A Brief History of Europe PDF

1 7 75
ca le
f M i l es
Bo un du ry o f the
Ho l y R o m a n Em p n
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
1815
TO
BY
U CI U S
H U DS O N H O LT
PH D
(YAL E )
UN I TE D S TA TES A RM Y
L I EU TEN A N T C O LO N EL
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
WH EE LER C HI LT O N
L I E U TEN A N TI N FAN TR Y U N I TE D S TA TES A RMY
C O LO N EL
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
ALEXAN DER
WITH MAPS
I ITAR Y CAM PAIGNS
OF M L
DRAWN B Y
WILLI A M KELLY H A RRI S ON
A TAI
UN
V LR Y ,
RUC
JR
T ED STAT ES AR M Y
O R I N H IS T O R Y
M I LITAR Y ACADEM Y
AA
I ST T
IT ED S TAT ES
N
UNI
New y ork
THE M A C M I LLAN C O M PANY

1919
All ri ghts
r eserve
WI
C O P Y I G H T 1 91 9
M AC M ILLAN C O M PANY
R
B Y THE
S et
u p an d e l e c t ro ty
J S
.
pe d
P u bh sh c d A u gu s t,
N or in o ob 19m m
us h i n g C O B er w 1 0 k
N o r wo o d , M as s U S
91 9
Sm i t h C m
PR EFAC E
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
The Professor o f English and His
Hi story 1 8 6 2
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
TH I S
PRE FA C E
vi
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
H Hayes
a uthor Professor Carlton J
.
WES T
PO I N
YO RK,
July , 1 9 19
T AB LE O F C O NTE NT S
C HAP TER
A ES
E I GHT EEN TH C E N T UR Y EUR O PE

A S oc i al Con d itio n s
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
C P oli ti c al Co n di ti o n s
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
E n gl an d
v
C H AP TER
1 3 7
2 1 1
1 1 1 5
15 37
RAN C E
B E G I N N I N GS
TH E
Pea s an tr y t h e
C l er g y
B P ol iti ca l P h il o s o p h y
Th e
Th e
R E VO L U TI O N
B ou r g eo i s i e t h e N o bili t y
3 86 7
OF
an d
its
an d
th e
47
3 8
4 7
50
A u tho rs
r m t Fr
Fi
i l C r i i i Fr
E t t G r l d t h F o rm ti o o f th N ti o
A mb l y
Th e G o
D Th e
II
ve n
n an c a
s a es
en
in
s s
en e a
5 0
55
an c e
5 5
60
a n ce
an
na
sse
C HAP TER
TH E NATI O NAL A S S E M B L Y
III
R E VO L UTI O N 1 789- 1 7 9 1
A C hi ef Fig u r es in t h e Fa c ti o n s i F r an ce
B Th e Ki g a n d N o b i l i ty vs th e Peo pl e
C W o rk o f th e N a ti on al A sse mb l y
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
A N D TH E
6 0
67
6 88 8
6 8- 7 1
7 1 74
74- 7 6
P a r is
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
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
6
7 78
7 8
85
v ii
8 5- 8 8
C HAPTER I V
E U R O PE
R E VO L U T I O N
A Th Legi l ti
A em b l y
B T he B egi i g o f t h e Wa
C I urr c ti o o f t he Pa ri s Comm un e
To t h e C l o se o f 1 79 2
Th W a
E The C o ven ti o
AN D TH E
ve
s a
ss
nn n
ns
C HA PTER
F EIG
\
OR
T E R R O R A N D TH E R EAC TI O N I N FRAN C 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
B Th e C o v ti o M a r chS p t mber 1 7 93
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
W AR
TH E
n s,
Y ea
en
R ei gn o f Te rr o r
Mil ita r y O p era ti on s
D Th e
.
1 79 4
o f the T r o r
Th e En d
e r
C HAPTER
C TEM P
ON
OR
A R Y E UR O PE
VI
1 7 891 7 95
A u s tri a
B Pr u s s i a
C Sp ain
D E ngl an d
A
C HAPTER
TH E
RIS E
A
OF
The
VII
N A PO L EO N
D ir e to r y
c
to
Cou p
th e
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
ii N p ol o C m p i g i I t l y 1 7 96 1 797
( ) Po l iti l R o tr u ti o i I t l y
iii G o r m t i Fr c
B T h D ir to r y 1 797 4 7 9 9
i T h C m p i g i E g yp t d Sy ri 1 7981 79 9
C Th F ll o f t h D ir to r y
a
e a
ec
Ge
an
n s
ca
ve n
n s,
en
ec
ns
an
ec
an
a,
TABLE OF C ON TE N T S
C HAPTER
VII I
B
9
M
N
O
V
R
1
7
9
U
A
T
E
E
E
D E C EM B E R
L
THE
A Th e C on s u l a te a n d i t s Pr o bl em s
B M a r en g o a n d H o h e n l i n d e n
C Na p o l eo n in I n tern a ti on al D i pl o m ac y
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
O NS
ix
A ES
1 8 04
1 84
2 08
1 87 1 89
1 8 9- 1 9 4
1 94 2 01
-
2 01 - 2 1 8
C HAP TER I X
VE U H T I D C A ITI N
NAP E
A F o r m ti on o f t h T h ir d C o l iti o
B Ul m d A u t r l it
C Th Tr t y o f P r b u r g
D C h g i I t l y d C tr l E u r o p
OL
ON
RS
an
s e
ea
es
2 27
209
2 13 2 17
an
H R
2 1 7- 2 2 3
223
ess
an
en
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
C a mp a i g n in P r u s s i a
B Th e W i n t er o f 1 806 1 807
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
Th e
2 302 3 5
2 3 5- 2 4 6
C HAP TER
TH E
D U E L W ITH G R EAT B R ITAI N

A Th e C o n ti n en ta l B l oc kad e
B E ffec t o f Na p o l eo n s P o l iti ca l
C Th e Pen in s ul ar W ar
D Th e W a r w it h A u s tri a
E The Peace o f Sch On br un n
XI
2 50- 2 6 8
5
0
2 54
2
24 6 - 2 4 9
an d
E c on o m c M eas u res
i
2 5 4 2 5 8
2 582 6 2
2 6 2- 2 6 7
268
2 6 7
TAB LE OF C ON TE N T S
C HAPTER
N A PO L E O N
H E I GH T O F
A C o s ol i d a ti o o f Pow e r
i P o rtu g a l a n d Sp a in
AT TH E
PO W E R
HI S
XI I
ii S w d
iii H oll
e
en
an
An n exa ti on s
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
iv
TH E
C HAPTER XIII
C AM PA IG
R U IA
D
CAM PAI G
LEI P
A Th R u i
C mp i g
B Th A ft r m t h o f t h R u i C m p i g
C Th L i p i g C mp i g to th Armi ti
D Th A r mi ti
E Th L i p i g C mp i g t o th B ttl o f L i p i g
N
IN
SS
ss an
C HAPTER
TH E
XI V
AB D I CATI O N
A Th e Fr nkf o rt N e g o ti a ti o n s
B Th e Pe i ul r W a
C Th e D ef se o f Fr a ce
D Th e Firs t Abd i ca ti o
IRST
n ns
en
C HAPTER
TH E
L A S T PHAS E
A Th e Firs t R t o r a ti o n
B Th e G o v rn men t o f Fr an ce
C Th e C o g re o f Vi en n a
D Th Hu dr d D y
i Th W terl oo C a mp a i gn
E The Fi l S u rr d r
F The S e o d Res to ra tio
es
ss
na
0F
ce
ce
s s an
TH E
AN
en
XV
ZI
M APS
Fr on ti s pi ece
B
E TW
EEN
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
4
3 35
33
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
E R O PE
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
TO
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
s ocial and
of population wit h t he ir com p l icat e d e conomic
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
.
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
,
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
i
sie
l
that it seemed impossible to bridge : this chasm had b e en
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
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
and the lik e wh o h ave had a deter m ining in
ch an ics
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
,
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
E U R O PE
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
M any of
ligio n and in the position of the clergy e xist e d
the north German states including Prussia we re pre
Austria
Poland
and
r a t i n gl y Protestant in religion
n
d
e
o
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
,
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
and a large mass o f ignorant
c ou n try the nobles at the t o p
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
were di fferent Although the two classes in the rural dis
t r ict s t h e n obilit y and the peasantr y still remained from
,
his
We
EI G HTEEN TH C E N T U RY E U ROPE
fe udal ag e s the nobles retained merely shreds o f their

ancient power i n the for m of some special privileges and
In
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
in comparison with conditions to the east O f the Elbe th e
rant
te
French peasant was well O ff
en
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
The peasant o f the west except in the very few cases where
tould
actual serfdom survived was free to change his abode his
e th
e
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
It is estimated that more than o n e half o f the
mthe t u n it i es
was own ed by peasants
e arable land in France f o r example
e th
Many prosperous farmers rented large areas which they
a
ctors
O ther peasants worked
e worked f o r their o wn advantage
re th
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
Though methods O f cultiva
there half o f the annual produce
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
th e
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
but it often was imposed at a time when
n o t exorbita n t
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
the church Again using France as an ex
a n d it s ally
we nd the peasant called upon to pay the church
a mple
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
me
o f the individual the poll tax and a tax called the vi n gtie
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
truly a burdensome levy

o f the peasant s net income
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
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
,
THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE
10
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
di ffere n ce between social conditions in we s tern Europe and
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
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
n
i terested i n issues o f the da y This class lled the gap
.
theA
a
n,
th
m
no
f
e
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
,
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 more leisurely wa y Economic methods in
a a i r s 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
,
'
THE HISTORY OF E U ROPE
12
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
The com m on
His sto ck wa s commonly small and weak
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
o n e association for each craft
workmen
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
C E N T U RY
EI G HTEE N TH
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
,
THE HI STORY O F E UROPE
14
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
,
'
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
,
HI S TORY O F E U ROPE
THE
16
of
servilel
y
followed
the
lead
tow n s a n d cities in general
newspapers
and
periodicals
with
the n obles The modern
their vast in u e n ce i n the formation and gui dance o f an
public
Opinion
were
practicall
y
n
t
i n depe n dent and i elligent
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
Russia it must be remembered that we do not refer
or of
the
policy
of
all
even
of
any
considerable
part
of
the
r
o
o
t
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
Of the
n o t because he had any conception
o f his lord
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
gly responded to his call and accept e d the
a n d unknowi n
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
It was gen erall y understood throughout the
o f his people
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
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
This theory formed n o part of the political
1 7 89 18 1 5
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
r
a
g dles s of the method Of acquisition o r the homogeneity
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
of
THE HISTORY O F E U ROPE
18
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
expression movement for the people at large
o f thought
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
irr e
o f the intrigues of princes to add to their dominions
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

