope and

Rome were in his power N apoleon quickly induced a more
,

conciliatory s pirit In the end Napoleon reali z ing the

.
, ,

complete helplessne s s o f the Ponti ff practically dictated ,

h i s own terms These terms provided : ( 1 ) that the Roman

.

Catholic religion should be acknowledged that o f the great

majority o f French citizens ; ( 2 ) that its rite s might be
freely celebrated in France ( 3 ) that after the divi s ion o f
the country into new bishoprics the First Consul s hould ,

ap p oint the Bishop s the Bisho p s sho u l d b e con r m ed by

,
 T HE C O N SU LATE 2 05

the Pope and the Bis h ops s hould choose th e priests ; and
,

( 4 ) that the government should pay the clergy provided ,

that the clergy s h ould swear to support the constitution

of the Republic This Con cor da t as it w a s kn o wn concluded
.
, ,

September 18 01 gave to Napoleon the power h e desired

, ,

over the church in France At the same time it satised .

,

the people by permitting them again to enj oy the exercise

of their religion as sanctied by the Pope As time passed .
,

both the church and the government grew satised with

the provisions o f the Con cor da t .

It fell to Napoleon too to complete the codication o f

, ,

the laws of the country Every government in France .

during the Revolution had recognized the need o f such

codication but none had been able amid the political
,

strife and confusion to carry it through Napoleon infused .

the committee which h ad it under con s ideration with some

thing O f his o wn energy and efciency O f the 8 7 general .

sessions o f the committee he per s onally presided at 3 5 and

, ,

often assisted in discussion by his insight and his practical

suggestions The nal code completed in 1 8 04 and later
.
,

called the Code N a p olon proved one of the greatest and

,

m ost enduring o f the works of the Revolution In France .

,

the Code gave a unity to legal practice which had never

before been known In the variou s countries which at o n e
.

time o r another became subject to o r merged with France ,

the Code was adopted and became the foundation o f later

systems .

Thu s in these momentou s years of his consulate Na ,

p o l e o n steadily increased h is fame and strengthened his

po s ition He began with a purely military reputation
.

this he enhanced at M arengo He pledged himself to a .

policy o f peace h e redeemed hi s pledge at Lun e ville and

Amiens He promised the re s toration o f order in France
.

he fullled his promise by his settlement o f factional quarrels ,

by his reforms in the nances by his stimulation of industry ,

and p ublic w orks b y the Con cor da t an d t h e Code N a poleon

,

.
2 06 I
THE H S TORY OF E U ROPE

By each achievement he m ade himself more indispensable

to France for he and he alone was responsible for the
,

great and b en ecen t change which had come over the

country .

His successes inspired his ambition With the same clear .

insigh t with which he solved military political and economic , ,

problems he perceived the strength o f h is position in the

,

country and the opportunity for a rise to greater heights o f

personal glory Just after the Peace o f Amiens ( May 1 8 02 )
.
,

one of the legislative houses proposed t o accord to General

Bonaparte a signal pledge of national gratitude By .

the clever m aneuvers of Napoleon s friends this pledge
,

w a s m ade to consist o f an O ffer to make Napoleon consul

for life With aff ected modesty N apoleon replied that he
.
,

could not consider such a burden unless the people should

impose the sacrice Thereupon the Council of State
.

arranged a national referendum upon the question : Shall

Napoleon Bonaparte become Consul f o r life ? The grate
ful people recorded their approval o f the new government

by voting Yes to 8 3 74 N O Shortly after .

wards a decree o f the Senate bestowed upon hi m the right

,

to name his successor .

Napoleon s power was at this time imperial but he de ,

sired the name as well as the substance He had become .

obsessed with the idea o f gaining from a grateful people

the dignity o f Emperor The title would he may have .
,

thought raise him to equal dignity with the hereditary

,

monarchs of Europe and the establishment o f a dynasty

,

would assure the continuation of his reforms to France .

A great plot concocted by h is royalist enemies against his

life so stimulated the enthusiasm o f the people that the
w ay to the title was made easy During the late s ummer .

and autumn o f 1 803 this conspiracy w a s ri p ening George .

C a do u da l one of the irreconcilable Breton royalists crossed

, ,

the channel from England in August with drafts for a million

f rancs and W en t dir ect t o Pari s Gen eral Pich egr u fol
, .
 THE C O N SUL AT E 2 07

lowed C a do u da l in January hoping t o win over his comrade

,

in arms General Moreau , In the meanwhile Fo u ch

.
, ,

Napoleon s Minister of Police had the strings o f the plot in

,

his hands and merely waited to close the net upon all those
implicated The rst arrest was made at the end o f Janu
.

ary 1 8 04 ; others followed rapidly including Moreau

, ,

(February Pi ch egr u ( February C a do u da l himself

(March and the remainder within the ne xt few days .

Still the government was disappointed for it was under ,

stood that o n e o f the royal princes w a s implicated and no

prince had been arrested indeed the identity o f the prince ,

was n o t certain O n the night o f March 1 4 however

.
, ,

French troops crossed the boundary of Baden territory

and arrested t h e Du c d E n gh i en grandson o f the Prince de
'

Cond wh o had been living quietly near Strassburg A

, .

week later after a hasty court -martial the Duke was con
, ,

v i ct e d o f treason and shot ( March 2 1 The sensa ,

tion created by the arrest of the conspirators and the execu

tion o f the Duc d E n gh i en brought in its wake a wave o f

popular sympathy f o r Napoleon People believed that .

Great Britain and the royalists supported the conspiracy

in order to assassinate N apoleon ruin France and restore , ,

the o ld r gime Napoleon s friends cleverly worked upon

.

the enthusiasm for political ends April 2 3 1 804 a mem .

, ,

ber of the Tribunate moved that Napoleon should be

declared Emperor and that the Imperial dignity should

be declared h ereditary in h is family Carnot was the only .

man to speak and vote against the motion May 4 1 804 .

, ,

the Senate acting upon the Tribunate s resolution decreed : ,

Glory gratitude devotion reason the interests of the

, , , ,

State all unite to proclaim Napoleon hereditary Emperor
, .

A new constitution embodying these changes was approved

May 1 8 1 8 04 A plebiscite ordered to give national sanc
, .
,

tion to the changes was held during the summer and autumn
, ,

the results as announced November 2 6 being

Ayes against 2 5 6 9 Noes December 4 1 8 04 the . , ,
2 08 I
THE H STOR Y OF E UROPE

coronation ceremonies were h eld in the cathedral of N Ot r <

Dame At Napoleon s request the Pope w a s present b u 1
.
,

N apoleon himself took t h e crown from the Pope s hand :

and placed it upon his own head thus symbolizing the fac1
,

that he owed his cro wn to no superior power .

 CHA PTER IX

NAPOLEO N VER S U S TH E THI RD C OAL IT I O N

M ORE than a year before Napoleon assumed the imperial
dignity the relations between France and Great Britain
,

had been strained and b roken Though both countries had .

welcomed the peace it proved after all merely a truce

, .

To the series of pin pricks as those caused by attack and

,

co un ter -attack in the public press of the two countries and ,

by British h ospitality shown to French royalist migr s and

con spirators were added some substantial causes o f dispute
, .

Napoleon continued to enforce French s tatutes against the

importation of Briti s h goods and showed no disposition to ,

advance negotiations for a commercial treaty As French .

control extended in adj acent countries a s by the annexa

tion of Piedmont intervention in Switzerland and change

, ,

of government in Holland and northern Italy Briti s h ex

ports los t more and more markets until peace seemed as ,

costly and ruinous as war Again N apoleon sent ( Septem

.
,

ber 1 802 ) a trusted agent Colonel Sebas tiani to report

, , ,

upon condition s in Egypt His report printed in t h e of cial

.
,

M on i teu r January 1 3 1 803 stated the number of Turks and

, ,

Briti sh garrisoned in Egypt commented upon the suffering

,

and discontent among the natives and hinted at the pos ,

s ib i l it y of a resumption of Napoleon s eastern ambitions in

the words 6 000 French would be suf cient to conquer

Egypt . Napoleon o n h is part dwelt particularly upon
British delay in evacuating Malta according to the terms O f
the treaty Repeated demands upon Great Britain f o r the
.

fulllment of the treaty provisions were met by excuses

indeed the Addingt on Ministry fore s eeing war had deter
, , ,

mi ned not to leave Malta In the formal reception to the

.

r 2 09
2 10 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

diplo m atic body March 1 3 1 8 03 at the Tuileries N apoleon , , ,

created a scene by striding in anger to the British a m
b a s s a do r Lord Whitworth and indulging in a tirade against
, ,

Great Britain using such phras es as : , You want war do ,

you ! We have already fought f o r ten years do y o u want

to ght for another ten ? Treaties must be respected

Woe to those who do not respect them ! War was ; o f
cours e inevitable after such an episode Though two
, .

months of futile recrimination s passed before the declara

tion N apoleon began preparations at once He sold the
, .

vast territory of Louisiana ( which he had acquired from

Spain two years before ) to the United States for
francs He ordered an inspection and report
upon the harbors and ships o f Flanders and Holland He .

directed the purcha s e of vast quantitie s o f timber He .

caused plans to be drawn of a light draft a t b o a t suitable

for the transport of troops He began the concentration .

of troops at strategic points for initial operations against

Hanover and O tranto When Lord Whitworth nally de .

m a n de d his passports M ay 1 1 1 8 03 Napoleon s plan s were

, ,

well advanced .

N apoleon did not mean to ght his adversary without

as s istance or to limit his operation s t o France alone Han
, .

over presented itself as the point demanding most immediate

attention for the King of Great Britain wa s s till the elector
,

o f Hanover and it seemed to Napoleon that here Great

,

Britain was most vulnerable Within two weeks o f the o u t .

break o f hostilities an army o f under General Mortier

,

was on the banks of the Weser summoning the Hanoverians ,

to surrender The British government protested loudly

.

again s t the violation o f neutrality o f the German states

which had to be crossed in order that Hanover might be
invaded As she w a s in no position to land an army on the
.

continent however her protest was unheeded and Hanover

, ,

fell un der the sway of the French The Weser wa s closed .

t o B r itish com m erce .

 N APOLEO N VE RS US T HE THIRD C OAL IT I O N 2 11

To the naval s tronghold Malta which the British

o s et , ,

p ersistently refused to evacuate Napoleon felt that he must ,

occupy adj acent points o f vantage At the same moment .

that troops were occupying Hanover St Cyr was march , .

ing south with men to take advantage of the port s

o f Brindisi O tranto and T a r a n t o in the s outhernmost part
, , ,

of Italy Their occupation w a s o f course a violation o f the

.
, ,

neutrality of N aples but N apoleon w a s ever distrustful o f

,

the neutrality o f Ferdinand and Caroline and it is quite ,

probable that he reasoned that an army o f occupation now

would make unnecessary an army o f invasion later .

As f o r assi s tance he looked to those states which had

,

already felt the weight of his hand Holland held ready at .

the First Consul s disposal an army of about

she
furnished funds to equip a French force o f the same size ;
and she supplied small channel boats in quantity Swit .

z er l a n d and the Cisalpine states both furnished similar c o n

t in gen t s But the greatest aid w a s to come from Spain and

.

Portugal By humiliating treaties in O ctober and Decem

.

ber of 1 8 03 these two countries O pened their ports to French

,

goods and agreed to pay France a yearly contribution o f

,

nearly a hundred million o f francs the greatest share o f the ,

burden falling of course upon Spain Such a course was

, , .

bound to provoke Great Britain to retaliatory measures

retaliations which took the form of attacks o n Spanish and
Portuguese ships from the new world In a few months .
,

Napoleon had the s atisfaction o f enrolling the Peninsular

countries not only as nancial assistants but as active ,

O perating allies .

However welcome were the gold and men from outsiders ,

the real strength o f France w a s as always in her armies .

Along the channel principally in the neighborhood o f Bou

,

l o gn e huge camps sprang up and to them Napoleon daily

, ,

forwarded new levies to be shaped by his generals into t h e

Grand Army of Fran ce Long hours o f daily training .

taught them the business of the soldier o n land a n d con ,

2 12 I
THE H S TORY OF E U ROPE

stant drills with the a t b o a t s and s h ips s o familiarized

them with this form o f transportation that they were said
to be able to embark a hundred thousand in half an hour .

N othing w a s wanting save command of the channel for

thirty -six hours to place this army on En glish soil .

Since the day o f the French menace Englishmen have ,

sco ff ed O penly at the idea o f the invasion from Boulogne .

Napoleon however was the man in Europe best able to

, ,

j udge of the feasibility of any military scheme and the ,

mere fact that he contemplated s uch an invasion removes it ,

from the category of absurdities It must be remember ed .

that he did n o t intend to occupy England but merely to ,

des troy her shipyards arsenals and manufactures With

, , .

only s uch an army a s Britain could h ave put into the

eld at the moment surely this plan could have been
,

possible .

It was a scheme destined never to be carried into e ff ect ,

however Great Britain s strength lay o n the sea and s h e
.
,

guarded the channel j ealously France s navy was inferior.

in s hips and pers onnel and in training O utside o f every .

port where lay the eets of the First Consul or of his allies , ,

a British s quadron h ung in the of ng ready to strike An d , .

although France had an admirable s ailor in Latouche

Tr eville he was no match for the redoubtable N elson
, .

When upon the death of the former Villeneuve succeeded ,

to the command o f the navie s of France the balance in ,

c l i n e d s till more toward the side of Great Britain .

Th roughout the closing months o f 1 8 03 and f o r the rst

h alf of 1 8 04 N apoleon tried in vain to concentrate in the
,

channel the French and Spanish eets which lay at Toulon ,

Cadiz Ferrol Rochefort and Brest A simple plan of

, , , .

direct concentration wa s just about to be executed when

Latouche -Tr eville died and left Villeneuve to co p e with
the situation A new and more intricate plan called for a
.

concentration in the West Indies and thither in April 1 804 , , , ,

s ailed the Toulon and Cadiz eets h oping to be joined by ,

 N APOLEO N VERS US T HE TH IR D C OAL IT IO N 2 13

the Brest eet These three united were then to make

.
, ,

for the channel before the British knew o f their w h ereabouts .

Th e expedition failed dismally The Brest eet never .

le f t French waters and Villeneuve sharply pursued by , ,

Nelson returned to Europe only to encounter a second

,

British eet in the Bay of Bi s cay and be forced again into

Cadiz Cornwallis n o w blockaded Brest and Nelson Cadiz
.
, ,

(August ,

Thus the French navy was made useless to Napoleon

, ,

who now turned toward a new enemy o n the Danube He .

was determined however that his eets s h ould be o f some

, ,

value to him and in consequence gave s harp orders to

,

Villeneuve to leave Cadiz and sail to Naples at the rst

O pportunity Villeneuve stung by t h e knowledge that he
.
,

was to be relieved o f his command determined to force his ,

way ou t o f Cadiz and into the M editerranean Accord .

in gl y o n O ctober 2 0 1 805 h e weighed anchor and left the

, , ,

harbor O ff Trafalgar the blockading squadron attacked

.
,

in two long column s under Collingwood and Nelson and for ,

ve hours fought furiou s ly against the allies O nly a rem .

nant o f Villeneuve s eet was left to take refuge again in
Cadiz The Emperor o ffset this defeat by a brilliant land
.

victory at U lm but many a time thereafter he longed bit

,

t er ly for the naval strength which N elson dissipated at

Trafalgar As for Nelson himself Trafalgar was his last
.
,

battle The French in his o w n words had done for him
.
, ,

at last Great Britain mourned genuinely the admiral
.

who had done more than all the res t to m ake her m istress of
the seas .

A . FORMAT I ON OF TH E TH I R D C OAL I T I ON
In May 1 804 the lingering agonies o f the Addington
, ,

Ministry were terminated by its dissolution and Pitt again ,

becam e Prime Minister O ne and only o n e great task lay .

before him the defeat of N apoleon and to that task he bent

, ,

all his strength Though already broken in health h e.

2 14 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

died in January of 1 806 he at once set in motion intricate

negotiations to create a new all -European coalition t o oppose
N apoleon .

The situation in Europe rendered h is task ext r a o r di

n a r i ly di fficult Alexander I o f Russia w h o became Czar
.
,

after the assassination of his father Paul was a curious , ,

mixture of the visionary and the practical man He had .

at rst welcomed Napoleon and had actually s ought alliance

with the new France especially as N apoleon had tempted
,

him with the O ff er o f the honorary chief o f the Knights o f

St John o f M alta ; but the aggressions o f th e French con

.

q u er o r upon the continent and the execution o f the Duc

d En ghi en had turned him t o the opposing camp He .

sounded the British government o n the terms of a po s sibl e

alliance declaring that the n e w coalition must adopt prin
,

c ip l es o f liberalism to o ff s et the French doctrines but at ,

the same time stipulating that R u s s i a must be given C o n

s t a n t i n o p l e and the grand duchy of Poland Austria h ad -
.

n o t yet recovered from the previous wars She h ad a h uge .

debt and a small income ; her army was poorly organized

and equipped the Archduke Charles then at the head o f ,

the war O f ce and busy with the problems o f reorganization ,

advised peace upon almost any terms even an alliance with ,

France Prussia s f ortunes were guided by a vacillating

.

king and his group o f s h ort sighted counselors all jealous -

,

o f Austria and b ent upon the prospect o f immediate gain .

Though Sweden an implacable enemy o f N apoleon would

, ,

surely join the coalition her aid could be only triing A s

, .

N apoleon frankly told her ambas sador at Paris Sweden ,

had descended to the rank o f a third -class power From .

such di fcult materials Pitt sought to build a strong ,

coalition .

Negotiations with Russia dragged from after the death of

the Duc d E n gh i en ( March 1 804 ) until April 1 805 In June , , .
,

1 8 04 Alexander s ignied his willingness to consider an alli

,

ance In September 1 804 he sent an envoy to London to sug

.
, ,
 NAPOLEO N VERS U S THE T HI RD C OAL IT IO N 2 15

gest that the declared objects of the proposed coalition should

be to deliver from Napoleon s yoke the peoples whom he

O ppressed and to free France from th e despotism under
,

which s h e groaned t o leave her the free choice of a govern

,

ment and to bring about the greatest welfare o f t h eir
,

subjects In November o f the same year he sent another
.

envoy with the more practical proposal that Russia should

be guaranteed Moldavia Constantinople and the island , ,

o f Malta with a protectorship over the other B alkan ter

,

r i t o r i e s and over Poland In the nal convention si gned at

.
,

St Petersburg April 1 1 1 8 05 Alexander was forced to re

.
, ,

cede from practically all o f his demands The terms pro .

v i de d that a league should be f ormed f o r the restoration o f

p eace and the balance o f power ; that Holland Switzer ,

land and Italy should be freed from French control and

, ,

Piedmont returned to the Ki ng o f Sardinia ; that Great

Britain should furnish an annual subsidy o f for
each men under arms against France provided the ,

total forces s h ould be kept at more than and that

Russia s hould furnish an army o f men Wit h this .

convention signed the diplomats approached Austria , ,

Sweden and Prussia , .

For the reasons previously stated Austri a was at rst ,

averse to a renewal o f the war While she w a s still h e s i t a t .

ing however a new step by Napoleon strongly incensed her

, ,

government Napoleon changed the Italian Republic (f o r

.

merly the Cisalpine Republic ) into a monarchy and assumed

the crown himself ( at Milan May 2 6 1 8 05 ) as King o f Italy ; , ,

and a month later he annexed the Republic o f Genoa out

right to France Fearing further encroachments against
.

Venice threatened by Russia and bribed by the o f fer of four

, ,

months advance subsidy from Great Britain the Austrian ,

government consented to j oin the coalition in July 1 805 , ,

and form ally signed the convention at St Petersburg August .

9 1 805
, She agreed to furnish
. troops though in ,

actual fact her armies never reached that number .

2 16 I
T HE H S TORY OF E U ROPE

Sweden j oined as a matter of course promising to furnis h ,

a c ontingent of men Later Queen Caroline o f .

,

Naples though she had signed a treaty of neutrality with

,

France adhered to the coalition and admitted (Nove m ber

, ,

1 805 ) Russians and 7 000 British troops to her ter

r ito ry .

The agents o f the coalition however made little headway , ,

with the Prussian government In Frederick William I I I s .

court the traditional j ealousy of Austria and the belief that

, ,

diplomacy might win Prussia a greater prize than war in ,

u en ce d the councilors to advise neutrality Napoleon .

,

too had a bait in the shape o f Hanover by which at the

,

proper moment he might tempt Prussia into an actual

alliance Hence Frederick William III rej ected the offers
.
,

of alliance and help from Great B ritain Russia and Austria , , ,

acknowledged Napoleon s title as Emperor o f the French and
as King of Italy and prepared as a neutral to gain all he
,

could from the impending war .

Secret as the negotiations had been the increase in the ,

A ustrian armies and the delay o f the Austrian government

in recognizing Napoleon s new dignities gave ample intima
tion of what was going o n In June 1 8 04 he warned the
.
, ,

Austrian government that he was alive to the continental

situation Early in 1 805 he demanded from the court at
.

Vienna an assurance of peaceful intentions and received it , .

In August 1 805 he informed his f oreign minister Talley

, , ,

rand that he must know within two weeks whether Austria

,

meant w a r A t the end of the same month (August 1805 )

.
,

he ordered T a ll ey r an d to prepare an announcement showing

how Austria had driven him to war and ( o n August 2 6 ) ,

directed the march o f his troops from the Boulogne camps

toward the Danube The border German states helpless and
.
,

exposed to the rst onset o f the French army in its march

against Austria declared openly f o r France As allies t h
, .
,

were at this time useless for Napoleon however except , ,

they af forded a free highway to the Danube .

 NAPO LEO N VERS US THE THIR D COALI T I ON 2 17

September 3 the Austrian government rej ected Napo

,

leon s ultimatum and ve days later its armies under
,

General Mack crossed the Inn River .

B . U LM AN D A U S T E R L I Tz

It m ust not be thought that the months spent on the

channel waiting vainly f o r the chance to invade England
were p r o t l es s When the Grand Army turned toward the
.

Rhine it was as ne a ghting unit as the world had ever

,

seen It was composed o f thoroughly trained men a large

.
,

percentage of whom had seen active service o fcer e d by ,

generals young able and ambitious and commanded by

, , , ,

the greatest soldier of them all a man w h o had no knowl

edge o f the word defeat The quality o f the army is shown .

by the fact that S o u l t s Corps in number made , ,

the march from Boulogne to Spino ( over 4 00 miles ) in

twenty -nine days without losing a single man either by
,

sickn ess o r by desertion .

The Grand A rmy numbered At its head the ,

Emperor was seconded by Berthier as Chief o i Staff - -

,

and under him commanding hi s several corps were B es

sie res Bernadotte Marmont D avout Soult Lannes Ney
, , , , , , ,

Au ger ea u and Murat , men whose greatest misfortune i t

was that their splendid military achievements were destined
to take place in the white light which surrounded their
great leader Their part was to lead the Grand Army from
.

Boulogne and from Hanover into the valley o f the Danube

and there strike at whatever point would prove the key to
Austria To second their eff orts Mass e na commanded an
.
,

army o f o n the Adige and in Naples St Cyr with , , .

watched the Bourbons .

Opposed to them Austria had about equal numbers o f ,

her o wn and she was relying upon two armies which Russia
,

had promised Twice had Napoleon struck at Austria so

.

successfull y through Italy that the Aulic War Council was ,

persuaded that the Adige rather than the Danube called

2 18 I
THE H S TORY OF E U ROPE

for the more steadfast defense Accordingly the Archduke .

,

Charles commanded in Venezia an army o f waiting

f o r a blow which never fell Mack with pushed far .
,

forward to the Iller in the vain hope that B avaria might b e

induced to j oin the allies and there with his ank restin g , ,

o n the fortress of U lm he awaited the arrival o f h is Russian

,

reinforcements B etween Charles and Mack the Arch

.
,

duke John held in the Tyrol an army of designed as

a supporting unit f o r either o f the others who might need
him more Far to the rear not yet o u t o f Russia
.

B u xh Ow den and Ku t u s o ff each commanded a force o f about

'

This then was the situation when the Gran d

, ,

Army began crossing the Rhine September 2 1 1 805 , , .

When his corps moved forward from the Rhine on Sep

tember 2 8 Napoleon s plan o f attack was completel y
,

formed His advance cavalry under Murat pushing for~

.
,

ward through the del e s of the Black Forest gave Mack ,

the idea that a frontal attack against his position was con
t em p l a t e d Meanwhile from Spire Mannheim Mayence
.
, , , ,

and W u r t z b u rg the divisions moved swiftly forward cross

, ,

ing the Danube at Donauworth and Ingolstadt o n O ctober

7 8 before Mack was aware of their presence
-
, By the .

time he realized the true situation Napoleon w a s already in ,

his rear and had cut his communications with Vienna In .

vain he faced his line to the right and then a s t h e French .

pushed o n again t o the right until now he faced his bases

, , .

No escape remained but success f ul b attle .

Napoleon in possession o f his adversary s co m m u n i c a

,

tions hurried to secure his o wn position and to hasten the

,

battle which he knew must follow Tw o corps marched .

on Munich to guard against the possible arrival of the

Russians ; one corps moved southward to prevent the Arch
duke John from sending reinforcements from the Tyrol .

With the remaining corps the Emperor moved up the Dan ,

ube from Donauworth marching on both b anks o f the river

, ,

draw in g his lin es tighter and tighter about his foe .

 N AP OLEO N VE R S U S T HE THI RD C OAL IT I ON 2 19

O n O ctober Mack attempted t o cut the net closing on

12,
him by a march northward from U lm which would have
crossed the French communications A whole -hearted .

attempt might have e ff ected his escape for an error o n the ,

p art o f o n e o f the French generals had left the situation at

his mercy had he but known it Murat in command of the
, .
,

three corps o n the right knowing that the Emperor meant to

,

p revent at any cost Mack s possible ight to the Tyrol had

ordered Ney to leave the left b ank of the D anube and j oin
L annes o n the right Ney fortunately carried out the
.
, ,

order in part only leaving o n e division o n the le ft b ank

, .

This division was all that stood between Mack and freedom ,

had he but brought his entire force against it U n f o r t u .

n a t e ly f or him he sent f orward less than half his army and

, ,

against this Ney s o n e division fought gallantly until
,

Napoleon had retrieved his marshal s error .

Next day when his chance had gone Mack made a second
, ,

attempt but this time was roughly handled by Ney at

,

Elchingen and ag ain withdrew to U lm News of a defeat .

to the Archduke John s reinforcements from the Ty r o l

convinced him that his situation was hopeless and o n O cto ,

ber 1 9 hemmed in o n all sides by his opponents he ca p it u

, ,

lated He had made vain attempts to get terms but

.
,

Napoleon was obd u rate The Emperor demanded and .

received the unconditional surrender o f Mack s
remaining .

Ulm taken Napoleon lost no t i m e in marching o n Vienna

,
.

One Russian army was already in the D anube valley but it ,

had turned back upon hearing of the disaster at Ulm To .

capture and destroy this army before it could unite with the
second Russian force was now Napoleon s obj ect In three
.

columns he started swiftly down the Danube valley leaving ,

Au ger e a u and Ney to drive the Austrians o u t o f the Tyrol

and keep them from endangering his communications He .

received news o f a defeat which Mass en a s u er ed at the h ands

o f the A rc h du k e C h a rles O ct o be r 2 9 b u t he was n o t disturbed ,
220 THE H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

for he knew that with the road to Vienna wide open Charle s ,

must of necessity fall back into Austria if he were t o be o f

the slightest use .

The march to Vienna was accomplished in an incredibly

short time What little resistance w a s encountered at the
.

fortied cities o r the rivers w a s brushed aside and the , ,

Grand Army swept speedily o n A t Linz the Emperor .

formed a new corps which crossed to and occupied the left

bank of the river so that f rom Linz o n the French controlled
,

the entire valley This isolated corps was the o n e weakness

.

o f the advance and received the only check suf fered in the

entire campaign Pushing forward too hastily it en

.
,

countered the Russians who had crossed the river without

Napoleon s knowledge and experienced a severe defeat The .

reverse was n o t disastrous however and the force on the , ,

right bank continued its advance .

The court in Vienna was in consternation In vain it .

issued orders f o r its handful o f troops to take up a stand

before the city Ku t u s o ff the Russian com m ander was
.
, ,

unconcerned for the fate o f the Austrian capital He knew .

that the only hope of a successful outcome of the campaign

lay in his j unction with B u t w den s army now in Moravia

, .

Accordingly o n November 9 he crossed the river at Krems

, , ,

paused only to administer the defeat to the French o n the

left bank as described above and then hurried northward ,

into Moravia leaving Vienna to its fate

, O n the morn .

ing o f November 1 3 Murat seized the bridge at Vienna

,

by a stratagem and his corps occupied the city without

,

opposition .

The bulk of the Grand A rmy crossed at Krems in hot

pursuit o f Ku t u s o ff The Austrian Emperor had made
.

timid overtures for peace but Napoleon wh o s a w a great

, ,

victory in sight o er e d him ter m s which seemed impossible

, .

In desp air Francis waited for the disaster which he saw pre
,

paring for him His armies under the Archdukes Charles and
.

John p ushed throu gh the m ountains by Massena Au gerea u

, , ,
 N APOLEO N VERS US THE THI R D C OAL I TIO N 22 1

and Ney had e ect ed a union at Laibach only to nd Napo

,

,

leon s armies between themselves and Vienna The Arch .

d u kes could only begin a long march through Hungary in the

hope o f being able to unite with the Russians in Moravia
before Napoleon could oin battle .

The t wo Russian armies united at Wischau on November

19. Napoleon had been valiantly delayed by Ku t u s off s

rear guard and was in no condition to force immediate issue .

Before the end of the month however he had drawn in his , ,

various detachments had several times tested the temper o f

,

his adversary in small preliminary skirmishes and was ,

ready for the combat which was to make or break his cam
a
p g i n . His army was inferior in numbers but in every other ,

way seemed more than a match f o r its opponent O n the .

last o f November he carefully reconnoitered the groun d

,

which promised to be the battle eld .

The eld o f Austerlitz slopes to the south the little Gold ,

bach brook cuttin g it midway At the northern end the .

,

Brunn -O lm ii t z road runs east and west ; to the south the ,

S a t s ch an lakes fed by the Litawa River from the northeast

, ,

form the boundary The west bank o f the Goldbach is

.

rolling but the east b ank rises to the Pratzen plateau the
, ,

dominating feature of the landscape Fo r reasons which .

follow Napoleon avoided the plateau and massed his forces

,

on the west bank o f the stream .

The Grand Army having advanced by w ay o f Vienna its ,

communications n aturally lay through that city Napoleon .

,

occupying the line of the Goldbach lay almost parallel to the ,

road to Vienna Could his right ank be turned argued
.
,

the allied strategists his communications would be lost
,

and his army at our mercy Accordingly they planned to.
,

throw their weight against the Emperor s right wing This .

w as quite to Napoleo n s liking for he had arranged a new

,

line of retreat westward through Prague and w as therefore , , ,

not troubled by an attempt to cut him o ff from Vienna On .

the contrary he had an enormous advantage in kn o w ing

,
2 22 THE HI STOR Y O F E U R OPE

where the allies would strike With this knowledge in mind .

,

he concentrated his troops on his left and held thinly the ,

end of the line toward S a t s ch an lake .

A thick mist hid the eld on the morning o f December 2 .

Under cover o f this the allies moved forward t o the line o f

the Pratzen plateau and when the sun o f Austerlitz dis
,

ll d the fog B h Ow den s masses could be seen marching
'

p e e u,x

toward the lower ground to attack the weakly held end of

Napoleon s line By nine o clock D avout s corps and part
.
,

of S o u l t s were sharply engaged by the Russian columns
which crowded together o n the lower reaches o f the Gold
bach Sure of success the allied commander had practically
.
,

de nuded the Pratzen plateau Here was the moment for .

which Napoleon waited O rdering forward h i s extreme left

.

to hold in check the allied right he launched the great mass ,

in his center full o n the Pratzen plateau The troop s r e .

maining there were helpless After an hour o f vain resist .

ance they were forced back toward Austerlitz and left the
, ,

plateau in possession o f the French Soult who co m .

,

m a n ded this assault instantly turned to attack the ank and

,

rear o f the Russians w h o were engaged with D avout The .

result was immediate The Russians caught between the

.

two bodies O f the French fought bravely but hopelessly .

Their line was shattered and by nightfall the remnants o f

the allied army were eeing in so many directions that an
eff ective pursuit w a s impossible .

B ut there w a s no need The victory was complete and of

.

such a nature that Napoleon could dictate what terms he

Would The A rchdukes with all o f Austria s remaining
.

forces were far away in Hungary and further resistance was ,

ou t o f the question O n December 4 1 805 the two

.
, ,

Emperors met in Napoleon s tent to discuss the p reliminaries

o f the treaty which should end the w ar .

 N APOLEO N VERS US THE T HIRD C OAL IT I O N 223

C . TH E TREAT Y OF P RE SS B UR G
The helpless Austrian Sovereign was forced to accept the

terms at Napoleon s dictation His army was scattered his .
,

ally de f eated and retreating his resources exhausted By , .

the provisions of the nal treaty signed at Pressburg ,

December 2 6 , and duly ratied o n New Y ear s D ay

1 806 Austria ceded to the new Kingdom o f Italy all o f

,

Venetia including Istria and Dalmatia ( but not Trieste ) ;

,

gave up her territories in the Tyrol and Swabia for the ag

gr an di z e m en t o f Napoleon s German allies B avaria B aden

, ,

and W ii r t em b u r g and recognized the elevation o f the

electors o f B avaria and W iI r t e m b u r g to the dignity o f Kings .

In signing and ratifying this treaty the Austrian ruler and ,

his government descended far into the valley of humil iation .

He lost about subj ects and the source of about o n e

s ix th O f the national revenue .

One aftermath o f Austerlitz and Pressburg deserves men '

tion at this point Pitt Great Britain s great Prime Minis

.
,

ter sank under the shock and died January 2 3 1 806 All
, , .

his plans had gone f o r naught O ne ally had signed a .

disastrous peace ; the shattered remains o f the other s army

were hastily retiring from the conict Pitt s last thoughts .

were o f his country from whom he was taken at what

,

seemed its darkest hour .

D . C H AN G E S I N I TALY AN D C E N T R A L E U RO P E
Prussian diplomacy during the war had been of the most
selsh kind Unable to divine what the result might be
. ,

Frederick Wi lliam 1 1 1 had sought to assure the safety o f his

territories by advances to both sides Thus even while he .
,

had assured Napoleon o f Prussia s neutrality he w a s in ,

constant communication with agents o f the Czar Alexander ,

and actually signed a convention with him ( November 3 ,

1 805 ) agreeing to assist in enforcing the terms o f the Anglo

Russian coalition His envoy was in Vienna awaiting the
.
224 THE I
H S TORY OF E UR OPE

issue of Austerlitz to determine whether to go further with

the Russian relations o r to renounce them f o r an alliance with
Napoleon The b attle of Austerlitz settled the question
. .

H a u gw it z ( Prussian envoy ) sought Napoleon at his head

quarters in order to conclude an alliance .

Napoleon s secret service had kept him informed of Prus

sia s dup l icity and the Emperor reproached H a u gw i t z bit

,

t er l y f o r it The practical advantages o f alliance however

.
, ,

were great so that Napoleon did not let his feeling prevent
,

the treaty U sing Hanover as a bait and his victorious and

.
,

mobilized armies as a menace he enforced very advantageous ,

terms upon H au gw i t z Prussia was to cede the duchie s of.

Cleves Neuchatel and Ansp ach and to guarantee all

, , ,

contemplated changes in Italy o r in Germany ; and was to

bind herself in a close of fensive and defensive alliance with
France In return P r u s s m received Hanover The pre
.
, .

liminary treaty containing these terms was signed December

1 5 1 805
, eleven days before the treaty o f Pressburg The .

nal treaty containing a revised provision by which Prussia

,

was t o annex Hanover at once and to close the ports on the

Elbe Weser and Ems Rivers to British commerce was
, , ,

concluded February 1 5 1 806 at Paris , , .

By his victory at Austerlitz and his treaty with Prussia ,

Napoleon became absolute arbiter of matters a ec t i n g Italy

and Central Europe Austria was prostrate ; Russia was .

defeated and distant ; Great Britain was impotent o n land ;

and Prussia had become an accomplice .

His rst move was against Naples Upon the very date .

o f the treaty of Pressburg he announced his intention o f ,

hurling that guilty woman ( Queen Caroline of Naples)
from her throne The small expeditionary forces of Russians
.

and British in Naples were no match f o r the troops Napoleon

could direct against them In the face o f Napoleon s threat .

they emb arked about the middle o f January 1 806 the , ,

Russians for Corfu and the British f o r Messina ( Sicily ) The .

King and Queen o f Naples ed to Palermo ( Sicily ) and estab

 NAPOLEO N VER S U S T HE THIRD C OAL I TI ON 22 5

their court there French troops entered Naple s

l ish ed .

February 1 5 1 8 06 after slight resistance and soon occupied

, , ,

the remainder o f the peninsula At the end o f March .

,

Joseph Napoleon s brother w a s procl a i med King o f the T wo

,

,

S i cili e s .

Duri ng the same months Napoleon was workin g upon the ,

details o f another cherished plan to organize the states o f

western Germany into a new confederation from which the
inuence of Prussia and Austria would be wholly excluded .

The task was not di fcult for as has already been indicated
, , ,

the chief great powers concerned were helpless and the ,

Rhine countries were bound to Napoleon by ties o f fear and

self interest Talleyrand who was intrusted with the draw
- .
,

ing up of the necessary articles and treat i es worked rapidly

under Napoleon s dictation By the nal treaty signed at .
,

Saint -Cloud July 1 9 1 8 06 the Confederation of the Rhine

, ,

was organized to consist o f B avaria B aden W ii r t em b u rg , , ,

Hesse -D armstadt Nassau and several small states with a

, , ,

central Diet o f two chambers o r Colleges at Frankfort , , .

The new Confederation acknowledged Napoleon as its

Protector and at once signed a close offensive and def en
,

sive alliance with France A ugust 1 1 806 the representa .

, ,

t iv es o f the several states individually and collectively

announced to the Diet o f the Holy Roman Empire at Ratis
bon their withdrawal f rom the Empire At the s ame time .
,

Napoleon s envoy announced that Napoleon henceforth

refused to acknowledge the existence of the Empire August .

6 1 8 06
, Francis of Austria accepted the inevitable r e
, ,

lin qu i s h e d his many inherited titles and assumed the s imple ,

dignity o f Emperor o f Austria Th us the old Germanic .

system the Holy Roman Empire came to an unlamented

, ,

end .

One other change Napoleon made during this same perio d .

He again altered the con s titution o f Holland making of it a ,

kingdom and naming his brother Louis as King (Jun e 5 ,

The Hollanders accepted the chan ge with resi gna

Q
226 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

tion as they had helple s sly accepted previous arb itr ary
,

chan ges Indeed they had so long s u ffered from the e x

.
,

actions of the French that they in general cherished a hope

that a royal government of their o wn might make their
burdens lighter .

Napoleon s successes and s up re m acy on the continen t led

him to hope that he m ight at last gain a favorable peace with

his remaining enemies Great Britain and Russia To that .

end h e encouraged Talleyrand to open negotiations in the

,

spring and summer of 1 806 .

In Great Britain Pitt s death had been followed by a , .

coalition ministry the ministry of all t h e talents with , ,

Grenville as Prime M inister and Fo x as Foreign Secretary , .

The desire for peace wa s real but Fo x had no intention o f ,

committing his country to a treaty on unfavorable terms .

Curiously enough the discussion turned chiey upon the ,

disposition o f the island of Sicily N apoleon de m anding it as ,

a part o f Joseph s new kingdom and Fo x re f u s ing to yield it , .

Before any compromise could be effected Fo x died ( Septem ,

ber, and war w ith Prussia interrup ted negotiations .

Alexander of Russia learning o f the Anglo -French n ego t i a ,

tion s feared a separate peace which would leave Russia

,

without an ally He therefore dispatched a special envoy to

.

Paris July 6 1 806 ostensibly t o arrange for the transfer of

, , ,

prisoners but really to look after Russian interests Within

, .

a fortnight Talleyrand persuaded him of the advisability of

peace and packed him back to St Petersburg with the draft
, .

of a treaty Alexander however in close comm u nion with

.
, ,

Prussia and again inclined to rely upon Great Britain ,

repudiated his envoy s treaty and these negotiations came ,

to naught .

