Napoleon & the Conservative Response.

Introduction

The defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo signaled a new beginning for Europe. At the height of Napoleon's power, virtually all of Europe was subservient to him, either as territories which had become part of the Empire, nations and empires which had been defeated by Napoleon yet remained technically independent, or territories which had allied with Napoleon. Upon Napoleon's defeat a total redrawing of the European map was necessary. The entity which was responsible for the restructuring of Europe was the Congress of Vienna, a post Napoleonic War conference, which was dominated by Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia, and surprisingly enough France. Above all, the Congress wanted to bring peace, stabilization, and most importantly the "traditional power structure" back to Europe. However, in the post-Congress of Vienna world, stability was far from the norm. Inspired by the French Revolution and its ideals that were spread throughout Europe by Napoleon, many nations saw revolutions spring up within their borders. New ideas, collectively known as the "isms" now defined new political ideologies.

Painting of the Coronation of Empress Josephine

Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 Dec 1804 by Jacques Louis David. (Public Domain)

Fun fact! See the woman in the center of the painting, watching over proceedings from her box? That's Napoleon's mother. She wasn't actually present at the coronation, but Napoleon requested she be added to the painting.

Essential Questions

Understand the structure of Napoleonic Europe and how that structure came about.
Understand the motivations of the Congress of Vienna in the restructuring of Europe.
Be able to identify the physical restructuring of Europe at the hands of the Congress of Vienna and their motivations for the placement of the political boundaries.
Be able to identify the main goals of the Congress of Vienna and describe how the Congress set out to accomplish those goals.
Be able to identify the cause and effect relationships of the Congress's decisions and the political issues and disruptions which occurred throughout the 19th century.
Be able to understand the characteristics and ramifications of the "Metternich System."
To understand the reasons for and outcomes of the various revolutions and revolts in France throughout the 19th century.
Understand the connection between the Congress of Vienna and the upheaval of the mid to late 19th century.
To recognize the connection between the rise of revolution and the decisions made at the Congress of Vienna.
To be able to distinguish between conservatism, liberalism, and radicalism.

Textbook Assignment and Unit Review Form

As you work through this module, be certain to read the Napoleon, Congress of Vienna and Revolutions of 1848 chapter(s) in your textbook. As you are reading you may wish to jot down notes in the unit review form. Please pay close attention to the changes instituted under Napoleon - in particular the Napoleonic code and the Concordat. Be certain to review the results of the conservative response - the Congress of Vienna will be of major importance to your studies. Make sure you know your isms! This is for your notes, not to submit.

Click here to download a copy of the unit review form.

Key Terms and People

There are several people and items you need to look over for this module. Be sure to download the ID list (linked below) - EVEN if you do not plan on defining them for your notes. This is for your notes, not to submit. You need to look over the list of terms to see what you will need to pay particular attention to in this module.

Click here to download a copy of the ID List for this module.

The presentation below is helpful in seeing some of the more important people and terms, but is by no means a definitive list.

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.