o f the lat e
! e
we may n o w co n s i der in
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
,
C EN T U RY
EI G HTEE N TH
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
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
hi 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
Denmark at this time possessed
o f Sardinia ) in the north
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
,
'
THE HI S TORY O F
20
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
,
Catherine II of Russia Catherine the Great succeeded

to the throne in 1 7 6 2 at the age of thirty -three after a
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
Prussia H er education as was customary at the time in
German princel y families was largely i n the hands o f French
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
,
ill
he
t
sp
n
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
That it did
cy over the previous chaotic conditions
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
.
'
THE HI S TORY O F E U RO PE
22
naturally since it lived upon serfdom con s idered

serfdom as a necessary institution in the empire Hence
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
Again in the matter o f the laws and the courts Catheri ne
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
b i l it y ,
tion:
c
a
this,
than,
EI G HTEEN TH C EN TU RY E UROPE
23
Catherine appreciated keenly the need for gen e ral edu

reforms throughout the country but S he was
cat io n a l
thwarted by the social and political conditions Education
in the Opinion Of the
o n a scale involving the serfs w a s
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
incapacity indolence and corruption
obstacles
s t i t io n
which o n e sovereign in a single generation could n o t hope
to overcome The few schools s h e founded remain to her
credit The new universities and the syst e m of nati o nal
schools in the provinces neve r materialized
We have indicated in the above paragraphs a few of the
interests which occupied the time o f this notable s overeign
They give but a partial V iew of the diversity and activity
She journeyed con
o f Catherine s mind and character
striving to s ee in person the
s t an t l y through her empire
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
,
their
Wa
ll
toil
w
it
eh
ment
e
ang
THE HI S TORY O F E U ROPE
24
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
In
wa s the Crimea which s he denitely annexed in 1 78 3
and the great
1 7 8 7 war with Turkey again broke o u t
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
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
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
. 0
ll
Au s tr i a
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

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
Maria
c ee de d to the throne upon the death o f his mother
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
r
i
c
a t e the nature and extent o f the i
e
p
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
o
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
,
THE
28
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
was
not
a
politically
wise
step
under
the
conditions
i
n
o
a
t
p
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
the
1 78 7 and 1 7 8 9 the Austrian Netherlands revolted
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
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
,
he.
EI G HTEEN TH C EN T U RY E U ROPE
29
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
A few weeks later he died
h is succession to the throne
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
1 7 9 0,
i ii
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
,
THE HI S TORY OF E UROPE
30
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
He took his
whi c h had marked his youth were e ff aced
position and h is duties most seriously Considering himself
rst servant Of his people and believing it to be

a s the
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
i
H is victories n this First Silesian W ar ( 1 7 4 0 1 7 4 2 ) and in
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
,
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
n es s by his care f o r t r i e s : yet his interest and care
li
ar
d
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
'
THE HIS TORY O F E U ROPE
32
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
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
tha ler s
EI G HTEENT H
URO PE
C E NT U R Y E
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
His
n o result for Prussia but to dissipate its resources
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
.
'
T HE
34
HI S TO RY OF
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
The Holy Roman Emperor had but shadowy
i t s height
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
The Em
f o r his approval as a con cl u s u m o f the Empire
not
hereditary
The
election
r himself was elected
r
o
e
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
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
'
'
T HE
36
HI S TORY OF E UROPE
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
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
( 1 7 5 6 17
-
te
ll
C EN T U RY E U ROPE
EI G HTEE N TH
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
a ls of the Cabinet supported as they were by a maj ority
o
s
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
f
i
the
causes
O
the universality of t h is revolution in
r
e
c
a
t
e
p
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
,
TH E
P EA S A N
TR Y
I IT Y
NOB L
B O UR G E O I S I E
T H E C L ER G Y
TH E
AND
TH E
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
.
T HE HI S TORY O F E U RO PE
40
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
Such privi
o n e of these birds was liable to impri s onment
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

o f t h e tax by a free gift ( don gr a tu i t) to the King
portion
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
But the peasant at the bottom Of the scal e
ti o n a t e quota
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
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
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
He understood the waste in high
du st r y and commerce
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
t ra t o r s
44
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
They w ere
o n the verge o f starvation m ost of th e time
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
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
so
46
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
The Catholic r eligion
i z ed spiritual teachers of the people
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
important element in French life They and
ce e din gl y
their propert y were exempt from all manner of Obligations
though they gave at v e year periods a free gift
o r taxes
as a
to
the
King
which
may
be
considered
r
a
t
u
i
t
n
d
o
)
(
g
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
,
'
F RAN C E THE BE G IN N IN GS OF RE VOLU TION
47
ri
e
vances
people
o f these classes felt against the exi sting
g
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
and allied by birth and association wit h
o f the sovereign
the nobility threw themselves enthusiasticall y into the
cause o f the King and the maintenance Of the existing
.
i
re
m
g e
POL
ITI CA L
PH LO S O P H
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
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
society
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
Thousands O f readers were converted
o f its appearance
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
He maintained that government law con
tr act
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
.
THE HI S TORY OF E U RO PE
50
the judicial and penal codes and propos e d r ef o r
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 f the literature Of the times
keep
abreast
They
i
i
o
o
s
e
t
e
g
thus kept themselves alert critical and ready as a class
with constructive theories o f reform
a
ly z ed
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
.
E
G
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
,
T HE
52
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
The Council wa s the
o f the sessions o f the committee s
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
REVOL UTI ON
OF
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
,
T HE HI S TORY OF
54
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
.
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
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
It became
t i o n e d but w e ak -will e d Louis X V I in 1 774
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
He
en i n g t h e load upon the bourgeoisie and pea s antry
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
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
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
.
lrax
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
They wanted reforms
t r a v a ga n ce s O f the government
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
,
T HE HI S TO RY OF E U ROPE
60
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
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
h
o
as
D
ir
e
ctor
of
the
Treasury
and
D
irector
General of
w
Finances in France from 1 7 7 6 to 1 7 8 1 had gained the con
This time
den ce of the peopl e by his practical reforms
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
.
ll
FRAN C E : T HE BE G INN IN G S O F REVOL UTI ON

E
TH E
E S T A T E S G E N ER A L
OF
NA
T HE
AND
61
FO R M A T I O N
T HE
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
I n the autumn the govern
o f 1 78 8 was e xc ep t i o n a l l y p o o r
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
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
h
r des p l a i n tes et do lea n ces )
a
i
e
from
its
full
title
It
c
i
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
It w a s perhaps in the formula
o f the r e forms advocated
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
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
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
THE HI S TORY O F E UROPE
66
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
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
n
e
h
u
t
u
t
l
f
however was far more di cult than the inexperie n ced depu
g
ll
l
l
h
h
t
C
O
r
i
ties realized The adherents Of the l d eg m e were not
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
a
re
ut to
when the deputies sorely needed time f o r other matters
p
p
The disorders throughout the country were to ca s t almost
unbearable executive and administrative burdens upon men threeto (t
ranu
already engaged t o the uttermost with a legislative program
th
And the formulation o f a c onstitution wa s to
O f reforms
e:
develop di fferences o f Opinion among the deputies which on !esextraonl
several occasions threatened disaster The National As henotpopu
lhtrianw
s e m bl y expect e d to nish i t s work and dissolve within a fe w
months : it was actually in s ession more than two y e ars general sum
hidh
from June 2 7 1 789 to September 3 0 1 7 9 1
ai ed
TH E
C H I E F F I G UR E S
TH E
IN
Whippd
e
tescribable
FA C TI O N S I N FR A N CE
The natural leader o f the court and the nobility was

of course the Ki n g A poorer gure for s uch a leader in
When he
s o critical a period can scarcel y be imagined
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
twenty large ungainly sh y sluggish and indolent He
w as ill -t t e d to shine in a court Of the kind Louis XI V had
established He had interested himself curiousl y enough
in the trade Of a locksmith and whiled away hours in his
,
!herevol
68
e
v
er I I
heth
e
dn
10d
an
THE
A S S E M B LY
N A TIO N A L
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
As a private
of his crown and the welfare o f his kingdom
ml citizen he might have been a commonplace mechanic : a s a
them King of France in a critical period he ruined himself and
The fall of the
dept brought untold suffering upon h is country
monarchy was due to the weakness and incapacity of t h e
monarch
Louis had been married at S ixteen while he was heir
my
apparent to Marie Antoinette daughter Of Maria Theresa
,
,u
e
of Austria This marriage had been arranged by Maria
,
a
m
cement the political alliance then existing b e
M
Marie Antoinette was but
ce and Austria
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
Especially
after
the
revolution
began
this
H
as
s
he
wa
s
called
became
the
focus
Of
nah
In
ordinary
times
Marie
Antoinette
Hg
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
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
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
,
'
hejut
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
.
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
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
Through the crowds during July 12 th
t i o n a r y demagogues
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
O n the 1 4 t h the m o b concentrated in front o f the
r i er s
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
.
T HE
74
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
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
It proved to be a grue
s em b l y in the session o f Augu s t 3
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
A madness Of liber
t a gi o n Of self -s a cr i c e rapidly spread
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
,
'
TH E HI STORY OF E UROPE
76
France It proclaimed the liberty and safety o f th e i n

dividual security o f property and freedom of s peech pub
Its paragraphs reected th e
lic a t i o n and religious belief
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
.
R EM O VA L
OF
K I N G A N D T HE N A T I O N A L
T HE
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
12 14 ,
and were stirring uneasily in anticipation of

July
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
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
.
'
C O N TI N UA TI O N
TH E
A S S EM B LY
OF
W ORK
IN
O F TH E
NA
T IO NAL
PAR S
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
A SSE MBLY
N ATIO N AL
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
subdivided each Dep ar te
men ts ( including Corsica as one )
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
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
1 7 8 9 the sale o f a part Of the church lands w a s
cem b e r 1 9
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
,
THE HI STORY
82
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
,
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
,
TH E HI STORY O F E UROPE
84
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
On
N O intimation of his purpose w a s allowed to e scape
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
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
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
A small group kno wn
v oc a t e d his deposition for treason
as Republicans began agitation f o r the abolition o f the
monarchy and the establishment o f a democracy
,
The M as s a cr e
f the Cha mp de M ars