Thus in spite o f his successes N apoleon could not bring

, ,

peace to his people The reason lay not in the obstinacy of .

,

his enemi es but in his o wn widening ambitions This you ng

, .

Corsican whose eld h ad expanded successively from Toulon

, ,

fro m northern I taly fro m Egypt to France now had v isions , , ,

 NAPOLEON VERS US THE THIRD C OALIT I O N 227

of vaster projects He saw all Europe brought to heel

.
,

himself an Emperor over Kings His past s uccesses were

.

but the preliminary s cenes to a far greater drama He had .

saved France ; he had restored order and advanced prosperity

in France ; he had increased the territories of France beyond
the wildest dreams o f his Bourbon predecessors he had s u r
rounded France with a barrier of O bsequious and independent
states Now his ideals passed far beyond the bounds of
.

France He would prove himself not the mere successor

.
,

of the Bourbon Kings in France but the inheritor of Charle

,

magne s empire in Europe Had he been content with
.

France he might have lived and died an Emperor famous

, ,

and beloved by his people and honored by contemporary

so vereigns but such a man would not h ave been N apoleon .
 C HA PTER X

NAPOLEO N VE RS US PRU SSIA

TH E v acillating F rederick William III o f Prussia con

tin n ed his policy of double dealing in the e o r t to secure
-

hi m self and his territories by diplomacy His occupation o f .

Hanover and closing of the Weser Elbe and Ems river ports
,
-
,

to British commerce had resulted in the seizure of some 4 00

Prussian vessels in British waters and in a declaration o f
war by Great Britain ( April ,Furthermore an in ,

cr ea s in gl y strong patriotic party in Prussia led by Prince ,

Louis Ferdinand ( nephew of Frederick the Great) and the

beloved Queen Louisa was resenting the policy which
m ade Prussia the mere tail to the French kite Still under .

the inuence of H a u gwi t z and Hardenberg however , ,

Frederick William was more worried about the ef fect o f

the French treaty upon Alexander o f Russia than its eff ect
upon Great Britain o r the p atriots at home He had a .

wholesome fear o f Russia as he had o f Napoleon

, .

Shortly after the Paris treaty of February 1 5 1 8 06 there , ,

fore Frederick William sent word to Russia that he had no

,

idea o f attacking her ; that in fact he would not interpret

, ,

his French alliance as binding him to offensive measures

against Alexander The Prussian overtures fell in with
.

the Cz ar s plans Alexander needed the assurance of
.

Prussian neutrality He therefore proposed a secret treaty

.

to of fset the Paris treaty Frederick William glad of the

.
,

opportunity thus to secure himself against both his powerful

neighbors gladly welco m ed n egotiations In the late spring
, .

o f 1 806 a convention was signed pledging Prussia not to

,

take p art in any attack upon Russia and to force French ,

228
 NAPOLEO N VER S US PRUSS IA 229

evacuation of Ger m any within three months and pledging ,

Russia to go to the aid of Prussia if Prussia were attacked .

With the assurance o f Russian support Frederick William ,

III was prep ared to lean more to an independent Prussian

policy and to resist French encroachments At the same .

time he hoped that the terms of his treaty with Napoleon

,

were such as to prevent any such encroachments His .

great awakening came suddenly when he learned ( August 6 ,

1 806 ) that Napoleon in his negotiations with Fox had agreed

to return Hanover to England August 9 he appealed .
,

to the Cz ar for aid and a few days later strove even to get
,

in touch with the British ministry At the same ti m e he .

ordered the m obiliz ation of part o f the Prussian army His .

change o f attitude aroused the highest enthusiasm among

the patriotic circles of the country The thinking men wh o .

had felt the humiliation of Prussian diplomacy rej oiced

at the opportunity to take an independent course and to
revenge themselves for a long series o f insults .

When Napoleon rst heard of the popular excite m ent in

Berlin he paid little attention to it He knew that Austria
, .

could do nothing to help Prussia ; his agent in Turkey ,

Colonel Seb astiani ( the same man who had rendered the
Egyptian report the preceding year) had adroitly con
t r i ve d to involve Russia in a dispute with the Porte and
Great Britain was as always impotent on land Early
, , .

in September however the gravity o f the situation became

, ,

apparent September 1 2 1 806 he dispatched a note to

.
, ,

Berlin concerning Prussian military preparations implying ,

that unless these were at once stopped the French ar m ies

would be put in motion Frederick William III answered
.

this note with an ultimatum September 2 6 1 806 demanding , ,

the immediate withdrawal o f French troops from Ger m any

and Napoleon s consent to the formation o f a Confedera

tion of the North comprising the German states outside o f the

Confederation of the Rhine Napoleon had already slipped
.

out o f Paris to j oin h i s ar m ies so that th e u lti m atu m did

,
2 30 THE H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

not reach him until O ctober 7 His only answer w as his .

appearance with his troops at the Prussian frontier .

A . TH E C AM PA I G N I N P R U S S I A
The Prussian o fcers who fought the Republican armies
in the wars of the First Coalition against France were
aware of a change in the spirit o f warfare They knew that .

their adversaries had devised new rules for an old game but ,

they had retired from the w a r wi t hout having learned to

adj ust themselves t o those rules Now in 1 806 the s u c .
, ,

cessor to that Republican army in Flanders the Grand ,

Army o f France hardened by years of campaigning and led

,

by adepts at the new warfare was advancing to contend

with the army of Prussia grown old in the traditions of
,

Frederick the Great But the methods which under

.

Frederick had served to make Prussia s army invincible ,

now served only to make it inexible .

Military historians unite in praising the excellence o f

discipline which existed in Frederick William s forces bu t
,

there commendation ceases The tactics which prescribed

.

the rigid line formations o f fty years before could not but
spell disaster to troops which marched against the French
skirmishers with the columns behind And although the .

French had still to ght Friedland before they learned the

full value o f artillery in masses they were nevertheless far
,

more skillful in the use o f this important arm than were the
Prussians Napoleon saw t to warn his marshals es
.

p e ci a l l y against the Prussian cavalry for he thought it ,

excellent but at the same time he knew that it considered

,

its existence j ustied if it resisted hostile cavalry charges .

Its leaders knew nothing of handling it in the face

infantry tactics In the matter of supply the
.
,

clung to a method which if more certain in a long

,

nevertheless limited their movements to t h

ration trains They were n o t famil
'

.
 N APOLEO N VERS US PR US SI A 231

the invaded country but depended entirely upon suppl y

,

m agazines O ne of their o w n writers remarks that often

.

the Prussian troops went hungry in villages where s u b s e

quently the French found food in abundance Even with .

their m agazines transportation often failed so that equip

, ,

m ent and clothing as well as food were often lacking .

The deciencies noted above did not exist in the Grand

Army The organization had been s o perfected through
.

experience in war that Napoleon w a s able by the simplest

,

o rders to direct his forces as he wished Perhaps the .

greatest point o f diff erence in favor o f the French lay in

their superior o fficers It w a s not only that the Prussian
.

generals were old : they were often inrm Opposed to .

them were a dozen o r more brilliant young men between

thirty and forty years o f age N O greater contrast can .

appear than in a comparison o f the commanders -in chief -

.

Brunswick was seventy one and exhausted by a life of

-

activity ; Napoleon was thirty -eight and at the very height

o f his vigor .

When Frederick William s ultimatum reached Napoleon ,

the French army was being thriftily subsisted at the expense

of the new ally the Confederation o f the Rhine The .

various corps were distributed at points along the Main

River facing the Thurin gian Forest beyond which lay the
, ,

plains o f Prussia The army numbered about

.

w a s in excellent condition and ready to move at a moment s

,

notice To oppose them Brunswick could n o t muster

.
,

m ore than o f which belonged to Prussia s

ally Saxony His army consisted of two parts o n e un der

, .
,

his o wn com m and and o n e under Prince Hohenlohe both ,

stationed in the country along the upper Saal River east ,

o f the Thuringian Forest The troops promised by the

.

Czar had not yet left Russia Indeed they did n o t appear
.
,

until after the campaign was nished

L
.

The logical line of defense f o r the Russians was the Elbe

Ri ver Here w ere th eir three fortresses of Mag deburg
.
,
 2 32 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

Torgau and Wittenberg and here they might have waited in

, ,

a position o f strength the arrival o f their allies from across the

Vistula B ut the fact that Dresden the capital of the ir
.
,

Saxon ally would thus have been exposed to the direct

,

attacks o f Napoleon was a potent factor in determining a

stand farther to the west Moreover the Prussian generals .
,

cherished the idea that Napoleon s successes were due to
the fact that he had always fought an of fensive campaign .

They reasoned that an aggressive enemy who would take

the initiative would by that act alone bid fair to defeat
the formidable Napoleon Accordingly they dispersed their .

troops in the region surrounding Jena and devised a plan ,

which should throw the French at once o n the defensive .

The contemplated scheme proposed an advance through

the d el es of the northe rn end o f the Thuringian Forest ,

a concentration at a point on its western edge and thence a ,

determined push against the left wing of the French which

should cut o ff from Mainz all o f the Emperor s troops along
the Main This advance was actually begun and the a d
.
,

vance guard o f Brunswick s army entered the p asses of the
hills O ctober 10 1 806 , .

Meanwhile Napoleon had entered upon the execution

,

of a similar attack against the Prussian left his plan being ,

to pass the del es o f the southern end o f the forest and if

possible cut O ff his enemy from Dresden and the Elbe
fortresses His plan stood the better chance of success
.

f o r the distance from the French right to the Prussian left

was less than that from the Prussian right to the French

left In addition the Emperor s units marched more
.
,

rapidly than did Brunswick s and were consequently enabled

to strike their blow more quickly .

O n O ctober 9 and 1 0 1 806 while Brunswick s advance

, ,

guard w a s entering the northern passes the bulk of N a ,

army p assed the southern d l es and crossed the

p o l e o n s e
Saal River The left and center o f his advance encountered
.

portions Of H o h en l oh e s command and dro v e the m back

,
 NA POLEO N VER S U S PR U SSIA 2 33

whil e at th e sa m e time the right gained control of the road

to Dresden In the two or three days following the French
.
,

lost contact with their enemy but continued their advance ,

until on the night of O ctober 1 3 at which time the Emperor ,

gained denite information as to the location of his adversary ,

two corps were close to Jena three about f teen miles east ,

of that point and two down the river near N au m b u r g

, .

The cavalry had pushed ahead and o n O ctober 1 3 when it ,

w as called in its leading elements had entered Leipsic

, .

The Prussian commander was slow in arriving at the

correct estimate of the situation The defeat o f Hohen .

lob e s men warned him however that his own plan of , ,

attack against the French left w a s now no longer possible ,

and that he must look to his o wn communications By .

the time he had ordered a concentration near Jena on O c

tober 1 2 a great share o f the damage w a s already done
, .

The French controlled the road to Dresden and were clo ser
to the routes to Torgau and Wittenberg than were the
Prussians There remained the road to Magdeburg and this
.
,

Brunswick felt he must retain at any cost He planned .

,

therefore to hold the crossings of the Upper Saal at Jen a

,

and N a u m b u r g while his army began its march to M a gde

burg Such a plan would keep Napoleon on the right bank
.

of the Saal until the river was of sufcient size to be a pro

t ect i o n in itself Accordingly he ordered Hohenlohe to
.

Jena to hold the crossing there while he with the main army
began the march down the Saal intending himself to hold ,

the crossing at Naumburg until the retreat w a s well under

way .

This then was the situation on the evening o f O ctober 1 3

, , .

Hohenlohe lay west of Jena the river crossing itself being,

in the hands of the French Near Jena lay the corps of .

Lannes and Au ger e a u while en route were the Guard the

, ,

corps o f Soult and Ney and M u r a t s cavalry At Naum

, .

burg were D avout and B ernadotte the former under orders ,

to m arch on Jena on the morning of O ctober 1 4 by the left

2 34 THE H S TORYI OF E U ROPE

b ank o f the Saal the latter to march by way of a less i m

,

portant crossing at D ornburg midway between Naumburg ,

a n d Jena Napoleon thinking he had before h i m at Jena

.
,

the entire Prussian army planned a strong frontal attack

,

which should presently be reinfo rced by Davout and Berna

dotte attacking the ank and rear o f the foe In truth
,
.
,

only Hohenlohe lay at Jena and meanwhile Brunswick , , ,

was marching with the bulk of the Prussians on Naumburg

and D avout who with one corps w a s destined t o meet the
,

onslaught o f twice his own numbers .

In the night of O ctober 1 3 14 the three corps from th e

,

east moved westward while Lannes occupied the heights

of Jena o n the left b ank Napoleon expected momentarily
.

an attack while this o n e corps was isolated from the remainder

o f the army but Hohenlohe lay quiet until morning
,
The .

French began the attack early pushing eagerly forward ,

to make room o n the heights for their approaching r einforce

ments Hohenlohe launched a counter attack and for
.
-

several hours his lines held Then the preponderanc e of .

force on the French side told and at two o clock the Prus ,

sians fell b ack in complete rout The timely arrival o f .

General R UC h el with reinforcements allowed them a breath ,

ing space but the French did not stop At four o clock a
, .

confused retreat became general .

Meanwhile Bernadotte and D avout moved o u t in the

,

early morning the former o n Dornburg the latter on Jena

, ,

by way o f Au er s t adt O ne division o f D avout s corps had

.

barely mounted the heights west of the stream when it ,

encountered the leading columns of Brunswick s main army .

At once it deployed and under the s everest re fought

, ,

determinedly until the remaining two divisions should

come up and extend the line In the early moments of .

the battle Brunswick himself was fatally wounded and the

,

command passed into incompetent hands The Prussians .

came blindly on in close columns a procedure which

alone allowed D avout to hold his position By mid -after .
 NAPOLEO N VE RS U S PRU S S IA 2 35

noon the Prussian situation was hopeless and Frederick

, ,

William w h o was present ignorant o f H o h en l o h e s disaster

, ,

,

ordered a retreat toward Jena The fragments o f the two .

defeated armies came together midway o f the two b attle

elds and streamed away into the darkness with no semblance
o f order o r command .

Swiftly Napoleon followed up the advantage gained by

Jena and Au er s t adt The two small armies which remained
.

after the double disaster were pursued ceaselessly un til ,

the o n e under Hohenlohe w a s captured at P r en t z l a u o n

October 2 6 and the other under Blu cher surr endered o n
,

the D anish frontier November 7 Meanwhile Torgau

, .
,

and Wittenberg fell Berlin was captured O ctober 2 5 and

, ,

Magdeburg capitulated November 8 The victors pushed .

rapidly o n to the line o f the O der and before the end of

November all Prussia lay at the Emperor s disposal .

B . TH E W I NT E R OF 1 806 1 807

A fortnight after his victory at Au er s t adt -Jena Napoleon ,

made his triumphant entry into Berlin ( O ctober 2 7

Within a month after he had entered the Prussian capital ,

every Prussian fortress west of the O der River except a ,

few strongholds in Silesia had opened its gates to the ,

French And Napoleon pushed his advantage by extend

.

ing his conquests beyond the territories O f Prussia Novem .

ber 4 he deposed the Elector o f Hesse -Cassel and occupied

,

his territories In the following weeks his soldiers took

.

possession o f Brunswick Hanover and Hamburg And , , .

he forced Saxony Saxe Gotha and Saxe

,
Weimar to pledge
-
,

strict obser v ance o f neutrality .

Immediately after the Au er s t adt -Jena b attle Frederick ,

William had appealed for peace but Napoleon who grasped , ,

the possibilities of his victory haughtily replied that he ,

hoped to end the war sooner in Berlin than in Weimar .

October 1 8 the Prussian King dispatched Count Lucchesini

to N apoleon w ith full powers to enter upon negotiations .
236 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

The terms submitted by Napoleon comprising no less than ,

the territory west o f the Elb e a guarantee that Prussia ,

should n o t league herself with other German states against

France and
, francs indemnity were far more ,

severe and humiliating than the Prussians had expected .

Even these however Frederick William and his ministers

, ,

were prepared to accept but before Lucchesini could reach ,

Napoleon Napoleon had widened his vision of the extent

,

o f his victory and refused to do more than grant a sus

pension o f hostilities o n condition that the French were to

occupy all o f the country up to the Bug River the fortress ,

of Danzig Kolberg Thorn and Graudenz and t hat Fred

, , , ,

erick William was to order the Russians out of the country .

The unhappy Prussian envoys signed terms on these lines

November 1 6 1 806 but the King of Prussia whose hopes
, , ,

had risen with the approach of the Russian ar m ies repudiated ,

their act A few days later at Grodno Frederick William

.

and Alexander signed a solemn covenant of alliance and

began preparations to recoup the Prussian losses .

The measure o f his success against Pru ssia encouraged

Napoleon at this moment to try severer measures against
his arch -enemy Great Britain , H is hatred o f Great .

Britain w a s intense He used all the m anifold agencies at

.

his command to arouse and keep at a m e -heat indignation

and hatred among the French f o r the British He p r o .

claimed the European coalition against France to have

been bought and continued by British gold He described .

how the Russian army was subsidized by British subsidies .

He pictured Great Britain as the common and eternal enemy

o f the European continent Nevertheless however much .
,

he might threaten vengeance he was impotent against ,

Great Britain Great Britain had n o armies o n the conti

.

nent : Napoleon had no navies on the sea In the real m in .

which he was master therefore Napoleon was given no

, ,

O pportunity o f crushing Great Britain .

He sought however to destroy G reat Britain b y a

, ,
 NAPOLEO N VER S US PRUSS IA 237

different method by an extension o f his continental blockade

, .

Could he ruin British commerce he plausibly argued Great , ,

Britain would soon be forced to s u e f o r peace He therefore .

prom u lgated November 2 1 1 8 06 the famous B erlin de

, , ,

cree in which after a preamble asserting the crimes o f

, , ,

Great Britain he announced the blockade of his enemy

, ,

forbi dding all commerce o r communication with the British

islands and ordering the seizure o f all British property in
,

ports under French control Great Britain as was natural .

, ,

retaliated in ki nd declaring by O rder in Council of Janu

,

ary 7 1 8 07 all the ports of France and of French colonies

, ,

in a state o f blockade and forbidding any ship to trade b e

tween French ports French colonial ports and the ports of , ,

any of the countries within the French system The rival .

decrees o f course bore especially hard upon the neutrals

, , .

Among others the merchant marine of the United States

,

was practically wiped o u t Though serious losses were .

occasioned to Great Britain by Napoleon s decree these ,

losses were in no way vital and increased rather than ,

lessened Br itish determination to continue the w a r The .

people of the continent suffered severely however from , ,

the British blockade for they had long become accustomed ,

to luxuries imported from the colonies The sudden stop .

page o f colonial products w as the ground for hardship and

complaint .

Napoleon s immediate problem however was to meet , ,

the military menace from Russia and the remains o f the

Prussian army along the Vistula He did not therefore .
, ,

remain long in the conquered Prussian cities but pushed ,

forw ard into Poland .

i . The P o li s h C a m p a i gn

His goal was Warsaw f o r he saw in the territory controlled ,

by the Polish capital men and material in abundance to

enable him to hold the new enemy o n the Prussian frontier ,

an d if successful to destroy the last remaining enemy o n

, ,
2 38 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

the continent Accordingly he dispatched D avout s corps

.
,

to Warsaw by way of Posen Behind him all marching .

,

in a general way o n Warsaw came Au ge r eau Jer Om e ( Na , ,

p o l eo n s brother ) and Lannes These constituted the rst

.
,

line and numbered about men Behind them came .

the second line o f about equal numbers composed of the

, ,

corps of Ney Soult Bernadotte and Murat Be tween

, , , .

France and the strategic frontier the country swarmed with ,

the new levies French and allied which Napoleon was

, ,

hurrying forward By November 2 7 the advance guards

.
,

had encountered and driven back Russian detachments

west of Warsaw and on the following day entered the city
,

without opposition .

The allied armies consisted o f o n e Prussian corps o f

under L e s t o cq the last remaining fragment of

Frederick the Great s army and two Russian columns ,

one strong under Bennigsen the other in , ,

number commanded by B u Xh Ow den

,
These three bodies .

were not as yet capable of co Op er a t io n for when Dav out ,

appeared before Warsaw L es t o c q was at Thorn Bennigsen , ,

at Warsaw and B u t w den on the Russian side o f the old

,

Polish frontier Without attempting to dispute the cross

.

ing Bennigsen withdrew from Warsaw and took up a posi

,

tion near Pultusk to await the second Russian army .

The withdrawal was ill advised He w a s j oined by .

But w den in less than three weeks and then as the

, , ,

French still did n o t advance against him he began to see ,

that he had ab andoned the river crossings too easily He .

,

therefore began a forward movement in mid December

,
-

only to nd Napoleon s troops across the river The latter .

had been hampered by bad roads and inclement weather

to such an extent that the crossings of the Vistula had
occupied nearly a month But when the Russian advance .

began the French were prepared to resist it

, .

O n December 2 3 the Emperor directed an attack which

,

involved movements from Thorn to Warsaw Contact .

 NAPOLEO N VE R S U S PRU SS IA 239

was gained but the Russians retired after an indecisive and

,

ineffectual struggle Napoleon was determined that some

.

result should be reached and for this reason continued the

forward movement December 2 5 sharp engagements
.
,

occurred at Pultusk and Golymin but the Russian line with ,

drew without having been dangerously involved The .

exasperated Emperor was forced to content himself with

this unsatisfactory solution and to lo ok upon the campaign ,

as ended The approach of winter and the exhausted state

.

of the ar m ies urged upon him a choice of winter quarters

along the Vistula He gave orders for the winter rest early
.

in January 1 807 Meanwhile the Russians remained

, .
,

mobilized near J O h an n is b er g south of the Mazurian lakes .

ii . Di p lo m acy
Napoleon had taken measures during this Polish campaign
to strengthen his position by raising up new enemies f o r
his oppon ents He found one ally in Turkey whose Sultan
.
,

had already been strongly inuenced by the adroit French

representative Sebastiani November 1 1 1 8 06 Napoleon
, .
, ,

wrote a letter to the Sultan advising him o f the French ,

victory over the Prussians stating that a French army of ,

was relentlessly pursuing its enemies and r eco m ,

mending that the Turkish army advance to the Dniester

River while the French operated from the Vistula Na .

p o l eo n s obj ect o f course was to force a division o f the

, ,

Russian strength He was completely successful The

. .

rst sign of the Turkish advance w a s met by the dispatch

of Russian troops troops which were sorely needed
at Eylau and Friedland .

Napoleon s other diplomatic opportunity was presented
by the situation in what had been Poland As soon as he .

reached Berlin his secret agents were sent into Prussian

,

and Russian Poland to encourage the people with hopes

o f freedom . November 1 9 1 806 he received in B erlin a , ,

Polish deputation from Posen and treated the me m b ers

240 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

with marked distinction A fter hearing their plea he dis .

,

missed them with the assurance that as France had never ,

recognized the partition of their country he himself would ,

be deeply interested in restoring its independence and r e

constructing a kingdom along lines which would render it
permanent A week later November 2 5 he himself went
.
, ,

to Posen entering the city under a huge arch inscribed

,

The Liberator o f Poland His arrival awakened the u t .

most enthusiasm among the Poles the practical evidence ,

o i which w a s the voluntary enlist m ent of m en for

a national guard .

iii . C a mp a i gn i n E a s t P r u s s i a
After he had put his troops in winter quarters Napoleon ,

himself with the Im p erial Guard established his head

, ,

quarters i n Warsaw Though he unbent in the gayeties o f .

the Polish metropolis he accomplished a prodigious amount ,

o f work He called upon t h e O bsequious Senate in Paris

.

for new French conscripts and provided for their organiza

tion equipment and drill He caused the commissary
, ,
.

and supply departments o f his army to be thoroughly over

hauled and improved O n account of the barren country .

and poor villages so dif ferent from the rich Italian country
,

where h i s troops could live by pillage he ordered the estab ,

li s h m en t of immense provision and munition depots in the

rear of his armies He made detailed arrangements f o r .

the organization and training o f the Polish contingent .

He created and put into operation a government for P 0

land surmounting all di fculties by the sureness o f his
,

j udgment and the prestige o f his power And with all these .

manifold duties he kept in close touch with a ffairs in his

own capital ordering and advising in every matter of
,

policy He was indeed at this period at the height o f

.
, ,

his mental and physical powers an d his capacity f o r work ,

seemed boundless .

His troops however war -weary though they were could

, , ,
 len s t e i n

G r
au d e n z
 NAPOLEON VER S U S PRU SS IA 24 1

not be allowed their needed rest in their winter quarters .

January 2 7 1 8 07 N apoleon was compelled to issue orders

,

for a concentration The E mperor was unwilling to renew

.

the war s o soon but ci rcumstances f orced him to remold

,

h is plans Marshal N ey who was subsisting his troops

.
,

in the sector northeas t of Thorn found the country barren ,

o f supplies Pushing farther and farther toward the Alle

.

River without encountering resistance he conceived the ,

idea o f making a ying attack o n the temporary Prussian

capital KOn igs b er g At Bartenstein he w a s checked by
, .
,

Les t o c q January 1 5
, Apprised by couriers that the Em .

p e r o r w a s infuriated by this unwarranted activity N ey ,

withdrew to his original station He was ju s t in time .

,

for Bennigsen having learned O f Ney s isolated position
, ,

had started his entire army to the northwest intending ,

to cut o ff the intrepid marshal and destroy him In this

'

immediate object he failed since Ney had withdrawn a s ,

we have seen but he continued his advance encountered

, ,

Bernadotte in the sector just north o f Ney and forced him ,

to fall back nearly to the Vistula .

It was this last circumstance which had determined

Napoleon to renew the campaign in the dead o f winter .

His marshals formed their corps hastily and began the ,

laborious march northward The Emperor hoped to en .

counter his enemy near J o u ken do r f where he knew B en n ig ,

sen had concentrated ; but when his forces arrived it was ,

only t o nd that the Russian s had retired northward He .

did however succeed in forcing N ey s corps between

, ,

Bennigsen and Les t o c q and prevented their union until ,

the battle of Eylau The remainder o f his army purs ued .

Bennigsen always hoping to overtake the foe arriving at

, ,

a place only to nd that the Russians had vacated it The .

pursuit begun February 4 was short but exhausting The

, ,
.

cold was intense and the troops su ffered incredibly O nly

,
.

the ingrained Russian discipline kept B en n igs e n s army o n

th e march ; only t h e Emp eror s iron w ill kep t u p the p ur

R
242 TH E H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

suit The losses from cold exhaustion and disease in

. , ,

that terrible ve days march have never been accurately

determined s o that it is not known what numbers faced

,

each other when the Russians turned on their pursuers .

Napoleon s army was n o t all present when the action

began Bernadotte was far to the rear s o far that he

.

took no part in the battle ; Davout was several miles away

o n the right having followed a di fferent route ; and Ney
,

was well to the left pursuing Les t o c q The Emperor in , .

formed the two latter mars hals o f his plans and ordered ,

their support but at the moment when the engagement

,

was precipitated by the Russians Davout had only begun ,

his march toward the eld and N ey had not been heard ,

from .

A heavy cannonade in the early morning of February 8

opened the battle Napoleon planned to advance by his .

center corps that of Au ger e a u which should be s u s

t a i n e d by a holding attack o n the left and supported by ,

an envelopment o f the enemy s left ank by Da y o u t The

.

movement was b egun in a blinding snowstorm and Aug e ,

reau advancing through the confusion lost h i s direction

, ,

and came full o n the massed artillery in the hostile center .

The enemy s batteries opened o n the battalions at less
than a hundred yards and practically annihilated the whole ,

corps Indeed it ceased to exist as a separate unit from

.
,

that time The Russian counter -attack wa s repulsed by

.

Bessi e res in command of the Imperial Guard in time to ,

drive the attacki ng Russians back into Davout s enveloping

maneuver which now began to manifest itself With .

skillful strokes Davout advanced from position to position

,

until by four o clock he was behind the center o f the Russian
line .

Help was to come to Bennigsen from his other ank .

Le s t o c q in command o f the Prussian corps had successfully

, ,

evaded Ney by a brilliant ank march and in the late after

noon ap p eared in time to check the victorious Davout
'

.
 N APOLEO N VE RS U S PR U SSI A 2 43

Night fell with the battle undetermined with the French ,

holding advanced positions but with the allies complete ,

masters o f their lines of retreat The Emperor had lost .

heavily and he contemplated his situation with misgivings

, .

In the night however B en n igs e n s courage failed him and

, ,

he slipped away leaving the French in possession of the

,

eld Napoleon greatly relieved ordered a pursuit but

.
, , ,

the weather was such that he soon abandoned it .

iv . Di p lom a ti c M a n eu ver s
After the bloody and indecis i ve battle of Eylau Feb ru
ary 8 1 8 07 Napoleon made direct advances to Frederick
, ,

William o f Prussia for peace Frederick William s spirits .

had risen however at the amount o f resistance the Russians

, ,

had been able to o ffer and he rejected Napoleon s overtures

,

.

A few weeks later the Prussian and Russian sovereigns

renewed their pledges in the Treaty o f B artenstein (April 2 6 ,

and bound themselves also to request the adhesion

of Great Britain Sweden Austria and Denmark to a great
, , ,

Coalition o f Liberation whose object should be to dr ive

,

Napoleon out o f Germany and Italy .

At the same time Napoleon again approached Austria

in the endeavor to involve her with the French in an alliance
against Russia and Prussia In the Austrian court at the .

same time were envoys from both Russia and Prussia

trying to inuence Francis for their cause Though Silesia .
,

the bait o ffered by Napoleon was most tempting and , ,

though the reward o f s uccess in case an Austro -Prussian

Russian alliance should overthrow Napoleon would be great ,

the Austrian government had suffered t o o heavily to take

U p arms again at once Francis resisted the appeals from
.

b oth belligerents As a matter o f fact this neutrality was

.
,

o f immense value to Napoleon for an attack by Austria ,

upon his commun i cations and his ank would at this time
have been disastrous He obtained therefore all that
.
, ,

he had any reas on to exp ect .

2 44 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

In a m ore distant quarter he had still further success .

The Turkish campaign against Russia had languished b e

cause o f the ine fciency and treacherous intrigues of the
Turkish commanders And still farther ea s t his n ego t i a
.
,

tions with the Shah of Persia had not been brought to a

satisfactory conclusion With the beginning o f the new year
.
,

however conditions took a turn for the better Napoleon s
, .

emissaries infused new life into the Turkish campaign ,

causing the Czar to send rein forcements to h is a rmies in

the Danube region And the French Emperor concluded
.

a treaty with the Shah by which N apoleon guaranteed to

compel the Russians to evacuate the province o f Georg i a
and the Shah pledged h imself to take the o ffen s ive ag ain s t
the Briti s h in India .

v .
( con ti n u ed) Fr i edl an d
The C a m p a i gn i n E as t P r u s s i a .

In the few days following the battle o f Eylau N apoleon

withdrew to the general line of the Passarge River and set
about his preparations f o r the activities which h e knew
would come with spring The chief o f these w a s the Si ege
.

of Dantzig an operation undertaken in order that a new

and shorter line of supply might be established through .

the productive provinces of north Prus s ia to replace that

through Poland The siege w a s brought t o a successful
.

conclusion by the s urrender o f the fortress on M ay 2 6 ,

1 8 07 and the Emperor was left free to turn his attention

to his enemy in the eld He had recruited h is forces until
.

he was ready to op p ose the allied men with an army

of nearly He had behind him more in
the north German lowlands and Mas s ena with ,

opposing a single Russian corp s in Poland .

Bennigsen forestalled any possible French advance b y

an attack along the Passarge begun in the early days o f
June 1 8 07 A few minor successes speedily faded from
, .

view f o r N apoleon concentrated for a counter -attack and

, ,

t he R u ssi an a d v an c e b eca m e a p reci p itou s r etreat The .

 NAPOLEON VER S U S PRUSSIA 2 45

allied commander had committed the error o f dividing h is

forces . o f his scanty numbers under Le s t o c q were

o n the lower Passarge where they could be opposed by a

single corps under Victor They began their retirement

.

s imultaneously with Bennigsen but N apoleon s advance ,

was such that he pushed the two forces farther and f arther
apart In this advance the French encountered o n e severe
.
,

check at Heilsberg where Bennigsen h ad constructed an

entrenched camp A full . was the price they paid
f o r th e Russian evacuation but in the end they saw their
,

foe in full retreat do wn the right bank o f the Alle .

Napoleon s plan contemplated an attack o n the allied
right wing which would cut o ff his opponent from KOn igs
berg and force him across the Niemen Accordingly when .
,

he learned o f B en n igsen s retreat from Heil s berg he hurried

,

across country through Eylau t o prevent the allied armies

from entering the Prussian capital He was too late to .

prevent Les t o c q s corps from entering the city but he put ,

his army across B en n igs en s shortest route to KOn igs b er g

.

The latter wh o had m eanwhile lost touch with the French

, ,

determined to cross the Alle at Friedland and make at ,

once f o r Les t o c q and the city Napoleon learning o f this

.
,

on the night o f June 1 3 was enabled s o to move hi s troops

,

that the following day they wo n f or him the great victory

o f Friedland .

In the early m orning o f June 1 4 B ennigsen was opposed ,

at Friedland by a single French corps but his cros s ing was ,

slow and before he was prepared to advance other French

, ,

divisions had arrived and he w a s forced to take up a de

,

fensive line A scattering ght w a s waged all day during

.
,

which the French were continually being enforced until ,

by late afternoon the Emperor wa s able to put into e xecu

tion his real attack This provided for an as s ault o n the
.

Russian left wing by N ey while the remainder of the line

,

engaged in a strong holding attack The Russians rallied .

bravely to the shock of N ey s assault repulsed it sharply

, ,
2 46 T HE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

and caused the Emperor to send heavy reinforcements .

The second attempt forced the Russ i an left into the very
streets of Friedland where the havoc wrought by the French
mas sed artillery was frightful The bridges crowded by .
,

the Russian infantry were s et a r e and became impassable

, .

Meanwhile the Ru ss ian right had become demoralized

,

before the s turdy French holding attack and was being

sharply pressed back to the river bank The French cavalry .

under Grouchy which might have made the victory com

,

p l e t,e was inexcusabl y inactive and the Russian artillery ,

gallantly held the stream s edge while great mas ses of the
infantry swam and forded the Alle below Friedland .

'

But though a large portion of the Russians escaped , it

was not a s organized units f o r the rig h t bank of the Alle ,

w a s crowded with fugitives eeing to cross the Niemen .

Les t o c q when he learned of the disaster abandoned Konigs

, ,

berg and did his best to rally the fragments o f B en n igs en s
command but the attempt was vain The Russian army
, .

had been too roughly handled and L es t o c q was forced , ,

when Napoleon appeared o n the N iemen to give up the ,

struggle and with it Prussia s last ho p e of freedom
, , .

C . TH E T R EA T Y OF TIL SI T
The victory of the French at Friedland disheartened the
Czar The Russian generals urged him to treat with the
.

French conqueror Alexander was forced t o yield to their

.

entreaties June 2 2 1 807 he arranged an armistice a d

.
, , ,

vising the Prussians to follow his example The next day

.

Frederick William acted in accordance with this advice .

June 2 5 1 807 a personal interview between N apoleon and

, ,

Alexander was held o n a huge raft moored in the middle of ,

the Niemen River .

What took place in this rs t meeting of the sovereigns

is unkno wn Alexander however w a s in a mood to come
.
, ,

to terms of peace He had been bitterly disappointed by

.

the l a ck o f a s sistance from Great Britain He was face to .

 NAPOLEO N VE R S U S PRU SS IA 247

face with a strong m utinous element among the of cers

of the Russian army who condemned this war for foreign
,

interests. It has been said that Alexander s rst remark

was : I hate the English as much as y o u do and I wi ll ,

second y o u in all your action s against them ; and that

Napoleon at once responded : In that case all can be

arranged and peace is made Certain it is that Napoleon s
.

personal fascination w a s exercised to good e ffect upon the

young Russian Czar I never had more prej udices against
.

any o n e than against hi m said Alexander afterwards but
, ,

after three quarters of an hour of conversation they all ,

disappeared like a dream .

After two meetings o n the raft the monarchs met there

,

after in the town o f Tilsit a section o f which had been

,

temporarily neutralized f o r the purpose Frederick William .

met them but Napoleon treated him coldly and di s co u r t e

,

o u s ly
, accusing him o f being responsible f o r the w a r and
paying little attention to his interests Indeed N apoleon .
,

accepted his presence not in the character o f sovereign

, ,

but in that o f a prot g of the Czar In the midst of the .

negotiation s word came that the Sultan o f Turkey with

, ,

whom Napoleon had been allied had been deposed No , .

event could have suited Napoleon s purposes better He .

realized well the ambitions o f Alexander f o r Constantinople .

He had no scruples against arranging f o r a partition of the

country which had been his ally He is said to have ex .

claimed t o Alexander upon receipt o f the news : It is a
decree o f Providence which tells me that the Turkish Em

pire can no longer exi st Certainly Napoleon now had
.
,

something denite to offer the Czar in return for what he

desired f o r France and his o wn ends .

In the negotiations that followed Prussia suffered severely

, .

Neither the arguments o f the Czar nor the entreatie s of

the beautiful Prussian Queen Louisa could move N apoleon
to spare Prussia In the nal treaty the Treaty of Ti l s i t
.
, ,

sign ed July 7 1 807 Prussia was given back Sile s ia out o f

, ,
2 48 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

deference to the wishes of the Czar but her territories were ,

restricted to those former territorie s between the Elbe and

the Niemen Rivers The Polish lands seized by Prussia in
.

the second and third partitions w e re constituted into a

new state the Duchy of Warsaw o f which the King of
, ,

Saxo n y was made sovereign Dantzig was made a free .

city under the j oint protection of the Ki ng o f Prussia and

the Czar of Russia Prussia wa s thus dismembered and
.

weakened .

By the terms of the treaty Alexander recognized the ,

changes made in Naple s Holland and Germany including , , ,

the creation of the Kingdom of Westphalia for Napoleon s
brother J er ome out o f the Prus s ian territories west of the
, ,

Rhine He further agreed to accept Napoleon s mediation
.

between Russia and Turkey and to withdraw Russian troops ,

from the Danubian provinces as soon a s a Russo Turkish -

peace was reached .

Added to the above public terms of treaty wa s provi s i on

for a close offensive and defensive alliance in a convention
signed the same day By the terms o f this alliance both
.
,

sovereigns pledged themselves to make common cause in

any war either might undertake again s t any European
power The Czar agreed to make war upon Great Britain
.

if she did not accept his mediation between France and

Great Britain Napoleon agreed to help Russia drive the
.

Turks from Europe if the Porte did not accept his m ediation
,

between Russia and Turkey .

Two days later July 9 1 8 07 a treaty o f peace wa s signed

, ,

with Prussia its terms being the s ame as those outlined in

,

the treaty with Russia In addition Prussi a was forced .

,

to j oin the continental blockade again s t Great Britain and ,

in case Great Britain failed to come to terms to join France ,

and Russia in wa r .

Shortly after the Peace of Tilsit was signed N apoleon ,

returned to Paris stopping en route at Dresden to visit

,

his ally the King o f Saxony He arrived in Paris July 2 7 .

, ,
 NAPOLEO N VER S U S PRUSS IA 249

after an absence from his capital o f ten months His

1 807 , .

troops were graduall y withdrawn from Prussia and dis

posed among the states o f the Confederation o f the Rhine .

His diplomacy was n o w directed solely to inj uring his o n e

implacable enemy Great Britain
, .
 C HAPTER XI

THE D U EL WI T H G REAT B R ITAIN

A F T ER his successive victories over Austria Prussia and , ,

Russia Napoleon was encouraged t o believe that he could

,

subdue his last important enemy Great Britain He wa s , .

unable it is true to meet the British naval power o r to

, ,

break the strict blockade it maintained on French ports :

but o n the other hand Great Britain was equally unable to
, ,

meet his troops o n land and accurate reports represented her

,

industry and commerce as su ffering intensely from his

limitation o f her continental markets Indeed as he esti .
,

mated the situation France was after the Treaty of Tilsit

, , ,

in the more favorable position Great Britain had put forth

.

her full e ff ort in the blockade : s h e could inj ure France no

further The con que s t of Prussia and the alliance with
.

Russia gave to France new weapons N apoleon could look .

forward with condence to barring the British from access

to any part o f the continent His plans then from this .
, ,

moment onward depended wholly upon the single end o f the

defeat o f Great Britain His decrees his annexations his
.
, ,

wars and campaigns were all executed with the single object
o f stopping up every gap on the continent Success in his .

duel with Great Britain became the key to all his policies .

A . TH E CO N TI N EN TA L B L O C K A DE

The rst measure in his plan f o r a continental blockade

against British commerce was taken in the issuance of the
Berlin Decree ( November 2 1 By this as we have
, ,

mentioned he forbade all commerce o r commun i cation with

,

the British islands and ordered the seizure of British goods

,

in ports under French control He forwarded this Decree .

250
 THE D UEL WITH GREAT BR I TAIN 25 1

to the governments o f Spain Naples Holland and Etruria

, , ,

( Tuscany) and expected them in loyalty to the close bonds

,

between them and France to comply with i t s provisions He .

looked forward to forcing the observance o f this decree upon

every state with which he preserved amicable relations .

Great Britain o f course could n o t supinely disregard

, ,

such a sweeping decree as that Napoleon issued from Berlin .

Her answer was in an O rder in Council o f January 7 1 807 , ,

proclaiming that any ship trading between t wo ports from

which British ships were excluded should after due warning
be regarded as lawf ul prize This stroke wa s intended to
.

prevent neutral commerce from reaching France The .

British government followed this measure at the end of the

year by anothe r O rder in Council ( November 1 1 1 807 ) pro ,

claiming that ports whence British ships and goods were

excluded should be subject to all the restrictions o f actual
blockade ; that all trade in articles produced by countries
excluding Briti s h ships and goods was to be p rohibited ; and
that all shi ps indulging in such trade were to be regarded
as la wf ul prize These O rders in Council were intended to
.

do two things ( 1 ) to prevent trade with France ; and ( 2 ) to

prevent other states from observing Napoleon s decrees .

The deadly effi ciency of the British navy made the O rders in
Council a frightful menace to neutral shipping .

Napoleon s response to the British measures was by th e

Warsaw Decree ( January 2 5 1 807 ) in which he directed the

,

conscation o f all British merchandise in the Hanseatic

cities ; and by the great Milan Decree December 1 7 1 807 in ,

whi ch he proclaimed that all ships submitting to the Briti s h

Orders and any ship sailing from a British harbor or from a
,

country occupied by British troops would be regarded as

,

lawf ul prize subject to capture by the French Thus the .

,

British navy tried to catch neutral s hips at sea and the ,

French officials seized them when they came to port .

Neutral commerce was paralyzed by such sweeping acts of

the belligerents .
2 52 TH E H S TOR YI OF E U ROPE

Napoleon s decrees Were by no means the m ere paper

blockade they might seem for he accompanied them with ,

an extension o f his power until he had actually stopped access

to the continent for British goods His Treaty of Ti ls it had .

secured Russia and Prussia his alliances guaranteed Holland ,

Spain Etruria ( Tuscany ) and northern Italy There

, , .

remained only Denmark Portugal A ustria and Sweden , , , .

Beginning immediately af ter the Treaty o f Tilsit he p ut ,

pressure upon these states until he brought them one by o n e

into his system .

In July 1 8 07 Napoleon invited the Danish government to

, ,

make its choice between friendship with Great Britain and

friendship wi th France Denmark s position wa s di fficult
. .

War against Great Britain would expose her thriving com

merce to destruction war with France would probably result
in her extinction : and neither France nor Great Britain was
disposed longer to tolerate her neutrality The Dan ish gov .

e r n m e n t s nal deci s ion was determined by Great Britain s

action The British government learning of Napoleon s

.
,

intentions toward Denmark decided to forestall him It , .

therefore ordered a eet and expeditionary force to Copen

hagen to O ffer alliance and in the event o f refusal to cripple
,

the Danish o ff ensive power This eet arrived o ff Copen .

hagen August 3 1 807 A s wa s expected its o ff er o f alliance

, ,

was re f used The expeditionary force was landed and guns

.

placed for the b ombardment of the city September 2 1 8 07 .

, ,

the bombardment began Five days later the Danes yielded .

,

surrendering their eet and the British seized eighteen ships

,

o f the line ten frigates and f orty -two smaller vessels

, , Den .

mark of course formally declared wa r upon Great Britain

, , ,

and joined whole -heartedly N apoleon s alliance N apoleon

.

thus gained his purpose but keenly regretted the loss of a ,

navy which would have strengthened him o ffensively .

At the same time he was pressing Denmark Napoleon ,

was acting against Portugal another gap in his continental ,

blockade July 1 9 1 8 07 he instructed T a lley r an d to warn

.
, ,
 THE D UEL WITH GREAT B RITA IN 253

th e Portuguese ambassador that Portugal must close its har

bors to British trade and seize British goods by September 1
o n penalty o f war Like Denmark Portugal n o t allowed to
.
, ,

maintain neutrality was sure to lose with whichever bel ,

liger e n t s h e cast her f ortunes Napoleon expected her .

refusal and consequently signed a secret convention with

Spain at Fontainebleau O ctober 2 7 1 8 07 providing for , ,

military c o Op er a t i o n and the ultimate partition o f Portugal .

Even before this convention was signed a ying column u n ,

der Junot entered Spain ( O ctober 1 9 1 807 ) and marched rap ,

idly toward Lisbon The Portuguese government r eco gn i z

.
,

ing the futility of resistance prepared to ee November 2 9 , .

,

1 807 the entire court with the national archives and the
, ,

state treasure s et sail for Brazil under protection o f the Brit

,

ish eet The following day Junot s advance guard came in
.

sight of Lisbon almost in time to s ee the retiring ships

, .

Lisbon fell and Portugal was closed to British commerce ;

,

but Napoleon felt again that o n e o f the chief advantages of

his policy had been lost b y the es ca pe o f the court and the
treasure .

Th ough Austria with her single port o f Trieste could

, ,

h ardly be called o n e of t h e important trading countries the ,

moral advantage of h er adhesion to the continental system

was great Napoleon sought therefore to bring his inuence
.
, ,

to bear upon her government By a convention signed at .

Fontainebleau O ctober 1 1 1 8 07 all outstanding i ssues , ,

especially those concerning boundaries in Illyria and Dal

matia were settled and Austria undertook to o ffer her
, ,

mediation to the British government with a view to Anglo

French peace Wh en the British refused rmly such media
.

tion the A ustrian ambassador withdrew from London

, .

February 2 8 1 808 Austria accepted the principles of the

, ,

continental blockade This triumph for Napoleon was .

marred by no disaster Indeed h e had hopes at the time .

,

of a close alliance with Austria to further French ambitions .

The pressure upon Sweden wa s exerted by Russia Feb r u .

2 54 THE H STORY I OF EUR O PE

ary 1 0 1 8 08 Alexander demanded that Sweden withdraw

, ,

from her alliance with Great Britain Upon Sweden s .

refusal Russian troops poured into Finland and in a qui ck

,

campaign subj ugated the country June 1 7 1 8 08 Alexander .

,

endeavored to make his con quest agreeable to the Finns by

promisin g them the enjoyment of their ancient rights and th e
convocation of their Diet In N ovember 1 8 08 Sweden .
, ,

accepted a truce acknowledging t h e Russian occupation o f

,

Finland N o t until over a year later however after the

.
, ,

abdication o f the irreconcilable Swedish King Gustavus IV ,

did Sweden enter the continental system ( January 6 ,

Two other small possible gaps in the coast line Napoleon

closed by outright annexation The small Kingdom of .

Etruria ( Tuscany chief city Florence ) had not been governed

,

with the e f ciency N apoleon expected He therefore .

annexed it by decree May 3 0 1 808 To the south the Pope , .

,

had been sullenly hostile t o Napoleon even after the con ,

elusion of the Concordat of 1 801 N apoleon dealt with h im .

arbitrarily After detaching the northeastern papal pro v

.

i n ces kno wn as t h e Marches and adding them to the

, ,

Kingdom o f Italy (April 1 8 08 ) he annexed Rome and th e ,

adj oining provinces May 1 7 1 8 09 , , .

B EFF E C T NA P O L E O N S P O L I T IC AL AN D

. OF

E C O N O MI C ME A S U R E S
Upon Great Britain the closing of commercial o p ,

p o r t u n i t i es in country after country naturally produced the

keenest e ffect Gold went to a premium The price o f

. .

necessities especially grain rose to unprecedented heights

, ,
.

Great merchant houses went into bankruptcy The poor .

people su ffered intensely So far as th e government was .

concerned however the determination to carry the war

, ,

through to a successful conclusion remained unshaken Fox .

had died in September 1 8 06 and his Ministry of all the , ,

Talents had been succeeded in March 1 8 07 by a Tory , ,

mini s try under the Duke o f Portland It was this ministry .

 THE D U EL WI TH GREAT B R I TAW 2 55

whi ch projected the attack upon neutral Denmark (August

September 18 07 which refused Austrian mediation for
,

peace ( O ctober 1 80
7 February
, which rst saw the ,

light of possible ultimate success in the Spanish uprising and

the ghting o f British e xp editionary troops in Portugal and
Spain in 1 8 08 and 1 809 The Portland government showed
.

little energy o r capacity in domestic affairs but it remained ,

r m against Napoleon s system .

Up on the continen t Napoleon s exactions were at this

,

time rapidly arousing new enemies and putting fresh life into
old ones In his e o r t s to rui n Great Britain he over
.
,

reached himsel f and awakened national forces whose strength

he utterly failed to appreciate In dealing with the princes .

and princedoms he cease d to take into account the inherent

,

patriotism o f peoples .

It was in Spain that hi s arbitrary policies met their r s t

decidedly popular check The Spanish government had .

been hi s ally from the beginning o f the war It had actually .

in O ctober 1 8 07 by the Convention o f Fontainebleau bound

, ,

itself more rigidly to alliance in the hope o f sharing in the

partition of Portugal The Spanish people had welcomed
.

Junot s soldiers in their march to Lisbon and though sur

, ,

prised had n o t at r st resisted the later French detachments

,

which established themselves at strategic point s throughout

northern Spain Resentment at the presence o f these
.

foreign troops o n Spanish soil suddenly blazed forth in a

demonstration against the King and the Prime Minister ,

Godoy March 1 9 1 8 08 The King Charles IV resign ed in

, , , ,

fright and his s o n Ferdinand assumed the crown A few weeks .

later the French Emperor induced the whole royal fami ly

to meet hi m at Bayonne ( in French territory ) and there ,

extracted from Ferdinand the restoration o f the cro wn to his

father and from Charles IV a resignation of all hi s rights into
,

the hands o f Napoleon as the only person able to restore

,

order ( May 6 ,
Napoleon thereupon designated h is
b rother Jose p h as Kin g of S p ain sendin g Mur at to take the ,
2 56 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

throne of N aples Jo s eph went to Spain in June 1 808 to

.
, ,

assu m e his new but dangerous honors .

Wh en information of these political changes was given out

in Spain the country broke into spontaneous revolution
, .

However ine fcient their sovereigns had been they were still ,

of Spanish blood and traditions Th e peo p le were en .

t h u s i a s t i c a l ly loyal Though they were without organiza

.

tion without capable leaders and without adequate equip

, ,

m ent they prepared by guerrilla warfare to harass the French

,

ar m ies They gave to the world the rst example of what

.

could be e ffected against the French conqueror by a trul y

national uprising .

To the eas t the humiliation of Prussia by N apoleon had

,

engendered a new patriotism which revealed it s elf not in a ,

spectacular uprising but in the laborious reorganization o f

,

the country s institutions Prussia under the lead of Stein .
, ,

Scharnhorst and their colleagues began to t herself to put

, ,

forward her utmost strength when the time came f o r her to

strike The disasters o f the war had shown the need of
.

general reformation Stein wh o entered O ffice as Minister

.
,

of War O ctober 5 1 8 07 had the energy and ability t o carry

,

through t h is reformation The initial measure was t h e .

abolition of serfdom in Prus s ia by edict of O ctober 9 1 807 , .

By thus abolishing all personal servitude and permitting all

persons to engage in any calling Stein at a stroke brought the ,

social structure of Prussia into a line legally with that of her

progressive neighbors and won f o r the government a new
,

kind o f allegiance from the m ass o f the people Stein .

accompanied this social reform by his s upport of the plan for

a reorganization o f the army suggested by Scharnhorst .

A ccording to this plan the principle o f universal service was

,

to be adopted a short term of service with the colors required

, ,

and a term in the Reserve when a man would be called upon

only in the event o f war The standing army o f Prussia would
.

be only but by means of assigning trained men to the

Reserve and continuall y callin g ne w le vie s to the colors a ,
 THE D U EL WI TH GREAT B RITAI N 257

large number of soldiers were kept ready for military duty at

short notice The system thus suggested by Scharnhorst
.

and adop t ed remained the practice of Prussia and of modern

Germany A third great reform proj ected by Stein but
.
,

never fully carried out was the establishment o f the f o u n da

,

tions o f representative liberal government including a ,

parliam ent and local elected bodies The opposition on the .

part of the o l d nobility drove Stein from power ( December ,

1 808 ) before he had been able to do more than introduce the

rudiments of local self government Such measures as these
-
.

mentioned encouraged a new spirit among the Prussian

people Once the instinct o f patriotism w a s aroused its
.
,

development was fostered under the new institutions .

In Austria too the government prepared to rely upon an

, ,

awakened patriotism to withstand Napoleon As in the .

case of Prussia the severity o f Napoleon in his hour o f victory

,

actually gave birth to a new spirit in the defeated nation .

The Austrian humiliation at the terms o f the Treaty o f Press

burg and at the enforced entry of the government into the
continental system early in 1 8 08 inspired the people to r e
deem themselves The Emperor Francis gave them their
.

opportunity by ordering ( June 9 1 8 08 ) the establishment o f

,

a national L a n dwehr an army to include all able -bodied men

,

from eighteen to twenty -v e years old The people r e .

s p o n de d to this law with the greatest enthusiasm enrolling ,

themselves eagerly in the new L a n dwehr and looking forward

with condence to the struggle .

The persistence of Great Britain the signs o f awakening,

national life in Prussia the formation o f the new L a n dwehr in

,

Austria and the very embarrassing revolt in Spain led N a p o

,

leon to desire a new conference with Alexander o f Russia his ,

o n e great ally The shifting political situation made a full

.

understanding between the two sovereigns advisable The .

conference was arranged for the end O f September 1 8 08 in , ,

the little Thuringian to w n o f Erfurt There the Cz ar and .

the Emperor met Se p tember 2 7 an d remained to g ether u ntil

s
2 58 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

O ctober 12 , The conditions however were much

1 8 08 .
, ,

changed since T il s it At Tilsit Napoleon was supreme At

. .

Erfurt the Czar held the advantage o f position for Napo

, ,

leon sorely needed the Czar s guarantee to keep in check the
threatening Austria and Prussia while the French armies
were engaged in Spain O f the discussions we know little
. .

Much time was taken up with the eastern question where ,

the Cz ar wanted a free hand even so far as the seizure o f

Constantinople and by Napoleon s desire to make a j oint
,

Franco -Russian demand upon Austria t o disarm The nal .

convention signed O ctober 1 2 1 808 was a compromise

, , , .

Napoleon consented reluctantly to Russian acquisition o f the

Turkish provinces o f Moldavia and Wallachia acknowledged ,

the Russian control over Finland and received the Czar s ,

pledge to come to his assistance in case Austria attacked

France Napoleon had to be content with these terms and
.
,

hurried f rom Erfurt to direct his campaign in Spain .

C . TH E PE N I N S U LAR WAR
Th e Peninsular War does not admit o f a casual survey as

readily as do Napoleon s other campaigns The denite .

shock of army against army ending in decisive victory or

defeat is missing here This is partly because the Emperor
.

himsel f w a s unable t o give his whole attention to Spain ,

and partly because the w a r dragged out its unsatis f actory

course for ve years There were sharp conicts between the
.

opponents but they were not decisive for the reason that the
,

contestants British and French were ghting over the

, ,

territory o f a third nation the Spanish and there could never

, ,

be added to the strategic value o f any operation that political

gravity which so inuences the scale when one belligerent is
defending its own domain Nevertheless the war can be .
,

divided into phases suf ciently denite to give an under

standing o i the military situations The two phases which .

concern us now are that of Jun o t in Portu g al and that of the

Em p eror in S p ain .
 THE D UEL WI TH GR EAT B R I TA I N 2 59

The situation in Spain w a s a confused one To meet the .

growing national rising the French troops were scattered

throughout the Peninsula In the beginning they were every
.

where successful against the ragged nationalists and by ,

July 1 8 08 they were occupying the provinces of Navarre

, , ,

Aragon Catalonia and the Castiles holding among others

, , , , ,

the cities o f Madrid and Toledo Then disaster fell s u d .

den ly upon them Dupont marching into Andalusia was

.
, ,

defeated after he had captured Cordova and was forced to ,

surrender at B a y l e n his entire force of A little

earlier Moncey h ad been repulsed in an attempt to storm
,

Valencia The Sp anish general Palafox had held the

.
, ,

French helpless before Saragossa and on the Mediterranean ,

another force had blockaded French in B arcelona .

All this the Spanish had accomplished acting alone and now , ,

early in August came news o f

,
English landing at
various points in Spain and Portugal King Joseph with .
,

Marshal Jourdan o f Revolutionary army fame as his

military adviser proved incapable of handling so vexed a
,

question and it became apparent to the Emperor that there

,

were needed in Spain more men and the Imperial presence .

The landing of the British troops calls attention for the

moment to Portugal August 1 1 808 . men under , ,

Sir Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington ) landed on

the coast a hundred miles north o f Lisbon and at once began
an advance o n the Portuguese capital O n their march .

southward they were j oined by two brigades which brought

their strength up to With this force Wellesley ,

hoped to drive out J u n o t s weaker army of less than
The French general however determined to make up in
, ,

activity what he lacked in strength and accordingly took the ,

offensive before the little to wn o f Vi m ier a A failure to .

reconnoiter properly his enemy s position led to his army s
being pushed o ff the Lisbon road into a most unfavorable
situation (August 2 1 Learning of the approach o f
,

B ritish reinforcements Junot o n the following day asked for

,
2 60 I
THE H STO RY O F E UROPE

an armistice By the convention of Cintra signed on

.
,

August 3 0 the French agreed to withdraw from Portugal and

,

in turn the English undertook to transport J u n o t s army to
France .

Af fairs in Spain were no more satisfactory The French .

forces had retired to the line o f the Ebro River where they ,

held a weak position near Logrono The Spaniards were .

confronting them boldly but unintelligently Their line w as .

divided into three principal parts stationed from V a l m a s eda

,

to Saragossa and between the commanders of these divisions

,

there was little desire for co operation Their forces were .

disposed as follows : Blake held the left o f the line

at Valmaseda ; Castanos formed the center at
Tudela ; Palafox stood before Saragossa ; and a
reserve of occupied Burgos Far to the right another
.
,

force o f w a s blockading the French in B arcel ona .

This was the situation which Napoleon found when he ar

rived in Vittoria o n November 5 1 808 , .

The Emperor had prep ared f o r his campaign by greatly

augmenting the corps with which he proposed to O perate .

At the moment of taking command his army divided into , ,

seven corps numbered

, O f these all except o n e corps ,

of under St Cyr ( who was designated to relieve B arce

.

lona) occupied the line of the Ebro The army was divided .

into three units the right composed of Soult and Lefe bvre ; a
center made up of Victor B essi e res and the Guard ; and the
, ,

left constituted by Ney and Moncey The plan o f campaign .

was outlined as soon as the situation became apparent The .

Emperor decided upon a swift thrust at the hostile center

which should completely penetrate the Spanish line and then ,

a series o f blows aimed at the greatly inferior portions of his

dissevered f o e It was familiar strategy for the young
.
,

General Bonaparte had used it with great ef fect against the

Austrians and Sardinians in that renowned rst campaign in
Italy .

It was to succeed as markedly in the present campaign .

 T HE D UE L WITH GREAT B R ITAI N 261

The initial irruption o f the Spanish line brought Soult and

Bessi e res face to face with their opponent s reserve near

Burgos In the engagement which followed the irregular

.
,

Spanish forces were beaten and entirely dispersed Thus in .

,

a single day the rst part o f the plan was completed The .

line was bisected ; it remained only to crush each portion

separately The left half under Blake featured ever s o
.

slightly in the operations which f ollowed and may be dealt ,

with in a f ew words Soult to whom w a s given the task of

.
,

pursuit pressed it back through the mountains of northern

,

Spain Though it subsequently united with Sir John Moore s

.

army it did not affect the outcome of the campaign

, .

The right wing lay at the mercy of N ey and Moncey A .

coOr di n a t e movement would have crushed it utterly between

t h e two corps but for no apparent reason Ney lay quiet while
,

Moncey attacked with the result that though this wing o f

,

the f o e was again divided it was not crushed P a l a f o x s
,
.

command made for Saragossa while C astanos retreated to ,

Guadalaj ara .

Meanwhile the center with the Emperor in com m and had

,

m arched briskly forward seized the passes o f the G u a dar

,

rama Mountains and on December 2 appeared before

,

Madrid A few hours o f artillery re so convinced the armed

.

inhabitants of the futility o f resistance that o n December 4

the city capitulated Napoleon did not pause in the city but
.

moved south to the Tagus River to meet the British attack

which he knew was approaching .

He had miscalculated the direction of this approach ,

however Sir John Moore commanding a British force o f

.
,

was marching from Lisbon to the assistance o f the

Spaniards He expected to j oin at V alladolid o r Burgos a
.

smaller British force which had landed at Corunna and from ,

the point o f union go o n to the assistance o f their allies .

But by the time his advance guard had entered Salamanca .

the French were in sight of Madrid and his original plan had ,

becom e impossible He formulated a second which con

.
2 62 T HE H S TORY I OF EU ROPE

t em p l a t e d
a thrust at Napoleon s communications but gave ,

it up f or a purely defensive union at Valderas with the force

from Corunna and then began his famous retreat to the
,

coast .

For Napoleon had learned of his advance and had le f t ,

Madrid on Decembe r 2 0 with a force of in the hope

o f cutting Moore o ff from Corunna In twelve days he .

marched 2 1 4 miles through ice and snow to reach a position

in the rear of Moore while at the same time in obedience to
, ,

the Emperor s orders Soult moved forward f rom his position

in north Spain At Astorga on January 1 1 809 Napoleon

.
, , ,

saw that Moore could not be cut O ff from his port ; so leaving

S o u l t s corps to carry o n the pursuit he led his o wn command ,

to Valladolid A few days later he w a s in Paris Meanwhile

. .
,

Soult kept at the heels o f the retreating British At Corunna .

,

within sight o f the transports he forced a battle which cost ,

the British their commander but he was unable to prevent ,

a safe embarkation The rst phase had ended successfu lly

.

for France but the British still held Lisbon and dishearten
, ,

ing times were in store for the Emperor in the Peninsula .

D
. TH E WAR W I T H A U STR I A
Believing that the nal stages of the campaign in S p ain
could be carried through by his lieutenants Napoleon hurried ,

back to Paris in January 1 809 Rumors had reached him of

, .

political intrigues in the French capital and direct inform a ,

tion o f the extent and progress of Austria s preparations for

war .His presence in Paris quickly ended the intrigues and

he began to make his dispositions to meet the Austrian
attack .

For her excuse for war Austria need merely point to the
,

terms of the Treaty of Pressburg Such term s could never be .

considered permanent by a proud and s elf re s pecting nation - .

Furthermore the Emperor Francis had been deeply moved

,

b y N apoleon s treatment o f the Spanish royal family and by

th e changes in Italy If the French conqueror could by a

.
 THE D U EL W ITH GREAT B RITAIN 263

word unseat the ancient Bourbon house in Spain wh y s h ould ,

not the whim seize him to demand the abdication o f the

Hapsburg house in Austria ? And if by mere imperial decree
Napoleon chose to annex nominally independent states in
the Italian peninsula like Tuscany and arbitrarily assign
, ,

parts of the Papal dominions to h is Kingdom o f Italy where ,

need this process end ? Considerations of self -interest and

fear both pointed to a war to destroy this constant menace .

The time seemed opportune for the mas s o f French troops ,

were engaged in Spain and the new Austrian levies were,

inspired with enthus iasm .

By December 1 8 08 the Austrian court had secretly

, ,

determined upon war The nal decision was made by the

.

Imperial Council under the presidency of the Emperor

Francis February 8 1 8 09 The concentration o f Austrian
, .

troop s began February 2 5 1 809 ; the advance over the ,

Bavarian boundary without a formal declaration of war on

April 1 0 1 809
, .

In the spring of 1 809 for the rst time in his career , ,

Napoleon was unable to anticipate h is adversary s prepara
tions for war His o wn activities in Spain had kept h im o u t
.

o f France until January and though he immediately set,

about the task o f concentrating an army for the coming w ar ,

Austria s co m mander the Archduke Charles was able to

, ,

make the initial m ove The Emperor F rancis was m aking

.

every effort to avenge Pressburg and accordingly put into ,

the eld an army of In the second week o f April ,

1 809 thi s great army was set in motion

,
Bellegarde with .

men w a s in Bohemia mar ching toward Ratisbon , ,

while th e Archduke Charle s with the remainder crossed the

River Inn His objective w a s of course N apoleon s troops
. , ,

on the upper Danube and in order to compass their des t r u c

,

tion he planned a union with Bellegarde at Ratisbon fro m ,

which point he would march to destroy the French He h ad .

behind him o n both sides o f the Danube lines o f c o m m u n i ca

, ,

tion with Vienna which were guarded by militia

,
.
264 T HE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

N apoleon s p lan contemplated the destruction o f the

Austrian army combined with an occupation o f Vienna .

This plan however wa s depe n dent upon the movements of

, ,

his enemy because as we h a Ve said Ch arles rather than

, , ,

Napoleon was in a p osition to direct the opening movements

of the campaign By the end o f March the Emperor had
. ,

east of the Rhine troops which he planned to con ,

centrate in the vicinity o f Ratisbon In command of them .

he had his two ablest lieutenants Davout and Mass ena and , ,

be f ore the campaign was well under way he was able to ,

employ the other marshal wh o is worthy to be ranked with

thes e two Lanne s In addition he had Lef ebvre O udi -l
.
, ,

not V andamme Bessi e res and as chief-o f -sta ff Berthier

, , , , .

In early April the six corps into which the army was divided
were stationed along the Danube in the vicinity o f U lm ,

extending as far east as Ratisbon and as far south as Augs ,

burg O ne corps
.
the B avarian W a s holding the Isar
River at Landshut The army w a s based o n the Rhine f ro m
.

Mainz to Strassburg .

When Charles cross ed th e Inn about April 1 2 1 8 09 h e , , ,

made impossible a French concentration at Ratisbon .

Berthier wh o wa s in command until the Emperor s hould

,

arrive failing to grasp the signicance of his advance

, ,

instead of concentrating as N apoleon had directed for this ,

contingency ordered the B avarians to retake Landshut

, ,

from which they had retired at the approach o f the Austrians .

In the face of greatly superior forces they were unable to

hold the river crossing and fell back thus opening a great
, ,

hole in Berthier s Augsburg -Ratisbon line into which the

Archduke began pouring his force s The French position .

was not unlike that of the allies in the rst Italian campaign
after Montenotte o r o f the Spaniards after N apoleon had
,

made his thrust on Burgos Fortunately the Emperor was .

,

at hand to repair the da m age which Berthier s blunder had

caused Upon his arrival he ordered M a ss n a wi th the right

.

wing to march from A ugsburg o n Pfaff enh o f en and Davout ,

 THE D U EL WI TH GREAT B R ITAIN 265

with the left wing to march from Ratisbon o n Augsburg .

Both anks were thus brought in to support the B avarians

wh o had fallen back to the Abens River just east of Neustadt , .

But the Archduke failed t o take advantage of his fortunate

situation Instead o f marching with his whole force against
.

either wing o f N apoleon s army he made the mi stake of

marching north from Landshut in four columns o n e each

on Mainburg Ab en s b u r g Rohr and Langquaid The next

, , , .

day (April 1 9 1 8 09 ) he made his situation still worse by

,

turning his center and right toward Ratisbon where he still ,

hoped to unite with Bellegarde In the march toward .

Ratisbon his westernmost columns brushed against the

columns o f Davout marching south to the support o f the
Bavarians There was an encounter but it was limited t o the
.
,

hindermost divisions and did not deter Davout from complet

ing his mission A half of his corps remained to watch the
.

Archduk e himself while the remainder hur ried o n to carry out

an attack against the Archduke s left wi ng

.

This wing commanded by Hiller had been left when

, , ,

Charles turned toward Ratisbon with his center and right in ,

an isolated position of whi ch Napoleon w a s quick to take

advantage Against it he brought the whole force of Mas
.

s n a
,
the B avarians and half o f Davout s corps under
,

Lannes With their overwhelming numbers they had soon

.
,

defeated it ( April 2 0 1 809 ) and f orced it to retreat across the

,

Isar at Landshut Sending two cavalry divisions under

.

B essi eres in pursuit o f this shattered wing the Emperor ,

turned hi s attention toward the Archduke s main force .

Bellegarde meanwhile had arrived at Ratisbon after his

, ,

m arch through Bohemia and had quickly overpowered the ,

garrison left there He had then pushed s outhward and had

.

soon joined Charles near E ckm ii h l (April 2 2 He had ,

barely arrived when Mass e na and Lannes who had j ust ,

nished defeating Hiller attacked at E ckm ii h l The Arch

,
.

duk e s right was being engaged at the time by Davout s o the

,

attack on E ckm iih l came as a disagreeable surprise ; and as a

266 THE H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

result o f it he was forced to fall back upon Ratisbon He was .

pursued thither by N apoleon in the hope of destroying the

Au s trian army but Charles rear guard held the city until his
,

army had s afely crossed the river Nevertheless Charles .

,

was now limited to a line of retreat north o f the Danube ,

while on the south a way lay clear for the French to t h e

Austrian capital .

The m arch to Vienna was made speedily the Archduk e ,

Charles paralleling it on the north bank of the Danube O n .

the 9 t h o f May the French were before the walls and on the
, ,

evening of the 1 2 th Mass ena entered the city The capital

, .

surrendered on the following day But the greatest task was .

still ahead for the Archduke s army was still in the eld
,

.

The two portions had united near Wagram and were expect
ing to be reinforced by the Archduke John wh o had been

endeavoring to prevent Prince Eug e ne s advance with an
army from Italy T o reach and attack this army N apoleon
.

planned to cros s the Danube at the island o f Lobau Such .

a crossing required the construction o f two bridges o ne ,

acro s s the Wider southern channel and another acro s s the

narrow northern one They were completed within a week
.
,

and o n the morning of M ay 2 1 M a s s e na cro s sed and o c

c u p i ed the villages of Aspern and Essling Charles waited .

until s uch numbers had crossed as he thought could be

readily handled and then fell upon them at the two villages
, .

For t wo days a bloody battle raged in which the Austrians , ,

perhaps had the advantage The villages were taken and

, .

retaken while Napoleon waited for Davout s corps to cross

,

.

But the great southern bridge had been destroyed by a sud

den ri s e in the river and nothing remained but to retire to the
,

island of Lobau This retreat was carried out in safety but

.

it cost the Emperor the life of Lannes one of his able s t ,

m arshals and closest friend s .

The marshals when consulted advised a retreat after th e

, ,

defeat at Aspern but N apoleon determined to try once more

, .

By July 4 on which day he completed hi s ne w brid ges h e

, ,
 SK ETCH M AP
T o I L L U S T R A T E T H E B A T T LE O F

W AGR AM
S CALE O F MILES
o l 2 3 4
i t !

F r en ch D Au s t r i a ns H

S u s s en b r a u n 1

Mrkgr

a af
N eu S I de l

En z e r dorf
s
 T HE D UEL WIT H G REAT B R ITA IN 267

had raised his army to and wa s ready to attempt

agai n the defeat o f Charles The next morning his army .
,

crossed the Danube in safety and led o u t o n the level eld

o f Wagram He found the Archduke with equal numbers
.
, ,

occupying a great semicircle his left at Neusiedel his right at , ,

As pern He was momentarily expecting the arrival o f the

.

Archduke John o n his left .

The Emperor s attack consisted o f a s imultaneous attack

o n the Austrian left and center This was repulsed with .

such vigor that Charles himself seized the O ffensive and

,

massed his forces o n the river bank h O p in g t o cut Napoleon

o ff from h i s bridges Mass e na rushed t o the threatened
.

spot and the Emperor took command in the center O rder

, .

i n g his right again forward he massed his artillery in the ,

center supporting it with the cavalry of the Guard and two

,

in fantry divisions under M a cDo n a l d The guns pushed for .

ward almost to the Au s trian lines and O pened a devastating

re against which nothing could stand The Austrian center .

broke the left fell back sharply pressed by Davout and

, , ,

Charles realizing that the Archduke John was nowhere in

,

sight and that his heavily reinforced right at the river was
too far away to assist gave up the struggle A well -ordered
,
.

retreat was conducted but the French were t o o e xhausted ,

f o r pursuit .

The battle o f Wagram w a s not decisive in the same way as

Austerlitz Charles had been defeated but h e had handled
.
,

the situation s o skillfully that Napoleon s gain had been a
minimum However Au s tria s losses had been he avy

.
,

throughout the campaign and the week s desultory ghting ,

which followed Wagram proved that there was no possibility

o f retrieving the situation O n July 1 2 1 8 09 Francis r elu c
.
, ,

t an t l y agreed to an armistice .

E . TH E PEA C E OF S CH ON B R U NN
The armistice concluded o n July 1 2 1 8 09 and ratied , ,

reluctantly by Fran cis ve days later p ut an en d to h o s t ili

268 T HE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

ties Peace negotiations dragged f or a s trong party a m ong

.
,

the councilors of the Emperor and in the court actually

f avored the resumption of h ost ilities Indeed Napoleon s .
,

terms in the beginning comprising the cession of much ,

territory and the abdication o f the Emperor were such as to ,

inspire f urther resistance Prussia t o o o ffered prospects of

.
, ,

immediate aid in case the war were continued The dis .

organization o f the army the di f culty in nding money and

,

supplies and the certainty that N apoleon would strike long

,

before the Prussian contingent could aid nally turned the ,

scales toward peace Nap oleon receded from his most

.

e xtreme demands and the treaty o f S ch On br u n n wa s signed

,

O ctob er 1 5 1 809 , .

The terms o f the treaty mark e d the extent o f Austria s

f ailure Austria ceded territory in the we s t to Bavaria ;

.

agreed to the division o f the greater part of Galicia between

R uss ia and the grand -duchy o f Warsaw ; and surrendered

Trieste Croatia and adjoining districts to form Napoleon s
, ,

new Illyrian provinces These terms were hard en o u gh r e

. , .

du cin g A ustrian territories by square miles and nearly

souls ; but in addition Napoleon was to receive an
inde mnity o f francs and Austria was to pledge ,

herself to reduce her active army to men Thus cut .

o ff from the s e a weakened and humiliated Austria descended

, ,

to the rank o f a s econd class power .

F or N apoleon s future plans the victory at Wagram was

,

o f the utmost importance He looked forward to a general .

tightening of the continental blockade and a sure victory

over Great Britain His policy in thi s respect became m ore
.

deter m ined than ever before .

 C HAPTER XII

NAPO LEO N A T THE HE I GHT OF HI S PO WE R

A . C ON S OL I DAT I ON OF P O W ER
TH E crushing of Austria at Wagram le f t Napoleon a b s o
lute master o f the continent N O state therein dared to
.

oppose his will His territories including his Kingdom o f

.
,

Italy extended from the boundaries o f Holland on the north

,

t o Nap le s and to Turkey o n the A driatic Russia and .

Denmar k were h is allies Holland Spain and Westphalia

.
, ,

were ruled by h is brothers Naples w a s in the hands o f

.

o n e o f hi s marshal s ( Murat ) The Grand Duchy o f Warsaw

.

(Poland ) and the Confederation o f the Rhine were hi s

protectorates And Switzerland acknowledged him as
.

mediator He had indeed proved himself a worthy s u c

.

cessor o f Charlemagne He now took advantage of his

.

position to consolidate his power by bringing within his

inuence the few remaining independent units o f we s tern
Europe .

i P or tu ga l a n d S p a i n
.

The hold which the little British force maintained upon

Portugal broke the blockade at that point but in the vast ,

b
ut: extent o f his inuence N apoleon w a s inclined to disregard
this break and to underestimate the importance o f the
British operations and the coincident Spanish revolt As .

his general policy w a s dictated by the necessit y of m ain

taining the continental blockade he was content to keep a,

cordon o f French troops around the British force and s at

is ed that no British commerce could penetrate the continent
through these lines .

2 69
2 70 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

But this conclusion had not been reached without serious

efforts to dislodge the British When N apoleon left Spain .
,

to give his attention to the Austrian War he turned over ,

the command to Marshal Soult w h o as we have seen was , , ,

pursuing Sir John Moore in Galicia (January 1 8 09 ) Within ,

a few weeks opposition o n the part o f Spanish mobile forces

,

had practically ceased although resistance was still kept

,

up in a few besieged towns Immediately the French began .

,

a campaign against the most formidable remaining enemy

the British in Portugal Accordingly they advanced .
,

in two main column s under Soult and Victor in the gener al

direction of Lisbon the former marching south from the
,

neighborhood of Corunna the latter advancing down the ,

Tagus valley .

This w a s the situation which confronted General Wellesley

when he arrived in Lisbon in April 1 8 09 With com , .

mendable energy he determined upon attacking the two

,

armies before they could unite By a swift march early .

,

in May he surprised the French before their newly captured

,

town o f O porto and after sharp ghting drove them out

, ,

nor did his activities cease until with the help o f the Portu ,

gu es e he had forced Soult over the mountains into Galicia

, .

Without delay he turned o n Victor The latter had halted

, .

at the news o f S o u l t s reverse and when a few days later

, , ,

he learned o f N apoleon s check at Aspern had withdrawn

,

t o T a l a v er a Here Wellesley encountered him on July 2 7

.
,

1 8 09 and f o r two days there raged a battle which ended in

,

Victor s retirement on Madrid The defeat woul d h ave

.

been more serious but that W el l es l ey s Spanish allies failed

him completely at the decisive moment .

In the meantime the h and of N apoleon had reached o u t

,

to direct Spanish a ff airs Divining what Wellesley would .

do after he had defeated Soult he ordered the latter s ,

forces south to strike the British rear and ank Hardly .

were the guns o f Talavera silenced when Wellesley learned

of this new menace to his army Soult pressed hi s a d .
 NAPOLEO N AT T HE HE I GHT OF HI S PO WER 271

vantage and by late August the British were in a position

,

of great danger The British commander proved hi m s elf

.

equal to the situation however and by a skillful retreat

, ,

to the south o f the Tagus he made good his e s cape from

Soult and w a s soon in h i s o ld position before Lisbon Here
, .

he began t h e construction o f the Torres Vedras lines which

were to maintain the British in t h e Peninsula and ultimately
insure their success .

In a half dozen places the Spanish armies h ad been de

tilf lf

feated by the French until only in Andalusia did resistance

,

38116 continue Wellesley had learned the true worth of his

.

Spanis h allies however and had determined f o r t h e future

, ,

to conduct his campaigns by himself .

Hence the Portugue s e break in the continental blockade

,

did n o t seriously worry Napoleon Though natu rally .

desirous o f defeating the Briti s h and driving them fro m

Portugal and chagrined at the failure o f h is lieutenants
, ,

he still considered that his main object was being achieved

t
pur by the exclusion o f Briti s h goods He was indeed j us tied .
, ,

under the conditions in considering the Iberian peninsula

as included in his continental system .

ii . S weden

In the far north Sweden one o f Napoleon s most im
, ,

placable enemies w a s nally induced by expediency to

,

?
July join his system Her continued O pposition had brought
.

rndl her noth ing but disaster The Russian invasion o f Finland .

was the last blow to a di s couraged people Wh en the .

King Gustavus IV planned still f urther h opeless resistance

, , ,

an army corps forced his abdication March 2 9 1 809 The , , .