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
ii
A SSE MBLY
T HE N A TI ON A L
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
the capital
Th e N ational Guard was assembled
of
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

,
TH E
N EW
C O N S TI TUT I O N
OF T
HE
NA
AND
T HE
DI S S O L U T I O N
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
Certain of it s provisions such a s the a dm in i s
p let i on
.
THE HI STORY O F E UROPE
86
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
a mischievous
as eligible for the succeeding assembly
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
At h i s accession the sovereign was to
o f primogeniture
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
t r at ive
N A TIO N AL A SS E
THE
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
He had no j udicial power He had no control
lat u r e
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
1 7 89
He made the retiring
o f the Estates General May 5
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
.
THE
88
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
They created schism in the Catholic church o f
l u t io n
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
,
ll?
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
the a pp e a l Of the migrs failed to move these governments
Guided solely by motives o f self -interest
t o intervene
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
Austria was at the time engaged
wo n in other quarters
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
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
Across the E n gli s h
Ch ap n
public O pinion was divided with regard to t h e
el
mer i t S o f the Revolution
Strong voices were rais e d in
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 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
,
'
TH E
O CT
1,
TI V E A S S EMB L Y
1 7 9 1 S E P T 2 0 1 792
L EG S L A
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

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
the Paris populace Its members worked with t he
of
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
gr es s e d ,
THE HI STORY O F E U ROPE
92
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
All hoped that the Revolution w a s nished yet
s em b l y
the sporadic disorders and uprisings o f the peasantry
the continued fall in the value
a gainst their former lords
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
n
n
r
e
m
a
e
ce d f
groups
p
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
the non -juri n g priests
November
9 , 1 79 1 ,
it decr eed
E UROPE AN D T
th e con s tit ution within
on e
H E R E V O L U T I ON
we e k
on
penalty
93
of
expulsion
decrees the Legislative A s s e mbly In a dew kn own it s p u r p o s et

to defend and perpetuate the Revolution
Th ese decrees placed the Ki n g in an embarrassing po s i -e
q
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
months
the
faction
s
in
the
French
ass
e
mbly
During these
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
n d the ill j udged actions Of the Austrian
b y the
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 C
I n the Legisla
al faction s continu e d their agitation
,
_ _
94
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
Again Leopold yielded and advised the
o f the migr s
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
a
Girondin
ministry
a
nistry
whose
memb
r
s
were
m
i
e
by
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
the Kingdom All prefer a war to the continuance of

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
tion to p r o p OS e tO th e Xs s em b ly that we s hould declar e
I n the
WT
ar agai nst the King of Hungary and Bohemia
It
Vo t e o n t h e declaration all but seven voted in favor
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
o
"
'
'
TH E
B E G I NN I N G
OF
W AR
TH E
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
h o l d g the gate agains t the united a t t a ckSI iel o n gs to the
.
THE H I S TORY O F E UROPE
96
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
ble
Its o fcers scion s o f
cr u i t s were often o f a l o w type
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
or
f oun d an army with no adequate s ystem o f 11n
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
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
r
e died ; a n d those e v i l s wh i ch culminated in the di s a s ter
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
Her force was unqu e stion
s h e had twice fought Turkey
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

of
"
'
98
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
e ffectiv e s stationed along her frontiers and divided
of
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
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
,
iet
E UROPE
War
THE RE VOL UTION
AN D
99
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
from o n e for having tried to

p i ci o n from both parties
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
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
'
THE HI STOR Y OF E UROPE
1 00
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
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
,
'
I N S U R R EC TI O N
OF
T HE
P AR S
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
T HE RE VOLU TION
AN D
1 01
th e commune
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
u
they
took
measures
to
strengthen
the
guard
t io
thq gh
at the Tuileries their hope lay in the advance Of the allied
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
A council o f commissioners elected I n p r I m a r I es
1 79 2
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
the King saying S imply : I am come her e t o

s el v e s
T m
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
Of
ern m en t
THE HI S TOR Y O F E U RO PE
1 02
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
as
w
the
provinces
The
Assembly
how
e
ver
f
i
o
n
a
c
e
g
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
The As
o f the Ki ng and the dismissal o f the ministry
Ob e diently followed the dictates o f its masters
s em b ly
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
August 10 to September 2 0 1 7 92 t he
o f the Convention
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
Elected to th e Estates G e neral he became an im
b egan
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
It
EU ROPE AN D T
H E REVOLU TI ON
u en t i a l
1 03
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
Jean Paul Marat born 1 7 4 3
o f the enigmas o f h istory
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
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
should be elected They dictated the appoint
v en t i o n
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
Lafayette had deserted
s t r a t i o n to terrorize the disloyal
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
,
AN D
E U ROPE
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
.
TH E
W AR
TH E
TO
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
n
o f prepa
l
o
keep
the
border
fortresses
in
a
state
e
e
t
eg gt d
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
THE HI S TORY OF E UROPE
1 06
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
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
b et vy een t h e Fr e nc h and th e ir
o n th e direct road to Paris
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
Against an accurate
w a s of the greatest moment to France
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
also those o f the French b u t t he i n u en Ce OII t h e morale
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
PA I G N S O F
1 7 9 4 -1 7 9 5
1 8 1 4 -1 8 1 5
SAE
I ES
CAM
1 7 9 2 -1 7 9 3 ,
C L
IO
TR ATE
20
OF M L
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
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
Thereupon a half
unt il t h ei r retreat was well organized
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
o v e m b er
1
792
D
u m o u r i ez found leisure to carry
N
\
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
He discovered his enemy
t ow
h o f Jem ap p es near M ons
i n
Making
r O n g p o s it i o n o n the hills ne ar Jemappes
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
,
"
THE H S TOR Y
1 08
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
.
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
RE VOLU T I O N
T HE
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
1 9 1 7 9 2 its
~
protecti on o f all nations struggli ng for f reedom Appeals
r di F
fm
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
r
t e d that the Convention would not
repulse
q
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
T
nE
gli b oi ifi g countries providing that the institutions of
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
a IEIE
xa 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
.
THE H S TORY
1 10
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
a
l
organized
and
could
rely
upon
the
support
of
the
c
t
p
y
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
committee brought in its report o n the charges

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
and the challenge was strai ghtway
ern m en t s o f Europe
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
land and Holland February 1 1 7 9 3 W a r ag ain s t Spain
d v
ainly attempted to save the lif e
V
VlTOs e a m b ass ado? Ha
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
Ho ll a n d Spain Portugal Ti i sgan y
S a r din i a E
Naples and the Holy Roman Emp ire
b er 3
fgg ins t
z
,
_ _
'
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
,
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
gained liberally in the Second Partition Spain
1 7 93
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
w
p ub l ica n ca l ndar w i t h m o n t h na m d
f ro m t h s a s on s
I t h a s b n t h ough t s im p ler h o wever to da t
v n t by the
comm on ly kn ow
m t h od
.
'
'
ne
ee
re
1 12
e e
FORE I GN WAR
A
1 13
M I L I TAR Y O PE RA T I ON S
FE B R UAR Y
1 7 93
16 ,
AU G US T
1 4 , 1 793
The success o f the fall and wi nter o f 1 7 92

the advances
and those o f C u st in e on
o f Du m o u r i ez in the Netherlands
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
-w o n
a lm y a n d
V
two
chance
battles
( j
iy j
g
ord of
e
c
h
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
,
"
..
'
THE H S TOR Y
1 14
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
1 16
OF E U ROPE
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
Carnot the O rganizer of Victory

The
o f the army
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
1 793 ;
~_
'
C ONVENT I ON : MAR CH S EP T EM B ER
TH E
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
Representatives o n Mi s sion to go
1 793 ) and appointed
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

.
THE H S TOR Y
1 18
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
The de
t r i b u t i o n of property among the proletariat
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
and Danton s policy o f conciliation
o u t -and -o u t J a co b i n s
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
,
A U G U ST
OF TH E Y E AR
MI L I TARY O P ERAT I ONS
1 4 , 1 793 ,
To
TH E
EN D
There remain o n e or two more defeats to be recorded for

the Fi en ch In Flanders Coburg , preparing for the siege
fell upon the French and pushed them back
o f Maubeuge
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
.
'
THE H STORY
12 0
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
lO E TS pf
Houchard proved a most r e
em b er 8
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
.
'
TH E H S TOR Y
12 2
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
Coburg had brought his whole strength to bear
s ch o o t e
the last o f the strongholds If Paris were
o n Maubeuge
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
a speedy concentration near Guise of
m en
cu t e d
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
the representatives from
o f the Rhine and the Moselle
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
o f that great military
as
it
is
the
birth
k
f
r
t
a
en
o
W
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
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
.
'
T H E H S TOR Y
124
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
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
.
R E I G N OF
TH E
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
September 1 7 1 7 9 3 they passed the
p edi t e its work
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
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
.
THE H STORY
12 6
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
December 1 9 the English eet was
1 5 00 guillotined
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
Even in Paris the loss of 2 6 00 was hardly
o f every 1 000
Shops were open
n oticeable from a population o f
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
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
the fortied cities o f Flanders and entrenched along the
From Ypres to Longwy their detachments
BEIgi a n f f On t i er
strong their greatest strength centered
we r e po s t e d
near Tournai Opposite them were ranged under the hand
P i ch egr u s Army
of Carnot the armies of the Republic
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
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
,
THE H STORY
128
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
atered a
Fo r Prus s ia in particular the O der w
a r m l es
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
Three
of
Pi ch egr u s army and crush him completely
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
SK
E TCH
M A P T O I LL
CAM PAI GN S
1 792 1 793 ,
OF
1 7 9 4 -1 7 9 5
S CALE
U S T R AT E
O F MILES
1 8 1 4 -1 8 1 5
nt
FORE IGN WAR
12 9
before the battalions o f the Ar chduk e Charles could come