Estates of Sweden in sympathy wit h the popular desire for

,

peace conrmed this act and called to the throne a descend

, ,

1tr ant o f Adolphus Frederick ( King from 1 7 5 1 1 7 7 1 ) as Charles

Hi ! The new sovereign s policy was dictated by the cir

tances o f his accession He straightway made peace .

Russia ( September 1 7 ceding the remains of ,

2 72 TH E H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

Finland ; and followed this with a treaty o f peace with

France ( January 6 1 8 10) by wh ich he accepted the ter ms
,

o f the continental blockade Shortly afterwards when a .

,

fatal accident removed the heir apparent Charles des ig ,

n a t ed
, with the general approval o f the nation and the
consent o f a special Diet o n e o f N ap oleon s m arshals ,

Bernadotte as his successor (August 1 8

, For ,

Charles XIII thi s designation seemed to guarantee perma

,

nent peace with the French conqueror : for N apoleon o f ,

dh
course it meant the a erence of Sweden
,
f or t h e ti me
at least to his system .

iii . H olla n d
In Holland King Louis was tryin g to solve a di fcult
,

p roblem in the best way for his p eople Naturally a mari .

time nation and normally trading largely with Great Britain ,

Holland suffered severely from th e restrictions imposed

by the continental blockade The people who had no .
,

individual quarrel with or hatred f or Great Britain ; r e

, ,

sorted to smuggling o n a large scale and the King f ailed ,

to take strict mea s ures to suppress the practice His .

brother N apoleon showed no inclination to help Holland

, , ,

but rather blamed the King for his laxn ess in en f orcin g the
blockade system .

In the s ummer o f 1 8 09 the British attempt to open the

,

Scheldt River to commerce intensied N apoleon s an
t a go n is m to hi s brother s government Antwerp the key

.
,

not only to the river but to all the rich lowland country
which the river waters had been seized upon by Napoleon
,

as the site of proposed enormous docks arsenals and ship , ,

yards and already some o f his con s truction was under way
,
.

The Emperor was not alone in his appreciation o f the im

portance o f Antwerp Already the British had gone to
.

war at least three times to maintain the neutrality o f this

city so close to their o wn shores and no w that the strong ,

hold w a s in possession of their greates t enemy they planned ,

 NAPOLEO N AT T H E HE IGHT OF HI S PO WER 2 73

an expedition to capt u re it men the largest f orce .

,

ever sent from England until this time set sail in July , ,

1 809 for the mouth o f the Scheldt

, Th e attack was orig .

in a lly planned as a diversion for the A ustrians contending

with Napoleon along the Danube but it was so late in being ,

executed that by the time a landing was made o n Wal

cheren Island the A ustrians h ad been defeated and peace
was in sight Troops under Bernadotte were hurried to
.

the defense o f Antwerp and though the British had some

,

successes near the m outh o f the river they never seriou sly ,

m enaced the city Malaria broke o u t alarmingly amongst

.

the troops and the shattered army was recalled in Decem

,

ber 1 8 09 with a lengthy death roll and wit h noth ing

, , ,

permanent accomplished .

By the autumn of 1 8 09 Napoleon had decided to anne x

,

Holland and thus introduce French agents to enforce the

provisions of his blockade In N ovember 1 8 09 he advised
.
, ,

Ki ng Louis o f h is intentions but gave h im the ch ance to ,

retain his crown by the enforcement o f strict measures

against British commerce by the creation o f a strong naval
,

force for u s e against England and by th e maintenance o f ,

a standing army o f men King Louis struggled o n .

for a few months longer trying to conciliate Napoleon and

,

at the same time to spare his people Napoleon s a ggr es .

sions continued January 3 1 8 1 0 he annexed th e Island

.
, ,

of Walch eren and h is troops f orcibly occupied two to wn s

near the mouth of the Scheldt In M ay and June he seized ,

several Am erican trading ships in Holland s harbors and
demanded the cession o f the territory south o f the Rh ine
River .

Under such continued humiliations King Louis w as

nally moved to abdicate O n the nigh t o f July 1 1 8 1 0. , ,

after signing his abdication and writing to his counselors ,

he ed from his Kingdom and took refuge in a little town

in Bohemia Eight days later ( July 9 1 8 1 0) Napoleon by
.
,

decree annexed Holland and straightway dis p atched h is

,
2 74 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

agents to conscate forbidden goods and to enforce the

French decrees .

iv . A n n exa ti on s

Two important annexations during this year 1 8 10 com

p l et e d Napoleon s territorial extension and consolidation

.

In the north he feared a leakage of British goods through

, I f

the ports o f the northwes t German states including the all

duchy of O ldenburg the Hanseatic towns (Hamburg , ll ,

Bremen and Lu beck ) and the northern part of Hanover

, , l? .

In the south he desired full control o f the great Simplon llll

,

Pass the highway t o Italy With simple audacity he de

, .
,

creed the annexation December 1 0 1 8 10 to the Empire o f

, , ,

all the lands between the lower reaches of the Rhine and
the free city of Lil b e ck ; and a fortnight later the annexation
to the Empire o f the Republic o f Valais There was no .

o n e wh o dared O ppose him .

Thus by the middle of December 1 8 10 Napoleon had , ,

completed his system It would be scarcely inaccurate to.

state that he had brought the whole of the continent o f

Europe within the sphere o f his direct inuence France .

itself stretched from the B altic to the Adriatic and from ,

the Rhine River t o the Atlantic O cean France s close .

allies included Russia Sweden Denmark the Grand Duchy

, , ,

o f Warsaw the Kingdom o f Westphalia the Confederation

, ,

of the Rhine Switzerland and the Kingdom o f Italy

, , ,

Naples and Spain Prussia and Austria were impotent lorel

, . .

a
French emissaries were upon a cordial footing i
Turkey It cannot be surprising that Napoleon
W
.

e
condently that Great Britain would be brought to ter
by s o formidable a power lied.

B . CO NDI TI O N S I N FRAN C E
At the beginning of 1 8 1 0 Napoleon had been in power
reckoning the consulate f o r a full decade Fo r France , .

it was a period of order and prosperity in

 N APOLEO N AT THE H E I GHT OF HI S PO WER 2 75

to the ten years of chaos which had preceded it The in .

s t i t u t i o n s o f the Empire seemed o n a rmer foundation in

1 8 10 than they had been at any previous time .

Yet Napoleon realized h o w slender wa s the thread which

bound the various parts of his wide administration together .

He in his o wn life alone controlled the government ; he

was both executive and administrative authority throughout
all parts o f France His energy his insight his memory
.
, , ,

his capacity f o r work were the marvel of his contemporaries .

He kept in touch sim u ltaneously with all branches of a d

ministration and infused something of his o wn energy and
,

ability into his servants He constantly scrutinized the .

details of the departments seeking blunders and suggesting ,

improvement s He had presented to him each fortnight

.

full reports o f the various activities of the government so ,

classied that he could at an instant locate any desired bit

o f information He kept in touch with the a ff airs o f foreign
.

states through the messages o f his secret agents and often ,

surprised diplomats by the fullness and accuracy o f his

knowledge He watched closely the condition o f the
.

nances the price o f f o o ds t u s the development o f public

,

,

improvements the system of education the practice o f

, ,

religion Above all he knew intimately his armies down

.
,

to details of organization equipment discipline and train

, , ,

ing Though often absent from his capital for long cam
.

p aign s in distant countries he never allowed his vigilance ,

to relax : relays of couriers kept him in constant co m m u n ic a

tion with Paris He was condent of the loyalty o f his
.

people s o long as he lived but he was troubled by his fears,

of what would happen to the Empire after his death He .

longed for some assurance that his system would be per

p et u a t ed for some person after him around whom the
,

people would rally loyally and preserve the existing in

s t it u t i o n s .

This desire to guarantee the contin uation o f the Empire

led him in 1 8091 8 10 to seek a marriage alli ance with o n e
2 76 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

of the ancient royal houses of the continent whereby his ,

dynasty might nd sure support in Europe and from ,

which an heir might come who would give a new cohesion

to his empire He rst approached the Czar o f Russia
.
,

asking for the hand of his sister the Archduchess Anna , .

When the Czar pleaded her extreme youth she was but
fteen at the time Napoleon turned to the Emperor
Francis o f Austria and negotiated f o r the hand of his da u gh
ter the Archduchess Maria Louisa Though the marriage
, .

was repugnant to Francis ideas and at rst thought hateful
to the young archduchess the prime minister Metternich
, , ,

urged it for reasons of state Francis yielded and t he .

archduchess assented to the sacrice Napoleon divorced .

Josephine settled her with a comfortable pension at the

,

chateau o f Malmaison and married Maria Louisa ( April 2

, ,

The following year Napoleon s hopes were ful
lled by the birth of a s o n ( March 2 0 Upon the ,

child he conferred the title of the King of Rome He .

looked forward condently to a new loyalty from France

which should center about the child .

With the birth of his s o n Napoleon s happiness seemed
,

complete and the future of France assured He had ex .

p an de d the boundaries of the Empire until they contained

people He had brought order and security
,

o u t of chaos and danger He had seen industry ourish

. .

He had carried through vast public improvements No w .

he saw the prospect of his work being continued by his

son amid the enthusiastic loyalty o f a devoted people .

Indeed the France which had revolted against a monarchy

,

and had established a Republic in the decade from 1 7 89 to

1 7 99 had once more under Napoleon seen the introduction
of monarchical forms The power of the legislative body
.

( the Cor p s L egi s l a tif ) w a s severely restricted One o f its .

chambers the Tribunate had been abolished after its

, ,

debating functions had been taken over ( decree of August

1 9 1 807 ) by com m issions empowered to discuss legisl ative
,
 NAPOLEO N AT THE HE I GHT OF HI S PO WER 2 77

proposals before the full session o f the Cor p s L egi s l a tif .

The Senate and the Council o f State were the chief bodies
in the government and their members appointed by Na
, ,

p o l eo n, were subservient to his wishes The Council o f .

State considered legislation and formulated decrees for

Napoleon : Napoleon sent these decrees to the Senate f o r
ratication Napoleon thus kept autocratic control over
.

all legislation of major importance .

Again the Emperor had reintr oduced the ceremonies

, ,

dignities and titles that go with monarchical government

, .

At his elevation in 1 8 04 he created the Legion of Honor ,

m embership in which he awarded to soldiers o r civilians

who had deserved well of their country As he con q uered .

foreign territories he raised his brothers and sisters to

,

sovereign rank and bound his ministers and marshals to

,

his in terests by bestowing upon them princip alities and

dukedoms He established a court o f the usual conti
.

n en t a l splendor with its hierarchy o f o ff icials about the

,

throne from the Grand Imperial Di gnities down to the

,

Grand Master o f Ceremonies and with its customary retinue ,

of chamberlains equerries ladies i n -waiting aides de camp

, ,
-
,
- -
,

p ages etc He created a new nobility by decree ( March 1

, . ,

with its ranks of Prince D u ke Count Baron and , , , ,

Chevalier ( Kn ight ) .

He assumed the royal right t o o to restrict the freedom , ,

of the press an d of speech Newspapers were carefully .

censored or were suppressed The o f cial M on i teu r was .

the only favored sheet Political discussion was dis .

co u r a ge d : political literature did n o t exist The schools .

were ob l iged t o teach loyalty to the Emperor as the rst

duty of a French citizen Spies abo unded listening . , ,

sounding opinion opening mail and reporting to Paris

, ,

the rst signs of trouble .

Yet France forgave the restoration o f m onarchical form s ,

the autocratic power the social distinctions the loss of

, ,

freedom in the general satisfaction at the return of order

,
2 78 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

and prosperity For France under the Empire was pro s

.

p er o u s Though she had been continually at w ar the cam

.
,

p a ign s had been fought o n foreign soil and had largely

been paid f o r by the in demnities wrun g from the conquered
nations Her national nances honestly and wisely a d
.
,

ministered had borne the strain Her industries had found

, .

new continental markets to replace those lost to them by

the British blockade Her improved methods o f agr i cu l
.

ture brought about by a campaign o f education am ong the

,

peasants yielded her more boun tiful crops Her scientists

, .

solved some of the difculties due to the blockade by p er

f ec t in g the process of extracting sugar from beets dyes ,

from native roots and by teaching the substitution o f

,

chicory for cof fee Her government began and carried

.

through vast public im p rovements such as canals roads , , ,

brid ges and the drain ing o f marsh lands Under the
, .

autocratic and paternalistic government the peo p le of ,

France were industrious prosperous and contented Gov , , .

ern m en t securities reected the general condence and

prosperi t y rising in 1 807 to nin ety -three per cent an d r e
,

maining rm thereafter around eighty .

Bright as this broad picture o f France un der the Emp ire

may be painted it had its dark sides too The prosperity
, .

o f France was not shared in equal degree by newly annexed

territories o r by France s allies in the continental system .

O m inous indications proved that beyond the limits o f

France proper the French method o f administration even ,

when accompanied by much -desired legal and social r e

forms w a s seriously resented French dependencies were
, .

too often required to be governed in the interests o f France

rather than for the best good of their own people .

Again Napoleon had brought o n a conict with the Pope

,

which stirred the religious feeling of his people Pius VII .

had resisted Napoleon s attempts at an alliance after the
treaty of Tilsit and had insisted upon his right to
maintain his neutrality and his independence o f action .
 NAPOLEO N AT THE H E IGHT OF HI S PO WER 2 79

In 1 808 Napoleon annexed the northern and eastern Papal

states to the Kingdom of Italy ; in May 1 8 09 he seized , ,

Rome and removed the Pope a prisoner to Savona Pius

, , .

VI I s only means o f protest was a bull o f excommun ication

and a refusal to conrm bishops to vacant sees in France .

The spectacle o f this self -styled successor to Charlemagne

imprisoning the head o f the Roman Catholic church
awakened serious criticism in France and indeed through, , ,

out Christendom .

But most serious of all was the ever -present war or

shadow o f war The annual drain o f conscripts usually
.
,

a year or more in advance of their legal time kept the ,

people aware o f the cost o f empire Napoleon s wars .

after 1 8 06 1 807 were waged in accordance with his general
policy o f maintai n i ng the contin ental blockade against
British commerce and not for his personal glory o r for
French aggrandizement The French peasant however
.
, ,

had no such comprehensive conception o f imperial strategy .

He understood merely that war followed w a r and that he ,

was now called upon to ght in distant lands where France

had no direct interest The patriotic ardor with which
.

he had defended France against invasion gave place to a

sullen dissatisfaction with these campaigns in distant elds .

And the people at home felt intuitively that their hap piness
and prosperity were being imperiled by the never -ending
series of wars.

C . I NT E RNA T I O NAL S I T UA T I ON
In the last days o f 1 8 1 0 Napoleon was condent that his
continental blockade policy was at the point of success .

The extension o f his inuence over the entire continent

blocked the free entry o f British goods at every point His .

agents brought him true reports of the depression in Great

Britain of the successive crop failures and the resulting
,

misery and s u er i n g o f the British people o f the warehouses

,

st u ed with goods f o r which no market could be found o f ,

2 80 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

the commercial failures and of the depreciation of British

,

credit He pictured Great Britain as choked with her own

.

manufactured wealth ready to plead for peace to gain a

,

market for her products His agents were busily tighten .

ing every j oint in his vast European system that not a bale
of British goods might nd access to the continent .

Th e hardship s entailed upon his allies however were , ,

rapidly causing a suf fering as intense in many cases as that

in Great Britain and were breeding a general discontent
,

which w a s bound in the end i f Great Britain held o u t

long enough to react against Napoleon His continental .

blockade was a two -edged sword : it cut his friends as well

as his enemies The once busy and prosperous Hanseatic
.

towns were idle and the people driven to despair by the

cessation of trade and the imposition of heavy taxes Russia .
,

which had long exported its grain timber and furs and , , ,

had imported British manufactured goods especially cloths , ,

found herself facing huge annual decits with no prospect

of relief Swedish and Danish ships rotted at their idle
.

wharves In every state of Europe except in a few isol ated

.
,

cases where smuggling proved protable o r where the

blockade operated as a kind of protective wall f o r special
native industries the continental system w a s choking all
,

economic life and causing intense distress and dissatisfaction .

O ne breach in his great system existed and had existed ,

since 1 8 08 in Portugal but as has been explained this

, , , ,

was not regarded as vital To thi s was added however .

, ,

at the very end of 1 8 1 0 a second breach which if permitted , ,

meant the ruin of his whole vast system O n December 3 1 .

,

1 8 1 0 the Czar of Russia signalized a change in policy by an

,

ukase permitting colonial trade in neutral bottoms and

imposing a prohibitive tarif f upon the importation of cer
tain luxuries as wines and silks The admission o f colonial
, .

trade threw Russia s great markets O pen to Great Britain :
the t ar i upon imports o f wines and silks w a s a direct

blow at France .
 NAPOLEON AT T HE HE IGHT OF HI S PO WER 281

i . Ru ssi a

Since his convention with the French Emperor at Erfurt ,

O ctober 1 2 1 808 the Czar Alexander had gradually been

, ,

alienated from Napoleon by the course o f events His .

alliance had not yielded him the results he expected He .

had gained Finland i t is true but he had learned that

, ,

Napoleon instead o f aiding him t o acquire Moldavia and

,

V a l l a ch i a and an open way to Constantinople was secretly

V
,

encouraging Turkish resistance Again at the conclusion .

,

of the Peace o f Sch onbrunn Napoleon had added l arge

parts of Galicia to the Grand D uchy o f Warsaw and had

yielded less than one third as much territory to Russia .

Alexander could n o t but be hostile to the growth o f the

grand duchy f o r its strength was a continual threat against
,

his own Polish provinces Further a strong party among .

,

his counselors emphasized the nancial ruin his pro -Na

p o l eo n i c policy was bringing upon his country in the loss
of trade He felt keenly the imputation that he was but a
.

tool in Napoleon s hands and that his country s policy ,

was being subordinated to the ambitions of Napoleon .

Two other incidents added a tinge o f personal bitterness

to Alexander s change of attitude When Napoleon had .

rst planned a divorce and remarriage he had asked the ,

hand o f Alexander s sister the Archduchess Anna ; and ,

before the alliance had been denitely refused he had b e ,

trothed himself t o Maria Louisa o f Austria The indecent .

haste with which Napoleon had transferred his negotiations

we can scarcely speak of affections deeply offended

the Czar Then again when the French Emperor annexed

.
,

the states o f northwest Germany he absorbed the duchy ,

of O ldenburg whose sovereign was the Czar s uncle Alex

,

.

ander took o ffense at this wanton disregard of the right s of

a member of his family .

Napoleon regarded the uk ase of December 3 1 1 8 10 as , ,

a direct challenge to F rance He bitterly reproached the .

2 82 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

Czar for his rupture of the alliance but his words were ,

without e ffect other than to reveal to the world that a new

war was impending Through the summer o f 1 8 1 1 and the
.

early months o f 1 8 1 2 both states hastened their preparations .

ii . P or tu ga l an d S p ai n

With a Russian war in sight the continuation of opera ,

tions in Portugal and Spain proved most embarrassing .

Wellesley now Viscount Wellington wa s determined to

, ,

ght the war not for his personal glory but for victory .

When therefore in the early summer o f 1 8 1 0 he rst en

, , ,

countered the forces O f Mass e na he began the long months ,

o f defensive warfare which broke down the French with

the minimum o f loss for his o wn command .

N apoleon had returned victorious from Wagram resolved

to throw into Spain forces sufcient to subdue once and f o r
all this troublesome peninsula Because of the press of .

a ffairs in France he was unable to take charge in person ,

but in command o f troops numbering over he

dispatched his lieutenants among whom were the lustrous
,

names o f M ass e na Soult Victor Bessi eres Ney Reynier

, , , , , ,

Junot and M ortier Unfortunately because the warfare

, .
,

was partly guerrilla in character these vast numbers could ,

not operate as o n e powerful unit and to this disadvantage ,

Napoleon himself added a second by leaving Soult

independent o f M ass e na It wa s planned that the latter
.

should have but it i s doubtful if the number

under his immediate command was ever more than

O f these huge armies many thousands were necessary

,

to reduce the fortied cities and to overcome the resistance

of the hordes o f Spanish nationalists But two enterpri s es .

of S ome magnitude were projected Soult was ordered .

south to undertake the subj ugation of Andalusia and ,

Mass ena wa s directed against the British in Portugal .

Th is last O p eration wa s con s idered t h e m ost i mp ortant ,

 NAPOLEO N AT T HE H E IG HT OF HI S PO WER 2 83

an d so that it might be completely successful M ass ena ,

was cautioned to spare no effort in preparation .

From Burgos two roads lead into Portugal o n e by way ,

of Salamanca the other through M adrid and Talavera

, .

The rst crosses the mountain barrier at the frontier by a

pass protected by the cities o f Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida ,

the second by a pass guarded in the same way by B adajoz

and Elvas This latter route is circuitous and arrives
.
,

nally not at Lisbon itself but at the ferry on the east

, ,

bank o f the Tagus This point was o f course in 1 8 10

.
, , ,

menaced by the British eet There is no practicable road .

do wn the Tagus valley so Wellington felt sure that he ,

migh t expect M a s s ena by the northern route He knew .

that Soult was in Andalusia and might menace him through ,

Badajoz but he felt certain that the strongholds of southern

,

Spain particularly Cadiz would keep the French marshal

, ,

fully occupied Accordingly he placed his. men , ,

English and Portuguese in position o n the Salamanca road

, .

Mass ena began his advance in early June 1 8 10 His , .

supplies were scanty and reached him s o irregularly that

it was n o t until mid
August that the mountain pass was in
his possession He was not alarmed at this for the Emperor
. ,

had told him that he might take all summer reducing

Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida The towns taken however .
, ,

he pushed rapidly in pursuit o f Wellington s army The

.

British general occupied a position at B u s a co with the idea

of damaging his O pponent s forces and did succeed in
;

checking him with heavy loss Mass ena however o u t .

, ,

an ke d him to the north and Wellington was obliged to ,

fall back .

The victor of Rivoli now felt that the wor s t of the cam
p a ign was over for he was assured that Wellington wa s
,

withdrawing to his transports In hot haste then he .

, ,

followed closely behind the retiring allies But o n the .

evening of O ctober 1 0 his advance cavalry came upon

fortications and M ass ena ridin g forward the n ext morn
,
2 84 T HE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

ing to investigate found himself facing the famous lines ,

o f Torres Vedras It i s said that in response to a shot from

.

a British battery he lifted his hat and bowed in a ckn o wl

,

e dgm e n t of his defeat .

Fo r defeat it was Two sturdy lines of fortications .

,

v e miles apart prepared with all the skill which the British
,

Engineers could bring to bear upon them stretched across ,

the Lisbon peninsula from the Atlantic to the Tagus .

Thousands o f Portuguese laborers had worked o n them for

months and now when M ass ena appeared before them
, ,

they were complete thirty miles long and manned by ,

thirty thousand Portuguese militia under British O ffi cers ,

while behind Wellington with his regular army stood ready

,

t o receive Whatever attacks the French might make There .

the Briti s h eet supported h is troops in comfort while

outside t h e French were starving in an impoverished country .

M as s ena h O p in g for the reinforcements which alone

,

could enable him to force the Tagus below the Torres Vedras
lines remained on the river f o r four months and then in
,

March 1 8 1 1 began the retreat to the mountain passes

, , .

Soult meanwhile had taken B adaj oz but this of itself could ,

bring no relief t o Mass e na s s tarved and frozen army There

.

is n o room here for the details o f that wretched retreat to

Ciudad Rodrigo The brave Ney in command o f the rear
.

guard performed the most brilliant exploits o f his career ,

but a bare half o f the army crossed the mountain passes .

Cold sickness hunger and the implacable hatred of the

, , ,

inhabitants had co s t Mass ena men .

The remaining months o f the year mark the beginni ng

of

Wellington s o ffensive He directed h is attacks rst .

on the northern pass then against t h e southern n o w , ,

against Marmont ( who had succeeded Mass ena) no w ,

against Soult The battles o f Fuente d Ono r o and of

.

Albuera in July took a h eavy toll o f the French b ut they ,

held doggedly to the strongholds of Ciudad Rodrigo and

Badajoz They had however by the close of 1 8 1 1 lost
.
, , ,
 NAPOLEO N AT TH E H E IGHT OF HI S PO WER 2 85

every foot o f ground in Portugal Whereas o n the western , ,

side of the mountains Wellington wa s each day becoming

,

stronger and more active .

D P R EPARAT I ON S FOR
. TH E WAR A GA I N S T R U SS IA
Embarras s ing a s the s e Portuguese and Spanish opera
tions were N apoleon naturally concentrated his main
,

attention during 1 8 1 1 and the early months of 1 8 1 2 upon h i s

preparations f o r h i s campaign against Russia .

He had already begun to feel in France a slackening in

that military fervor which had s upplied him his earlier
armies but he turned to the ta s k with vigor The armies
, .

that fought at Wagram had been maintained in the form

o f s o called
-
corps o f O bservation on the Elbe the Rhine , ,

and in Italy and in t h eir augmented form numbered

,

These constituted the backbone of the great army o f Russia ,

and about them N apoleon gathered the legions from h is

allies willing and coerced alike Austrian Prus s ian I ll y r
,
.
, ,

ian Polish Rhenis h Saxon and Italian contingents swelled

, , , ,

his army to a strength that h a s been variously estimated

at from to men The variations lie in .

the uncertainty of determining what troops protected his

frontiers and lines o f communications but it i s probable ,

that he crossed t o Russian soil with a full

To the formation of this enormous army the Empero r ,

had paid the closest personal attention Details of ordnance .

,

tran sportation uniform commissariat route s o f march

, , , ,

everything had passed under h is eye Indeed it may fairly .

,

be said that N apoleon commenced this campaign as Emperor ,

Commander in -Chief Minister o f War and Chief o f Sta ff

-
,
-
,
- -

a burden which might well b o w even his capable shoulders .

Coincident with these strictly military preparations were

diplomatic attempt s to secure the greatest possible assist
ance from his allies His marriage alliance with Austria
.
,

the overwhelming force he could bring at short notice against

her and his knowledge of h er weak nancial condition made
,
2 86 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

him certain that sh e would not accept the Czar s overtur es

.

He knew too that Austria did not desire to see Russia

, ,

established upon the lower reaches of the Danube in M ol ~

davia and Wallachia He did not feel so sure o f Prussia . .

H is agents kept him informed o f the progress o f the national

movement in that state He had however great forces .
, ,

cantoned in fortresses within easy reach o f the Prussian

border and determined to u s e those as a threat to force
,

Prussia into active alliance with him He realized that .

he could n o t leave a possible enemy in force upon his line

of communications Frederick William in V iew o f his . ,

probable annihilation if he made common cause with the

Czar yielded t o Napoleon s terms agreed to furnish a
, ,

Prussian contingent to the Grand Army and s o to dis ,

tribute the troops remaining in Prussia that they would be

under the constant surveillance of French o f cers In .

Poland too N apoleon s diplomacy w a s successful Though

, ,

.

the Czar o ffered the Poles an independent Kingdom with

himself as King the Pole s remained faithful to N apol eon
, ,

who had created their Grand Duchy of Warsaw and had s o

liberally enlarged their territory by the Peace o f Sch onbrunn
Napoleon however was disappointed in h is deal
, ,

ings with Tur key and Sweden Though h is agents tried .

to put new life into the Turkish campaign against Russia ,

the Sultan obtaining liberal terms from the Czar made

, ,

peace with Russia in the Treaty of Bucharest ( M ay 2 8 ,

The Czar gave up his immediate h ope of gaining

Moldavia and Wallachia but acquired Bessarabia a ,

h is army o n the Danube f o r the defense o f the

region Napoleon s overtures to his former
.

dotte prince regent o f Sweden during the d

,

XIII were met by the demand that Franc

,

to the Swedish acquisition o f N orway .

belonged to France s loyal ally Denmark

, ,

fused to yield Bernadotte thereupon threw

.

with Russia and signed a treaty of alliance

,
 N APOLEO N AT T HE HE IGHT OF HI S PO WER 2 87

March 2 4 1 8 1 2 G reat Britain o f course welcomed

, .
, ,

friendship with any country willing to oppose Napoleon .

Russia and Sweden therefore quickly composed their

, ,

di fferences with Great Britain and signed an alliance July ,

1 8 1 2 after the French invasion had already begun

, .

!on

1 France and Russia had for so long actively and openly
prepared f o r hostilities that a declaration o f war w a s hardly
u for necessary ; and in fact none was issued The last week o f
, , .

,
e 1 8 1 2 N apoleon s Grand Army crossed the Niemen
,

ver Without other notication the war began

.
, .
 C HAPTER X I I I
tom 1 .

3596 I
THE C AMPAI GN IN RU SSI A AN D T HE C AM PAI GN O F 60

LE I PZ IG E
g
ninec

J U ST as in the latter days of the Revolution the military T

oopp
exigencies strike the dominant note in the government s o , ,

beginning with 1 8 1 2 w e nd the thunder o f guns co n

, ,

s t a n t l y increa s ing drowning o u t matters o f domestic i m

,

port which had hitherto engaged the Emperor From .

1 8 1 2 to 1 8 1 5 history was made only o n battle elds The .

periods o f quiet were mere armistices and lulls during which

the opponents were preparing themselve s for further struggle .

Four great campaigns

the Russian in 1 8 1 2 the Leipzig ,

in 1 8 1 3 the defense o f France in 1 8 14 and the Waterloo

, ,

in 1 8 15 hurried the N apoleonic drama o n to its tragic

-

close.

A TH E R U SS I AN C A MPA IG N 1 8 1 2
.
,

The disastrous campaign which opened in June 1 8 1 2 , ,

was conducted o n s o vast a scale that a brief sketch can

provide only the slightest conception of the magnitude of
the O perations The Emperor s forces were divided into
.

three armies The rst . strong which he hims elf , ,

commanded with Berthier as his Chief-o f Staf f was com

,
-
,

posed o f the Guards three infantry corps under Davout , ,

O u din o t and Ney and two cavalry divisions

, , Th e second .

army , strong wa s commanded by Prince Eug ene

, ,

and w a s composed of Eug ene s o w n corps that o f St Cyr

, .
,

and o n e cavalry division The third army nu .

,

also was under the command of the

,

brother J r Om e and was made up o f three in i a

, ,

under Poniatowski Vandamme and Reynier , , ,

2 88
 THE C A MPAI GN S I N R U SSIA A N D LE I P ZI G 2 89

cavalry division O n the extreme left was M a cDo n a ld

.

in command o f men of which the Prussian Auxiliary

Corps was a part and o n the extreme right Schwarzenberg
, ,

led the Austrian Auxiliary Corps strong O n , .

June 2 3 18 1 2 the Emperor s army crossed the Niemen at
, ,

Kovno and s e t o u t for Vilna O ne week later Je r ome .

,

crossed the river at Grodno and o n the following day ,

Eug e ne crossed at a point between the other two armies ,

and followed the Emperor toward Vilna .

To oppose the French the Czar Alexander had in his rst,

line two armies ready for service o n e under B arclay de ,

Tolly numbering about with i t s headquarters at

Vilna the other
, strong under B agration stationed ,

near Vo lko v i s k A third army some . in number , ,

was in process o f formation While o n the frontier o f Turkey , ,

a fourth o f waited the cessation o f Turkish h o s t ili

ties The Czar had placed his forces in the belief that
.

Napoleon would proceed against him in o n e large column ,

directed probably toward Vilna This would be met by .

his larger force under B arclay while B a gr a t i o n s army co m ,

ing from the south harassed its ank and rear The ex .

i s t en ce o f Napoleon s second and third columns o f course

, ,

made such a procedure impossible and the Czar from the ,

Very beginning found himself acting o n the defensive In .

addition to his ignorance as to Napoleon s method o f a d

vance Alexander was still working o n the supposition that

,

Austria and Prussia would remain neutral .

On June 2 8 the Emperor s forces captured Vilna His

,

.

plan o f campaign contemplated a piercing o f his enemy s
right wing and then a continuation o f operations against
,

the communications o f the hostile center and left The .

advance to Vilna practically completed the rst step of the

scheme for B arclay fell back in accordance with a previ
, ,

o u s ly arranged plan to the entrenched town o f Drissa

, ,

there to wait h i s reinforcement by B agration Such a .

junction w a s o f course impossible and within a few days

, , ,
2 90 T HE H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

the absurdity of the position at Drissa while the le f t wing ,

was all but surrounded became apparent and B arclay , ,

began a withdrawal t o Vitebsk Unfortunately the Em .

,

p er o r had delayed at Vilna until he should hear of success

against the army o f B agration and did not therefore begin , , ,

further activities until July 1 6 the very day o n which ,

B arclay set o u t for Vitebsk .

And meanwhile the operations against B agration had

,

gone sadly awry Davout had been sent from Vilna in

.

the direction o f Minsk there to crush B a gr a t i o n s army
,

when Jer Om e should have driven it against him B ut the .

latter had been most dilatory and had remained u n a cco u nt ,

ably immobile f o r four days in spite of Napoleon s urgent
commands to move forward As a result B agration was .
,

enabled by a detour through B obruisk to avoid serious en

counter with Davout and to reach Smolensk o n August 1 ,

where o n the following day his army was united with that ,

o f Barcl ay .

After a two weeks rest Napoleon on August 1 4 1 8 1 2

, , ,

continued his operations The indecisiveness o f the cam .

p a ign thus far was most vexatious to him at a time when

he considered some conspicuous achievement essential ,

and urged him t o advance farther into Russia at a season ,

when prudence advised taking a defensive position ( though ,

perhaps strategically an undesirable one ) and preparing

, , ,

for the winter His initial move involved an attack against

.

Smolensk o n the left b ank of the Dnieper which should

, ,

cut o the Russian retreat to Moscow ; but before the
operation could be completed the Russians learned o f his ,

plan Accordingly they held the city only until they were
.
,

sure o f their communications and then retired , .

The Emperor pushed hotly forward on the three hundred

mile pursuit to Moscow O ne great battle broke the con
.

t in u i t y of the march B arclay unwilling to risk his army

.
,

in a pitched b attle w a s summarily removed and his place

,

lled by Ku t u s o v The latter kno w ing that his appoin t

.
,
 THE C A MPAIGN S I N R U S SI A A N D LEI PZ IG 2 91

ment had been made that he might ght a battle in defense

of holy Moscow turned at Borodino o n September 4
, , ,

1 81 2 to meet the army o f the Emperor

, The French forces .

were so strung o u t along the Smolensk road that it was

n o t until September 7 after he had made a careful recon
,

naissance o f the eld that Napoleon w a s ready to attack

, .

Ku t u s o v s army of

occupied an excellent position ,

increased in value by the addition o f redoubts and other

works At 6. A M the action began
.

an attack full o n
the center supported by a turning movement against the

hostile left ank by P o n i a t o w ski s corps The great center .

redoubt was taken again and again but Ku t u s o v handled ,

his forces skillfully and brought troops Where they were

most needed Eug e ne Ney and D avout late in the after
.
, , ,

noon united their commands and launched a great blow at

,

the Russian left center The attack w a s a success and .

shattered the hostil e line but exh austed the assailants , .

Hurriedly the marshals sent a request to the Emperor to

,

throw in the Guard and complete with fresh troops what

had been s o ably begun B ut the Emperor 1 5 00 miles from
.
,

Paris and in a hostile country in an unusual mood o f pru ,

dence refused the request and Ku t u s o v made his way u n ,

pursued from the bloody eld He had lost men .

and he had caused the French a loss of The battle

had served Napoleon only to open the road to Moscow .

The occupation o f the city which took place September ,

14 wa s a short lived triumph

,
- O n the morning following .
,

res broke out all over the city probably s et by the hands ,

o f Russian patriots and f o r two days Moscow was a s e a of

,

ames Napoleon s position was a serious one His army

.

.

was in the heart o f a hostile country the supplie s he had ,

expected to nd in the vicinity of Moscow were insu fcient t o

support him and he had o f necessity left portions o f his com
,

mand behind on his communications s o that n o w Mac , ,

Donald ( left ) Schwarzenberg ( right ) and himself formed

, ,

the apices of a huge triangle ve hundred miles to a side ,

.
2 92 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

On O ctob er he attempted to open negotiations f or peace

4, ,

but Alexander w as keenly alive to the situation and de

c l in e d resolutely to treat Winter in Moscow was im .

possible and after three precious weeks o f further delay

,

in the hope of a possible peace Napoleon moved out for ,

Smolensk He planned to go by a southern route which

.

had not been touched by the advance but a rough handling ,

at M a l o y a r o s l a v et z forced him back to the main road to

Smolensk .

News had already come that both to t h e north at Polotsk

and to the south near Minsk the enemy were approaching ,

his communications But now came the advance guards

.

of a sterner and more powerful foe winter By the time .

the Emperor reached Smolensk the Russians all the time ,

at his heels the thermometer was registering zero weather

, ,

and his loss in horses and men had been frightful Not .

over actives of the who had left Moscow

remained to him at Smolensk The weather had ruin ed .

disciplin e and a whole army o f stragglers f ollowed as best

,

they could .

November 1 4 1 8 1 2 the French le f t Smolen sk in f our

, ,

bodies the Guard rst followed in turn by Eug e ne D avout

, , , ,

and Ney At Kr a sn o i the Emperor and his stepson were

.

attacked by a superior force but fought valiantly until ,

they were reinforced by Davout Ney had been lost sight .

of and Napoleon was reluctantly obliged to leave him

, .

But at O rcha Ney rejoined the main army with less than
,

half his corps after a series of exploits that more than

,

j ustied his sobriquet o f bravest o f the brave The .

S hattered army pushed on with what speed it could to

Borisov .

Then came the terrible crossing o f the B er es in a At .

Borisov the corps of O u din o t and Victor j oined bringing

, ,

the army up to e ec t i v e s Fully as many stragglers .

were in the vicinity O u din o t s men with grea t dif culty
.

constructed bridges over the B er es in a o n November 2 6 ,

 T HE C AMPAI GN S IN R U S SI A AN D LE I PZ IG 2 93

and late in the afternoon the infantry o f that corps crossed , .

The f o e had troops close at hand which attempted to impede

the crossing but Victor s corps by gallant e o r t s protected
,

the miserable army The military crossing was completed

.

November 2 7 although great numbers of stragglers still

,

remain ed o n the east bank Napoleon sacricing the .

,

chances o f his army allowed the bridges to remain a day

,

longer to permit these stragglers to cross but o n Novem

, ,

ber 2 9 he burned the bridges and left the remainin g wretches

o n the other bank to their fate at the hands o f the enemy .

From the B er e s in a the retreat became a confused ight .

Napoleon seeing new and greater labors ahead left for

, ,

Paris o n December 5 Ney with a valiant rear guard .

protected the dwindlin g army Finally o n December 8 .

, ,

the wreck o f the Grand Army crossed the Niemen at Vilna

and the exhausted Russians were forced to let the pursuit

drop To the south Schwarzenberg s A ustrians were
.
,

withdrawing to their o wn frontiers and to the north Y orck , ,

was already negotiating with the Russians for the treason

able surrender o f the Prussian corps Huge numbers of .

sick and stragglers had ltered back into Germany durin g

the previous months but o f the Grand Army which had
,

crossed the Niemen in the heat o f Jun e a single organized ,

body of less than recrossed its ice -bound surface in

December .

B . TH E AFT E RM AT H OF TH E R U S S IAN C AM PA I G N
Napoleon left h i s retreatin g army at Smorgon December 5 ,

1 81 2 and traveled at t o p speed v i a Vilna Warsaw Dresden

, , , ,

and Mainz t o Paris reaching his capital at midnight De

,

cem b er 1 8 1 9 He knew that his presence was sorely needed
.

in France Vagu e rumors o f disaster had alarmed the

.

people A conspiracy at the end of O ctober 1 8 1 2 after

. , ,

Napoleon had n o t been heard from for a fortnight had ,

nearly succeeded in overthrowing his government b y ,

announcing his death He in person had to reassert his .

2 94 T HE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

authority calm the fears of his people and above all initiate
, ,

measures to recoup his losses and defend his empire .

T o his councilors he painted h i s situation in the most

favorable light possible He had been defeated he said .
, ,

n o t by the Russians but by the exceptionally early and ,

severe winter weather He had beaten the Russians in .

every b attle He had n o t lost a gun until he w a s forced

.

to abandon artillery because of the lack o f horses His .

army when he turned it over to Murat at Smorgon w as

, , ,

he said still in good condition and could serve as a nucleus

, ,

for a new force to save the e mpire By such statements .

and by the force o f his personality he reassured his a d

v i s e r s and in some measure at least allayed the excited
, ,

fears o f the people .

Indeed his position was by no means desperate so long

,

as he could maintain his empire and its alliances intact .

He had the resources o f all western Europe except Spain ,

and Portugal at his disposal He could levy for troops

, .

and supplies upon all the countries from the Baltic to the
Mediterranean He could by withdrawing his armies in
.
,

Spain to the natural defensive line o f the Pyrenees divert ,

a great force of trained and seasoned troops to meet the

Russians He still had the promise of alliance of Denmark
.
,

the Confederation o f the Rhine Saxony and Poland Prussia , , ,

Austria the Kingdom of Italy and Naples And above

, , .

all France itself w a s loyal to him The Russian Czar

, .
,

Alexander would be bold if he attempted to defy the power

,

of such a league .

Napoleon however realized that his league had fatally

, ,

weak links in Prussia and Austria These states had so .

suf fered at his hands that they could hardly be expected

to maintain their loyalty to the French alliance when once

the Emperor s power w a s broken All depended upon .

their attitude .

In Prussia the news o f the French disaster was as the

,

dawn of a new day When the ragged starving remains of .

,
 THE C AMPAI GN S I N R U SSI A AN D LEI PZ I G 2 95

Napoleon s Grand Army streamed across the Prussian border ,

they sent a thrill of hope throughout the Prussian people .

The tale o f the extent of the distress O f the French spread

rapidly from mouth to mouth A few days l ater news o f
.
,

the convention o f Tauroggen (December 3 0 by which ,

the Prussian general Yorck had betrayed Napoleon and saved

the Prussian contingent by agreement with the Russians ,

increased the popular excitement Y orck by his treachery .

,

to the French raised himself to the position of a national

,

hero in the thoughts o f the Prussians The secret leagues .

like the Tu gen db u n d ( League o f Virtue ) which had ourished ,

in Prussia and throughout Germany since the deb a cl e of

1 806 with the desire o f inspiring the people to work for the
regeneration o f the German fatherland now openly pro ,

claimed that the moment for an uprising against the tyrant

was at hand In only o n e quarter was there hesitation
.

in the government Frederick William III was still in fear

.

o f the power o f Napoleon He vacillated when the whole

.

nation w as aroused In Berlin Where the French garrison

.
,

was still in control he disavowed the act of Yorck in sign

,

ing the convention o f Tauroggen and sent repeated messages

of assurance to Napoleon All through the month of
.

January 1 8 1 3 he was subj ect to the greatest o f pressure

, , ,

o n the one hand from his fears that a fatal war would end

in the extinction of his Kingdom and on the other hand ,

from the loyal enthusiasm o f his aroused people In Feb r u .

ary he moved f r Om his capital to Breslau where he wa s less ,

subject to the watch o f the French .

In Austria the disaster to the French army failed to arouse

,

any such national enthusiasm as in Prussia but resulted ,

in a marked independence of policy by the government .

The chancellor Metternich had been responsible for the

, ,

original alliance with Napoleon after Wagram and had ,

persuaded his Emperor Francis to cement this alliance

, ,

by permitting the marriage o f the Archduchess Maria

Loui sa to Napoleon The ad vantages of t he allian ce s o
.
2 96 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

long as Napoleon re m ained powerful were obvious : a n ew

condition was created however by the prospect o f Napo
, ,

leon s fall Metternich exerted himself therefore to pursue

.
, ,

a policy which should guarantee the safety o f Austria ,

maintain the di gnity o f Francis and insure his own reputa

,

tion He rst concluded a secret agreement with Russia

.

( January 1 8 1 3 ) to cease hostilities He did not however

, .
, ,

venture at rst to repudiate the French alliance but he ,

initiated a policy of independence by putting Austria for

ward as a mediator for a general peace He was indeed .
, ,

feeling his way By proposing mediation he was taking

.
,

no step inconsistent with his alliance with France and yet ,

he was moving denitely toward the independent position

he desired Austria to assume in European a a ir s .

In the meanwhile Napoleon was exerting himsel f to

,

prepare his country and his armies to resist whatever forces

should be brought against them At n o time in his career .

were his energy and his genius more conspicuously dis

played than during the early months of 1 8 1 3 He p r o .

v i de d for the drafting o f new levies o f soldiers and for t heir ,

equipment and training He raised funds by taking over

.

the communal lands and disposing o f them He framed a .

new concordat with the Pope induced him to Sign it ( Janu

,

ary 2 5 , and reaped the advantage of it even though ,

t w o months later the Pope repudiated it He kept in con .

stant touch with the courts o f Prussia and Austria endeavor ,

ing to keep them within his alliance He was working under .

high pressure but was accomplishing wonders

, .

The danger -spot was Prussia When Frederick William.

III removed to Breslau he went outside the direct range

,

o f French inuence as typied by the French garrison in

Berlin The unanimity o f public opinion in favor of a war

.

of liberation became evident to him He recalled Scharn .

horst an d Gneisenau to assist in the organization equip ,

ment and training o f the masses of enthusiastic volunteers

, ,

an d Hardenber g as c h an cell o r t o be h i s ch i ef cou n cil or in

 THE C A MPA IGN S I N R U S SI A AN D LE IP ZIG 2 97

conducting the government at the crisis He approached .

the government o f Austria seeking alliance but received

, ,

no encouragement from Metternich He at last upon .

,

the advice o f Hardenberg turned to Alexander o f Russia

, .

When Alexander o f Russia had reached the Prussian

border he had been temporarily halted by a division among
,

his councilors Ku t u s o v his commanding general favored

.
, ,

the abandonment of the pursuit at that point Stein urged .

the grander plan of advancing to liberate Europe from the

O ppression of Napoleonic tyranny and prophesied the u p
,

rising o i the Prussian people Alexander s hatred of Na
.

o l e o n hi s desire to play a great p art in the history o f his

p ,

time and his belief that his success would win him Poland
, ,

inclined him to follow the counsel of Stein He moved his .

troops across the Niemen River and ( February 1 8 13 ) , ,

welcomed negotiations with Frederick William 1 1 1 .

With both sovereigns agreed upon the main obj ect the ,

negotiations proceeded rapidly By the Treaty o f Kalisch

.
,

signed February 2 6 1 8 1 3 Russia and Prussia bound them

, ,

selves to an of fensive and defensive alliance Prussia .

agreed to furnish troops ; Russia Alex ,

ander pledged himself to continue the war until Prussia

was restored to her boundaries o f 1 805 Russia w a s to .

receive extensive acquisitions in Poland Prussia was to .

receive compensation f o r her Polish losses by annexations

in northern Germany A fortnight later Prussia made
. ,

public the treaty and declared war on France ( March 1 3 ,

At the same time that this declaration was made a new ,

country in the north turned actively against Napoleon .

Bernadotte the crown prince o f Sweden when the news

, ,

o f the French disaster reached him demanded the cession ,

o f Norway as the price o f Swedish support To accede to .

this demand would have been a base betrayal of Denmark ,

which had remain ed consistently faithful to the French

alliance Nap ole on th erefore r efused Bernadotte there
.
.
2 98 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E UR OPE

upon further cemented his alliance o f 1 8 1 2 with Great

Britain by a new treaty o f March 1 3 1 8 1 3 and landed , ,

troops in Swedish Pomerania ready to operate ,

against the French when the opportunity off ered .

Thus in the spring o f 1 8 1 3 Napoleon faced a coalition ,

in the east o f Russia and Prussia had a Swedish force in ,

the north prepared to strike at his communications and ,

was heavily engaged against the Sp anish Portuguese and , ,

British in Spain Though Austria w a s not at the moment

.

against him she had made evident her new independent

,

policy April 1 6 1 8 1 3 Napoleon left Paris to j oin his

.
, ,

armies in the east .

0 . TH E L EIP Z IG C A MPA IG N TO TH E AR MI ST I C E
Although the Grand Army had retreated into Poland
little better than a b and o f fugitives there were troops in ,

the Polish and Prussian fortresses which had not felt the
burden o f war To Napoleon it seemed imperative that
.

the line of the Vistul a should be held Accordingly he .

admonished Eug e ne whom he had placed in supreme co m ,

mand of the necessity o f presenting a bold front to the

,

Russians B ut the defection of Y orck and the lukewarm

.
,

attitude of the Austrians in withdraw n to their o wn

frontiers combined with evidences o f such stron g antipathy
,

to the French as threatened actual uprising persuaded ,

Eug e ne t o withdraw from Posen and ultimately to take ,

up a position at Magdeburg o n the Elbe Here reinforce .

ments were gradually collected about him until he had an

army O f guarding the line o f the river T o his right .

rear the Emperor had collected another force of

,

o n the lower Main ; a third force o f w a s hurrying

from Italy
The allied army at the opening o f the campaign num
bered about The right wing strong under , ,

Wittgenstein w a s marching on Magdeburg ; the left wing

, ,

a force o f u nde r B l ti ch er was di r e ct ed on D r es den ; ,

 THE C AMPAI GN S I N RU SSIA AN D LE I PZI G 2 99

while the center reserve o f under Ku t u s o v was ,

following a center route but was still far to the rear when
activities commenced More units were being formed .
,

and great hope was placed in the prospect o f reinforcement

by Austria The allied commanders feared an attack on
.

Berlin but they nevertheless determined to assume the

,

offensive devising a plan which involved a march down the

,

Elbe rolling up the French line as they went

, .

The Emperor had hoped that h i s f o e would march so

far south that he would be able to cut him O ff from Prussia
by an advance from Magdeburg but when on April 2 5 , ,

181 3 he j oin ed the army at Erfurt he found that the enemy

, ,

was in two main bodies o n e to the south and one to the ,

north o f Leipzig He therefore ab andoned his rst plan

.

and determined o n a concentration near Merseburg f o l ,

lowed by a frontal advance which should push the allies

across the Elbe Eug e ne s army composed o f the corps of
.

M a cDo n a l d Lauriston and Reynier was ordered o n Merse

, , ,

burg wh ile the main army the Guard Ney Marmont

, , , ,

O u di n o t and Bertrand
, were advanced fro m near Erfurt .

His advance guard arrived before Leipzig May 1 1 8 1 3 , ,

and there gained contact with the enemy The main body .

was at this time some distance to the rear and since the , ,

Elbe protected them o n the left well to the right o f the ,

advance guard .

The allied armies meanwhile had united and learning , , ,

o f the arrival o f troops before Leipzig determined to strike ,

.

Mistaking Napoleon s strong advance guard f o r his main

army they devised the plan of attacking ercely at Lii t z en

,

( to the west of Leipzig ) with about 5 000 while with their ,

main body they endeavored to turn his right ank The .

effect of this was o f course to bring their main body full

, ,

front to the Emperor s army marching to the right and rear

of his advance guard The attack at L if t z en began about .

9 A M
. May 2 and was proceedin g spiritedly under the
.
, ,

E mperor s personal direction when suddenly there was

,
3 00 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

heard the roar o f cannon to the rear Comprehending .

instantly its full import Napoleon set o u t for the scene of ,

action where he at once prepared a battle -reserve When

, .

the allies attack began to slacken from exhaustion he rushed ,

forward a hundred guns which tore the hostile line to shreds ,

and through the holes he marched his reserve The victory .

was complete and had the Emperor possessed an adequate

,

cavalry annihilation of the beaten army would have fol

,

lowed As it was the allies retreated under cover of night

.
,

from a eld which should have been as decisive as Austerlitz .

The retreat lay through Dresden and thither Napoleon ,

followed with ve corps while Ney with his o wn corp s , ,

R ey n i er s L a u r i s t o n s and a new corps under Victor was
, , ,

sent to cross at To r ga u in the hope of turning the enemy s
position in the Saxon capital At rst the allies seemed .

disposed to dispute the crossing for they established artil ,

lery o n the b ank in the vicinity o f the bridges A superior .

massing of artillery drove them o u t however and under , ,

cover o f its re the bridges were built and the army was
, ,

pushed across There was no further attempt to defend

.

the city and a reconnaissance to the east showed that the

,

foe was rapidly retiring Contact w a s not again ef fected .

until the line o f the Spree w a s reached .

Here near the little village of B autzen the allies had

, ,

decided once more to risk an encounter Their rst line .

of defense was that o f the river itself but behind that on ,

the heights was a second line of considerable strength to

which they proposed to fall b ack The Emperor s army .

as we have seen was marching in two bodies o n e from ,

Dresden ( Napoleon ) and o n e from Torgau ( Ney ) the second

, ,

one about a day s march behind the rst When Napoleon .

had reconnoitered the hostile line he determined upon a ,

frontal attack which should drive it b ack from the river ,

whereupon he would strike it in the right ank with Ney s

army and crush it His plan worked almost mechanically

. .

O n May 2 0 the river line w a s everywhere pushed back

, ,
 THE C A MPAIGN S I N RU SSI A AN D LE I PZ IG 3 01

af ter hot ghting and the French advanced to the right

,

bank o f the stream Early next morning the attack began

.

again and in some places the French were repulsed B ut

, .

Napoleon was not alarmed f o r he had assured himself o f ,

the presence of Ney and was only waiting for the latter to
attack in ank When the assault came the allied line
.
,

was crumpled and Napoleon hastily throwing in his

, ,

frontal reserve was able with in a few hours to co n gr a t u

,

late himself o n the second great victory o f the campaign .

Again the lack of cavalry had left him powerless to pre

vent the enemy from making an orderly retreat and again ,

the pursuit had to begin this time directed toward Silesia

, .

But by the middle o f May the behavior o f Austria alarmed ,

the Emperor and he opened negotiations with a view to

,

peace O n Jun e 1 1 8 1 3 a thirty six hour armistice was

.
, ,
- -

agreed to a lull in operations which was gradually lengthened

,

to a s ix weeks suspension o f war .

D . TH E AR MI ST I C E
Historians knowin g the disorganization and weakness
,

o f the allied armies following their successive defeats have ,

marveled at Napoleon s short sighted policy in concluding -

the armistice of Pl as w i t z June 1 1 8 1 3 Napoleon s o wn
, , .

losses however had been exceptionally heavy and he sorely

, , ,

neede d time to procure the additional cavalry to drive his

victories home Also he feared the policy o f Austria and
.
, ,

hoped by bringing up troops from Italy t o overawe her

government and force it t o remain neutral Possibly had .

he realized the extent o f demoralization among his enemies ,

he would have waived these advantages o f an ar m istice

and continued the campaign to a decision .

During the armistice both belligerents worked furiously

to strengthen their position f o r the en s uing struggle Fresh .

troops were brought up ; supply lines established and

improved ; and all possible done to equip the armies f o r
the reopening of the war after the armistice .
3 02 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

A ustria was recognized as the critical state now however , ,

as Prussia had been in the rst months o f the year Prussia .

,

Russia and Sweden after some preliminary dif culties

, ,

over the question of Hanover reached an agreement with ,

Great Britain by which British subsidies were allowed but ,

they found Metternich of Austria hard to deal with M et .

t er n i ch had indeed now f ully resumed for Austria full

, ,

independence of policy He was guided by a purely Aus .

trian policy He purposed to re establish the o ld continental

.

equilibrium o f power between A ustria Prussia Rus s ia , , ,

and France He was unwilling to encourage Russia s
.

aggrandizement He distrusted the popular movement

.

in Prussia He did not desire to weaken unduly the French

.

Empire He saw the O pportunity o f advancing Austrian

.

interests by dictating to N apoleon the terms o f peace .

Metternich s proposals a s mediator were laid before N a

p o l e o n June 7 1 81 3 and involved the abolition o f the Grand

, ,

Duchy o f Warsaw and the Confederation of the Rhine ;

the restoration o f the Illyrian provinces to A ustria ; the
surrender o f the Hanseatic towns and of the northern Ger
man states ; and the re establishment o f Prussia in her
boundaries o f 1 8 05 Shortly afterwards while Napoleon
.
,

was deliberating o n these terms Metternich S i gned the ,

Treaty of Reichenbach with the Russian -Prussian allies

( June 2 7 , agreeing to j oin them in the war if the
terms were n o t accepted .

Napoleon might well have agreed to these terms They .

left him a huge empire far greater than the France o f the ,

Bourbon Kings It was howe v er galling to his pride

.
, ,

to think of returning to Paris with diminished empire He .

consented to a congres s to discuss the terms and dispatched

a representative thereto but continued to push feverishl y ,

his preparations for a renewal o f the campaign .

The Congress of Prague was in s ession from July 15 to

August 1 0 1 8 13 After agreeing upon an exten s ion of the
, .

ar m istice from July 2 0 to August 2 0 the delegates entered ,

 THE C AMPAI GN S IN R U S S IA AN D LE IPZI G 3 03

up on a discu s sion of possible terms of peace along the lines

laid down by Metternich The French representative .
,

Caulaincourt could not however obtain from N apoleon

, , ,

the authority to accept these terms Finally as n ego t ia .

,

tions continued to drag M etternich put forth Austria as ,

armed mediator and delivered to Napoleon an ultimatum

that the terms must be accepted by August 1 0 or A ustria
would enter the war o n the side o f the allies When August .

l 0t h arrived and N apoleon had failed t o answer the ulti

matum t o the s atisfaction o f Austria the Congress declared ,

itself dissolved T w o days later Au gust 1 2 1 8 13 Austria

.
, , ,

declared war against France .

E . TH E L EIPZ IG C AM PA I G N TO TH E B A T TLE OF L EIPZ IG

The Emperor had during the armistice greatly increased
his armies by the addition o f levies from France s o that at
the resumption o f hostilities h is army numbered nearly
e ffectives The allies had augmented their forces
.

by recruiting as well as by the addition o f the Austrian

contingent and must have had in the eld
, men .

These gures had been placed as high a s and

respectively but the lesser gures are certainly more a c
,

curate as a comparison o f the power o f the two co m batants .

Of the Emperor s enemies Bernadotte with the Swedes

and Prussians lay near Berlin ; B l ii ch er ,

Russians and Prussians about Breslau ; and Schwarzenberg

, ,

A ustrian s and Russians in Bohemia , .

The Emperor s position called f or the exercise o f all his

talents but was far from being an un satisfactory one at

,

the opening o f this phase o f the campaign He was deter .

mined to strike a blow at his o l d lieutenant Bernadotte , ,

while waiting to s ee what the main body o f his enemy s hould

propose With the Austrians o n the move be h ind the
.

Bohemian mountains h e knew that his position in Silesia

,

was too advanced and accordingly w ithdrew the bulk of his

,

ar my to Bautzen From here he directed O u din o t against

.
3 04 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

Berlin supporting him by troop s from the lower Elbe

, .

Such an advance if successful would n o t only capture the

Prussian capital but could continue and relieve the French
,

garrisons in Danzig and the O der fortresses .

While waiting for the consummation o f this scheme ,

Napoleon made an exp eri m ental m ove toward B 111ch er ,

hoping to draw him into an exposure o f his real intentions ,

but the wily o l d Prussian simply retreated before the a d

v an ci n g French drawing them farther and f arther into
,

S ilesia At this j uncture the Emperor learned that the

.
,

Austrians were advancing in f orce do wn the Elbe threaten ,

ing to take Dresden and to cut his communications with

France Leaving M a cDo n a ld to watch B lii ch er Napoleon
.
,

hurried h is army t o Bautzen planning meanwhile a march ,

a cr o s S t h e mountains to K onigstein which should result

'
'

in a battle bound t o be deci s ive B ut at Bautzen he r e .

c ei v e d word from St Cyr garrisoning Dresden that S ch wa r

.
, ,

z en b er g w a s already through the del e s and that if the ,

fortress were to be saved help must come at once R e , .

f using to give up entirely his proposed march into Bohemi a ,

the E mperor ordered Va n da m m e s corps to effect the cross

ing to KOn igs t ein while with the main army he himself
,

set o u t for Dresden He was only just in time for S ch war

.
,

z en b er g s six columns were close to the city and the battle ,

w a s already under wa y when the French f rom Bautzen

began to arrive .

The battle began late in the afternoon o f A ugust 2 6 ,

1813 . The superior numbers o f the A ustrians soon told

on the defenders and St Cyr had begun a slow withdrawal
, .

when the Emperor arrived Night gave an opportunity .

to put the new arrivals in position and to formulate a ,

plan A severe rain storm which occurred during the night

.

p laced the Austrians with their h eavy artillery at a dis a d

v antage o f which the French were soon aware In the
, .

morning the Emperor began an O peration unusual for hi m

,

an attack o n both anks of his O pponent Th e cannon .

 THE C AMPAI GN S IN R U SSIA AN D LE I PZ IG 3 05

of th e Dresden redoub ts were he thought able to hold o ff , ,

the attacks from the Austrian center while a spirited assault

on the hostile right would leave him free to carry out the
portion o f his scheme to which he looked to bring s uccess
the assault on the hostile left A ravine just to the south .

of the city ran between the allied center and left and upon ,

the wing thus isolated the blow was launched So e ect i v e

, .

was this that the isolated portion o f Schwarzenberg s line

was completely crushed less than o n e fourth of it e s caping

, .

The success o f Ney s assaults on the other ank made
necessary a withdrawal o f the center and by late afternoon
the allies were in full ight For the third time the lack .
,

of cavalry rendered sterile what was the last great victory

o f the Empire .

Success did not lie wholly with the French however , .

When N apoleon withdrew to Bautzen preparatory to ,

Dresden B lii ch er seized his opportunity and administered

,

a tellin g defeat to M a cDo n a l d The Austrians retreat .

,

ing into Bohemia came upon Vandamme at Kulm his

, ,

corps across th eir road and by sheer force o f numbers

,

overpowered him Within a few days came word that

.

O u din o t had been repulsed at Grossbeeren south of Berlin , ,

and Ney at Dennewitz .

But when the Emperor hastened eastward to repair the

dam age done to M a cDo n a ld B lii ch er retreated before him , ,

and Schwarzenberg again advanced down the Elbe Back .

cam e the Emperor to overwhelm the Austrian s only to nd

that the latter had retired Time was working for the allies
. ,

and they did not mean to risk another defeat Napoleon s .

activities o f this period of the campaign do n o t show him

at his best Indeed his numerous marches back and forth
.
,

from Bautzen earned from the sneering peasants the title

of The Bautzen Messenger When nally he reviewed . , ,

his situation he decided upon a stand somewhere behind

,

the Elbe which would enable him t o start anew in the spring ,

The determination to execute this plan brought him on

3 06 THE H STOR YI OF E U ROPE

O ctober to Dii b en
13 His enemies lay as follows : Berna
.

dotte at Halle B lii ch er at Wittenberg S chwarzenberg to

, ,

the south o f Leipzig Plainly the only way to overcome

.

them wa s to turn rst on one and then on the other B l ii ch er , .

was the rst objective But by now the Prussian had .

moved westward fro m Wittenberg and at the moment of

N apoleon s operation Bernadotte was between the Prus

,

sians and the French The attack therefore came upon

.
, ,

the timid Bernadotte wh o at once withdrew leaving N a ,

p o l e o n as he thought free to deal with Schwarzenberg

, , .

But though the Emperor was acting o n interior lin es h e , .

had not left himself room to operate to advantage and he ,

had lost sight o f B l ii ch er the real danger to his success .

W hen therefore he turned to meet the Austrians although

, , ,

he was in no danger from Bernadotte B lii ch er was within ,

a day s march

.

O n O ctober 1 6 began the Battle of the N ations Na .

p o l e o n had ma s sed his troops to the east of Leipzig prepared ,

to meet Schwarzenberg s Austrians wh o were approaching

in converging columns down the valleys of the Elster and

Pl ei ss e with the heaviest column o n the right hand of the
,

latter Farther to the west a third column under G in l a y

.
,

wa s pressing northward in the double hope O f destroying

the bridge o n the road to Erfurt and o f uniting with Bl u cher ,

when the latter should arrive from the north The French .

positions were undisturbed by the Austrian onslaughts ,

and G in l a y s column completely failed in its mission In

.

the afternoon however there came disturbing news from

, ,

northwest of the city that B lii ch e r was cl o s m g i n on the

,

city and had already reached the suburb o f M ockern .

Detachments o f French troops were sent to oppose him ,

and in the early evening before the little village there , ,

occurred some of the most furious ghting o f the Napoleonic

wars Nightfall brought success to the Prussians and left
.
,

N apoleon occupying a s pace far too restricted f or success

ful handling of his forces .
 THE C AMPAI GN S I N RUS SIA AN D LE IPZ IG 3 07

He ha d hoped as we have seen to defeat Schwarzen b erg

, ,

before B lii ch er could arrive but he had allowed himself ,

neither time nor space in which to complete such a plan .

On the second day of the battle therefore he could only , ,

resist the attacks o f his enemies directed against him from ,

the same quarters and in much the same fashion as o n the

,

day previous Again G i n la y s column was driven in upon

.

the main Austrian column a success which enabled Napoleon

,

to make sure o f the bridge across the Elster o n the Erfurt

road .

It was a fortunate gain for the French f o r on the third ,

day Bernadotte s army came in o n the northeast and lled
,

the gap between B lii ch er and Schwarzenberg The Em .

p er o r s situation was now hopeless Pressed o n three sides

.

by the savage attacks o f his enemies he gave the orders ,

to retreat from the di s astrous eld Bravely the French kept .

open their single line of retreat to the west and by daybreak ,

a full half of the army was across the Elster Defeat was .

certain but the Emperor s troops were well handled the
, ,

enemy was in the utmost confusion and the sturdy French ,

battalions still on the right bank of the Elster were cover

ing the crossing ski llfully .

The Emperor had ordered that bridges be constructed

across the Elster at Lindenau but f o r some reason his ,

commands were n o t carried out and the whole army found ,

itself struggling to cross by a single bridge When morn .

ing dawned the allies seeing the battle eld abandoned

, , ,

pressed rapidly into the city and beat against the defenders
of the bridge Already the Russians were close upon it
.

when a sudden explosion ( accidental it has always been ,

supposed ) blew the bridge into bits Immediately the .

Italian and Rhine troops still on the Leipzig side s u r, ,

rendered O r turned against their French allies who after

, ,

maintaining the attack against overwhelming O dds plunged ,

into the river where many were dro wned

,
.

Napoleon s retreat lay across the front part o f S ch war

3 08 THE HI S T ORY OF EU ROPE

z en army and it would seem that energetic measures

b er g

s ,

would have completed the ruin begun at Leipzig Nothing .

was done however and the beaten army n o w reformed

, , , ,

began its march to the Rhine by wa y o f Erfurt without ,

serious interference N ear Hanau . men under Wrede

, ,

marching north from Bavaria placed themselves across the

,

w a y and attempted to halt the retreating army For three .

days they contested the French retreat obstinately but were ,

at last forced aside Two days later ( November

. the
eeing army crossed the Rhine at Mainz its numbers now,

reduced to about
 CHA PTER XIV

THE FI RS T AB D I C ATI ON

A . TH E FR A N KFU R T NE G O T I AT I ON S
WI TH the advance o f his army after the shattered French ,

Alexander of Russia reached Frankfort N ovember 7 1 8 1 3 , .

The question then arose Should the allies push their forces
across the Rhine f o r the invasion of France proper ?
At the beginning o f the discussion only the Prussian ,

generals Bl u cher and Gneisenau favored invasion The .

Prussian people burning with resentment at their pa s t

,

humi liations looked forward to the j oy of revenge The

, .

representatives o f the other powers however paused before , ,

th e probable di f culties of invasion and the problems which

would result Alexander s generals had wished to stop at
.

the Niemen : all the more did they urge the cessation o f
hostilities at the Rhine The allied armies had suffered
.

severely in the defeats at Lutzen Bautzen and Dresden and , , ,

even in the victories at Katzbach Grossbeeren Kulm , , ,

Dennewitz and Leipzig The Russian advisers could s ee

, .

no advantage which would accrue to Russia from further

operations The risk o f defeat at the hands o f a martial
.

French people aroused by the disgrace o f invasion and led

,

by the genius of N apoleon was too great Political co n ,

.

siderations inuenced Metternich o f Austria to be o f the

same O pinion The allied successes had avenged Marengo
.
,

Austerlitz and Wagram had freed Austrian territories and

, , ,

cleared the French from Germany The Austrian purposes .

were thus achieved Further successes would merely

.

strengthen Russia and Prussia who under normal conditions ,

were Austri a s traditional foes Even En gland h esitated

.

3 09
3 10 THE H STOR Y I OF E U ROPE

momen tarily at the prospect of invading France Welling .

ton had taken no signicant forward movement after his

victory at Vittoria and the British representatives at Fran k
,

fort were will ing to negotiate .

Hence from Frankfort the allies sent a message to Napo

leon N ovember 9 1 81 3 o ff ering peace on the condition t h at
, , ,

the French surrender all the conquests and claims of France

beyond the Pyrenees the Alps and the Rhine France was
, , .

thus to be conned within what were regarded as her natural

boundaries The allies in s isted upon the acceptance o f these
.

terms before further negotiations and announced that they ,

expected an answer before December 1 Their messenge r .

reached Paris with the proposals November 1 4 1 8 1 3 , .

N apoleon had arrived at his capital u p on his return from

his retreating army November 4 1 8 1 3 He understood his , .

position thoroughly and again bent hi s energies toward

,

raising the men and supplies necessary to defend France .

He had not had time to make great p ro gress before the allied
offer reached him .

N apoleon realized that the terms p ro p osed from Frank

fort were liberal under the circumstance s yet he could not ,

bring himself t o an outright and denite acceptance o f them .

His memory of the extent o f his empire his dreams of pan ,

European dominion h is claim to be inheritor from Charle

,

magne his sense of humiliation at the prospect of a ckn o wl

,

edging before France that he had grasped for more than he

could hold these very human inuences led h im to t em p o r
ize He did not reject the o ff er ; but he did n o t accept the
.

terms as the bases of negotiation : he answered ( November

1 6 1 8 1 3 ) by suggesting that a congress be held at Mann h ei m
,

for the consideration of peace .

If N apoleon really desired peace on the terms offered by

the allies his answer was ill considered for by neglecting to
, ,

accept the provisions named it gave his enemies the o p

p o r t u n i t y to withdraw them And in the few days which
.

elap sed b etween th e disp atch o f t h e alli es O ffer a n d th e
 T HE FI R ST AB D I C ATI ON 3 11

receipt of N apoleon s answer th e attitude o f the representa
,

t i v es o f the great powers changed radically Information .

reached them of the pitiable condition of the wreck of

Napoleon s army o f the universal war -weariness in France

, ,

o f the great di f culty N apoleon was meeting in his attempts

to raise men and supplies In addition the o f cial British

.
,

attitude changed as a result o f a burst of popular indignation

when it became kno wn that the terms o ffered Napoleon had
not comprised the surrender of Holland and the N etherlands .

The feeling that no strong continental power could be su ffered

to maintain a foothold across the English Channel had long
inspired th e popular conception o f what should be British

p olicy Thus when N apoleon s answer reached the r ep r e
.

s en t a t i v e s o f the great powers they united in regarding it as

,

unsatisfactory and proceeded to draw up their plans f o r

,

crossing the Rhine f o r the invasion of France A few more .

futile notes followed Napoleon even going so far as to accept

,

the terms as a basis of negotiation but the allies were no ,

longer disposed t o treat with him When November closed .

,

the allies considered that their ultimatum had not been met .

On the last day of December 1 8 1 3 they began to m ove , ,

troo p s across the Rhine .

B . TH E P EN I N S U LAR W AR
Be f ore proceeding to this campaign in France however we , ,

may well outline the military operations in the Spanish

peninsula and bring them into such perspective that the
general mi litary situation in the last few fatal months will
be clear .

The account o f the campaign in the Peninsula was dropped

at the moment when Wellington had been repulsed before the
fortresses o f Ciudad Rodrigo and B adajoz in the autumn o f
1 81 1
. The French still held the gates o n the Portugues e
frontier while Wellington wa s master in Portug al ; and
though if the French wished to complete the subjugation
,

of Andal u sia the y wo u l d h av e Wellin gton on th ei r ank the

, ,
3 12 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

latte r in his turn would be harassed in precisely the sa m e way

should he attempt to operate in the valley o f the Douro .

Wh en o p erations began in the spring o f 1 8 1 2 the pocketbook ,

of Britain began to assert it s sup eriority for Wellington ,

s ubsisted his ar m ies fro m well -ll ed magazines supplied by

British transports whereas the French were obliged to
,

scatter in order that they m ight forage in a reluctant country .

The guerrillas were beco m ing each day m ore powerful and ,

were a constant menace to the French communications .

The French armies some , strong still greatly o u t ,

numbered Wellington s forces but for the reasons j ust given
,

this superiority was more apparent than real .

The campaign o f 1 8 12 began wi th two swift attacks by

Wellington o n the border fortresses o f Ciudad Rodrigo and
Badajoz ( January and March The element of sur
,

p rise contributed largely to Wellington s success but there ,

were days o f very bloody ghting at both places before that

s ucces s was complete With the gates t o Portugal in h is
.

hands he no longer feared an attack in his rear when he

,

moved into the Douro valley Accordingly in June h e .

, ,

moved on M ar m o n t s forces there An attempt on the part

.

o f the latter to inte r po s e his army between t h at of Wellington

and the fortre s s of Ciudad Rodrigo brough t on the battle o f

Salamanca where t h e British wo n a decisive victory (July
,

22, M armont fell back on Burgos and Wellington , ,

after routi n g Joseph occupied Madrid Soult now raised

, .

th e siege of Cadiz and abandoning Andalus ia hurried over

, ,

the mountains into Valencia where he j oined Such et, .

In September Wellington marched against the French

,

army o f the north now concentrated at B urgos Fo r over a .

month he laid siege to t h e citadel without effect Then .

,

learning that Soult was approaching from V alencia he ,

directed the evacuation of Madrid and withdrew his army

to Ciudad Rodrigo The French pressed the pursuit warmly
. .

The close of the campaign had it wa s true been un f avorable

, ,

to the British but they h ad w on a notab le v ictor y at Sala

,
 THE FI RS T AB D I C ATI ON 3 13

m anca they had occupied the Spanish capital and their

, ,

operation s had forced the French to abandon Andalusia .

In the spring of 1 8 13 Wellington n o w commander -in

, ,

chief of the British Spanish and Portuguese forces found

, , ,

him self in command of troops totaling of which

were his own British regulars and seasoned Portuguese .

These were massed near Ciudad Rodrigo and the Spanish ,

nationalists were scattered about Spain there being one ,

army o f in Leon o n Wellington s left ank To
, .

oppose them the French had , o f which number

S u ch et s

were in Valencia and Catalonia and the ,

remainder in the Tagus and Douro valleys o n the Burgos

line of invasion under the command of King Joseph Mar .

m ont and Soult had both been recalled to France leaving ,

Joseph with only second -rate generals under his command .

Wh en Wellington began his advance in May 1 8 1 3 there , ,

was no o n e o n t h e O pposing side skillful enough t o divine his

purpose A divided attack was proposed a j unction o n the
.
,

battle eld being part of the scheme It was very daring .

,

for at one time the two portions o f the army ( under Graham
and th e Duke ) were fty miles apart But Wellington knew .

his junior and the scheme worked The French their righ t
,
.
,

ank on the Douro turned fell back in haste The Spaniards,

.

on Graham s left joined the allies and the advance continued

,

through Burgos to the Ebro t o Vittoria Santander o n the

, ,
.

north coast was taken and a new base established the long ,

lines to Lisbon being abandoned At Vittoria Joseph made . ,

hi s last stand in Spain Another converging attack by the

.

allies met o n the battle eld from which t h e weak King ed

in dismay leaving his troops his treasure and his kingdom
, , ,

behind (June 2 1 ,

Vittoria is the high tide o f British success in the Peninsula .

There was severe ghting in the Pyrenee s following that

battle but before winter stopped the campaign the British
, ,

held the line o f the Nive and the French had withdra wn ,

fro m Catalonia o n the east ank of the m ountains .

3 14 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

In February 1 8 1 4 Soult wa s recalled fro m his s p lendid

, ,

achievements in the Leipzig campaign t o repair the damage

caused at Vittoria But his army o f recruits wa s helpless
.

before the Duke s veterans Though Soult never dis p layed .

more ably his qualities as a general he was driven away fro m ,

Bayonne and forced back to Toulouse Here o n April 1 0 .

, ,

1 8 1 4 he attempted to s tem the British advance and m ade a

,

brave stand but again the superiority of the seasoned soldier

,

displayed itself In the night he retreated leaving the

.
,

Duke in posse s sion o f the city Before hostilities could be .

renewed the news of Fontainebleau and of N apoleon s

,

abdication reached the opposing forces They thereupon .

ter m inated operations by a convention .

The ve years of varying fortunes had been co m pleted

favorabl y to Britain Her success there had by no means
.

been the s m allest contribution to the do wnfall o f N ap oleon .

C . TH E DEFEN SE OF FRAN C E
We turn no w b ack to Napoleon s de f ense o f France Th e
.

Emperor hoped to be left in peace unt il the s p ring by which ,

time hi s new levies might have been whipped partly into

shape f or the ca m paign Long before then ho w ever the .
, ,

allies were agreed as to the urgency for an invasion of F rance .

Consequently N apoleon was forced to ght with an arm y

,

never greater than These gures do not represent

France s total stren gth in the eld : Eu gene with

was
in Italy ; Soult and Suchet had fully in the Pyrenees
and s outhern France ; and the German fortresses which ,

Napoleon wa s deter m ined to hold absorbed m ore , .

These last were entirely lost to hi m because the f ortresses ,

were at once invested Such then were the ar m ies piti f ully
.
, , ,

s m all by comparison which were to endeavor in vain to ste m

,

the g reat tide of allied invasion ve armies advancing

through Belgium on the upper and lower Rhine in Italy
, , ,

a n d from Spain .

The rst of the allied ar m ies was that of Bernadotte which ,

 THE FI RST AB D I C ATI O N 3 15

f or the m o m ent consum ed a great part of its strength in b e

sieging the N etherlands and the German fortresses but ,

which nevertheless wa s able to detach two corps

, ,

under B ii l o w for service in the eld The second army wa s .

B lii ch er s Ar m y of Silesia

advancing through C o b ,

lenz and M ainz The third was Schwarzenberg s Army of

.

Bohemia which planned to enter France near Basle

, .

The fo u rth was B el lega r de s Army o f N orthern Italy

And the fth was Wellington s co mbined British Spanish

, ,

and Portuguese army operating at the moment in ,

the Pyrenees and southern France I t will be seen at a .

glance that B lii ch er and Schwarzenberg were the most

immediate and dangerous o f the enemies N apoleon had to
f ace It wa s by them that the issue was decided
. .

At the very outset of the campaign difculties developed ,

between B lii ch er and Schwarzenberg as to the proper m ethod

of procedure B l ii ch er a courageous ofcer and a thorough
.
,

ghter wished to push straight through the Rhine fortresses

, ,

take them or failing that mask them and march on Paris

, , , ,

Schwarzenberg timid and awed by the prospect o f ghting

,

the terrible E mperor in his o wn country wished to turn the ,

line of fortresses by entering from Switzerland As a re s ult .

of the di ff erence o f opinion the invasion was made in two ,

colu mns each general following his o wn plan so that Napo

, ,

leon wa s able to make the very m ost out of the situation and ,

with an army much weaker than the combination of his

ene m ies would have presented to hold up their advance ,

for many weeks .

The theater of operations was ca s t o f Paris in the valleys o f ,

the conuent rivers the Aisne the O urcq the Marne the , , , ,

Aube the Seine and the Y onne but chiey in that portion
, , ,

between the Marne and the Seine The main roads to Paris .

which the allies were obliged to use follow these rivers so ,

that it was necessary f o r the allies to force these streams at

the points o f crossing None of them is very wide but all are
. ,

s o deep that the bridges are p oints o f supre m e i m portance .

3 16 T HE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

The country about them is all open cultivated land suitable ,

for the passage of armies ; but in the winter and early spring
much o f the country next to the rivers becomes impassable
and movements o f troops are theref ore conned to the
highways .

It was a eld admirably adapted f or a defensive campaign .

In it the Emperor disposed his meager forces to oppose his

,

advancing foes He divided his army i nto three parts : a

.

main body and a right and left wing By holding the

, .

bridges on either side with one wing he could move his center ,

freely to the support of the other wing thus striking one ,

opponent with the bulk of his forces while the other Wa s

being contained at the ri ver crossings by the smaller part o f
his command .