The English and Hanoverians
w1t h i n striking distance
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
1 30
OF E U ROPE
around the city Within a week the 3 000 e xhausted I m

i
unacquainted with that buoyant
r
i
a
l
s t s of the garri s on
e
p
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
Th e
13 1
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
"
was already in sight The Imperialists fell back toward
th Bh in e abandoning the Netherlands Prussia frankly
L
wit hdrew and the English and Dutch retreated into Holland
,
.u
n e l
END
TH E
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
.
THE H STORY
132
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
now that it had gone so far o f carrying
s a w the necessity
It declared him an outlaw rallied
o u t i t s full purpose
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
moderation In the weeks following July 2 8 1 7 9 4
Of
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
The moderates however had learned
r u p t e d proceedings
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
.
T HE H S TOR Y
13 4
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
and ratied The Convention thereupon
o f the people
proclaimed it ( September 2 3 1 7 9 5 ) and set the rst meeting
1 795
o f the new legislature for November 6
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
feeling a grievance in the property quali cations
v en t i o n
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
,
THE H S TORY
136
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
THE H S TOR Y
13 8
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
He removed the
t o r i a l divisions formed by Joseph II
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
i
a
r
an s
consisting of the restoration of all their ancien t
g
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
xing the
u nder Maria Theresa and a general amnesty
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
,
THE H STORY
140
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
He hesitated therefore to commit his
o f L ouis XVI
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
,
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
Leopold concluded an
t in u e d insults and provocations
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
The French
a n ce s of the German states along the Rhine
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
.
THE H STO R Y
142
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
and both Au s tria
o f Poland was known to be imminent
and Prussia were far more interested in territo ial a dv an
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
Catherine under
f o r extensive gains in the coming treaty
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
In Augus t 1 7 9 5 terms o f
s i der a b l e addition to Galicia
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
1 44
OF E UR OPE
raw French levie s might have been crus h ed and the objects
Francis and his colleague Frederick
o f the allies gained
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
,
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
They stand condemned
v en t i o n a l standards of t h eir age
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
145
events and deep sympathy with his fellow s overeign Louis

The Prussian King was among the rst to urge
XVI
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
s h e prepared her forces to redeem Rus
(January 9 1 7
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
.
THE H STOR Y
146
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
and self -interest was immediately pro
o f their doctrine
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
occupied
ci u s z ko in the battle o f Rawka June 6
1 7 94
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
,
THE H S TORY
148
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
,
'
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
or aroused by the literature o f contemporary
e s t ed in
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
-
'
THE H STOR Y
1 50
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
he
took
arbitrary
and
unnecessary
m
easures
to
s
s
e
d
r
e
g
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
,
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
.
THE H STORY
1 52
OF E U ROPE
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 ;
1 7 83
'
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
.
THE H S TORY
1 54
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
,
I TORY OF E U ROPE
T HE H S
156
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
o
f
with
the
title
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
.
V1 1
C H A P TE R
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
RI SE OF N APOLEON
T HE
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
THE H S TOR Y
16 0
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
1 7 95
e m b u r g fell June 2 5
Within a few weeks J o u r da n s
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
,
T HE H S TORY
16 2
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
The greed for conquest for loot for
o f the Revolution
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
r
a
u
Kl
e
ber
Soult
and
many
more
which were to
Au ge e
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
.
TH E
FR OM I T S OR GAN I ZA T I ON
ETA T OF S EP T E M B E R 1 7 9 7
DI R E C T O R Y
TH E
CO UP
To
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
,
R IS E OF N APOLEO N
THE
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
He had gained the favor o f the political leaders by
t u n ity
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
and authorized him to carry out
o f Italy ( M arch 2
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
.
'
THE H S TOR Y
164
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
,
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
i
a
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
ictory For once C a rn o t s schemes took wings and passed

beyond his control He planned a march down the Dan
ube valley which should un ite the V ictorious armies before
the walls of Vienna with those of Napoleon from the plains
The impracticability o f such a plan killed it but
o f Italy
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
v
'
Meanwhile Moreau had advanced against the small

Austrian force left in the valley of the Danube as far as the
,
THE H STORY
166
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
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
h e had served with the Army o f

was n o t new t o him
Italy i n 1 7 94 and had even outlined a plan for the subjection
B ut the army with which he was called to
o f Piedmont
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
instead of Citoyens
it became evident that
S oldats
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
.
RIS E OF N APOLEO N
THE
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 lV
Ii l an
The French general feinted against their position but
lanned
his
real
crossing
at
Piacenza
fty
miles
dow
n
p
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
.
THE H S TORY
16 8
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
W u r m s er was able in the
Castiglione (A ugust 3
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
Under cover o f night
wa s roughly h andled at C a l dier o
.
T HE
R I SE
N APOLEO N
OF
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
O n the third day at a
ect e d from their commander
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
and Al vin z i s warriors ed in co n
u l o u s trick succeeded
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
o
n
from
the
east
Verona
and
a
third
0
9000
o
n
0
0
6
)
(
)
(
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
,
THE H STOR Y
1 70
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
.
THE HI STOR Y
1 72
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
r t a t i on ; and the remainder acquitted
The
last
case
was
o
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
.
TH E H S TOR Y
1 74
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
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
.
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
We can nd few parallels in history to the criminal
wa r
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
Three
a s s i gn a ts o f a nominal value of forty billion francs
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
1 76
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
French troops and the payment o f
of
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
after which the Directors

( January September
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
,
RI SE OF N APOLEO N
TH E
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
The information of this movement was carried to
1 79 8
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
.
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
,
THE H STORY
1 78
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
.
RI SE OF N APOLEO N
THE
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
These operations were barely begun however
S a l a l i eh
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
-
THE H S TOR Y
1 80
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
,
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
Siey e s had
1 7 9 9 the Abb Siey e s was elected a Director
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
,
RISE OF N APOLEO N
THE
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
and he assumed
o n e man capable o f saving the situation ;
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
,
T HE H S TORY
1 82
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
A M
At
November 1 1 Lucien Bonaparte
cee de d
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 ,
DE C E MB ER
N OVEMB ER
1 799
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
C O N SU LATE
THE
1 85
government His appointments to o f ce o f men o f recog

irrespective o f previous factional af liations
n i z e d ability
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
.
THE H S TORY
1 86
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
as candidates for o fce
o n e tenth of their number
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
their number (5 000) a s candidates for t h e national
of
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
,
C O N SU LATE
TH E
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
.
C ONS U LAT E
TH E
AN D
I TS P RO B LEM S
Napoleon intended to have the date o f the inauguration

Christmas Day Peace on earth
o f the new government
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
f
Francis
I
Austria in which he deplored the miseries
r
e
r
o
o
p
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
,
THE H STORY
1 88
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
besieged at Malta and hopelessly
o u t of northern Italy
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
i
er
t y at home and in consideration and respect abroad
p
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
.
C O N SU LATE
THE
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
to lay his plans and make his dispositions f o r a
t r atio n
decisive campaign against Austria
.
MAREN G O AN D
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
strong in the Netherlands ; Moreau with
p atio n
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
,
T HE H S TOR Y
1 90
OF E UROPE
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
as
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
i
s h e d for two weeks and as a consequence only such ar
l
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
,
THE H STORY
1 92
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
ro
va
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
.
THE H STOR Y
1 94
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
.
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
when he administered northern Italy
ern m en t s servant ;
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
l
o
m
ac
After
ve
years
o
f
vicissitude
at
o
n
time
e
on
y
p
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
,
THE H S TORY
1 96
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

passed
the
bounds
of
what
Talleyrand
believed
to
r
r
u
e
o
q
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
.
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
,
Gr ea t B r i tai n
11 .
One important enemy still remained
Great Britain
At the moment however prospects brightened for Na
n in this contest also
Pitt
had
left
o
ice
in
February
l
o
ff
o
e
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
O ne o f Alexander s rst steps was
t o his s o n Alexander
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
,
TH E H S TOR Y
198
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
After long delay the nal peace the Treaty o f Amiens
1802
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
l
o
n
o
thereupon framed a new constitution creating an
e
p
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
,
C ON S U LATE
TH E
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
The new constitution provided for a Republic
1801
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
,
'
TH E H STOR Y
2 00
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
,
C ON SU LATE
TH E
2 01
a f oreign power the seeds o f regeneration were at the

same time so wn in the increase and consolidation of the
territories of the larger and more important states
of
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
nancial economic
f o u n dly affected matters political
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
for distinguished men
s oun d elements o f French society
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
i
n
the p revious strong revolutionary government
a
ed
p
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
,
THE H STOR Y
2 02
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
At the head
A r r on di s s em en ts Com m u n es ) was established
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
In each
A r r on di s s em en t and the Mayor f o r the Comm u n e
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
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
on
THE H S TOR Y
2 04
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
The moral effect of this resumption of the normal
p er i t y
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
These terms provided : ( 1 ) that the Roman
h i s own terms
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
.
C O N SU LATE
T HE
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
o
f
h e redeemed hi s pledge at Lun e ville and
policy
peace
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
,
THE H S TORY
2 06
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
Pi ch egr u ( February
C a do u da l himself
(February
and the remainder within the ne xt few days
(March
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
The sensa
v i ct e d o f treason and shot ( March 2 1
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
,
'
THE H STOR Y
2 08
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
,
2 09
THE H S TORY
2 10
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
THIRD C OAL IT I O N
VE RS US T HE
2 11
the naval s tronghold Malta which the British

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
But the greatest aid w a s to come from Spain and
t in gen t s
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
o s et
To
THE H S TORY
2 12
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
Villeneuve stung by t h e knowledge that he
O pportunity
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
.
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
2 14
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
Alexander I o f Russia w h o became Czar
n a r i ly di fficult
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
He
d En ghi en had turned him t o the opposing camp
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
T HE H S TORY
2 16
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
Russians and 7 000 British troops to her ter
1 805 )
,
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
Napoleon
u en ce d the councilors to advise neutrality
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
,
VERS US THE
NAPO LEO N
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
,
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
men whose greatest misfortune i t
Au ger ea u and Murat
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
St Cyr with
o n the Adige and in Naples
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
.
THE H S TORY
2 18
OF E U ROPE
for the more steadfast defense Accordingly the Archduke

Charles commanded in Venezia an army o f
waiting
Mack with
pushed far
f o r a blow which never fell
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
By the
7 8 before Mack was aware of their presence
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
O n O ctober
VE R S U S T HE
THI RD C OAL IT I ON
2 19
Mack attempted t o cut the net closing on

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
12,
THE H STOR Y
220
OF E U ROPE
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
for
N APOLEO N
THI R D C OAL I TIO N
VERS US THE
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
i
n
a
His army was inferior in numbers but in every other
p g
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
THE HI STOR Y
2 22
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

x
e
ll
d
the
fog
B
u
h Ow den s masses could be seen marching
e
p
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
C
TH E
T HIRD C OAL IT I O N
VERS US THE
223
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
'
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
,
H S TORY
THE
224
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
The practical advantages o f alliance however
t er l y f o r it
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
eleven days before the treaty o f Pressburg The
1 5 1 805
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

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
l ish ed
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
,
THE H STORY
226
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
THIRD C OALIT I O N
VERS US THE
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
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
TH E
228
NAPOLEO N
PRUSS IA
VER S US
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
,
THE H STOR Y
2 30
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
.
C AM PA I G N I N P R U S S I A
TH E
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
Perhaps the
o rders to direct his forces as he wished
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
belonged to Prussia s
o f which
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
,
THE H S TORY
2 32
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
l
l
army
p
assed
the
southern
d
e
es and crossed the
o
e
n
s
o
p
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
,
THE H S TORY
2 34
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
Napoleon thinking he had before h i m at Jena
a n d 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
The
o f the army but Hohenlohe lay quiet until morning
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
,
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
236
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
PRUSS IA
VER S US
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
,
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
,
THE H S TORY
2 38
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
These constituted the rst
p o l eo n s brother ) and Lannes
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
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
was
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
240
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
m en for
o i which w a s the voluntary enlist m ent of
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
He called upon t h e O bsequious Senate in Paris
o f work
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
au d e n z
NAPOLEON
PRU SS IA
VER S U S
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
Pushing farther and farther toward the Alle
o f supplies
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
r
r
e
o
w a s infuriated by this unwarranted activity N ey
p
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
.
'
TH E H S TORY
242
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
having followed a di fferent route ; and Ney
o n the right
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
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
After
THE H S TOR Y
2 44
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
.
( con ti n u ed) Fr i edl an d

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
The C a m p a i gn i n E as t P r u s s i a
NAPOLEON
PRUSSIA
VER S U S
2 45
allied commander had committed the error o f dividing h is

o f his scanty numbers under Le s t o c q were
forces
o n the lower Passarge where they could be opposed by a
single corps under Victor They began their retirement
but N apoleon s advance
s imultaneously with Bennigsen
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
.
T HE H S TOR Y
2 46
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
was
inexcusabl
inactive
and
the
Russian
artillery
l
e
t
e
p
y
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
.
'
T R EA T Y
TH E
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
PRU SS IA
VE R S U S
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
2 48
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

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
1 807 ,
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
,
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
D UEL WITH GREAT
THE
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
,
TH E H S TOR Y
2 52
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
Den
o f the line ten frigates and f orty -two smaller vessels
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
B RITA IN
D UEL WITH GREAT
253
th e Portuguese ambassador that Portugal must close its har

bors to British trade and seize British goods by September 1
Like Denmark Portugal n o t allowed to
o n penalty o f war
maintain neutrality was sure to lose with whichever bel
Napoleon expected her
liger e n t s h e cast her f ortunes
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
.
THE H STORY
2 54
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
,
EFF E C T
NA P O L E O N S P O L I T IC AL AN D
E C O N O MI C ME A S U R E S
OF
Upon Great Britain the closing of commercial o p

i
r
n
i
o
t
u
t
es in country after country naturally produced the
p
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
1
80
7 February
peace ( O ctober
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
,
THE H S TORY
2 56
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
Though they were without organiza
t h u s i a s t i c a l ly loyal
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
.
D U EL WI TH GREAT B RITAI N
THE
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
2 58
O ctober
OF E U ROPE
The conditions however were much

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
12 ,
1 8 08
PE N I N S U LAR WAR
TH E
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
B R I TA I N
GR EAT
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
Dupont marching into Andalusia was
den ly upon them
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
.
THE H STO RY
2 60
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
under St Cyr ( who was designated to relieve B arce
of
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
T HE H S TORY
2 62
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
from Corunna In twelve days he
o f cutting Moore o ff
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
,
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
His presence in Paris quickly ended the intrigues and
war
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
,
D U EL W ITH GREAT B RITAIN
THE
263
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
and though he immediately set
o f France until January
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
Bellegarde with
1 809 thi s great army was set in motion
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
word
T HE H STORY
264
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
W a s holding the Isar

burg O ne corps
the B avarian
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
D U EL WI TH GREAT B R ITAIN
THE
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
the B avarians and half o f Davout s corps under
s n a
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
THE H STOR Y
266
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
Charles waited
c u p i ed the villages of Aspern and Essling
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
i
en ch
Au s t
i a ns
S u s s en b r a u n
Mrkgr
af
N eu S I de l
En z e
r dorf
s
T HE
D UEL WIT H G REAT
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
He found the Archduke with equal numbers
o f Wagram
occupying a great semicircle his left at Neusiedel his right at
He was momentarily expecting the arrival o f the
As pern
Archduke John o n his left
The Emperor s attack consisted o f a s imultaneous attack
This was repulsed with
o n the Austrian left and center
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
Mass e na rushed t o the threatened
o ff from h i s bridges
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 n July 1 2 1 8 09 Francis r elu c
o f retrieving the situation
t an t l y agreed to an armistice
.
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
,
T HE H S TOR Y
268
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
PO WE R
HI S
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
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
,
ut:
2 69
THE H STORY
2 70
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
Here Wellesley encountered him on July 2 7
t o T a l a v er a
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

The British commander proved hi m s elf
of great danger
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
feated by the French until only in Andalusia did resistance
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
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
,
tilf lf
38116
u
r
t
p
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
?
Her continued O pposition had brought
July join his system
l
her noth ing but disaster The Russian invasion o f Finland
nd
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

The new sovereign s policy was dictated by the cir
i
H
tances o f his accession He straightway made peace
Russia ( September 1 7
ceding the remains of
,
TH E H S TORY
2 72
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
Shortly afterwards when a
o f the continental blockade
fatal accident removed the heir apparent Charles des ig
with the general approval o f the nation and the
n a t ed
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
In
H olla n d
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
Antwerp the key
t a go n is m to hi s brother s government
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
PO WER
HI S
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
Th e attack was orig
1 809 for the mouth o f the Scheldt
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
2 74
OF E U ROPE
agents to conscate forbidden goods and

French decrees
to
enforce the
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
the ports o f the northwes t German states including the
a
ll
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
e
W
condently that Great Britain would be brought to ter
by s o formidable a power
lied
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
THE H STORY
2 76
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
PO WER
HI S
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
l
n
were
subservient
to
his
wishes
The
Council
f
eo
o
o
p
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
with its hierarchy o f o ff icials about the
n en t a l splendor
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
The schools
co u r a ge d : political literature did n o t exist
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
2 78
OF E U ROPE
and prosperity For France under the Empire was pro s

Though she had been continually at w ar the cam
p er o u s
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
securities reected the general condence and
ern m en t
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
,
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
2 80
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
i f Great Britain held o u t

which w a s bound in the end
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
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
V a l l a ch i a and an open way to Constantinople was secretly
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
,
THE H STORY
2 82
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
the French with
o f defensive warfare which broke down
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
Soult was ordered
S ome magnitude were projected
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
PO WER
HI S
2 83
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
an d
so
T HE H S TORY
2 84
OF E U ROPE
ing to investigate found himself facing the famous lines

It i s said that in response to a shot from
o f Torres Vedras
a British battery he lifted his hat and bowed in a ckn o wl
e dgm e n t of his defeat
Two sturdy lines of fortications
Fo r defeat it was
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
There
t o receive Whatever attacks the French might make
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
Wellington s o ffensive He directed h is attacks rst
of
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
PO WER
HI S
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
,
THE H STORY
2 86
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
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
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
,
!on
u for
C HAPTER X I I I
THE
C AMPAI GN IN RU SSI A AN D
LE I PZ IG
tom 1
3596 I
60
.
T HE
C AM PAI GN O F
c
e
n
n
i
E
g
J U ST as in the latter days of the Revolution the military

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
drowning o u t matters o f domestic i m
s t a n t l y increa s ing
port which had hitherto engaged the Emperor From
The
1 8 1 2 to 1 8 1 5 history was made only o n battle elds
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
T
oop
p
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
In
Very beginning found himself acting o n the defensive
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
.
T HE H STOR Y
2 90
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
B arclay unwilling to risk his army
t in u i t y of the march
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
,
C A MPAIGN S I N R U S SI A A N D LEI PZ IG
THE
2 91
ment had been made that he might ght a battle in defense
holy Moscow turned at Borodino o n September 4

of
The French forces
1 81 2 to meet the army o f the Emperor
were so strung o u t along the Smolensk road that it was
after he had made a careful recon
n o t until September 7
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
A
M
works At 6
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
2 92
On O ctob er
OF E U ROPE
he attempted to open negotiations f or peace

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
4,
C AMPAI GN S IN R U S SI A AN D LE I PZ IG
T HE
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
,
AFT E RM AT H
TH E
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
He knew that his presence was sorely needed

cem b er 1 8 1 9
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
,
T HE H S TOR Y
2 94
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
but by the exceptionally early and
n o t by the Russians
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
in some measure at least allayed the excited
v i s e r s and
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
,
C AMPAI GN S I N R U SSI A AN D LEI PZ I G
THE
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
He vacillated when the whole
o f the power o f Napoleon
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
assurance to Napoleon All through the month of
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
2 96
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
and prophesied the u p
O ppression of Napoleonic tyranny
rising o i the Prussian people Alexander s hatred of Na
hi
s desire to play a great p art in the history o f his
l
n
e
o
o
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
demanded the cession
o f the French disaster reached him
To accede to
o f Norway as the price o f Swedish support
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
2 98
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
,
TH E
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 ;
,
C AMPAI GN S I N RU SSIA AN D LE I PZI G
THE
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
were advanced fro m near Erfurt
O u di n o t and Bertrand
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
3 00
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
.
C A MPAIGN S I N RU SSI A AN D LE I PZ IG
THE
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
,
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
,
THE H STORY
3 02
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
agreeing to j oin them in the war if the
( June 2 7
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
,
C AMPAI GN S IN R U S S IA
THE
LE IPZI G
AN D
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
.
TH E
C AM PA I G N
L EIPZ IG
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
.
THE H S TORY
3 04
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
drawing them farther and f arther into
v an ci n g French
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
and that if the
z en b er g w a s already through the del e s
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
of
3 05
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
,
THE H STOR Y
3 06
OF E U ROPE
to Dii b en
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
O ctober
13
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
Pressed o n three sides
p er o r s situation was now hopeless
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
,
THE HI S T ORY OF EU ROPE
3 08
army and it would seem that energetic measures