B l ii ch er crossed the Rhine January 1 1 8 1 4 and within a , ,

few days Schwarzenberg pushed through the Belfort gap .

Napoleon s army composed o f the corps o f M a cDo n a l d

, ,

Ney and Victor and the Imperial Guard under Mortier and
, ,

O u d in o t was disposed to meet the foe and delay him as much

,

as possible until the Emperor should arrive in person .

B III ch er pushed b ack Marmont from Metz Victor and Ney .

,

falling b ack through the Vosges j oined Marmont at Nancy ,

and together retired rst upon St Dizier and then upon , .

,

Vitry -l e Francais Simultaneously Mortier had retr e ated

-
.
,

before Schwarzenberg through B ar sur Aube to Troyes -

.

M a cDo n a l d marching south through Belgium was ap

, ,

p r o ac hi n g Ch alons This was the situation when

. Napoleon
arrived in Ch alons January 2 5 1 8 1 4 , .

He pictured B l iI ch er a s marching through St Dizier to .

j oin Schwarzenberg and decided to strike him in ank , .

January 2 6 he began the rst of those swings from river to

,

river which were to be s o disastrous to his foe Leaving .

M acDo n al d as his left wing to hold the Marne he attacked ,

the Prussian detachment at St Dizier drove it out and .

, ,

turned southward on the rear of B l ii ch er s troops At t h e .

s ame time he ordered Mortier ( his right wing ) in from Troye s

 THE F I RS T AB D I C ATIO N 3 17

to co operate w ith h i m The Prussian general was pursued

until he came into touch with Schwarzenberg s army when

, ,

strongly reinforced he turned and f aced the Emperor at La ,

Rothi e re Napoleon would gladly have retired in the face

.

o f such superior numbers but conditions were such that he ,

could not cross the Aube without an encounter In the .

battle o f La Rothi e re which followed February 1 1 8 1 4 his , , ,

lines were so badly broken that in the night he slipped away

and fell back o n Troyes .

Meanwhi le the rear o f Bl u cher s column which had not

,

,

arrived at St Dizier when Napoleon s rst blow fell was f o r c
.
,

ing M a cDo n a l d rapidly westward on the Chalons -Chateau

Thierry road B lii ch er w h o impatient with Schwarzen
.
,

berg s caution had decided to operate separately in the valley
,

o f the Marne moved northward ( February 3 ) through La

,

Fere -Champenoise to j oin his two corps who were pursuing

M acDo n a l d now at Meaux

Here was Napoleon s second
, .

chance Leaving Victor and O u din o t ( one half the Guard )

.

as his right wing to hold the crossings of the Seine he hurried ,

across the valley through S e zanne and struck the ank o f

the Army Of Silesia strung out along the road from Vertus to
La Ferte sous Jouarre H i s blow cut B lii ch er s army in

- -
.

half Leaving Marmont to f ace B lii ch er him self at Etoges

. ,

the Emperor turned full on the t w o corps to the west beat ,

them badly at Montmirail ( February and nally drove

them across the Marne There pursued by Mortier they .
, ,

could rej oin B lii ch er only by a roundabout march through

Reims Before they could arrive Napoleon faced squarely
. ,

about inicted with M a r m o n t s h elp another defeat o n

,

B lii ch er at Vauchamps ( February and drove him well

toward Chalons leaving Marmont to continue the pursuit ,
.

Marmont and Mortier thus formed his left wing o n the

Marne .

In between the battles of La Rothi e re and Montmirail

the allies had again o er e d peace to the French Emperor .

The kaleidoscopic changes in the military situation hard ,

3 18 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

and successful strokes by Napoleon with only occasional and

indecisive successes by the allied troops had again induced ,

doubts of the wisdom of the attempt to proceed with the in

v a s i on of France Further the j ealousies suspicions and
.
, , ,

selshness o f the individual members of the allied league ,

never completely allayed once more threatened to disrupt ,

the coalition The situation at the beginning o f February

.

diplomatically w a s critical Lord Castlereagh the British .

,

foreign minister when he j oined the diplomats in France

, ,

found Austria actually o n the point o f withdrawing from the

war because s h e feared that her interests in central Europe
and Poland would not in the nal settlement be suf ciently
respected by Prussia and Russia Under the circumstances .
,

Castlereagh thought it most wise to summon another con

ference and again to of fer peace to Napoleon With the .

greatest di ffi culty he nally united the diplomats o f the allies

in a general policy .

The conference known as the con f erence o f Ch atillon f rom

,

i t s meeting place at Ch atillon -sur Seine was opened Feb r u -

,

ary 5 1 8 1 4 Caulain court represented France Two d ays

, . .

later the allies stated their terms more onerous to Napoleon ,

than those of fered from Frankfort France was now to su r .

render all of Belgium the left b ank o f the Rhine and S avoy
, ,

and Nice : to return in short to her boundaries o f 1 79 1

, , .

C a u l a in c o u r t s instructions which were to accept the terms
,

o f fered at Frankfort did not allow him to take independent

,

action o n these more humiliating provisions He had to .

refer them to the Emperor .

Desperate as Napoleon s situation seemed at the time he
received this o er the great captain refused the terms He
, .

saw the chance f o r further blows those which came at La ,

Ferte -sous -Jouarre Montmirail and Vauchamps He could

, , .
,

indeed at this time hardly have hoped f o r a decisive military

,

stroke but he un doubtedly expected that the conicting

,

interests of the allies of which his secret agents kept him

,

i nformed would cause the break -u p of the coalition under his

,
 T HE FI R S T AB D I C AT IO N 3 19

attacks The military O perations were interrupted for

.

scarcely a day by the negotiations at Ch atillon O n the .

9 t h o f February the conference was suspended for a week

, .

When it was reopened ( February 1 7 Napoleon was so

encouraged by his recent strokes that he refused to consider
any terms more drastic than those o ff ered from Frankfort .

He refused even to grant an armistice for further discussion .

Napoleon s refusal sealed his fate Though the allies were .

naturally disheartened at their recent defeats they recog ,

n iz e d the impossibili t y O f treating further with Napoleon and

the necessity o f knitting themselves more rmly together for

the prosecution o f the war They thereupon a few days
.

later concluded the Treaty o f Chaumont among themselves ,

by the provisions of which each signatory power pledged

itself not to treat separately with Napoleon but to continue ,

the war until France should be reduced to the boundaries she

had be f ore the Revolution Great Britain guaranteed .

further heavy subsidies to her allies The Treaty o f Chau .

mont dated March 1 1 8 1 4 though not actually signed until

, , ,

March 9 signalized a new unity among the allies a unity

, ,

o f purpose which kept the individual powers together for the

defeat o f Napoleon .

The military scene now shifts to Schwarzenberg s army o n

the Seine Taking advantage o f the Emperor s blow at
.

Bl u cher the A ustrian had advanced down the valle y and had
,

driven Victor and O u din o t back to the line of the Yeres ,

dangerously close to Paris In this position his ank was

.

exposed to Napoleon s army a situation o f which the Em

,

p e r o r should have taken advantage His fears for Paris . ,

however caused him to make a frontal attack instead

,
.

Calling in M acDo n a l d from Meaux he hurried to the line ,

o f the Y eres struck hard at the Seine crossings and managed

, ,

to force that at M o n t en eau Reinforcements from southern

.

France now raised this portion o f his army to 7 Feeling

strong enough to pursue the Austrians he did not desist from ,

hi s of fensive until he had driven his adversary almost to

320 THE H STOR YI OF E UR OPE

Chaumont ( February 2 3 B lii c h er attempted to

,

help his colleague in this reverse and to that end moved ,

south to the Seine at Mery O u din o t s Guards however .

, ,

were able to hold him there and to nullify his attempt at

assistance .

The allies now determined to call in two corps fro m

Bernadotte s Army o f the North and unite them with

B lii ch er a union which they planned to take place in the

,

vicinity o f Laon B lii ch er therefore moved north from

.
, ,

Mery and as he advanced drove the French left wing

, , , ,

Marmont and Mortier across the Marne at La Ferte -sous

,

Jouarre and later forced them into a position near Meaux

,

where they held the bridges o f the Marne and the O urcq .

Here was the Emperor s opport u nity f o r the fourth great
swing across the theater o f war Forming M a cDo n a l d and .

O u din o t into a right wing as a containing force against

Schwarzenberg Napoleon m arched swiftly on La Ferte -sous
,

Jouarre forced a crossing and made his way to Ch ateau

, ,

Thierry in the hope o f destroying B lii ch er before t he

latter could unite with the corps from the north ( March 3 ,

This gain the Emperor was f orced to forego but his act ,

freed Marmont and Mortier w h o n o w j oined him near

Craonne The j unction w a s too late however to prevent
.
, ,

B l ii ch er s reinforcement by B u low near Soissons

The .

Prussian was now far distant from his Austrian colleague ,

and Napoleon might have contained him o n the Aisne as he

had formerly contained him on the Marne Unfortunately .
,

he chose to attempt B lii ch er s destruction With this in .

view he crossed the Aisne and drove his opponent out of

,

Craonne At Laon however Bl u cher made a stand in

.
, ,
'

a position against which the French could accomplish

nothing and from which they were repulsed with heavy
loss
.

Again the scene shifts to the Seine and shows the fth and
last of those swift blows from side to side o f the theater of
 THE FI RS T AB D IC AT I O N 32 1

war Schwarzenberg had taken advantage o f Napoleon s

.

absence in the north to push down the valley at Nogent and

Bray Napoleon leaving Marmont to contain B lii ch er
.
,

o n the Aisne hurried southward to cope with the new danger

, .

At Reims he encountered and destroyed St Priest s Prus .

sian corps ; and here also he detached Mortier to support

, ,

Marmont Thence he pushed on to Arcis -sur Aube As soon

.
-
.

as the news o f his movements came to Schwarzenberg the ,

Austrian began a retreat up the Se ine the French right wing ,

( M a cDo n a l d and O u din o t ) close behind Schwarzenberg s

.

courage this time did not fail Turning northward when he .

reached Troyes he marched with greatly superior numbers

,

upon the Emperor s army at Arcis -sur -Aube The odds .

were so great that after a day s hard ghting Napoleon with
drew across the river ( March 2 0 1 8 1 4 ) ,

The Emperor next determined on a blow against his a d

v er s a r y s communications at a point far enough east to

force them to retreat and to enable him himself to call in

much needed troops from the Rhine fortresses From Arcis .
,

therefore he moved on V itry drove out the Prussian gar

, ,

rison and sent orders f o r Marmont and Mortier to j oin him

,
.

But the marshals were no longer in a position to obey The .

allies t o o had determined on a new plan which made the

, ,

occupation o f Paris their rst concern They paid no a t .

tention to Napoleon s attack o n their communications but

,

pushed straight o n to the city Schwarzenberg by the Seine , ,

and B l ii ch er by the Marne driving Marmont and Mortier ,

before him The two ar m ies established communications

.

between the rivers and left one corps between them to hold
o ff Napoleon until the city should fall The steady advance .

of the allies brought them to the capital where o n the heights ,

o f Montmartre Mortier and Marmont were making a last

attempt to save the city In the last ght in the hills .

adj acent to Paris the overpowering numbers o f the allies

,

forced the t wo marshals to surrender The city itself .

capitulated March 3 1 1 8 1 4 , .
32 2 T HE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

D . TH E F I R S T A B D I C AT I ON
Napoleon would fain have treated the fall of his capital as
an event of no military importance but political conditions ,

in France determined otherwise The capitulation o f Paris .

marked in the minds o f Frenchmen the denite end o f

e ec t i v e resistance The war was over
. .

The Emperor himself as he concentrated his army around

,

Fontainebleau with the expectation of maneuvering to strike

the enemy o n the ank was made aware of the hopelessness
,

o f further resistance The news of the Senate s act in decree
.

ing the deposition of the Emperor thus absolving the French ,

people from their allegiance to him strengthened the general ,

feeling of desperation Napoleon endeavored in vain to

.

combat this depression April 4 1 8 1 4 he addressed his

.
, ,

Guard in an inspiring harangue

Soldiers ! The enemy by making three days march from
,

o u r neighborhood has made himself master o f Paris We

, .

must chase him thence Certain men migrs unworthy o f

.
, , .

the name o f Frenchmen whom we had the weakness to for

,

give formerly have made common cause with the foreigner

, ,

and have donned the white cockade The cowards ! They .

shall receive the reward of this new attempt Let us swear .

t o conquer o r die to avenge the outrage o f fered t o our native

,

country and the honor o f o u r arms

Fanatically devoted to Napoleon the rank and le r e ,

s p o n d e d with enthusiastic cheers and cries o f We Swear .

But Napoleon s marshals no less loyal but much clearer o f ,

vision recognized that the end had come Though they

, .

dreaded the task o f informing the Emperor that they could

carry on no further they felt this was necessary They
, .

therefore confronted him with the facts and urged the

impossibility o f further action Lefe bvre O u din o t Ney .
, , ,

and M a cDo n a l d marshals whose courage and loyalty had

,

been so many times tested and found true p resented the ,

situati on to the Emperor ,

 T HE FI R ST AB D I C ATI O N 323

Before such facts thus presented Napoleon could no longer

stand He might it is true have appealed directly to his
.
, ,

troops but he could not discard the marshals who had been
,

h i s lieutenants in s o many campaigns After a few hours o f .

thought therefore he announced his willingness to abdicate

, ,

in favor o f his wife as regent for his young s o n He then .

designated Marshals Ney and M a c Do n a l d to accompany

Caulaincourt to Paris with the following communication :
The Allied Powers having proclaimed that the Emperor
Napoleon is the sole ob stacle to the re establishment o f peace
in Europe the Emperor Napoleon faithful to his oath
, , ,

declares hi s readiness to descend from the throne to quit ,

France to lay down his life even f o r his country s good

,

which i s inseparable from the rights o f his s o n from the ,

regency in the person o f the Empress and from the mainte ,

nance o f the laws o f the Empire Given at our palace o f .

Fontainebleau 4 t h April 1 8 1 4
, , .

A week later after realizing that only an unconditional

,

abdication would be acceptable to the victors he drew up ,

and sent by the same messengers the necessary words

The Allied Powers having proclaimed that the Emperor
Napoleon is the sole O bstacle to the r e s t a b li s h m en t o f peace

in Europe the Emperor Napoleon faithful to his oaths

, , ,

declares that he renounces f o r himself and his heirs the

thrones of France and Italy because there is n o personal ,

sacrice not even o f life itself which he is n o t prepared to

, ,

make in the interests of France .

April 1 3 th he agreed to the conditions o f his exile at Elba ,

and April 2 6 t h after an af fecting farewell t o his Guard he

, ,

wa s o n his way south .

 CHAPTER XV

T HE LAS T PHA SE

WH EN A lexan der o f Russia and Frederick William of

Prussia rode into Paris on the morning o f March 3 1 1 8 1 4 , ,

their triumph signalized the solution o f one problem and at

the same time brought into the f oreground two others They .

had vanquished Napoleon : it remained for them to decide

t h e future government o f France and t o determine the read
,

j ustment of Europe The second of these the readjustment

.
,

o f Europe in view o f the vast and complicated interests at

,

stake had necessarily to be postponed for the deliberations

,

o f a general congress of the powers ; but decision with regard

t o the government of France had to be made at once .

A . TH E FI RST R E S T ORAT I ON
S
e
n:

The immediate future of France lay admittedly in the will

o f Alexander o f Russia f o r it was generally conceded that his
,

defense against Napoleon s invasion of Russia his aid in 1 8 1 3 ,

and 1 8 1 4 and his policy o f a direct drive upon Paris had been
,

the principal factors in bringing about a nal victory f or the

allies He was nonplussed by his problem He no longer
. .

considered Napoleon possible He thought of a regency

.

under Maria Louisa f o r Napoleon s s o n the King o f Rome ;

,

o f Prince Eug e ne ; of Bernadotte ; of a carefully organized

conservative republic ; and especially of the Bourbons .

Against ea ch pl an however serious obj ections existed The

, , .

shouts o f Vi ven t les B o u r bon s raised by a little knot o f royal

i s t s when he rode through Paris had not impressed hi m as
much as the sullen apathy of the crowds .

O ne man o f political importance remained in Paris when

all O fci a l dom had ed by order to Blois Prince Talley .

32 4;
 T HE LA S T PH ASE 325

r and had had a vision of the end of the Napoleonic rgime had ,

contrived to get himself left behind in Paris and n o w frankly ,

offered his Services to the Czar in dealing with the French

situation Alexander took up his quarters in Talleyrand s
.

palace and expressed his condence in Talleyrand s j udg

ment : Y o u know France its needs and its desires : say
,

what we ought to do and w e will do it Thus given his

opportunity Talleyrand asserted the princi p le of legitimacy
,

and pleaded the cause o f the Bourbon house To the Czar s .

objections the astute diplomat answered that once it was

, ,

certain that no terms were to be made with Napoleon or with

any member o f his family the legislative councils would o f
,

their o wn volition recall the Bourbons It would thus .

appear that the legal representatives o f the people had sum

m o n e d the ancient monarchy back to France .

Talleyrand s arguments convinced the vacillating Alex
ander The Czar proclaimed that the powers would not
.

treat with Napoleon o r with any member of his family .

Talleyrand hastily gathered together what remained of the

Senate created a provisional government with himself at its
,

head and published the Senate s decree o f the deposition of

,

Napoleon from the throne ( April 3 Tw o days later ,

the Senate at the instigation o f the provisional government

adopted a constitution the second clause o f which contained
,

the words : The French people freely calls to the throne of

France Louis Stanislas Xavier brother o f the late King ,
.

A week afterwards the Comte d Ar t o i s entered Paris and

assumed the position o f Lieutenant General of the kingdom -

u ntil his older brother the Comte de Provence should

, ,

h the Comte d Ar t o i s the allies discussed the terms o f

Alexander counseled clemency to France as the

guarantee of the permanence of Bourbon power and ,

Ho w sovereigns yielded By the provisions o f the

.

( negotiated in April and nally S i gned and

1 8 14 ) the French boundaries were approx

32 6 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

those of 1 7 92 France surrendered Belgium the

i m a t el y .
,

provinces o n the left b ank o f the Rhine the conquered ,

territory in Holland Germany Switzerland and Italy and

, , , ,

a few small colonies Actually however she emerged from

.
, ,

her long series o f wars with boundaries greater than those

at the beginning The European powers were astounded at
.

their o wn generosity .

In the meanwhile as w e have outlined at the close o f the

,

previous chapter the Emperor Napoleon bowed to the

,

inevitable and accepted the terms o er e d to him by hi s

conquerors He w a s allowed to retain his i mperial title w a s
.
,

given the island o f Elb a in the Mediterranean Sea O ff t he

coast o f Italy for his residence and w a s allotted from the ,

revenues o f France an annual income of two million francs

with adequate additional provision f o r members o f his family .

He reached his new home in Elba May 4 1 8 1 4 , .

Just o n e day earlier the Comte de Provence had ente re d ,

Paris and assumed the crown as Louis XVIII .

B . TH E G O V E RNM E NT OF FRAN C E

Louis XVIII w a s bound by his brother s promise and by his
own p le dge:t o give France a constitution He redeemed hi s .

word by the issue June 4 1 8 1 4 o f a Constitutional Charter , , .

Although after the Revolution many patriots felt that a

constitution should be an instrument not gr a n ted by a ,

sovereign but drawn up by the representatives of the people

,

and subscribed to by the soverei gn the Charter was liberal ,

in its provisions and the desire f o r peace was overwhelming .

The Charter therefore w a s peacefully accepted as the funda

, ,

mental law o f France and as such continued except duri ng , ,

the Hundred Days until the Revolution o f 1 84 8

, .

The Constitutional Charter was an attempt to graft the

English constitutional system o n the French body politic .

It introduced into France the chief recognized English

principles the inviolate King as executive the upper chamber
, ,

composed o f nobles and the lower chamber chosen by an

,
 THE LAST PHAS E 327

electorate restricted by high property qualications The .

Chamber of Peers was to be appointed by the King either f o r

life o r for hereditary transmission as he j udged best The , .

Chamber o f Deputies was elected f o r ve years o n e fth ,

retiring each year by an electorate composed o f men not less

,

than thirty years o l d and paying not less than three hundred
francs of direct taxes Candidates f o r the lower chamber
.

had to be men not less than forty years o l d p aying not less
than o n e thousand francs o f direct taxes By these r es t r i c .

tions the Chamber of Deputies naturally became the r ep r e

s en t a t i v e o f the wealthy interests in France O ut of a p o p u .

lation o f nearly only were eligible f o r the

suf frage and only for the election The two Chambers .

were given full power over taxation in accordance with the

English system but the King had the sole power of initiating
,

legislation In the statement that all citizens were equal

.

before the law and in the guarantees o f liberty o f worship

, ,

liberty o f the press and trial by j ury the Charter revealed

, ,

h o w far the restored Bourbon King was willing to accept the

lessons o f the Revolution .

Louis XVIII himself was not badly qualied by temper

and experience to meet he di fculties o f the situation He .

was wise enough to recognize that he inherited not the ,

France o f Louis XIV but the France of the Revolution and

of Napoleon He had long been an exile and had no desire
.

to resume h is travels He had no passion for revenge
.

f o r his suf fering and the s u e r in g of his class He was skep .

tical good -natured witty and indolent beyond the general

, , ,

ity o f men His personal attitude toward the problems o f

.

government was that of an opportunist who met each

situation with the sole object o f retaining hi s thr one with the
least labor and inconvenience t o himself .

The restoration however brought back to France a host

, ,

o f migrs inspired with feelings very dif ferent from those o f

the King These men desired revenge and clamored for the
.

restitution o f their lost privileges They looked condently .

32 8 THE H S TOR Y I OF E UROPE

forward to the re establishment of the old r egim e They h ad

been long in exile usually passing their ti m
.

, e amid courts and

environments of the old familiar kind and had learned ,

nothing of the spirit o f the new France Many of the m had .

fought in the allied armies against their own country ,

and all were completely estranged in sympathy from those

w h o had accomplished and lived through the glories and
dangers o f the revolutionary and Napoleonic years .

In little ways as well as big the new government quickly

alienated the people Its rst act was to establish the white
.

cockade as the badge o f loyalty and t o adopt the white ag

o f the Bourbon house as the national standard The tricolor .

which had been carri ed to victory on a hundred battle elds

w a s discarded as being a revolutionary symbol Honors and .

high appointments n the army were distributed to the

returning nobles Thousands of the Napoleonic o fcers
.

were summarily discharged to make room for these nobles .

Ribbons of the glorious Legion o f Honor were distributed to

civilians of little merit The O rder of St Louis was consti
. .

t u t e d the sole military order in the kingdom The inuence .

o f the Roman Catholic church at the restored court aroused

a suspicion that it might be given back all of its former Vast

holdings in France .

Thus big things and little comb ined to make the new
r gime unpopular Tens o f thousands of Napoleonic
.

soldiers too released from the prison camps o f the allies and
, ,

from the fortresses on the O der and on the Vistula returned ,

to spread discontent The whole country becam e sullenly

.

embittered against the restored rgi m e .

C . TH E C ON G R E SS OF VI E N N A

The second of the two problems confronting the victoriou s

allies the readj ustment o f Europe had by common consent
, ,

been postponed for the consideration of a general congress of

the powers In the Treaty of Paris that treaty which had
.
,

settled the boundaries of France it wa s denitely provided ,

 THE LAS T PHASE 329

that within the space o f two months all the powers that have
been engaged o n either side in the present war shall send
plenipotentiaries to Vienna to regulate in a general congress
the arrangements that are necessary to complete the present

treaty .

After the nine days wonder over the fall o f Napoleon and
hi s exile to Elba all popular interest turned to Vienna
, The .

Congress originally s e t for August 1 1 8 1 4 was delayed for

, , ,

various reasons until about November 1 By that date most .

o f the powers con cerned had their representatives in the

Austrian capital M any monarchs feeling that the issues

.
,

at stake were too great to intrust to any plenipotentiary ,

established themselves in person at Vienna where they might

be in immediate touch with the situation Alexander I of .

al Russia Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick VI of

, ,

Denmark and of course Francis I of Austria were among

,

the most prominent monarchs present at Vienna during this

time Not only governmental interests however but
.
, ,

in terests of commercial bodies racial societies and religious , ,

in organizations had their representatives at the congress .

The publishers and authors had a representative The Jews .

o f Frankfort Bremen and Lii b eck had representatives

, , .

The Roman Catholic interests of Germany contributed more

than thirty representatives And various districts towns
. , ,

corporations and commi ss i ons added their delegates to the

,

throng Europe was to be reapportioned ; political com

. ,

mer ci a l racial and religious interests o f great magnitude

, ,

were at stake In the matter of mere territories it was

. ,

estimated that the congress had at its disposal lands in

t y -two millions o f souls and each power wa s ,

every conceivable resource o f di p lo m atic

e c u r e what advantage it could .

is I o f Austria was host to the assembled royalties

o m at s The possibility of vital di fferences was early
.

so Metternich the Austrian chancellor with t h e

, ,

asing so far as possible the personal relation s between

3 30 THE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

the diplomats appointed a committee o n entertainment

,

whose duty it was to organize and carry o n a continual

round o f social diversion Military reviews and maneuvers .
,

grand fancy dress balls formal and informal banquets excur , ,

sion s and huge fe tes followed o n e another with bewildering

, i

rapidity The impoverished Austrian treasury is reported

. ii

to have spent nearly thirty million o r in s in

entertainment .

Naturally enough the f our great po w ers (Russia Prussia

, it , ,

Austria and Great Britain ) who had accomplished N apo

,

leon s overthrow expected to have the deciding inuence in l

(

all matters brought before the congress As early as the .

middle of September before the representatives o f the other

,

states had assembled in Vienna the plenipotentiaries of these its , .

four power s were meeting formulating procedure for the ,

coming congres s and agreeing to arrange among them

,

selves the disposition o f the Polish German and Italian , ,

territories . list

'

As a matter o f fact the congress did not o p en N o v em , NO

ber 1 1 8 14 or at any subsequent date Th e work for which

, , .

it had been summoned w a s accomplished by a number o f

special committees It wa s a popular ction that the
.

assembled rulers met daily and discus sed familiarly before

the social relaxations o f the late afternoon and evening the n o,

complex problems of international politics with which they

were confronted The truth was that the practical work of
.

the congress was done in these special committees by trained E mpf

diplomats men whose names are s carcely remembered
today as Wessenberg C la n c a r t y Dalberg Gentz and La W)
, , , , ,

B es n a r di er e who considered proposals weighed claims , ,

and drew up articles in accord with diplomatic precedent .

The only authoritative act o f the congress as a whole w a s its

s o -called Final Act which embodied in its various articles W
,

the decisions of the separate special committees o n the ligand

political and territorial questions at issue and even this
Final Act was but the act of the representatives of th e great if ,
 THE LA S T PHASE 33 1

powers submitted to the rest o f the states of Europe for their

acceptance .

The problem of rst importance before the congress wa s

the redis tribution o f European territory Most important .

among the lands o n the continent o f Europe which were at the

disposition of the congress were Italy the Netherlands the , ,

left bank o f the Rhine Saxony ( whose King had forfeited his
,

rights it was thought by adhering so long to his alliance

, ,

with Napoleon ) and Poland Each o f the great powers

, .

had at the beginning o f the deliberations in the committees

r1
! certain well -den ed desires France was excepted o f course .
, ,

for her boundaries had been xed at the Treaty o f Paris .

Great Britain was expected to nd her compensation in the

retention o f many o f her colonial conquests Russia Austria .
, ,

and Prussia were to divide Poland In addition Russia was .

,

to receive Finland Bessarabia and distant territories on the

, ,

Persian border ; Austria was to control Italy ; and Prussia

was to e xpand in Germany .

Fl: No doubt the allied powers had they been free from o u t ,

side interferences could have come to an arrangement

,

satisfactory t o themselves along the above general lines with

o u t undue friction but the French representative Talley
, ,

rand had determined to use the p otential international

,

jealousies to break the coalition against France For .

Talleyrand realized that even though the war had ended ,

and his nation w a s technically again o n e of the family of

European nations a tacit understanding existed among the
,

allied powers Russia Prussia Austria and Great Britain

, , ,

whereby France was outlawed and French inuence wa s

minimized .

Ta lley r an d s opportunity came with the discussion of the

territories t o be awarded to Russia and Prussia Russia .

desired the greater part o f the Grand D uchy o f Warsaw ,

Alexander wishing to restore the ancient kingdom of Poland

under Russian supremacy The Czar could yield to A ustria .

hout seriously endangering

3 32 THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE

his scheme but he needed that part which in a division

,

would naturally fall to Prussia The issue resolved itself .

,

then into an endeavor to persuade Prussia to relinquish her

,

clai m o n Warsaw in return for compensation elsewhere .

Such compensation was offered by Russia in Saxony whose ,

King had forfeited his rights to his kingdom by remainin g

faithful to his alliance with N apoleon .

As soon as the disposition of Saxony was injected into the

situation Talleyrand seized his opport u nity The King o f
, .

Sax ony though an ally o f Napoleon had long been connected

, ,

with the Bourbon house and his cause was the cause o f l egit i
,

macy The people o f Saxony had much loyal sentiment f o r

.

their King and no enthusiasm for Prussia O ther smaller .

Ger m an states feared that the constrictor swallowing up o f

Saxony might augur a like process for them u pon s ome
future occasion Talleyrand therefore put France f orward
.
, ,

as the upholder of the rights of the principle o f legitimacy

and of the rights of the small states From the beginning he .

had the support of Austria wh o had no wi s h to s ee Rus sia s,

power so greatly extended Later he wo n the support of .

Great Britain whose representatives were inuenced by

,

popular opinion at home and by the traditional jealousy of

Russia Prussia attracted by the rich bait of Saxony
.
,

o ff ered by Russia had agreed to the exchange and had even

,

taken preliminary measures for the occupation and govern

ment o f the Saxon kingdom .

At this juncture Talleyrand o n behalf o f France O ffered

,

ar m ed aid to Austria to resist the Russi a n -Prussian plan ,

and a close alliance was formed by a secret treaty (Jan

uary 3 , signed by Talleyrand ( France ) Metternich ,

(Austria) and Castlereagh ( Great Britain ) binding these

, ,

three nations to mutual support i f any one o f them were

attacked because of the proposals upon which they had
agreed The alliance could count condently upon the aid
.

o f the Saxons Bavarians Hanoverians and others of the V

ie
, , ,

smaller German states Talleyrand had succeeded up to his

.

C
OIL
 THE LA ST PHA SE 333

highest e xpectations and could well boast to his m aster ,

Louis XVIII that the coalition against France w a s forever

,

dissolved In but a few short months after the humiliation

.

of France Talleyrand by adroit albeit conscienceless diplo

,

macy had secured for his nation alliance with two o f the
greatest European states and had thus raised France back
to her rightful position among the arbiters of European
destinies .

Actual war h owever did not result The gravity of the

, , .

situation made the nations pause Europe had exh austed its .

war spirit i t s men and its money Alexander of Russia

, , .

became more conciliatory and Frederick William III abated ,

part o f his ambitions A ustria t o o receded from her most

.
, ,

extreme demands and France wh o had no inherent ter

, ,

r i t o r i a l interest involved w a s disposed t o agree to a compro

,

m ise as soon as the dignity of her position in international

politics had been redeemed The delegates began t o bargain .
,

and by the end o f the rst week in February 1 8 1 5 after some , ,

very stormy sessions an agreement was reached , .

By this agreement A ustria recovered her Polish ter

r it o r i es ; Prussia retained a part o f her for m er Polish posses

ions gained a b out two fths o f Saxony and some territory

, ,

along the le f t bank of the Rhine ; and Russia received the

greater part of Poland in addition to Finland B essarabia , ,

and the Persian frontier provinces The remainder o f .

Saxony was returned to it s King but it was not until the mid ,

dle o f May that Frederick A ugustus the King accepted , ,

denitely the cession o f a part of his land t o Prussia .

O ther committees of the congress had been busily engaged

with other problems during these months occupied by the
Polish -Saxon wr angle The Swiss committee struggled with
.

the difculties raised by the traditional animosities among

the several cantons each of which had its representative at
,

Vienna Since no individual interests O f any o f the great

.

states were involved the committee was actuated solely by

,

considerations aff ecting the future o f S w itzerland An .

334 T HE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

unusual degree o f success w a s thereby assured Th e p er .

p et u a l neutrality of Switzerland was guaranteed ( N ovember

2 0 1 8 1 5 ) and the cantons of Switzerland includin g t h ree
, ,

new cantons Valais Geneva and Neufch atel were b oun d

, , , ,

together in a loose f ederal union .

In the settlement o f questions affectin g t h e Italian

peninsula Austrian inuence predominated I talian unity
,
.

was n o t considered Lombardy and V enetia went direct to

.

Austria in addition to Illyria and Dalmatia o n the other

,

shore of the Adriatic Tuscany M odena and Parma went

.
, ,

to individual members of the Hapsburg house Naples .

,

including Sicily wa s af ter the defeat o f M urat in 1 8 15

,

restored to Ferdinand The Pa p al states were given b ack

.

to the Pope .

In the northwest o f Europe t h e N etherlands and the ,

southern provinces ( formerly the A ustrian Netherlands )

were j oined into one state Great Britain favored this pl an .
,

for it partially compensated The Netherlands for its great

colonial losses and it placed a bu ff er state north o f France
, .

The racial religious and economic di ff erences b etween the

, ,

two districts were it wa s theoretically argued no ob j ection

, ,

to their union Racial mixture was a common phenomenon

.

in European s tates ; religious privileges might be s ecurely

guarded by the f undamental law ; and the union between the
m ercantile and maritime Netherlands and the industrial
and agricultural southern p rovinces might actually prove a
source of strength .

In the extreme north Russia wa s the arb iter o f territorial

,

division much as A ustria was in the Italian peninsula .

Sweden received Norway as a compensation for her part in

the coalition against Napoleon but she wa s f orced to sacri ce ,

Finland and all prospect o f an important p art in the political

life of central Europe .

Although no desire to revive the de f unct Holy Roman

Empire existed among the diplomats it was generally ,

a c knowledged that some kind o f f ederal system should be

 T HE LA ST PHASE 335

inaugurated among the German states The di fculties .

,

however were very great Austria would not allow Prussia

, .

to take leadership in the new federation ; Prussia would n o t

submit to Austrian dominion ; and neither state would con
sent to the formation o f a new combination of states which
might threaten its o wn position O f the important matters
.

before the congress this o f the German constitutional

,

system was the chief one undecided when the news of

N apoleon s return from Elba was brought to Vienna ( March
4, Quick action wa s then taken O ne of the many .

schemes which had been suggested wa s with s light m o dica

,

tions adopted and a Federal Act adopted This Federal

, , .

Act provided f o r a Federal Diet of seventeen votes an ,

assembly o f sixty -nine votes proportionately distributed

among the constituent states for the prohibition of any
,

alliance on the part o f any state with foreign governments

against the confederation o r against any of its members for a ,

constitution o f estates in each of the German states and for ,

the placing of the Federal Act itself under the protection of

the European powers This Act was signed and sealed June
.

8 1 8 1 5 by the accredited representatives o f thirty s i x of the

, ,
-

German state s Wurtemburg and Baden n o t accepting it

,

until months later .

Thus be f ore N apoleon had landed in France the congress

was practically through with its labors and Gentz (Austria)
, ,

the secretary was engaged in incorporating into a Final Act

,

the decisions o f the separate committees Before the battle .

o f Waterloo this Final A ct w a s signed ( June 9 1 8 1 5 ) by seven ,

out o f eight representatives o f the great powers Spain s ,

representative alone withholding his signature An e ff ectual .

seal was put upon the work of the congress by the troo p s
which defeated Napoleon at Waterloo s o that the decisions
,

incorporated in the F inal A ct were destined to stand for good

or f or ill .
336 THE H STORY I OF E U ROPE

D
. TH E H U N D R E D D AY S
Napoleon in exile at Elba had been kept informed by h is
, ,

agents o f events both in the Congress o f Vienna and in

France He knew probably with exaggerated details of
. , ,

the dissension among the allies aroused by the Polish -Saxon

question and he knew the dissatisfaction and unrest p r ev a
,

lent i n France as a result O f the ill -considered measures of the

new government .

Inspired by reports from these sources Napoleon laid his ,

plans f o r an attempt to regain his throne February 2 6 1 8 15 .

, ,

he s et sail with h i s guard of eleven hundred men o n seven

ships and bent his course directly for the French coast .

From a military view his force was o f course insignicant

, ,

but it sufced to guard against any interference from local

authorities and would have protected him against a small
band under an unsympathetic leader March 1 1 8 15 he .
, ,

disembarked in a little bay near Nice and instead of strikin g , ,

for Marseilles whose population was royalist in sympathy at ,

once marched northward through th e mountains He knew .

his people thoroughly In these mountain districts the

.

peasants worshiped Napoleon and so aided him with carts ,

and horses that he was able with his little force to advance
from thirty to forty mi les a day The rst threat of op .

position came at a little village near Grenoble where a ,

regiment of infantry was drawn up to defend the road At .

the sight of Napoleon however the soldiers broke ranks and

, ,

crowded enthusiastically around their former idol with the

O l d cry of Vi ce l E mp er eu r

Similar scenes greeted him all
.

the way Cities opened their gates to him ; troops refused to

.

O ppose him ; even the commanding o f cers sent against him ,

as Colonel La b e do y er e and Marshal Ney went over to him ,

with all of their detachments .

And Napoleon chose his messages to the nation skillfully .

He came he said to bring to France peace without and liberty

, ,

within He sought to govern as a constitutional sovereign

. .
 TH E LA ST PH AS E 337

He wished to redeem France from the nobles and fro m the

priests He sought to assure to the people the reforms that
.

had been won in the great Revolution of 1 789 Such u t .

t er an c e s as these were certain to arouse the most enthusiastic

response both from the peasantry and from the bourgeoisie ,

f o r the peasantry feared a restoration of the feudal privileges

o f the nobles and o f the power and property of the priesthood ,

and the bourgeoisie longed for civil liberty and wider suffrage .

The Napoleonic success was not a mere military restoration

it was a popular revolution .

In the meanwhile Louis XVIII in Paris had failed to real

,

ize the alienation o f his people and the feeling in favor of

Napoleon O nly after the fall o f Grenoble and Lyons did he
.

begin to understand the extent of the popular movement

with which he had to contend Then by a series o f conces
.

sions to liberal demands he attempted to rally t h e nation

around him He recalled many of the discharged off icers to
.

active service with full pay He reconstituted the o l d

.

Imperial Guard He professed loyalty to constitutional

.

principles He summoned the chambers in session March

.

1 3 th and three days later appeared before them wearing

,

conspicuously the rosette o f the Legion of Honor With .

information o f the desertion of M arshal Ney t o Napoleon ,

however he realized at last that his measures had come t o o

,

late and he made preparations to leave Paris March 1 9 he .

slipped out o f the city and the followi ng day Napoleon

,

drove up to the palace of the Tuileries amid the enthusiastic

welcome o f thousands The government o f Louis XVII I
.

w as temporarily at an end .

With prodigious energy Napoleon labored to construct a

government to issue guarantees which would assure France
,

of his democratic princi p les and good intentions and to take ,

the necessary steps to keep France at peace with Europe .

Within two days he had the machinery o f government in

operation and after a slight resistance in the south o f France
, ,

h ad secured its recognition by the French p eo p le To assur e

.

Z
33 8 THE H S TORYI OF E U ROPE

the cordial support of the great liberal element in the French

nation he issued an A cte A ddi ti on el an additional act to the
, ,

former imperial constitution by which provision wa s m ade ,

f o r a bicameral parliament for responsibility o f ministers ,

to the parliament and for freedom O f the press The A cte

, .

Addi ti on el was submitted by plebiscite to France was duly ,

adopted and was at once put into effect O utwardly

, .

Napoleon seemed to have s ucceeded in the rst of his two

problems .

Napoleon s fate was decided however not by his good , ,

intentions for internal government o r by constitutional

guarantees within France but by the diplomats assembled at ,

Vienna In the rst week o f M arch news reached the

.

congress that the exile had sailed from Elba and a few days ,

later that he had landed in France To Metternich ( A ustria) .

is due the rapidity o f action o f the allies O n March 1 2 .

,

1 8 1 5 the representatives of the great powers issued the

,

famous proclamation denouncing Napoleon B onaparte as

the common enemy of mankind and declaring him an outlaw .

March 2 5 the plenipotentiaries of the four great powe rs

, ,

Russia Prussia Austria and Great Britain signed a solemn

, , , ,

treaty of alliance and invited the adherence o f all the powers

o f Europe Napoleon seems to have made genuine e fforts to
.

maintain peace as indeed he well might kno wing the ,

number and disposition of the military f orces against him

but his messengers were turned back wi thout being able to
deliver their messages and his letter to the Prince Regent
o f Great Britain w a s returned unopened By the middle .

of April it was evident that France was to stand again

,

against all Europe Civil re f orms became of subordinate

.

importance and N apoleon wa s forced to bend every energy to

raising and equipping an army for the defense o f his throne .

i . TH E WAT E RLOO C A MPA IG N

The British and Prussians were still in Belgium and to ,

th eir forces the allied p owers looked to b ear the brunt o f the
 THE LAS T PHAS E 339

initial acti v i ties while Austria and Russia were getting their
armies ready to strike S o far as Napoleon was concerned
.
,

there was but o n e question to decide : whether the coming war

was to be for him o ff en s w e o r defensive whether he should
ght it o n French soil o r beyond the frontier There were .

plenty of reasons o n both sides but two nally decided the ,

Emperor in favor o f the latter course The rst was the .

fact that his political situation in France was far from secure
and needed the bolstering e e ct o f a military victory ; the
second was the strategical advantage to be gained by expel
ling the enemy from the Netherlands and occupying the
Rhine from Switzerland to its mouth as the line of defense .

Early in June the Emperor had formed his army He was .

to command in person and had selected Soult a s his chief o f

,
-

sta ff The army was composed o f the Guards v e infantry

.

corps under d Er l o n R eill e Vandamme Gerard and Laban ;

, , , ,

and four small cavalry corps under Paj al E xcel m a n s Kel , ,

l e r m a n n and Milhaud the whole cavalry command being

, ,

under Grouchy Ney o in e d the army j ust before operations

.

began and was given command o f the left wing It will

, .

be seen at a glance that many o f the lustrous names of the

earlier campaigns are absent Davout was in command o f .

Paris ; Suchet was in the Alps ; Mortier was ill but the
others who had made their names under Napoleon were not

numbered among the Emperor s adherents The army .

as composed numbered about

The immediate opponents were the Anglo -Dutch army and
the Prussian stationed in two groups in the country between
,

Brussels and the Scheldt and Sambre rivers the f ormer ,

based on O stend and Antwerp the latter through Li ege on ,

the Rhine cities Wellington was in command o f the Anglo

.

Dutch force ,
strong ; B lii ch er led the Prussian con
tingent of Wellington s forces lay to the west and

south of the Belgian capital ; B lii ch er s corps occupied the
chief points along the Sambre Both armies were widely .

distributed and not in the best position t o cover Brussels

, ,
340 T HE H S TOR Y I OF E U ROPE

since the main line of attack from the south the Charleroi ,

Brussels road ran between the two commands

, .

N apoleon had the option of operating against either army s

line of operations o r o f attacking between the two forces and

,

separating them The preponderance o f numbers decided

.

f o r him the last named course -

A successful attack such as .
,

he had made in his rst Italian campaign and again in his

Spanish campaign would mean that he could deal singly
,

with armies not much larger than his o wn Having decided .

upon the point o f attack the Emperor w a s restricted to the ,

Charleroi -Brussels road as being the line leading to the

j un ction point o f the two adversaries N othing could ha v e .

suited him better The road was an excellent one it wa s

.

undefended ; and it led him to the very point of assault On .

th e night of June 1 4 1 8 1 5 he had his corps in position at

, ,

Philippeville Beaumont and Leers all three points within a

, , ,

few miles o f his projected crossing o f the Sambre .

Before daylight o f June 1 5 the three columns began their ,

march to the Sambre ; a f ew hours later they had crossed the

river o n a front o f s ix miles in the face of only nominal r e
s i s t a n ce by one o f B l ii ch er s corps

When night came the .

head of the French left on the main road had arrived at

Frasne ; the right was approaching Fleurus O n the allied .

side B lii ch er had prepared t o check the French advance by

,

ordering a concentration near Ligny where he proposed to ,

give battle if necessary ; Wellington began concentrating at

various points west of Brussels turnpike The British .

general was still afraid of an attack against his co m m u n ica

tions and consequently le ft the main road but lightly de
,

fended The situation was most f avorable f o r the success of

.

Napoleon s plan .

The condition o f that success was that the Emperor should

seize the Quatre Bras -N amur road the main avenue o f ,

communications for the allied commanders O nce in pos .

s ession o i that he knew that his opponents could re establish

,

contact only through Wavre or even by the Brussels -L ou ,

 THE LAS T PHAS E 34 1

vain road Accordingly therefore he issued orders f o r a

.
, ,

simultaneous attack on June 1 6 on the crossroads at Quatre

Bras and on those near Ligny .

Let us turn rst to the attack against B lii ch er at Ligny .

Three of the Prussian commander s corp s ( about had

taken up a strong position at Saint Amand and Ligny .

Grouchy was in general charge o f the attack by Vandamme ,

Gerard and three o f the cavalry corps B l ii ch er with his

, .
,

usual impetuosity pushed forward over the hotly contested

,

ground in front o f the villages with the evident intention

of turning the French left and in s o doing greatly weakened ,

his center in order to give strength to the attacking wing .

The Emperor seeing the denuded line prepared the Guard

, ,

f or an assault o n the weakened center but before carrying ,

out the projected movement waited the arrival o f d E r l o n

whom he had ordered from N ey s command The head o f

.

d E r l o n s column was seen approaching but suddenly with

, ,

no apparent cause it countermarched and disappeared , .

Without further delay N apoleon ordered h is assault broke, ,

the hostile line and forced the di s co m t e d Prussians from the

,

eld Both armies bivouacked near the scene o f the battle

. .

Meanwhile on the left Ney in command o f the remainder

, ,

of the army had been ghting skillfully near Quatre Bras .

Op po s ed in the beginning o f the fray by forces considerably

inferior to his o wn he found himself confronted by a con
,

s t a n t l y increasing army as the battle wore on At the .

last he called in d Er l o n s corps a s his nal reinforcement

,

.

But just as this corps was marching to the eld an aide from ,

the Emperor without consulting o r informing Ney ordered it

to Grouchy s assistance at Ligny N ey upon learning o f its

.
,

deected route peremptorily ordered its return but the

, ,

damage had already been done D E r l o n had been o f use to .

neither wi ng Night fell upon an evenly contested tactical

.

battle but strategically Ney had wo n He had prevented

,
.

Wellington from reinforcing B lii ch er .

O n the night of the l 6 t h Wellington retired and took up a ,

3 42 I
T HE H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

position at Mt St Jean where he felt assured that B lii ch er

. .
,

would j oin him The latter after his defeat at Ligny had
.
, ,

resolutely abandoned his communications with Li ege and on ,

the morning o f June 1 7 th set o u t to rej oin his ally by way o f

Wavre N apoleon wh o s eems to h ave been convinced that
.
,

the Prussians were retiring on Li ege nevertheless left ,

Grouchy with Vandamme Gerard and o n e cavalry corps to , ,

pursue That pursuit was tardily begun at 2 P M o n the

. .

1 7 th ten hours after B l ii ch er had marched

,
It did not .

determine until late that night what direction the Prussians

had taken And when the information was in Grouchy s
.

hands instead of maneuvering to prevent B lii ch er s uniting
,

with Wellington the French marshal stupidly followed the

,

Prussian army to Wavre The advantage gained by the .

seizure of the Quatre B ras road was lost .

The Emperor meanwhile had j oined N ey f ollowed the ,

retiring British and by evening was in sight o f their po s ition

,

near Waterloo He was determined to attack at once and

.
,

with this attack in mind carefully reconnoitered the eld A .

heavy rain o n the night o f June 1 7 prevented his moving his

artillery early the next morning s o it was not until about ,

AM that the action commenced

. .

The British occupied a strong position at the crest of the

hill and in front on their right and opposite their left center
, , , ,

they had prepared two stone farmhouses which became

centers o f resistance H o u go m on t and La Haye Sainte .

Opposite the allies o n another crest with a shallow dip b e

, ,

tween were the French N apoleon s plan wa s to attack and

, .

turn the allied left ank his idea being alway s to force the ,

Anglo -Dutch army away f ro m any possible union with

B l ii ch er .

The attack wa s begun with an advance by d Erl o n on the
French right down the hill against the British lines Murder
, .

o u s infantry volleys checked the forward movement and ,

while the corps halted a Spirited cavalry charge forced the m

back broken and disordered to their original position No
, ,
.
 THE LAS T PHASE 343

sooner were their lines reformed than a new danger appeared

to their right front in the form o f B if l o w s Prussian corps

which Grouchy s inactivity had allowed to cross from Wavre .

The Emperor placed a part o f o n e corps at P l a n ch en a i t to

meet this menace and turned again to the main issue The .

battle now took the form o f a series of gallant cavalry

charges un der th e command o f Ney Again and again the .

horsemen assaulted the Britis h lines but without e ffect , .

Ney instead o f directing his charges against the wing

weakened by d E r l o n s advance was h urling his squadrons

again s t the unshaken British center It is true that the .

British line was weakened by these furious Shocks but the ,

French cavalry was well nigh exterminated -

.

By four o clock in the afternoon the French had possessed ,

themselves o f H o u go m o n t and La Haye Sainte but the ,

Prussians had becom e a very grave danger o n their ank .

Fully men were engaged and Laban s divisions were
,

hard pressed to hold their o wn Anoth er Prussian corps

.

h ad joined the British left s o that the French were o u t

,

numbered by A s a last resort Napoleon ordered the

Guards to assault the plateau and break the British lines .

Bravely the veterans advanced across the valley under a

,

galling re and pushed their charge halfway up the opposite

rise There taken in front and ank the Guards staggered
.
, , ,

halted and broke ! The ef fect was electric The news .

spread instantly and morale vanished Nothing remained

,
.

but ight The Prussians overcame their immediate o p

.

p on en t s and pushed their lines across the Brussels road In .

the greatest disorder Napoleon s army w a s routed from its

last b attle eld .

O n the following day Grouchy fell upon the remaining

,

Prussian corps at Wavre and defeated it badly but nothing ,

could retrieve the disaster o f Waterloo Although Grouchy .

managed to get his divisions safely across the frontier the ,

mass of the main army ltered over the border eeing in as ,

abject terror as had ever the Prussians or the Austrians b e

3 44 THE H S TORY I OF E U ROPE

fore the relentless Napoleon The Emperor himself af ter a .

,

few desperate attempts t o restore order succumbed t o the ,

general despair and hastened dejectedly to Paris There .

was with him none o f the feeling that followed Leipzig o r

Fontainebleau He could not but feel now that his last
.

campaign w a s completed in defeat and disaster .

E . TH E F I NA L S U RR END E R
Napoleon arrived in Paris utterly exhausted June 2 1 , , ,

1815 . He had no time for rest f o r measures had to be taken ,

at once to defend the capital He hastily gathered his .

brothers and ministers about him to consider ways and

means He suggested a temporary dictatorship
. .

But even while he w a s in conference with his advisers the ,

Chamber of Deputies had assumed control o f the situation .

It passed a motion to continue in permanent session and to ,

consider any attempt to dissolve it as an act o f high treason .

This measure w a s a nal blow to Napoleon s hopes He .

might it is true have collected some l oyal forces and moved

, ,

against the Deputies but he shrank with good reason f r Om

,

the civil war which would inevitably follow The blow at .

Waterloo had indeed temporarily paralyzed his will Fo r

, , .

a precious day he allowed matters to drift When news .

came that Grouchy had escaped his chance of again as ,

s u m in g leadership appealed to him but the Deputies had ,

steeled their minds against further sacrices and demanded

his immediate abdication He yielded on June 2 2 1 8 1 5 ; .
,

and reached the depths o f humiliation a few weeks later

when he received orders to leave France .

July 8 a fugitive he embarked on board the French ship

, ,

S a a le . After a week of agonizing delay he saw the i m p o s ,

s ib ili t y o f eluding the British ships hovering outside the bay .

Hence July 1 5 he surrendered to the commander of the

, ,

British ship B ellerop hon throwing himself o n the mercy of ,

the British government July 3 1 Napoleon w a s presented .

,

w ith the decision of that government that his liberty was to

 TH E LA S T PHASE 345

be restricted in the interests o f the peace o f Europe and that ,

he would be taken to the isolated island o f St Helena to live

.
.

He was landed at St Helena on the evening o f O ctober

.

17, 18 1 5 .

The remaining years of his life were passed as a prisoner on

this island He was assigned residence at a country estate
.

called Longwood near the center o f the island He was .

allowed to have with him the small group o f those who had
chosen to share his exile He was subject however to
.
, ,

constant surveillance and to a number of restrictions i r r i t a t

ing to a man o f his energy and previous position Fo r .

example : his title was never recognized h e was always

addressed as Gen er a l Bonaparte ; beyond certain prescribed
limits he was n o t allowed to go without the company o f a
British o fficer ; all his mail w a s intercepted and censored ; in
t er v i ew s with him were possible only upon special permit
from the Br tish governor
i
and this permit w as seldom
issued In his constant protests against the inj ustice o f
.

these restrictions and his displays o f temper against Sir

,

Hudson Lowe the British governor we have an unedifying

, ,

picture of the nervous irritability o f Napoleon and his utter

failure to adapt himsel f to his fall in fortune Perhaps .

it would be too much to expect that the greatest military

genius of his age should be also a practical philosopher .

O utside of the bickerings with Sir Hudson Lowe and the

management of the small court formed by his companions
in exile Napoleon Spent h i s time in dictating his memoirs
, .

He had at hand a fair library ( more than 2 5 00 volumes ) and

took an interest in creating for the imagination o f the future
a favorable interpretation o f his own career From what .

he dictated on St Helena grew the Napoleonic tradition that

.

played an important part in later French history .

Late in 1 8 2 0 the rst serious symptoms o f the disease

which had carried o ff his father cancer of the stomach
m anifested themselves in sharp stabbing pains By the end .

of the year the disease had so undermin ed his constitution

346 I
THE H S TOR Y OF E U ROPE

that he had lost his energy and become weary and apathetic .

He no longer cared f o r the outdoor exercise he had been

taking so vigorously ; he lost weight rapidly ; his digestion
was impaired May 3 1 82 1 his mind which up to that
.
, , ,

time had remained clear began to wander T wo days later

, .
,

May 5 1 8 2 1 at
, ,P M he died . .
, .

Napoleon s body after an autopsy according to his o wn
,

desire was interred at Longwood w ith full military honors

, .

Twenty years later 1 84 0 when the passions excited by his

, ,

career seemed to have subsided the British government ,

allowed the removal o f the body to Paris There it received .

the honors that were its due and gained its nal resting place
on the banks o f the Seine under the magnicent mausoleu m
o f Les Invalides .

F
. TH E S EC OND RE S T ORA T I ON
When the extent o f the allied victory was recognized ,

Wellington sent word to Louis XVIII that he had better

follow the armies into France So the dethroned Bourbon .

King again entered French soil June 2 5 1 8 1 5 publishing a , ,

proclamation that he had returned to resume his rights and

that he would abide by the Constitutional Charter of 1 8 1 4 .

The whole north of France Speedily accepted him as King s o ,

that deb ate by the assembled chambers or by the diplomats

o f the allies was useless .

The situation at the French capital was still naturally , ,

confused The chambers continued in session ; the wreck

.

of the imperial army retreated within the city ; and on Jun e

2 9 the Prussians took up positions on the heights to the
north Wellington and B l ii ch er refused to grant an armistice
.

and pushed the attack Confronted with the alternative

.

of ghting or capitulating the Chambers in View o f the , ,

hopelessness o f the former course accepted the latter , ,

same time admitting Louis XVIII as the rightful

O n July 7 the allies entered Paris and the f o llo win ,

Louis XVIII returned to the Tuileries .

 THE LAST PHAS E 34 7

Victory had been won so quickly by the allies that the dip l o
m ats had not had the opportunity to discuss terms The res .

t o r a t i o n of Louis XVIII had to be treated as an accomplished

fact but certain of the diplomats especially Hardenberg
, ,

( Prussia ) and Metternich (Austria ) believed that France ,

shoul d suf fer territorially for having again supported Napo

leon Prussia s object was to gain the border provinces of
.

Alsace and Lorraine Alexander o f Russia strongly opposed

.

any reduction of French territory recalling the de claration ,

of the allies that they warred not against France but , ,

against Napoleon Wellington added to the arguments of

.

Alexander the statement that the position of Louis XVIII in

the eyes o f the French people would be untenable if his
restoration were accompanied by material loss of territory .

Hardenberg ( Prussia ) was forced to abate his demands until

Prussia obtained only a few small border strips The punish .

ment which all agreed France deserved was imposed in the

, ,

shape o f a money indemnity amounting to about

000 and by the location o f allied troops to the number o f
in the northern provinces o f France for a period not
to exceed ve years The Treaty of Paris emb odying the
.
,

above provisions was signed November 2 0 1 8 1 5

, , .

With the success o f the allies at Waterloo the Second ,

Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy and the abdication ,

and imprisonment of Napoleon Europe settled down to the ,

task o f readj ustment The terms and condit ions under

.

which this readj ustment was to begin and the territorial ,

reapportionments had been set forth in full by the Final Act

,

of the Congress of Vienna The governments in general .

looked forward to a speedy return to the o l d familiar condi

tions In France alone the restored monarch yielded in the
.

Constitutional Charter something to the forces o f the

R evolution Elsewhere the Revolution was regarded as a
. ,

great earthquake which had for a time convulsed Europe ,

torn society from its natural bases hurled sovereigns from ,

the ir thrones and left a wake of general destruction This

,
.
3 48 THE H S TOR YI OF E U ROPE

earthquake once stilled it remained for the old m onarchs ,

to restore the former order of existence To their restricted .

vision the period from 1 7 8 9 to 1 8 1 5 w a s no Sign of the end

,

of one era and the beginning of a new of death agonies and ,

birth throes but merely a temporary and un fortunat e dis

,

t u r b an ce in routine conditions Hence their idea o f read .

,

j ustm ent was to make every ef fort to forget and to force ,

their subj ects to forget the causes nature and results of the
, , ,

Revolution and its Napoleonic aftermath .

The reactionary elements obtained a temporary and de

c ep t i v e success Under the domination o f Metternich of
.

A ustria true diplomat of the old rgime as he was the great

, ,

states o f the contin ent were frozen into an ultra -conserva

tive mold The dreams o f political and social equality
.

which had been inspired during the great Revolution were

forcibly dissipated Fo r a full generation Metternich and
.
,

his colleagues in the chancellories o f continental Europe

strove to stie the new life which had been born in France and
spread far and wide by the French armies .

A generation is however but a minute time in history

, , .

With the passage o f the years the living inuences created by

the Re v olution gained explosive f orce By Spontaneous u p .

risings f rom one end o f Europe to the other in the middle

o f the century men testied to the vitality o f these inuences
, .

And in contemporary Europe w e recognize that the liberal ,

institutions and popular governments are the direct heritage

o f the convulsion in France The political power o f the .

masses of the people ; the ideals of civil and social equality

and j ustice ; the extinction o f absolute monarchy feud al
:

privileges and a host of other abuses

, on the cont inent
of Europe these reforms date from the Revolution Severe .

as was the suff ering caused t o individuals by the shock of the

Revolution it is doubtful w hether the intrenched syste m of
,

the O l d r gime could have been carried otherwis e .

 IN D EX

16 2 condition s in 1 7891 795 1 3 7

at C ongr ss o f R a s t dt 17 6
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, , . , , ,

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.
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A u er s a e e e

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.
. , ,

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3 49
3 50 IN D EX

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.
,

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.

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.
, , , ,

1 06 1 1 3 1 2 0 2 3 1 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 a ca e .

Bu h r t T r ty o f 2 86
, , , , , , .
, ,

c a es C i il Con titution o f t h Cl rgy 8 2 8 3

ea v s e e ,

Bulo w Pru i n o mm nd r 3 15 3 2 0 8 8 1 55 2 04
, , . ,

, ss a c a e , , , , .

3 43 Cl ty 3 3 0 a n ca r

Burgundy d t h d f ro m H ol y R o m n Cl rf y t 1 2 8 1 2 9 1 5 9 1 6 0
. .
,

e ac e a e a

E mpi 3 4 Cl rgy i n 1 8t h ntury E rop ntr l

.
, , , , ,

r e, e ce u e ce a
Bur k Briti h t t m n 1 5 2 t rn 5 in w t rn E urop 1 0 ;
.
,

e, d s s a es a , an e as e ,
es e e,
 IN D EX 351

an d r
don g a tu i t 4 1 ; i n F r n 4 6 D nton 1 02 1 03 1 04 1 05 1 081 09 a ce , a

E t t G n r l Fr n 6 1
,

1 1 7 1 1 8 1 1 9 1 2 4
, , , , ,

4 7 ; in s a es e e 12 6 13 1 a a ce ,

Con titution o f D out F r n h omm nd r 2 1 7 2 2 2

, , , , , .

6 6 8 1 ; law
, of
C i v11 s av , e c c a e , , ,

th 8 2 83 ; non j uring 83 9 3 104

e, 2 33 2 34 2 38 2 4 2 2 6 4 2 6 5 2 6 6 2 6 7 -
, , , .
, , , , , , , ,

Club pol i ti l F r n 9 09 2
s, 2 88 2 9 0 2 9 1 2 9 2 3 39
ca a ce ,

Coburg Au tri n o mm nd r 1 1 3 1 1 4 D l r tion of Pillni tz 93 9 5 1 4 0

.
, , , , , .

s a c a e ec a a

D l r tion of R igh t 7 5 7 6
, , , , , .

1 1 5 1 1 9 12 0 1 2 2 1 2 3 1 2 8 13 0
, , , , , , . ec a a s, -
.

C d N p l
o e 2 05
a o D nm rk 1 9 1 97 2 4 3 2 5 2 2 55 2 6 9
on , . e a , , , , , , ,

Colli S rdi i n o mm nd r 1 6 6 1 6 7
a 2 7 4 2 86 2 94 2 9 7
n a c a e

Collingw ood Briti h d m ir l 2 13

, .
, , , , , .

D nn w itz b ttl o f 305 s a a e e a e

Co mm r 1 8 th ntury E urop 1 4
, , .
, , .

e ce , D p rt m nt 79 82 1 6 2 1 8 6 2 02 2 03
ce e, a e e

Co mmitt of Publi S f ty 1 1 6 1 1 7 D ix F r n h o mm nd r 1 78 1 79
.
, , , , , , .

ee c a e , , , es a , e c c a e , , .

1 18 1 19 12 1 1 3 1 132 1 6 0
, , 1 9 2 1 93 , , , .
, .

Comm un F r n 5 3 7 9 1 1 7 1 2 6 1 3 2 D m oul in C 72
e, a ce , , , , , es s, .
, .

2 02 D id rot D ni 4 84 9 14 8 e e s,

Con ord t 2 04 2 05 2 54 2 96 D i t o f H ol y Ro m n Em pi r org i

.
, , .

c a e a e, an

Cond Fr n h ity b i g d 1 1 41 1 6
, , , . ,

, e ti 34
c c , es e e , za on , .

1 18 D ir tory 1 3 5 1 3 6 1 5 8 1 6 0 1 6 2 1 6 3 ec

Conf d r t i on o f t h Rhin 2 2 5 2 2 9
. , , , , , ,

e e a 1 6 7 1 7 1 1 77 1 8 01 83 e e, , , , .

2 3 1 2 4 9 2 6 9 2 74 2 9 4 3 02 d g t i t Fr n 4 1 46 on ra u a ce ,

Con titution N tion l A m bl y t D r d n b ttl o f 3 04 3 05

, , , , , .
, , .

-
s a a sse a es e a e

7 6 7 8
, .

w or k on 7 4
, ,

83 85 88 ; Con D u o on ul 1 82 1 84 c s, c s

on ul t 1 85 D h m Fr n h omm nd r 1 9 0 19 2
.
, , , , ,

v en ti 1 3 4 1 3 5 ;
on , c s a e, u es e, e c c a e , , .

1 86 ; i mp ri l 2 07 S l Con D m i M i ni t r o f W
e a 9899 ; ee a so u o u r ez , s e ar ,

l C h rt r
.
,

sti t t i u on a g n r l 9 9 1 05 1 06 1 07 1 1 3 a e e e a , , ,

Con titution l C h rt r F r n
. , , ,

s 32 6 1 15 1 16a a e a ce ,
D upont F r n h o mm nd r 2 5 9
.
, ,

32 8 346 347 , , . , e c c a e , .

Con titution li t p rty d ri ng Di

s a s , a u r ec

tory 1 73 1 74 ,
-
.

Con ul t Fr n 1 84 2 08
s a e, a ce ,

Cont i n nt l blo k d N pol on 2 3 7 E kmuhl b ttl of 2 6 52 6 6

.

e a c a e, a e c a e

E N
.
, , ,

2 5 0 2 58 2 6 8 2 6 9 2 7 4 2 7 9 2 80 g y pt pol on in 1 7 5 1 77 1 80 ; a e

Briti h i toriou in 1 9 8
, ,

Con ntion d r d by L gi l ti
, , , , .
,

ve e c ee e s a ve s v c s

A mbly 1 02 ; m ting 1 081 1 2 E l A ri h ptu d by N pol on 1 79

.
, ,

sse ee s ca re a e

d E lb N pol on t 3 2 3 3 2 6 3 2 9 ;
, .
, , , ,

1 1 6 1 1 9 1 2 41 2 7 1 3 1 1 3 6 ; di ol
, , ss ve , a, a e a , , ,

1 36 .
r tu n f ro m 3 3 5 3 3 6 3 3 8 e r , , , .

Con ntion li t p rty d ring D ir tory E l i t Au tri n o mm nd r 1 9 2

ve a s a u ec sn z, s a c a e
7 4 ; L gi l ti
.
, , ,

1 73 1 74 Emigr e d rt Fr n s, es e a ce , e s a ve

Cop nh g n Briti h n l i tory 1 9 7 A

.

e a e m bl y t to w rd 9 2s
93 ; D ava v c sse ac s a ec

of P illnitz 93 ; l nd
, , ,
,

2 52 . l ti ar a on , a s co n

Cord li r Club Fr n 9 1
e e t d 1 04 ; Qui b ron x p dition
a ce , s ca e e e e ,

d N pol on 2 01 2 09
,

L gi l ti Bod y
, .

C p L gi l t f
or s e s a z 13 4 140 ; s ee e s a ve an a e , , ,

R
,

.
,

Cor 8 4 0 ; uppr ion propo d 5 7

v e, 3 2 2 ; t tor
s tion 3 2 7 32 8 es s se a es a .

ppro d by P rl m nt o f P ri 5 8 E nghi n D
, ,
,

a ve 2 07 2 1 4 a e e a s, e uo .

Coun il of N ot bl Fr n propo d E ngl nd

. , ,

c G r t Brit in
a es , a ce , se a s ee ea a

E nr g t h J b i ( whi h )
.
,

5 6 ; m ting 5 75 8 ; di ol ee d 58 ss ve a s, e a co ns c s ee .

E rfu t Conf r n o f 2 5 7 2 58 2 8 1
.
, ,

Coun il of t h A n i nt 1 3 5 1 82 1 8 3
c e c e s, r e e ce

Coun il o f S t t Fr n 1 8 6 2 06 2 7 7 E rlon Fr n h omm nd r 3 3 9 3 4 1

, .
. , ,
,

c a e, a ce , , , . ,
e c c a e , , ,

Coun il o f Th Fi H undr d 1 3 5 1 8 1
c 34 2 3 43 e ve e
E ling b ttl of 2 6 6
.
, , ,

1 83 ss a e

E t t G n r l Fr n d m nd f or
.
. , ,

Cr onn b ttl o f 3 2 0
a e, a e s a es e e a , a ce , e a ,

nn x d to Ru i umm on d by d r
, .

Crim ea , a 24 5 85 9 e e ss a , s e e c ee

Gu tin F r n h g n r l 1 07 1 08 1 3
.

s e, 1 6e0 ; ionc 6 1 6 7 14 1 e e a s ess

E truri ( T u ny) 2 5 1 2 52 2 54
.
, ,
, , ,

1 14 1 1 9 a s ca .

E ugen Prin Fr n h o mm nd r 2 6 6
, , ,
, .

D e, ce , e c c a e , ,

D lb rg 3 3 0
a e 2 8 8 2 9 1 2 9 2 2 9 8 2 99 3 1 4 3 2 4 .

Fr n h o mm nd r 3 39
, , , , ,
,

D l m ti to Fr n 2 2 3 to Au tri 3 3 4 E lm
, .

a a a, a ce , s a, xce an s , e c c a e , .

D mpi rr Fr n h o mm n d r 1 15
a e e, Eyl u b ttl o f 2 4 2 e c c a e , . a , a e , .
3 52 IN DEX

F F r n i I A u tr i u d d to t h ron a c s s a, s ccee e e,
d p rt i tion o f P ol nd 1 4 2
,

14 1 ; an a s a

oll tor i n 1 4 3 ; di ol d Congr of R t dt

,

F rm r G n r l t
a e s- e e a ax c ec s ss ve es s as a

d N pol on 1 8 7 ;
, ,

Fr n 4 1 a ce , 1 77 d d an a e an en

Fed re m p o f n r P ri 9 8 o f H oly R o m n E m pir 2 2 5 ;

. ,

e s , ca ea a s, a e, n eu

F rdin nd N pl 2 1 1 3 34 f t r E yl u 2 4 3
.

e a a t li t y es , d n tion l ra a e a an a a
w k ning in A u tri
.
, , ,

F rdin nd S p in 2 55
e a a 2 57 ; d w a a e s a, an ar
o f 1 809 2 6 2 2 6 3 ; P o f S hen
.
, ,

F ti l to th Supr m B ing 1 2 7
es va e e e e , .
, ea ce c

F m ll
e t Cluban Fr n 9 1 ; M ini try brunn 2 6 72 6 8 ; m rri g of M ri a ce , s a a e a a

Loui 2 76 ; Au tri n poli y b for

, , ,

r pl d 1 79 2 94 1 1 0
e a ce sa , s a c e e

L ipzig 2 952 96 ; Congr o f Vi nn

.
, , ,

Finl nd p rt o f S w d n 1 8t h ntury
a a e e ce e es s e a,

o upi d b y Ru i 2 54 2 5 8
, , ,

19 ; cc e 329 ss a , , , .

2 7 1 2 72 -
2 81 ; Congr o f Vi nn Fr nkf ort r pr nt d t Congr o f
, es s e a, a , e e se e a es s

3 3 1 3 3 3 3 34
, , Vi nn 3 2 9
. e a, .

F t Co l i tion
HS

w ag in t F r n Fr d ri k Augu tu S x ony 3 3 3 ar a a s a ce , e e c s s, a

F r d ri k t h G r t P u i politi l
, , .

1 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 91 2 4 1 2 71 3 1 1 4 7 1 55 e e c e ea r ss a , ca

th o y 1 6 ; l t p rtition o f Pol nd
, , , , ,

1 5 6 1 5 81 6 2 e r s a a

Fir t Con l 1 86 if ; N pol on on ul 2 4 2 5 ; K ing o f P ru i

, .
, ,

s su , 2 9 3 2 2 3 0 a e c s ss a, ,

f or li f 2 06 e, Fr d ri k VI D nm r k 3 2 9 e e c e a

Fr d ri k W il li m II P ru i
.
, , .

Fl uru b ttl o f 1 3 01 3 1 1 58 1 6 4
e s, a e ion e e c a ss a , a c ce s s

Florid bl n S p ni h m ini t r 1 50 to t h t hron 3 2 ; p r on lity d

, , , .
,

a a ca , a s s e e e, e s a an

poli i 3 2 33 ; D l r tion o f Pill

, .

F ont i n bl u Con ntion o f 2 5 3

a e ea ve c es , ec a a

n i tz 93 ; w w it h Fr n
, , ,

2 55 95 ; ar a ce ,

Fou he Fr n h m i i t r o f poli 2 07
.
,

c e c poli i 144 148 n s e ce , c es ,

F ox Br i t i h t t m n 1 5 2 2 2 6 2 2 9 Fr d ri k W illi m III 2 1 6 2 2 3 ; d
, . .

s s a es a e e c a an
N pol on w of 1 806 1 807 2 2 8 24 9
, , , , , , ,

2 54 a e ar -

lli n w i th Al x nd r 2 95
.
, ,

Fr n 19 ; org iz tion of go rn m nt
a ce , d an a ve e an a a ce e a e

und r L oui XVI 5 055 ; n n i l 2 9 7 ; t R tor tion 3 2 4 ; Congr o f

,

e s a c a a es a , es s
ri i 5 5 5 8 ; umm oning o f E t t
,

c s s, V i nn 3 2 9 3 33
s s a es e a, , .

G n r l 6 06 7 ; r olt o f Jul y 1 789 Fri dl nd b ttl o f 2 4 5 2 4 6

e e a ev e a a e -

N tion l A m bly 74 88 ; Fu nt d O b ttl of 2 84

, , , .
, ,

7 2 74 ;

a a s se e e oro , a e

L gi l ti A mbly 9 09 5 ; rmi
.
,

e s a ve ss e a es ,
w it h A u tri d P ru i
,

9 5 97 ; w ar

99 1 00 1 05 1 08 ; Th Con ntion G s

e
a an

ve
ss a ,

g in t T h F ir t G udin F r n h fi n n mi n i t r 2 03
, ,

1 08 1 1 1 ; -
w ar a a s e s a , e c a ce s e , .

Co l i tion 1 1 1 ff ; T h Con ntion G nr lit Fr n 5 2 53 79

a e ve a a ce ,

T rror 1 2 4 1 2 7 1 3 1 G n
, .
, , , .

1 1 6 1 1 9 ; T h e nton o f S w i tz rl nd 3 34
e -
e e v a , ca e a

g in t Fir t Co lition 1 5 8 G no 1 701 7 1 R publi of 199 2 1 5

, , , .

136 ; w ar a a s s a , e a, e c , , .

1 6 2 ; D ir tory 1 6 2 1 6 3 167ec 171 G ntz 3 3 0 3 3 5 , , , e , , .

1 77 1 801 83 ; Con ul t 1 84 1 9 6 G org D u k of H no r G org I o f s a e, e e, e a ve e e

2 01 2 07 ; E m pir
,

E
, ,

2 072 08 ; 3d ngl nd 3 6 e, vs a

P d G org III E ngl nd 3 7 1 5 1 1 5 7 1 8 7

.
.
,

Co lition 2 092 2 7 ;
a r i vs u ss a an e e a

Ru i 2 2 82 4 9 ; P nin ul r w G r rd Fr n h o mm nd r 3 3 9
, .
, , , , .

ss a , e s a ar , e a e c c a e

G i l y P ru i n o mm nd r 3 06 3 07
, , ,

2 5 82 6 2 ; w g in t Au tri ar a a s s a n a , ss a c a e , , .

2 6 2 2 6 9 ; d Sw d n 2 72 ; and G irondin f orm d m ini try 94 ; mi ni e e , an s, e s , s

H oll nd 2 72 2 74 ; ondition in
a try di m i d 9 8 d J b i in Con c s s s se an a co ns

u d r N pol on 2 74 2 79 ; P n i n ul r
,

1 091 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 9 1 2 5
, ,

n e a e ti 12 6 e s a v en on ,
G n i n u P ru i 2 9 6 3 09
, .
, ,

W ar ( 1 8 10 2 8 2 2 85 ; w ar e se a ss a ,

g in t Ru i 2 8 72 93 ; b tw n G odo y S p ni h m ini t r 1 501 5 1 2 55

.
, ,

a a s ss a, e ee a s s e

Ru i n mp ign d L ipzig 2 9 3 Golym in ng g m nt t 2 39

.
, , ,

ss a ca a an e e a e e a

G r h m Briti h o mm nd r 3 1 3
.
, , ,

2 98 ; L ipzig m p ign e ca a a a s c a e
P nin ul r w 3 1 1 3 1 4 ; d f n G r t Brit in 1 9 3 5 3 7 8 9 ; in 1 t
, .
, ,

e -
s a ar , e e se ea a s

R
, , ,

3 14 32 1 ; 1 t tor tion Co lition 1 1 1 ; ondition in 1 7 89 s es a , a , c s ,

3 2 4 3 2 8 ; Congr o f Vi nn 3 3 1 1 7 9 5 1 5 1 1 57 ; f t r M r ngo 1 97
es s e a, a e a e
3 3 3 ; r turn o f N pol on 3 353 3 8 ;
, ,

e 1 98 ; d 3d o lition 2 082 2 7 ;
a e , an c a ,

W t rloo a e mp ign 33 83 44 ; 2 d ca d ontin nt l blo k d 2 3 6 2 3 7

a an c e a c a e,
R tor tion 3 4 6 3 4 7 d P in
, ,

es a 2 4 3 2 4 8 2 4 9 2 5 02 5 8 ; an en

F r n b n k o f t bli h d 2 03
, .
, ,

a ce , a ul r W 2 5 8 2 6 2 2 6 92 7 1 ; ff t
, es a s e , . s a ar , , e ec s
 IN DE X 3 53

c Ill yri n Pro i n 26 8 3 02 3 34

o f ont i nt l blo k d upon 2 7 9 ne a c a e a v ces ,

g i n t N pol on 2 87
,

In urr tion of Augu t 1 0 1 792 101

, , .

2 80 ; ll i n a a ce a a s a e , , s ec , s , ,

2 98 3 02 , 3 1 03 1 1 ; Congr of
1 02 ; o f J n 2 1 7 93 1 1 71 1 8
, es s u e , , .

Vi n e 3 2 8 33 5 ;
n a, lli n
I t d g in t
t Fr n 5 2 5 3 -
a a ce a a s n en an s , a ce ,

N pol on 3 3 8 ; W t rloo 339 3 44

.

a e Ir l nd r olt 1 5 7 1 97 a e
-
e a ev

G r n ill Briti h m ini t r 2 2 6

, .

It l y 1 8t h ntury 1 9 ; d t h d f rom
, , , , .

e v e, s s e a ce e ac e
H ol y R om n E mpir 3 4 ; N pol on
, .
, ,

G ro b r n b ttl o f 3 05
ss ee e a e a e, a e

s
G rou hy Fr n h o mm nd r 2 4 6 3 3 9
, , .

c , l t mp ign i 1 6 6 1 70 ; poli ti l
e c c a e , , , s ca a n, ca

34 1 3 42 3 4 3 3 44 r on tr t i on in 1 7 01 7 1 ; N po ec s uc a
G uil d 1 8t h ntury E urop 6 1 2
, .
,

l on 2 d m p ign i 1 89 1 93 ;
, ,

s, ce e, e s ca a n,

G u t u III S w d n b n ol nt N pol on poli i in 1 96 1 99 ; d

, .

s av s e e e ev e a e s c es an

pl n o f 3 d o lition 2 1 5 ; N pol on
, , , ,

d pot l 7
es , . a s c a , a e

G u t u I V Sw d n 2 54 2 7 1
s av s Ki g o f 2 1 5 2 2 3 2 2 4 2 5 4 2 6 3 2 6 9
, e e , , . n , , , , , , ,

2 74 2 94 ; urr nd r d b y Fr n , s e e e a ce ,

H 3 2 6 ; Cong o f Vi nn 33 0 3 3 1 r ess e a, , ,

3 34 .

H m bu g o up i d b y N pol on 2 3 5 ;
a r , cc e a e ,

ann x d 2 74 e e , .

H n u b ttl of 3 08
a a , a e , .

H no r 2 1 0 2 24 2 3 5 3 02
a ve J obin Club 909 1
ac 9 2 1 00 , 101 ; a n d
H n ti to w n nn x d b y N pol on 1 09 1 1 1 , 1 16
.
, , , , , , , ,

a s ea c s, a e e a e f tion l q u rr l
ac a a e s, 1 19
h rd hi p in 2 80 ; urr nd r
, ,

2 74 ; a s s , s e e 1 2 4 1 2 7 , 1 3 1 13 3
ptu d b y N pol on 1 79
.

d m nd d 3 02 S l H m burg
e a e , . ee a so a , J ff
a a, ca re a e , .