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
For three
w a y and attempted to halt the retreating army
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
z en
b er g
CHA PTER XIV

THE
TH E
FI RS T AB D I C ATI ON
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
THE H STOR Y
3 10
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
And in the few days which
p o r t u n i t y to withdraw them
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

Information
t i v es o f the great powers changed radically
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
,
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
3 12
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
ll ed magazines supplied by
ubsisted
his
ar
m
ies
fro
m
well
s
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
With the gates t o Portugal in h is
s ucces s was complete
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
were in Valencia and Catalonia and the
S u ch et s
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
Another converging attack by the
hi s last stand in Spain
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
,
THE H S TOR Y
3 14
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
,
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
FI RST AB D I C ATI O N
THE
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
advancing through C o b
B lii ch er s Ar m y of Silesia
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
,
T HE H S TOR Y
3 16
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
Victor and Ney
B III ch er pushed b ack Marmont from Metz
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
Ch
lons
This
was
the
situation
when
Napoleon
r
hi
n
o
ac
a
p
g
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
,
F I RS T AB D I C ATIO N
THE
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
and drove him well
B lii ch er at Vauchamps ( February
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
THE H S TORY
3 18
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
Further the j ealousies suspicions and
v a s i on of France
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
should
have
taken
advantage
His
fears
for
Paris
r
r
e
o
p
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
.
THE H STOR Y
320
OF E UR OPE
B lii c h er attempted to
Chaumont ( February 2 3
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
,
'
FI RS T AB D IC AT I O N
THE
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
The steady advance
o ff Napoleon until the city should fall
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
T HE H S TORY
32 2
F I R S T A B D I C AT I ON
TH E
OF E U ROPE
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
The war was over
e ec t i v e resistance
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
The news of the Senate s act in decree
o f further resistance
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

has made himself master o f Paris We
o u r neighborhood
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
After a few hours o f
h i s lieutenants in s o many campaigns
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
LAS T PHA SE
T HE
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
,
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
the Comte de Provence should
u ntil his older brother
,
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
By the provisions o f the
Ho w sovereigns yielded
i gned and
negotiated
in
April
and
nally
S
(
1 8 14 ) the French boundaries were approx
THE H S TOR Y
32 6
OF E U ROPE
those of 1 7 92 France surrendered Belgium the

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
i m a t el y
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
.
LAST PHAS E
THE
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
O ut of a p o p u
s en t a t i v e o f the wealthy interests in France
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
He was skep
f o r his suf fering and the s u e r in g of his class
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
32 8
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
The tricolor
o f the Bourbon house as the national standard
which had been carri ed to victory on a hundred battle elds
Honors and
w a s discarded as being a revolutionary symbol
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
The inuence
t u t e d the sole military order in the kingdom
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
.
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
,
al
in
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
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
organizations had their representatives at the congress
The publishers and authors had a representative The Jews
Bremen and Lii b eck had representatives
o f Frankfort
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
The possibility of vital di fferences was early
o m at s
so Metternich the Austrian chancellor with t h e
asing so far as possible the personal relation s between
.
THE H S TOR Y
3 30
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
i
rapidity The impoverished Austrian treasury is reported
i
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

N
O
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)
who considered proposals weighed claims
B es n a r di er e
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
,
'
r1
!
Fl:
LA S T PHASE
THE
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
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
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
but the French representative Talley
o u t undue friction
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
.
THE HI S TORY
3 32
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
smaller German states Talleyrand had succeeded up to his
,
V
ie
C
OIL
LA ST PHA SE
THE
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
aff ecting the future o f S w itzerland An
considerations
,
T HE H S TORY
334
OF E U ROPE
unusual degree o f success w a s thereby assured Th e p er

neutrality
of
Switzerland
was
guaranteed
N
ovember
a
l
t
u
e
(
p
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
.
LA ST PHASE
T HE
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
.
THE H STORY
336
TH E
OF E U ROPE
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
.
THE H S TORY
33 8
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
,
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
i ties while Austria and Russia were getting their

initial acti v
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
.
T HE H S TOR Y
340
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
A successful attack such as
f o r him the last named course
he had made in his rst Italian campaign and again in his
Spanish campaign would mean that he could deal singly
Having decided
with armies not much larger than his o wn
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
When night came the
s i s t a n ce by one o f B l ii ch er s corps
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
,
LAS T PHAS E
THE
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
At the
s t a n t l y increasing army as the battle wore on
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
.
T HE H S TOR Y
3 42
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
It did not
1 7 th ten hours after B l ii ch er had marched
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
In
p on en t s and pushed their lines across the Brussels road
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
THE H S TORY
3 44
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
.
F I NA L
TH E
S U RR END E R
Napoleon arrived in Paris utterly exhausted June 2 1

He had no time for rest f o r measures had to be taken
1815
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
i
from the Br tish governor
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
346
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
he died
P M
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
.
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
.
THE H S TOR Y
3 48
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
Hence their idea o f read
t u r b an ce in routine conditions
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
Under the domination o f Metternich of
c ep t i v e success
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
The political power o f the
o f the convulsion in France
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
condition s in 1 7891 795 1 3 7

at C ongr ss o f R a s t dt 17 6
and N apol on 1 8 81 94 2 00 ;
in
coal ition 2 1 5 ; w ar again s t
Franc 2 1 75 2 2 3 ; and Pru ssi a
2 2 9 2 43 ; and contin ntal b l oc k ad
2 5 2 2 53 2 5 7 ; w ar again s t Franc
2 6 2 2 6 8 2 7 4 ; and R u ssian cam paign
2 852 86 2 9 4 ; agr m nt wit h Ru ss ia
2 96 ; and N apo l on
3 01 3 03 ; in L ip i g cam paign 3 03
3 08 ; cam pai gn in F ranc
3 1 4 32 3 ;
C ongr ss o f Vi nna 3 2 83 35 ; all ianc
agai s t N apol on 3 38 3 3 9
Au s trian N t h rl and s 1 8 t h
19 ;
r vol t ( 1 7 8 7
2 8 ; i n v a s ion o f
by Fr nc h 1 792 9 8 1 08 ; pol ic y o f
L opol d 1 1 to w ard 1 3 9 ; congr ss o f
Vi nna 3 3 4
A vignon papal city an x d b y Fr nc h
16 2
144 ;
1 77 ;
3d
,
b uki r b attl o f 1 80
Abu s s in Franc 5 5
e,
7 6 , 80
cr
g of
Franc
Addington Briti sh m ini s t r
A e Si e e
1 7 9 1 80
A cte Add i ti o n el
e 338
,
1 97 ,
2 09
do p hu s Fr d ric k Sw d n 2 7 1
bu ra b attl of 2 84
A and r I C ar o f Ru ssia acc ssion
to th ron 1 97 ; po l ic y 2 1 4 ; and
P ru ssia 2 2 3 2 2 6 2 2 8 2 2 9 2 3 1 ;
2 4 9 ; and Fi
T r aty o f T il s it 2 4 6
l and
2 54 ;
C onf r nc o f E rf urt
2 572 5 8 ;
and N apol on 2 76 2 80
2 82 ; and T urk y 2 86 ; and G r at
B itain 2 87 ; and Ru ssian cam pai gn
2 8 9
2 93 ; and P ru ss ia 2 97 ; F ran k
f ort n gotiation s 3 09
th
l t
R s toration 3 2 4 3 2 5 ; C ongr ss o f
and 2 d
33 1
Vi nna
32 9
333 ;
R s toration 3 4 7
Al
and ia s i d b y N apol on 1 7 8
Al i i Au s trian co mm and r 1 6 8 1 6 9
Am i n s T r aty o f 1 98
Anna Arc h duc h ss Ru ssia 2 7 6 2 8 1
Arci s s ur
Au b b attl o f 3 2 1
A col b attl o f 1 6 9
A ou t Fran coi s
Vol tair
Arrondi ss m nt 2 02
l d t h mi gr s 7 6
Artoi s C o m t
1 4 0 ; at R s toration 3 2 5
As p rn b attl o f 2 6 6
A ssi gnat s 8 1 9 2 1 04 1 1 8 1 3 3 1 7 1 1 74
Associat C on s l s 1 86 1 87
A
t d t b attl o f 2 3 4 2 35
A g
Fr nc h co mm and r 1 6 1
.
A l
Al
e
l ex
e,
e e
ex
v nz
e ze
e,
e.
s ee
e,
e,
e,
ee
e,
ne
1 79 1 , 1 55
e,
2 13
B
Bab uf Fr nc h con spi ator 1 72
Badajo captu o f 3 1 13 1 2
Bad n 2 00 2 07 2 2 3 ; in C onf d ration
o f th Rhi n 2 2 5 3 3 5
Bagration Ru ssian comm and r 2 89
e
re
e,
2 90
Bank o f Franc s tabl ish d 2 03