Br m n d Lub k
e e an ec J m pp b ttl o f 1 07 1 08
e a es , a e
H rd nb rg P ru i n t t m n 2 2 8
.
,

J n b ttl o f 2 3 42 3 5
.
, ,

a e e , ss a s a es a , e a, a e , .

2 96 2 9 7 , 3 4 7 Jerom Bon p rt e Bon p rt a a e, s ee a a e,

P ru i n n o y
.

H au gwi t z ss a e v , 224, 22 8 .
Jr m e
Joh Ar h duk Au tri n omm nd r
, .

H ber t 1 1 8 1 2 6 , , . n , c e, s a c a e ,

H il b rg com b t t 2 4 5
e s e 1 93 2 1 8 2 1 9 2 2 0 2 6 6 2 6 7a a

H l ti R publi 1 7 6 2 00 Joh X II pop d H ol y R o m n

.
, , , , , , , .

e ve c e c, n e, an a

C l E l tor d po d 2 3 5
.

E mpir 3 4
, ,

H e s se - a s se ec e se e,
D m t dt in Conf d r tion o f Jo p h ( Bon p rt ) King o f th T w
.
, , .

H es s e- ar s a e e a se a a e e o

t h Rhi n King of S p i
, ,

e 225 S i il i
e, Bon p rt c es . a n s ee a a e,

H ill r Au tri n o mm nd r 2 6 5
.
,

e s Jo p h a c a e se
H o h Fr n h o mm nd r 1 2 3 1 3 4
.

Jo ph II H ol y R om n E mp ror
, , .

c e, e c c a e .
se a e ,

H o h tadt b ttl of 1 93
, , ,

c s b n ol nt d pot l 6 ; rul r o f
a e e ev e es e

H o h nl ind n b ttl o f 1 94
.

Au tri 2 6 2 9 1 3 8
, , ,

e e a e s a,
H o h nloh 1 2 0 2 3 1 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 Jo phi n B uh rn i E mpr
, . .
, ,

e e, of se e ea a a s, es s

H oll nd 1 8t h ntury 1 9 ; Br i ti h Fr n di or d 2 76
.
, , , ,

a ce s a ce , v ce

B t i n R publi Jou d n Fr n h omm nd r 1 2 2 1 2 3

.
, , ,

a l li n a111 ; ce , a av a e c, r a , e c c a e , , ,

1 7 6 1 981 99 2 09 2 1 1 2 1 5 ; K ing
, 12 7 129 1 3 0 1 58 1 59 ,
1 6 0 1 64 , , , , , , , , ,

dom 2 2 5 2 2 6 2 5 1 2 5 2 2 6 9 1 6 5 1 6 6 1 7 7 2 59
- '

Fr n h omm nd r 2 53 2 5 5
.
, , , , , , ,

a n x d to Fr n
ne 2 7 2 2 74
e 3 1 1 ; Ju ot a ce , , n , e c c a e , , ,

s urr nd r d b y Fr n 3 2 6 ; Con
e e e 2 58 2 5 9 2 6 0 2 8 2 a ce , , .

gr o f Vi n ( N th rl nd ) 3 3 4
, ,

es s e n a e e a s

H oly R om n E mpir t r itory 1 8 th

.
,

a e, e r

ce ntury 1 9 ; hi tory to 1 7 89 3 3 3 5 ;
, s ,

89 ; in l t o l ition 1 1 1 1 56 ; d s c a an

T r ty o f Lune ill 1 96 2 00 ; d K li h T r ty o f 2 9 7
, ,

ea v e, en a sc ea
K ll rm n Fr n h o mm nd r 105 1 06
.
, ,
,

of 2 2 5 3 34 3 3 5 e e a , e c c a e , , ,

H ond h oot b ttl o f 1 2 1 1 2 2

.
, ,

sc 1 6 1 1 9 3 3 39
e, a e

H ou h rd Fr n h o mm nd r 1 1 9 1 2 0 Ki l m in Fr n h o mm nd r 1 1 5
, , . , . .

a e a e, e c c a e .
c a e c c ,

H gou m t ng
o g m nt t 3 4
on 2 3 4 3
,

K l eb r F r n h e o mm nd r 1 6 2 a e e a
, ,

e e c c a e

Ko iu z ko Poli h p triot 1 4 3 1 4 7
.
,
, , . ,
,

sc s s a , .

K r y Au tri n omm nd r 1 89 1 93
, ,

a s a c a e
I
.
, ,
,

K ul m omb t t 3 05 c a a
R
.
, ,

Ibr h im M m lu k Co mm nd r 1 8
a ,
7 K t ff u a
i n o mm nd
e
r 2 1 8
e a e , , u u so , ss a c a e , ,

1 79 2 2 0, 2 2 1 , 2 9 0, 2 9 1 , 2 9 7 , 2 9 9 .

2A
354 IN D EX

L
L ong wy pt o f 1 04 1 05 ca ur e

Loui ( Bon p rt ) K ing o f H oll nd

, , , .

s a a e a s ee

L b n Fr n h o mm n d r 3 3 9 3 4 3 Bon p rt L oui
, ,

a a e c c a e a a e, s.

L oui C p t L oui XVI

.

Fr n h i 3 3 6
, , ,

L b d
a e o y er e , e c o cer , s a e s

L oui F rdin nd! Pri n h d o f

. .

L B a die 3 30
es n a r re, s e a ce , ea pa
L f y tt M r ui d ppoint d h d t i ti p rty in Pru i 2 2 8
.

a a e e, a q s e, a e ea r o c a ss a ,

of N tion l G u rd 74 7 77 8 ; L oui X IV Fr n 5 05 1
.

a a a g en s a ce ,

L oui XVI Fr n org niz t i on o f

, , , .

r l 9 8 9 9 1 04 1 05 1 1 5
e a s a ce , a a

go rnm nt 5 05 5 ;
, , , , , .
,

La F rt ou Jou rr b ttl o f 3 1 7
e e-s s- a e, a e , , ve d n n i l e , an a c a

3 18 cri i 5 6 5 8 ; u mm on i ng o f t t
s s, s es a es
L h rp Fr n h omm nd r 1 6 6 d E t t
.

a a e, e c c a e g n r l 60 ;
e e a G nr l an s a es e e a
N tion l A m bly ;
, . , ,

L H y S i t
a a ng g m nt t 3 42 3 4 3
e a n e, e a e e a 6 16 6 ; d an a a s se

L nd hut om b t t 2 6 5 h r t r 6 8 6 9 ; d nob ility

, , .

s c a a c a ac e - an
'
08 .
a , , .
,

L nd t x F r n propo d 5 7 ; ord r d
a a a ce , se e e p opl Jul y 1 789 7 1 74 ; po ition
e e, -
s

by di t 5 8 ; oppo d by P rl m nt
, , , ,

e c se a e e a f t r Jul y r olt 7 6 ; f ro m V r ill

e ev e sa es

o f P ri 5 9 to P ri 7778 ; d C ivil C on ti tution

, ,

a s, a s, an s
L nn F r n h omm nd r 1 9 0 1 9 1 of t h Cl rgy 8 2 83 ; ig h t to V
.

a es , e c c a e e e a

r nn 83 84 ; too k o th to upport
, , , ,

1 92 , 2 1 7, 2 19 , 2 3 3 , 2 34 , 2 3 8, 2 6 4 , 2 6 5 , e es , a s

266 th on titution S pt 1 79 1 86 ; d
e c s e an

L L gi l ti A m bly 9 39 5 1 00
. , . ,

a on b ttl o f 3 2 0 a e e s a ve s se , ,

Rothi er b ttl o f 3 1 7
, , .

L a e, a e 1 02 ; tri d f or tr on d x ute d e e as an e ec

L tou h T re ill Fr n h d mi r l
, . ,

a c e v e, e c a a 2 12 1 1 1, 14 1 1 50
L uri ton Fr n h o mm nd r 2 99 L oui X VIII ( Co m t d Pro n ) 1 3 4
.
, . ,

a s , e c c a e , , 3 00 . s e e ve ce , ,

L a w of H o t g 185 1 6 0 3 2 5 3 2 6 3 2 8 3 33 3 3 7 ; S on d
s a es , ec

R tor tion 3 4 6 3 4 7
. , , , ,

L a w of th M x imum 1 1 8 ; r p l d e a e ea e es a

Loui Qu n P ru i 2 2 8 2 4 7
.
, , ,

1 3 3 1 34 sa , ee ss a ,

Lo i i n old to U S 2 1 0
, . , , .

L w of th Su p t
a 12 5 e s ec s , u s a a, s

L brun A o i t Con ul Fr n 1 87 L ow S i H ud on Briti h go rnor f

. . . , .

e ss c a e s a ce , e, r s s ve o

L feb r Fr n h o mm nd r 1 3 0 1 6 2 S t H l n 3 4 5 3 4 6
, , . ,

e v e, e c c a e e e a,

nn x d b y N pol on 2 74 3 2 9
. .
, ,

260 264 322 Li b k i ec a e e a e

L gion o f H onor 2 77 3 2 8 33 7 Lu 1 70
, , . , , , .

e cca ,

bl y on titut i on pro L u h i ni P r i n diplo m t 2 3 5 2 3 6

.

L gi l ti A m
, , , .

e s a ve s se c s cc es us s a a

d L un e il l T r ty o f 1 9 4 1 9 6 1 98
, , , .

h
,

i di
v f or 8 6 87
n g r tr ; c a ac e an v e, ea , , .

d R olut i on y Li t
, ,

ion 9095 ;
se s s , b ttl o f 2 9 93 00 an ev ar i z en , a e , .

Co mmun 1 01 1 05 e,

L gi l ti body Fr n h on ul t 1 86 ;
.

e s a ve e c c s a e,
M ,

and m pir 2 76 2 77
e e,

L ipzig b ttl o f 3 06 3 08 ld F n h
.

e M D a e omm n d r 2 6 7 ac on a re c c a e
L ipzig mp ign 2 9 83 01 303 3 08
, , .
, , ,

e ca 2 88 2 9 1 2 9 9 3 04 3 05 3 1 6 3 1 7 3 1 9
a , , . , , , , , , , ,

L ob n r m i ti o f 1 6 9
e e a 32 0 32 1 32 2 32 3 s ce

L opold r h duk T u ny b n ol nt M k Au tri n o mm nd r 2 17 2 1 8

, , .
, , , .

e a c e s ca e ev e ac s a c a e
d pot 1 7 u d d to Au tri n 2 1 9
, , , , , ,

es ; s ccee e s a

thron D l r tion o f M l m b y Bri ti h diplo m t 1 75

, .

29 e ; ec a a a es iu
'
s a

Pil lnitz 8 3 ; d th 94 ; poli i M l

, .
,

, l t omb t t 2 92 ea , c es , a o y ar o s av e z , c a a , .

138 14 1 -
M lt 1 7 8 2 09 2 1 1 2 1 4 2 5 1 a a,

Pru i n o mm nd r 2 3 8 2 4 1 M i f to o f t h D uk of Brun wi k
. .
, , ,

L t es o cq , ss a c a e , , an es e e s c ,

2 4 2 , 2 45 , 2 4 6 . 9 91 00 .

L ettr e de Fr n 55 ca ch et, a ce , Ma ntu i g o f 1 6 8 1 6 9 1 70

a, s e e
Ligny ng g m nt t 3 4 1 3 4 2
, .
.
,

e a e e a Ma r t 102 1 03 1 05 1 1 8
a

Liguri n R publi 1 7 1 1 99 r u Fr n h omm nd r 1 3 0

, , , . , , , .

a e c, Ma ce a e c c a e

Li l R oug t d L M i ll i 1 00 rh d t h d f ro m p p l
.
, . , ,

s e, e e, a ars e a s e, . Ma cTh es , e, e ac e a a

Li t d J ti
c Fr n 59 us ce, a ce , t rritori 2 54
e es ,

Lob u gh t t 2 6 6
. .

a a M r ngo
a e b ttl o f 1 9 2 1 93 1 96 a e

L odi b ttl o f 1 6 7 Loui Ar h du h Au tri

, .
, . , , ,

a e M ri
a a sa , c c es s , s a,

L om b rdy 1 9 3 34 Em pr o f Fr n 2 7 6 2 8 1 2 95 3 2 4
, , .

a es s a ce , .

M ri Th r Au t i l t p rti tion o f
, , , ,

L omeni d Bri nn C hi f o f t h C m
.
,

e e e e, e e o a a e es a , s r a, s a
m it t

o f F in n F r n 58 ; di
ee a ce, a ce , s P ol nd 2 5 ; d w wi th F d ri k
a , an ar re e c

mi d 6 0
s se , . th Gr t 30
e ea , .
 IN D EX 3 55

Ma ri A to i n tt Qu n o f F r n
e n e e, ee a ce , 58 1 9 4 1 9 6 , 19 8- 2 01 ;dom ti poli i es c c es
6 9
,

2 01 2 06 ; Em
.

7 0 7 8 100 1 2 6 14 0 Con ul f or l f
s i e , 2 06 ;
M r m ont F r n h o mm nd r 1 93
.
, , , ,

a e c c a e 2 1 7, p er o r 2 07 2 08 ; vs Co lition
3d

, , , , a

Pru i Ru i
.
,

2 8 4 , 2 99 , 3 12 , 3 1 3 , 3 16 , 3 1 7 , 3 2 0, 3 2 1 . 2 09 2 2 7 ; vs ss a an d ss a, .

r ill i
M a se a se , L a, 1 00 . 2 2 82 4 9 ; c ontin nt l blo k d
e a c a e , 2 50

M a ss ac r o f t h pri on 1 7 9 2
e 1 04- 1 05
e s s, 2 58 ; P n n ul r
e i s a w a r , 2 5 82 6 2 ; vs
Fr n h o mm nd r Au tr
, .
.

M ass n a ,
e c c a e , 16 1, 162 , s i a , 2 6 2 2 6 8 ; c
ontin nt l blo k
e a c
1 6 6 , 1 6 7 , 1 6 9 , 1 89 1 90, 1 9 1 , 1 9 2 , 2 1 7 , a de , 2 6 92 87 ; vs Ru i
ss a , 2 8 8 2 93 ;
L ipz i g m p i gn
, .

2 1 9 , 2 2 0, 2 4 4 , 2 6 4 , 2 6 5 , 2 6 6 , 2 6 7 , e ca a 2 93 dfn
3 08 ; e e se
A
,

2 8 2 , 2 83 , 2 84 . of Fr n a ce , 3 09 3 2 1
; bdi tion
l st ca
z rin 3 2 2 3 2 3 ; E lb
,

Ma a , 50 3 2 6 3 3 5 3 3 6 ; r turn a, e
2 00
.
, ,

Me a di tion o f S i tz rl n d
, A ct , w e a , 1 99 . an d W t rloo 3 3 6 3 44 ; n l
a e , a su r
M e as,l Au tri n o mm n d r
s a c a e , 1 89 , 19 1 r nd r 3 44 ; S t H l n 3 4 53 4 6
e e , e e a,

u in Conf d r tion o f t h Rhin

. .

1 9 2 1 93 N ass a e e a e e,
tt rn h A u tr i n h n llor
.
, ,

Me e i c , s a c a ce 2 95 , 225
2 9 6 , 2 9 7 , 3 02 , 3 03 , 3 09
,

N tion l A mbly Fr n org n i d

.

3 11 , 32 9, 332 a a sse a ce , a ze

6 4 ; j oin d b y ot h r O rd r
, ,

3 3 8, 3 4 7 , 3 4 8 . 6 6 ; it
e e e s, s
M idi r olt in
ev , 1 60 w or k 7 4 86 ; i t lo 8 788 s c se,

N tion l G u rd org niz d 74 ; o k d

.
, , .

il n
M a , 1 8 t h century 1 9 1 6 7 , 1 7 0, 1 7 2 a a a a e c c a e,
l h ud Fr n h o mm nd r
.
, , , ,

Mi a , e c c a e , 339 . 77 ; t V r ll 7 7 7 8 ; rr t d
a e s ai es , a es e
ill im o b ttl o f
M es a e 16 7 Loui XVI t V r nn 84 ; d
s a a e es , an

r o f t h C h m p d M r 85
, , .

M a e a , 6 6 , 7 07 1 , 8 0 83
ir b u m as s a c e e a e a s,

k rn gh ting
, .
,

M ec e , a t 3 06 133
N tion B ttl o f t h L ipzig
, . .

od n
M e a , 1 70, 1 7 2 , 3 3 4 a s, a e e, s ee e

on y F r n h o mm n d r
.
,

M ce , e c c a e , 1 59 , 1 9 0 b ttl o f
a e
1 9 1 , 1 92 , 2 59 2 6 0 2 6 1 N k r J u Fr n
ec e a cq es , a ce , M ini s t er of
b f or th E t t
, , .
,

M ondo i b ttl of
v , a e , 16 7 Fin n 60 ; . a ce , e e e s a es

M ont ui u
es q e , 50 G n r l 6 4 ; di m i d Jul y 1 1 1 7 89
. e e a , s s se , ,

M ontm ir il b ttl o f
a , a e , 3 17 72 ; r ll d Jul y 2 1 74 ec a e

Jo h B riti h o mm nd r N wind n b ttl o f 1 14 1 1 6

. , , .

M oor e, S ir n , s c a e eer e a e

N l on 1 78 1 79 1 9 7 2 1 32 1 4
, , , .

2 6 1 , 2 6 2 , 2 70 e s
or u F r n h omm n d r N th rl nd Au tri n Au tri n
.
, , , , .

M ea e c c a e , 1 59 , 1 6 4 e e a s, s a s ee s a

N th rl nd
, ,

1 6 5 , 1 6 6 , 1 8 9 , 1 9 0, 1 9 3 , 1 9 4 , 2 07 e e a s.

orti r Fr n h omm nd r N uf hat l nton o f Swi tz rl nd 3 3 4

.

M e , e c c a e , 2 1 0, 2 8 2 e c e ca e a

N y F r n h o mm nd r 2 1 7 2 1 9 2 2 0
, .
,

3 1 6 , 3 1 7 , 3 2 0 3 2 1 , 3 39 , . e , e c c a e , , , ,

o o
M sc w N a pol on e,

a t , 2 9 1 2 92 2 33 2 38 2 4 1 2 42 2 45 2 6 0 2 6 1 . , , , , , , ,

b ttl o f
M o s s kir ch , a e 1 93 2 84 2 88 2 9 2 2 93 2 9 9 3 00 301 3 05
, . , , , , , , , ,

M ount in aJ bi s ee 3 16 3 2 2 3 2 3 336 337 339 34 1 3 4 2

a co n , , , , , , ,

M ount T bor b ttl o f 1 8 0

, .
,

a 343 a e
o up i d by Fr n h 1 08 3 1 8
, , . .

M ur d M m lu k o mm nd r 1 78 1 79 N i
a a e e c a e ce , cc e e c .

M ur t F r n h o mm nd r 1 72 1 9 2 N il b ttl o f t h 1 7 9
, , , , ,

a e c c a e e, a e e,

N obil ity in 1 8th ntury E rop ntr l

.
, , , ,

2 1 7 2 1 8 2 19 2 2 0 2 3 3 2 3 8 2 55 2 6 9 ce u e ce a

t r 4 ; in w t rn Eu op 9 ;
, , , , , , , , ,

2 94 33 4 d an eas e n es e r e,

in politi 1 51 6 ; in Ru i 2 12 2 ;
. . ,

cs , ss a ,

in G r t Bri t in 3 5 ; h unting pri ea a , v

N pl
a 1 8t h
es , ntury 1 9 ; i 1 t o li il in F r n 4 0 44 46 ; in e es a ce ,
g
ce n s c a
E
,

tion 1 1 1 1 56 1 70 1 7 6 ; N pol on
,

t t G n r l F r n 6 1 66 ; d a e s a es e e a a ce , an

P
, , ,

K y
,

ing opl Ju
,

l 1 7 8 9 7 1 74
and 2 11 224 225 251 269 2 74 ; vs . e e, , ,

d rt F r n 74 ; gi up pri il g
, , , , , ,

2 84 ; r tor d to F rdin nd 3 3 4
es e e a es e a ce , ve v e es ,

7 5 ; in P ru i
.

oppo ition to S t in
,

N pol on Bon p rt
a e d f n o f Con a a e, e e se ss a , s e ,

v enti 1 3 6 ; lif 1 6 2 1 6 4 ; g n r l
on , 2 57 S l Em igr e
e, e e a ,
. ee a s o s.

1 6 4 ; l t It li n m p ign 1 6 6 1 6 9 ; N ju i ng l rgy 8 3 9 3 98 1 04
s a a ca a on - r c e , .

N oot k S ound in id nt 1 53
, , ,
,

and polit i l r on t u tion i n It l y ca ec s r c a a c e

N orth Lord P rim M ini t r i n E ngl nd

.
,
,

1 70 ; d D ir tory 1 74 1 7 5 ; E gy p
an ec , , e s e a ,

ti n m p ign 1 7 7180 ; o rth row 3 7

, ,

a ca a ve

o f D ir to y 18 11 83 ; on ul 1 84 N orth r M ritim L gu 19 7
.
,

ec r c s .
e n a e ea e, .

m p ign ( M r ngo) N orw y 1 9 ; Sw d n d m nd 2 86

,

1 89 ; 2 d It l i n a a ca a a e a e e e a s, ,

189
,

o f Vi nn 3 3 4
,

193 ; i nt rn tion l diplo m y 2 9 72 98 ; Congr e a a ac .

ess e a, .
3 56 IN D EX

89 ; 2d 1 12 14 1 p rt i ti on
14 2 ; 3 d
a
O
1 4 5
,

Ru i n
,

p rt i tion
a 14 3 , 14 8 ; ss a
N pol on
,

R u i n i t y o r T ur k
O ch a ko ff , ss a v c or ve s l im
c a s, 2 14 ; an d a e 2 39
2 4 ; Briti h i t r t i n 1 53
,

s n e es 2 4 0, 2 48 , 2 6 8 , 2 6 9 , 2 8 1 , 2 86 , 2 9 4 ,
O l d nbu g du hy o f nn x d by N po
, .

e r , c , a e e a 2 9 7 , 2 98 , 3 1 8 ; es s e a, Congr of Vi nn
l on 2 74
e f f t on Al x nd r o f ; e ec e a e 3 30, 3 3 1 , 3 3 3
Politi l on i t o
.

Ru i 2 8 1
,

ss a , ca c d i ns, i 8 th c en t u r y
E urop
.

O porto b ttl o f 2 70 a e e , 1 5 , 18

P oliti Th ori
.

O rd r in Coun il Bri t i h 2 3 7 2 5 1
.
, ,

e c , s , , . cal e nt y
e s , 1 8 t h ce ur , 16 , 1 7,

O rl n D
ea 72 s, uo 4 75 0
P on to i King of Pol nd
.

O tt A u tri n o mm nd r 1 9 2
.

s a c a e i a wsk , a 2 5 , 2 88 ,
O tto I H ol y R o m n E m p ror 3 4
.
, , ,

a e 291
t F r n h o mm nd r 2 64 2 88
.

Pop i i t d V i nn to prot t Jo ph
.
, ,

O di
u no e c c a e e, v s e e a es se
r f orm 2 7 N tion l A m bl y
, , , ,

2 9 2 , 2 99 , 3 03 , 3 05 , 3 1 6 , 3 1 7 , 3 1 9 , 3 2 0, II s e s, ; a a s se

32 1 , 32 2 i n Fr n t g i t 8 2 1 55 1 76 ;
a ce ac s a a ns

d N pol on
. , , ,

2 04
P an

2 7 82 79 ,
2 05 2 08 2 54 a

2 96 ;
e ,

Congr ess
,

o f Vi nn
,

e a,
,

l Fr n h o mm n d r 3 3 9
P a ja e c c a e 3 34
P l f ox S p ni h omm nd r 2 5 9 Portl n d D uk of B ri t i h
, . .
,

a a , a s c a e , , 2 6 0, a , e , s m isin t r e ,

261 2 54 2 55
P ortug l 1 9 1 1 1 1 56 2 1 1
.

P l i R oy l 72 77
.

a a s- a a , , , 2 52 , 2 53, , ,

P p l S t t 19 2 79 3 3 4
, , .

a a a es , 2 5 5 2 6 9-2 7 1 , 2 8 0, 2 8 2 - 2 85 , 2 94 , 2 98 ,
P ri r olt in Jul y
, , . ,

a s, ev 3 1 1 3 1 4
t i on o f Pr gu Congr o f 3 02 3 03
, , .

O ctober 1 789 , 77 ; ca pit ul a a e, es s

Pr f t Fr n h d min i tr ti
, .
,

32 1 e ec e c a s a ve o mci al
P ri T r ty o f
. , ,

a s, ea l st , 325, 328, 33 1 ; 2 02
P r burg T r ty o f 2 2 3 2 57 2 6 2
, .

( 2 d) 3 4 7 es s ea
Prol t ri t in Fr n 4 344 78 85
, . , , , , .

Fr n 5 4 5 8
P a r l em en t, a ce , e a a a ce ,

P rl m nt of P ri 5 8
, .
, , , ,

a e e d t x 59 ; a s, an a es , 9 1 1 03 1 10 1 1 7 13 3 13 5
P ro n C o m t d L ui XVIII 1 34
,

b ni h d d r tu n d 5 9
, , , , .

a s e an e r e ve ce , e e, o s

P rm 1 70 1 7 2 3 3 4 L oui X VIII F r n
, .
, ,

a a, 16 0 S l ee a s o s a c e.
P rth nop n R publi 1 76 1 7 7 Pro i ion l Co mm n P ri 1 79 2 101
, , . . ,

a e ea e c, v s a u e, a s,

P t nt o f T ol r n A u tri
, . ,

a e 26 e a ce , s a 1 05 1 1 0
P ul Ru i 1 9 7 Pru i t ri tory 1 8th ntury 19 ;
. .
,

a ss a , ss a , er ce

P ntry 18t h ntury E urop ntr l r l tion with Ru i 2 4 ; hi tory

.
, ,

ea s a ce e ce a e a s ss a , s

t rn 3 4 ; in w t rn E urop w it h
,

an d e as e , es e e, ( 1 74 0 2 93 3 89 ; w , ar

78 ; politi l ondition 1 6 ; in ca c s, F r n 9 5 i n l t o lit i on 1 1 1 w

a ce , ; s c a ar

i th F r n 1 1 9
,

Fr n a 3 842 ; i n S p in 1 4 8 ; in
ce , a W 1 2 4 1 2 71 3 1 15 8
a ce ,
Fr n f or d N pol on 3 3 7 d P ol nd 14 1 hi tory
, , ,

a ce , av e a e 162 ; an 14 3 a ; s

P r i d N pol on 2 4 4
.

d N pol on
, , ,

e s a , an a e 1 7 8 9 1 7 9 5 1 4 4 14 8 ;
-
an a e

P t r III Ru i m rri d to C th rin

, .
, ,

e e ss a , a e a e e, 2 00 2 14 2 16 2 2 32 2 4 2 2 8 24 9 -

2 5 7 2 74 2 86 2 9 4 ; tr t y w i t h
, , , , , ,

Cz r a in t d 2 0 assass a e 2 56 ea

m yor o f P ri 9 2 Ru i 2 9 7 ; N pol on 2 98 2 9 9
.
, , , , ,

P t i on , a a s, ss a , vs a e

Fr n h o mm nd r 1 2 3 1 2 7
. . , ,

Pi h g
c e ru e c c a e 3 08 mp i gn i n F r n 3 14 3 2 3
; ca a a ce , ;
Congr o f Vi nn 3 2 83 3 5 All i n
, , , ,

1 2 8 1 58 1 5 9 1 6 0 2 06 es s e a, a ce

Pi dmont 1 8th ntury 1 9 1 7 6 ; g in t N l n 3 3 8 ; W t rloo

, , , , .

e ce a a s a p o eo a e .

N pol on in 1 90 1 99 2 09 2 1 5
, , , ,

a e , 3 3 9344
Pultu k ng g m nt t 2 39
, , , . .

S l S rdini
ee a s o a a. s e a e e a

Pitt E rl o f C h th m Pri m M ini t r Pyr m id b ttl o f t h 1 781 79

.
, ,

a a a e s e a s, a e e,
in E ngl nd 3 6 1 5 1
, , .

P itt W illi m ( Pitt T h you g r) P rim

, , .

a e n e e Q
M i i t r in E ngl nd 3 7 1 5 1 1 5 7
, , ,

n s e
Qu a tre B ra s e nga gem e nt at . 34 1
a , , ,

1 8 8 1 97 2 1 3 2 1 7 2 2 3 2 2 6 , .

Piu VII P op d N pol on 2 782 79 Qui beron e x p e dit i on 1 3 4

, , , , .

.
,
s e, an a e
Pop
, , .

S l
Pl wi t
as
ee a s o

Armi ti o f 3 01303
z,
e

s
.

ce
R
Pol nd di i ion 1 7 ; t rritory 1 8 th R t dt Congr o f 1 76 1 77
, .

a , v s , e as a es s .

R i h nb h T r ty o f 3 02
, ,

ce ntury 1 8 1 9 ; 1 t p rti tion 2 42 5 ,

- s a , , e c e ac , ea , .
 I N DE X 357

R i h nb h C on nti on o f 1 790
e c e ac , ve , , 1 38 S ch n bru n n ,
P eace of , 2 6 72 6 8, 2 81,
139
Fr n h om m d 33 9
.

R ill e e, e c c an er , .
S hw rz nb rg Au tri n
c a e e , s a c omm nd r a e ,

2 89 , 2 9 1 , 2 9 3 , 3 03 , 3 04 , 3 05 , 3 06 , 3 07 ,
b y Co nve nti o n, 308 , 3 1 5 , 3 1 6 , 3 1 7 , 3 1 9 , 3 2 0, 3 2 1
b ti ni Fr n h g nt
.

S e as a e c a e 2 09 , 2 3 9
S ign ori l h rg
, , .

e i a c a d t u tion o f
es , 7 , 3 9 ; es r c
R olution ry T ribun l
ev a a , 1 04 , 1 1 7 124 r ord o f
ec s 73
S n t Fr n h on ul t 1 86 2 06
, .

12 7 , 1 3 2 . e a e, e c c s a e,
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R ew be ll r ec mpi 2 4 0 2 77 3 2 5
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II poli y tow rd 2 72 8 ; r mn nt

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S er u i r Fr n h omm nd r 1 6 1 1 6 2
.

1 2 4 12 7 1 3 1 1 3 2 1 6 1 r r e e c c a e
R h m b u F r n h o mm nd r 98
, , .
, , , ,

oc a ea e c c a e 166
R ol nd M m G irond l d r 1 10
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a e e ea e S n Y r W ( 1 75 6
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Ro m n R publi 1 7 6 1 77 S h rid n Briti h t t m n 1 5 2
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L gu 1 97 in 3 d o lition 2 14 2 1 5 d E t rn E urop
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d N pol on ( 1 806 Europ 6 1 1

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an 2 2 8
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.

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2 69 d Sw d n ; 2 7 1 2 7 2 an d e e ; an S ou a e c c a e

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, , , .

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2 99 3 08 , 3 1 83 1 9 ; es s Congr o f S p in 1 9 ; in l t o lition 1 1 1 ; a , s c a , co n

Vi n
e na 3 2 8 3 35 ; al a ce a a s li n g in t di ti i 1 789 1 7 9 5 1 4 81 5 1 ; d on s n an

N pol on 2 1 1 2 5 1 2 52 2 5 52 6 2
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ss a ca a 2 88 2 9 3 2 6 9 , 2 7 0, 2 8 2 2 85 , 2 9 4 , 2 9 8 , 3 1 13 1 4 .

Ru o Tu i h 1 768
, .

ss - rk s w ar , 1 774 24 ; S t mp
a T a x,Fr n prop d
a ce , o se , 57 ;
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1 78 71 78 8 2 4 se a e e a s , 58

S t t o f Eu op th ntu y
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a es r ce

1 7 8 9 1 7 9 5 , 1 3 71 5 7
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it h
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a a, ce w ar w 2 6 0 2 8 8 3 04
S t D izi r gh t t 3 1 6
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an ce 1 08 1 1 1 1 56 , 1 6 01 6 2 , 1 6 6 e a

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S h r h or t P u i n t t m n 2 5 6
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V lmy b ttl o f 106 1 08

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T ll yr nd Fr n h t t m n 1 9 51 9 6 V ub n Fr n h ngin r 1 1 4
, . , , .

a e a e c s a es a a a e c e ee

V u h m p b ttl o f 3 1 7
, , , , , .

1 99 , 2 00, 2 1 6 , 2 2 5 , 2 2 6 , 3 2 4 , 3 2 5 , 3 3 1 a c a s, a e , .

33 2 , 3 3 3 V d L
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e, a, ev 1 33 ,
T urogg n Con ntion o f
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a e , ve , 2 95
1 6 4 , 2 01
T m pl of R on on r ion o f Fr n h
. .

e es ea s c ve s e c V ni 1 9 1 70 2 2 3 334
e ce ,

hur h into 1 2 6
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a ce , V g i d
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e , e, a ce , , , c , e c c a e , 190, 1 92 ,

2 4 5 , 2 6 0, 2 7 0, 2 82 , 2 9 2 , 2 93 , 3 00, 3 16
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a ar 3 17 , 3 19
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s a e, s a es e e a Vi nn Congr o f 3 2 8 3 3 5 3 4 7
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66 i ; n a a s se e e v e, e c a a

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.
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T ith 8
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1 6 4 1 78
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T r ty o f t h S ond P rtition o f
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ea e ec a W ra s aw d r 251 e c ee ,
Pol nd 14 2 G r nd du h y o f
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a W ra s aw , a c 2 4 8 2 6 8 , 2 74 ,
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1 43 W t rloo b ttl o f 3 3 5
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Tr El tor o f 94
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T ribun t 1 86 2 07 boli h d 2 76 W ll l y S ir A rt hur e W ellington

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T rinid d d d to G r t Brit in 1 98
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T urk y t rritory 1 8 h ntury 1 9

, , . .

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r l tion with Ru i 2 4 88 d f n
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e a s ss a , ; e e se 2 83 , 2 84 , 3 1 0, 3 1 1 3 12 3 1 3 , 3 1 5 , 3 39 ,
o f E gypt 1 78 1 80 d N pol on
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, , , , , , , .

s ca es a a,

W h itw orth Briti h am b dor 2 1 0

, , , , , , , , .

2 6 3 , 3 34 s a ssa

W ittg n t in Ru i n o mm nd r 2 98
. .
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e s e ss a c a e

W r d A u tri n o mm nder 3 08
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Au tri n urr nd r t 2 19 W u r m ser s a c a e 1 2 0,

Ul m
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pur h d L oui i n 1 59 , 1 6 5 1 6 8
, , .

U nit d S t t
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W u r tem b er g , 2 00 2 2 3 ;
, .

in C o d r tion
2 10 m r h nt m in uff r 2 3 7
; e c a ar e s e s, .

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V l i R publi o f nn x d b y N po Y or k P r i n omm n d r 2 9 3
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Ass o i t P rof or of P ol i t i l S i n
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, s a ev e e s e a

t i n to mi l i t r y t t c T h ch ct r d m th d f th o t t
o a ac i s . e a ra e s an e o s o s e s a es

m enwh o h d t h e gr t t i n u a c p n i nt e n t i o n l ff i
ea es h be n en e u o r a a a a rs a ve e

d l p d t l n g th T h ll i n
e ve o e a e d t h c n i ct o f i nt r e t w h i ch
. e a a ces a n e o e s s
r es ult d i n th e pr nt G r t W h e b n p ci ll y t ed
e es e ea ar av ee es e a s r es s .

Th r u gh ut t h b k th uth r h e or di n ted th i n cid nt i

o o e oo e a o s av co a e e s n

tim e t h t th e r d r i n b l d t g i n a k n o wl d g o f t h e g n r l
so a ea e s e a e o a e e e e a ,

po l i t i c l c n mi c
a . e o d o i l s t tu o f
o
y g i n p r io d
an s c a a s an ve e .

Th euth r h e di id d th
a o s nt o f th eir h i s t r y i nto th four
av v e e e ve s o e

fo ll ow i n g p r i o d h o w i n g th e cco mp n y i n g ch g e i n aim
e s, s d a a an s s an

m et h o d o f G r m s dipl m cy e an o a :

I
( I 86 2 8 7 S) T h c l c c f th e G r m n t t
-
I e w i t h P ru i
o a es en e o e a s a es , ss a

t t h ei r h
a d i nt mpi r o po w r ful t b b l t di t t e
ea , o an e e s e as o e a e o c a

E ur p n p l i c y o ea o .

2 87 51 89 )
I T h m i nt n n 0 b y n t u ti m ure o f i nt rn le a e a ce co s r c ve eas s e a

p li y o d by c ut di pl m y f G rm n y h g m n y i E u p n
an ac e o ac o e a

s e e o n ro ea

p o l i ti c s .

3 ( 9 8 1
9 1 1 ) T
0 4 h r c g n i t i o n b y t h o t h r p w e r o
e ut id f G e o e e o s s e o er

m i n u n c o f t h e d n g rs o f co nti nu d G rm n l d r h i p d
an e e a e e e a ea e s ,
an

t h co n e qu nt f r m t i n f se d fen i
e l i ti n o a o o a e s ve co a o .

4
1 1
9 4) Th h ll n g o f G m n y a d h e ll i to th i e c a e e er a n r a es s

o l i ti o n r
c a ulti n g i n th G r t W
, es e ea ar .

THE M A C M I L L A N C O M PA N Y
Pu b li s h er s 6 4 6 6 Fi f t h Av en u e N ew Yor k -
 A Po litica l S o ci a l His to r y
an d of

M o der n Eu r o pe
By C A R LT O N J H . . HA YES
A ssoci a te P r of essor o
f fl at tery i n Col u m bi a U n i ver s i ty

Vo lu m e I : 50 0
1 8 1 5 8vo
1 59 7 pages
Vo l u m e II : 1 8 1 5- 1 9 1 5 8vo 76 7 page s

A t i m e l y ac c u rat e an d b r i ll i a n tl y w r i t t en h i s t o r y o f
,

m o d e r n E u r o p e f r o m I 50 0 t o t h e p r e s e n t w a r a n d a r e all y ,

a d e q u at e t ext b o o k f o r a c o ll eg e c o u r s e i n M o d e r n E u r o
-

p ea n H i s t o r y R e c e n t h a pp e n i n g s o r a t l e a s t t h o s e ev en t s
.
,

o f t h e p a s t w h i c h h av e h a d a d i r e c t b e ar i n g u p o n t h e p r e s

en t , a r e gi v e n p art i c u lar e m p h a s i s B e gi n n i n g w i t h t h e
.

s i xt ee n t h c e n t u r y t h e s t o r y o f t h e c i v i l i z at i o n o f M o d e r n
,

E u r o p e i s c arr i e d d o w n t h e s e v e n t ee n t h e ig h t ee n t h a n d , ,

n i n e t ee n t h c e n t u r i e s w i t h c o n s ta n t c r e s c en d o .

A s hi s p o i n t o f d e p art u r e t h e a u t h o r h a s c h o s en t h e
w o rl d d i s c o v e r i e s t h e m i g h t y c o mm e rc i al e xp a n s i o n a n d
, ,

t h e r e l igi o u s t u r m o i l o f E u r o p e i n t h e s i xt ee n t h ce n t u r y ,

f o r w i t h t h at d at e m o d e r n w o rl d p o l i t i c s a n d t h e s t ea dy
g r o w t h o f n at i o n a l i s m ma y b e s a i d t o b e gi n a n d t h e g r e at ,

c en tral t h e m e o f m o d e r n h i s t o r y e me r g es t h e r i s e o f th e
b o u r g eo i s i e
.

N o t o n l y h a s t h e a u t h o r d e v o t e d s e v e ral a d m i ra b l e
c h a p t e r s t o s o c i al an d e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t s b u t h e h a s ,

vi tal i z e d e v e r y p art o f t h e n arrat iv e b y i n je ct i n g s o m e

s o c i al o r e co n o m i c e xp la n at i o n o f th e c h i ef p o l i t i c al f act s .

H e h a s w e l d e d p o l i t i cal a n d s o c i al h i s t o r y i n t o a r e al s y n
t h e s i s T h e c r i t i cal bib l i o g ra p h i e s a re u n u s u all y s u gg e s t i v e
. .

T H E M A C M I L L A N C O M PA N Y
Pu bl i sh ers 646 6 Fi f th Aven u e N ew Yor k