Barcl ay d T oll y Ru ss ian comm and r
2 89 2 9 0
Bard f ortr ss o f 1 9 01 9 1
Barra s Fr nc h poli ti ci an 1 3 6 1 6 4 1 75
.
e, e
1 82
Bart n s t i n T r aty o f 2 4 3
Barthel my Di r ctor 1 7 31 74
Ba sl T r aty o f 1 5 9
1 6 2 1 6 6 1 7 4 2 1 7 2 1 9 2 2 0 2 3 3 2 38
Ba s till f all o f 7 2 73
Batavian R pu bl ic 1 76 1 98 S l
2 42
H oll and
Au s t rl it b attl o f 2 2 1 2 2 2
Au s tria ( incl H ungary) t rritory 1 8 t h Baut n b attl o f 3 003 01
c ntury 1 9 ; r l ation s with Ru ssi a Ba v ari a part o f H ol y Ro m an Em pir
2 4 ; and l t part i tion o f P ol and 2 5 ;
1 9 2 00 2 1 8 2 2 3 ; in C o f d rati on o f
2 2 5 ; r c i v d c ss ion f ro m
hi s tory 1 7801 789 2 6 2 9 ; and Sil
t h R hi n
si an w ars 3 0 ; int r s t s 1 7881 79 1 Au s tri a 2 6 8
capitul ation at 2 59
89 ; w ar with F ranc
B yl
94
95 ; arm i s
979 8 ; in l t coal i tion
w ar B a l i u Au s trian co mm and r 1 1 6
111 ;
wit h Franc
16 7 168
1 19
1 2 4 1 2 71 3 1 1 58
,
u er s a
e r ea u
z,
ze
e,
en ,
e u
3 49
e e
e,
e,
n e
e e
e,
ee a s o
e,
e,
IN D EX
3 50
r i 49
B ll g rd Au tri n o mm nd r
B
ecca
a,
e,
2 6 5, 3 15
B nnig n R u i n o mm nd r
2 4 1 2 4 2 24 3 2 44 2 4 5 2 4 6
ro i g o f 2 92 2 9 3
i
B
B rlin d r 2 502 5 1
B rn dott F r n h o mm nd r
King o f S w d n 2 1 7 2 3 3 2 3 4
se
ss n
er es n a , c
3 06
3 07 , 3 14
3 2 0, 3 2 4
2 88
e a
3 03
1 90, 2 1 7 , 2 6 4
es s a a
333
e c
c
es s e es ,
2 6 0, 2 6 1 , 2 64 , 2 6 5
2 99
e,
2 86 , 3 3 1
e,
ce ,
s,
3 03 , 3 04 , 3 05 , 3 06 , 3 07 , 3 09 ,
3 1 5 , 3 1 6 , 3 1 7 , 3 1 9 , 3 2 0, 3 2 1 , 3 3 9 ,
3 4 0, 3 4 1 , 3 4 2 , 3 4 6
e o e , 2 3 8 , 2 4 8 , 2 88 , 2 89
a a
e,
2 90
22 5, 22 6 ;
e,
se
a a
,
2 55 2 5 6 , 2 59 , 3 1 2 3 13
a
,
225 ;
ui s
a
e,
a a
2 7 2 2 7 4
1 83
c e , 1 8 1 , 1 82
e,
a a
2 98 ,
e a
sse
es
ss
ce ,
an
c a e
ce ,
ea ce
1 77 , 1 8 8 ,
1 73 1 74
ce ,
12 9,
1 6 5,
C rolin N pl 2 1 1 2 1 6 2 2 42 2 5
C rri r 1 2 6
C t no S p n i h o mm nd r 2 6 0 2 6 1
C tiglion b ttl o f 1 6 8
C tl r g h Briti h t t m n 3 1 8 3 3 2
C th ri II T h G r t Ru i b
ol nt d pot l 6 ; m pr o f R u i
e,
es ,
as a
s,
as
2 1 8,
s ee
e - e
ac
e.
a o
ce ,
ss a
e,
Fr n h o mm nd r 2 1 7 2 4 2
2 82
Bl k Briti h o mm nd r 2 6 0 2 6 1
blo k d N pol on Contin nt l
Contin nt l blo k d
Blu h r Pru i n o mm nd r 2 3 5
m po Form io P
o f 1 75
1 94 1 96
C pit tion t x F r n 4 0
C rnot 1 1 6 1 2 0 1 2 2 1 2 3
B ir
er o ,
Ca
ss a ,
ce
a,
1 87
er s ,
B rtr nd Fr n h o mm nd r
B r bi
d d to R u i
e
2 38,
2 97 ,
2 86 ,
B rthi r Fr n h g n r l
,
and
2 73 ,
2 72 ,
2 42 ,
ou
ss a
C
C d
d l Br ton on p i r t r 2 06 2 07
C hi
Fr n 6 3
C l di
b ttl o f 1 6 8
C lonn Controll r g n r l o f Fi n n
Fr n 5 6 5 8 ; di m i d 5 8 ;
d
Brun w i k m n if to 1 00
C m b ere A o i t Con ul Fr n
a
2 4 1,
238
e,
ec e e ,
ss a
263,
Ru i n o mm nd r
B u xh ow d en ,
2 2 0, 2 2 2 , 2 3 8
e,
as
e ea
ne
es
s a es
ea
en e v
ss a ,
es s
2 02 5 , 1 3 7 , 1 4 0, 1 43
s s a,
th oli C hur h Fr n
N t i on l
A m bl y d 8 083 88 ; on d m n d
Bon p rt Jo p h
K ing o f Fr n h lib r l w ri t r 1 4 8 ; P op
S p in
i m pri on d 2 79 ; t R tor tion 3 2 8 ;
Bon p rt L o
in H oll nd
i nt r t t ongr of Vi nn 3 2 9
C ul in ourt Fr n h d i plo m t 3 03 3 1 8
Bon p rt Lu i n
C
b ttl of 1 6 7
Bon p rt N pol on
N pol on
C ylon d d to G r t Br i t i n 1 98
Bon p p r m on y 1 75
m
r o f 848 5
C h mp d M r
Borodino b ttl o f 2 9 1
C h p t l F r n h m ini t r 2 04
Bo logn m p 2 1 1 2 1 2
C h rl Ar h du k A u tri n o mm n d r
Bo rg oi i 1 0 1 5 ; in F r n 4 2 4 3 ; 1 2 8 1 2 9 1 6 5 1 6 6 1 6 9 1 77 2 1 4 2 1 8
org niz lo l go rnm nt in P ri
2 19 2 2 0 2 6 3 2 6 4 2 6 5 2 6 6 2 6 7
74 ;
m bitt r d by m
r o f t h C h rl III S p in b n ol nt d pot
C h m p d M r 85 ; in J obin lub
1 7 1 49
91 ; r
olt g in t Con ntion 1 3 5 C h rl I V S p in 14 915 1 2 5 5
1 3 6 ; i n S p in 14 814 9 ; in F r n
X III Sw d n 2 7 12 72 2 86
C h rl
f or d N p l
337
C h rt r C on titution l in Fr n
Br m n
n x d b y N pol on 2 74
C on titution l C h rt r
32 9
o f 3 1 83 1 9
C h at i llon Conf r n
B i
G iron di n l d r 1 1 0
C h um ont T r ty o f 3 1 9
t
Britt ny r olt in 1 3 3 2 01
C h r o r mi ti o f 1 6 7
Brun Fr n h o mm nd r 1 89
Cintr Con ntion of 2 6 0
Brun wi k du h y o f o up i d by Ci lpin R publi 1 7 01 7 1 1 76 1 77
N pol on 2 3 5
199 2 1 1 2 1 5
Brun wi k D u k o f 9 8 9 91 00 105 Ci p d n R publ i 1 701 7 1
Ciud d R odrigo ptur o f 3 1 13 1 2
1 06 1 1 3 1 2 0 2 3 1 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 4
C i il Con titution o f t h Cl rgy 8 2 8 3
Bu h r t T r ty o f 2 86
Bulo w Pru i n o mm nd r 3 15 3 2 0 8 8 1 55 2 04
3 43
ty 3 3 0
Cl
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 mpi 3 4
Cl rgy i n 1 8t h ntury E rop ntr l
Bur k Briti h t t m n 1 5 2
t rn 5 in w t rn E urop 1 0 ;
d
.
Bon p rt J r m
Ca
e,
s,
ve
an
ve
es ,
ce
ea
ev
e,
e,
es
es
ss a
ea
e ac
r e,
e,
s a es
ce ,
s ee
c,
c,
ca
ce
a n ca r
ce
ve
es
ea
e e
sa
ev
a,
cc
s e
e as c
a es
a,
a ss a c e
ea
r s so
a s,
es
es
o eo n
ac
es s
e s,
ce
as sac e
ce ,
a s,
ev
e e
ev a ,
e
ca
av
s e,
e ca
s ee
e es s a
ce ,
e a
an
s se
an
e as e
ce
es e
e ce
e,
IN D EX
351
r
i n F r n 4 6 D nton 1 02 1 03 1 04 1 05 1 081 09
E t t G n r l Fr n 6 1
1 1 7 1 1 8 1 1 9 1 2 4
12 6 13 1
of
Con titution o f D out F r n h omm nd r 2 1 7 2 2 2
2 33 2 34 2 38 2 4 2 2 6 4 2 6 5 2 6 6 2 6 7
8 2 83 ; non j uring 83 9 3 104
th
Club pol i ti l F r n 9 09 2
2 88 2 9 0 2 9 1 2 9 2 3 39
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
1 1 5 1 1 9 12 0 1 2 2 1 2 3 1 2 8 13 0
D l r tion of R igh t 7 5 7 6
2 05
D nm rk 1 9 1 97 2 4 3 2 5 2 2 55 2 6 9
C d N p l
2 7 4 2 86 2 94 2 9 7
Colli S rdi i n o mm nd r 1 6 6 1 6 7
Collingw ood Briti h d m ir l 2 13
D nn w itz b ttl o f 305
Co mm r 1 8 th ntury E urop 1 4
D p rt m nt 79 82 1 6 2 1 8 6 2 02 2 03
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
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
2 02
D id rot D ni 4 84 9 14 8
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
Cond Fr n h ity b i g d 1 1 41 1 6
ti
34
1 18
D ir tory 1 3 5 1 3 6 1 5 8 1 6 0 1 6 2 1 6 3
1 6 7 1 7 1 1 77 1 8 01 83
Conf d r t i on o f t h Rhin 2 2 5 2 2 9
2 3 1 2 4 9 2 6 9 2 74 2 9 4 3 02
d
4 1 46
g t i t Fr n
Con titution N tion l A m bl y t D r d n b ttl o f 3 04 3 05
D u o on ul 1 82 1 84
w or k on 7 4
7 6 7 8
83 85 88 ; Con
on ul t 1 85 D h m Fr n h omm nd r 1 9 0 19 2
1 3 4 1 3 5 ;
ti
9899 ;
1 86 ;
i mp ri l 2 07 S
l
Con D m i M i ni t r o f W
g n r l 9 9 1 05 1 06 1 07 1 1 3
l C h rt r
ti t t i
1 15 1 16
32 6
Con titution l C h rt r F r n
D upont F r n h o mm nd r 2 5 9
32 8 346 347
Con titution li t p rty d ri ng Di
tory 1 73 1 74
Con ul t Fr n 1 84 2 08
Cont i n nt l blo k d N pol on 2 3 7 E kmuhl b ttl of 2 6 52 6 6
1
1
77
1 80 ;
E
g
y
pt
N
pol
on
in
7
5
2 5 0 2 58 2 6 8 2 6 9 2 7 4 2 7 9 2 80
Briti h i toriou in 1 9 8
Con ntion d r d by L gi l ti
A mbly 1 02 ; m ting 1 081 1 2 E l A ri h ptu d by N pol on 1 79
1 1 6 1 1 9 1 2 41 2 7 1 3 1 1 3 6 ; di ol
d E lb N pol on t 3 2 3 3 2 6 3 2 9 ;
r tu n f ro m 3 3 5 3 3 6 3 3 8
1 36
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
7 4 ; L gi l ti
1 73 1 74
Emigr e d rt Fr n
2
w
9
93 ; D
A
m
bl
y
t
to
rd
Cop nh g n Briti h n l i tory 1 9 7
of P illnitz 93 ; l nd
l
ti
2 52
1 04 ;
t d
Cord li r Club Fr n 9 1
Qui b ron x p dition
d N pol on 2 01 2 09
140 ;
13 4
L gi l ti Bod y
C p L gi l t f
2
7
32 8
3
R
tor
tion
2
2
t
3
Cor 8 4 0 ; uppr ion propo d 5 7
;
2 07 2 1 4
ppro d by P rl m nt o f P ri 5 8 E nghi n D
G r t Brit in
Coun il of N ot bl Fr n propo d E ngl nd
E nr g t h J b i ( whi h )
d 58
5 6 ; m ting 5 75 8 ; di ol
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
Fr n h omm nd r 3 3 9 3 4 1
Coun il o f S t t Fr n 1 8 6 2 06 2 7 7 E rlon
34 2 3 43
Coun il o f Th Fi H undr d 1 3 5 1 8 1
E ling b ttl of 2 6 6
1 83
E t t G n r l Fr n d m nd f or
Cr onn b ttl o f 3 2 0
umm on d by d r
5 85 9
24
Crim
nn x d to Ru i
1
6 7 14 1
6
ion
6
0
1
Gu tin F r n h g n r l 1 07 1 08 1 3
;
E truri ( T u ny) 2 5 1 2 52 2 54
1 14 1 1 9
E ugen Prin Fr n h o mm nd r 2 6 6
D
2 8 8 2 9 1 2 9 2 2 9 8 2 99 3 1 4 3 2 4
D lb rg 3 3 0
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
Eyl u b ttl o f 2 4 2
D mpi rr Fr n h o mm n d r 1 15
an d
don g a tu i t 4 1 ;
4 7 ; in
s a es
e e
6 6 8 1 ; law
C i v11
,
ce ,
ce ,
av
e,
ca
s,
on
e ce ,
e,
a e
es e e
e a
on
on
a e,
on a
ee
a so
an
e,
ce ,
e a
ar ,
s e
e,
r ec
s,
s, c
ce ,
o u r ez ,
es
es
ra u
on
sse
v en
e,
ec
za
s,
es
es a
s,
ce ,
ee
e,
ec a a
ce
ec a a
n a
ce ,
e,
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IN DEX
3 52
F
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d
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d n tion l
w k ning in A u tri
2 57 ;
F rdin nd S p in 2 55
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o f S hen
F ti l to th Supr m B ing 1 2 7
Fr n 9 1 ; M ini try brunn 2 6 72 6 8 ; m rri g of M ri
t Club
F m ll
Loui 2 76 ; Au tri n poli y b for
r pl d 1 79 2 94 1 1 0
L ipzig 2 952 96 ; Congr o f Vi nn
Finl nd p rt o f S w d n 1 8t h ntury
329
o upi d b y Ru i 2 54 2 5 8
19 ;
2 81 ;
Congr o f Vi nn Fr nkf ort r pr nt d t Congr o f
2 7 1 2 72
Vi nn 3 2 9
3 3 1 3 3 3 3 34
w
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F t Co l i tion
1 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 91 2 4 1 2 71 3 1 1 4 7 1 55
F r d ri k t h G r t P u i politi l
1 5 6 1 5 81 6 2
th o y 1 6 ; l t p rtition o f Pol nd
2 4 2 5 ; K ing o f P ru i
2 9 3 2 2 3 0
Fir t Con l 1 86 if ; N pol on on ul
f or li f 2 06
Fr d ri k VI D nm r k 3 2 9
Fr d ri k W il li m II P ru i
ion
Fl uru b ttl o f 1 3 01 3 1 1 58 1 6 4
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
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
2 55
n i tz 93 ; w w it h Fr n
95 ;
poli i 144 148
Fou he Fr n h m i i t r o f poli 2 07
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2 54
N pol on w of 1 806 1 807 2 2 8 24 9
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lli n w i th Al x nd r 2 95
d
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ri i 5 5 5 8 ; umm oning o f E t t
V i nn 3 2 9 3 33
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
7 2 74 ;
N tion l A m bly 74 88 ; Fu nt d O b ttl of 2 84
L gi l ti A mbly 9 09 5 ; rmi
9 5 97 ; w
w it h A u tri
d P ru i
G
99 1 00 1 05 1 08 ;
Th
Con ntion
1 08 1 1 1 ;
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Co l i tion 1 1 1 ff ; T h Con ntion G nr lit Fr n 5 2 53 79
1 1 6 1 1 9 ; T h
T rror 1 2 4 1 2 7 1 3 1 G n
nton o f S w i tz rl nd 3 34
136 ; w
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1 6 2 ; D ir tory
1 6 2 1 6 3
167
G ntz 3 3 0 3 3 5
171
1 77
1 801 83 ;
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2 01 2 07 ; E m pir
2 072 08 ;
E
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3d
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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
2 5 82 6 2 ; w
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G i l y P ru i n o mm nd r 3 06 3 07
2 6 2 2 6 9 ;
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2 72 ;
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1 091 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 9 1 2 5
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2 98 ;
L ipzig
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3 14 32 1 ;
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R
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1 7 9 5 1 5 1 1 57 ;
3 3 3 ; r turn o f N pol on 3 353 3 8 ;
1 98 ;
o lition 2 082 2 7 ;
d 3d
W t rloo
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2 4 9 2 5 02 5 8 ;
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IN DE X
3 53
Ill yri n Pro i n 26 8 3 02 3 34

In urr tion of Augu t 1 0 1 792 101
1 02 ; o f J n 2 1 7 93 1 1 71 1 8
I t d
t Fr n
5 2 5 3
Ir l nd r olt 1 5 7 1 97
It l y 1 8t h ntury 1 9 ; d t h d f rom
H ol y R om n E mpir 3 4 ; N pol on
l t
mp ign i 1 6 6 1 70 ; poli ti l
r on tr t i on in 1 7 01 7 1 ; N po
34 1 3 42 3 4 3 3 44
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l on 2 d m p ign i 1 89 1 93 ;
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pl n o f 3 d o lition 2 1 5 ; N pol on
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2 74
2 94 ;
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ll i n
2 80 ;
Congr
of
3 1 03 1 1 ;
2 98
3 02
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3 2 8 33 5 ;
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G r n ill Briti h m ini t r 2 2 6
G ro b r n b ttl o f 3 05
G rou hy Fr n h o mm nd r 2 4 6 3 3 9
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9 2 1 00 , 101 ; a n d
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1 19
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2 74 ;
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225
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Bon p rt
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H o h Fr n h o mm nd r 1 2 3 1 3 4
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b n ol nt d pot l 6 ; rul r o f
H o h tadt b ttl of 1 93
H o h nl ind n b ttl o f 1 94
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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
of
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111 ;
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l li n
1 6 0 1 64
1 59
1 3 0 1 58
129
1 7 6 1 981 99 2 09 2 1 1 2 1 5 ; K ing
12 7
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1 6 5 1 6 6 1 7 7 2 59
Fr n h omm nd r 2 53 2 5 5
3 1 1 ; Ju ot
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2 58 2 5 9 2 6 0 2 8 2
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K ll rm n Fr n h o mm nd r 105 1 06
of 2 2 5 3 34 3 3 5
1 6 1 1 9 3 3 39
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IN D EX
354
L
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Loui ( Bon p rt ) K ing o f H oll nd
Bon p rt L oui
L b n Fr n h o mm n d r 3 3 9 3 4 3
L oui C p t L oui XVI
Fr n h i 3 3 6
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L oui F rdin nd! Pri n h d o f
die
3 30
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L f y tt M r ui d ppoint
d h d t i ti p rty in Pru i 2 2 8
L oui X IV Fr n 5 05 1
of N tion l G u rd 74 7 77 8 ;
r l 9 8 9 9 1 04 1 05 1 1 5
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G nr l
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6 16 6 ;
d
N tion l A m bly ;
h r t r 6 8 6 9 ; d nob ility
p opl Jul y 1 789 7 1 74 ; po ition
f t r Jul y r olt 7 6 ; f ro m V r ill
to P ri 7778 ; d C ivil C on ti tution
of t h Cl rgy 8 2 83 ; ig h t to V
r nn 83 84 ; too k o th to upport
th
on titution S pt 1 79 1 86 ; d
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1 02 ; tri d f or tr
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1 3 3 1 34
12 5
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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
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260 264 322
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T r ty o f 1 9 4 1 9 6 1 98
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b ttl o f 2 9 93 00
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d R olut i on y Li t
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2 76 2 77
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2 88 2 9 1 2 9 9 3 04 3 05 3 1 6 3 1 7 3 1 9
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32 0 32 1 32 2 32 3
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d pot 1 7 u d d to Au tri n 2 1 9
29
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D l r tion o f M l m b y Bri ti h diplo m t 1 75
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Li l R oug t d L M i ll i 1 00
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7 0 7 8 100 1 2 6 14 0
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M r m ont F r n h o mm nd r 1 93
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e
s,
z rin
di tion
o f S i tz rl n d
l Au tri n o mm n d r
.
tt rn h A u tr i n h n llor
.
idi r olt in
il n
ntury
l h ud Fr n h o mm nd r
ill im o b ttl o f
ir b u
k rn gh ting
od n
on y F r n h o mm n d r
.
3 55
1 9 4 1 9 6 , 19 8- 2 01 ;
es c
c es
2 01 2 06 ;
s
i e , 2 06 ;
er
r
2
2 08 ;
o
07
vs
3d
a
,
p
,
2 09 2 2 7 ;
vs
ss a
an d
ss a,
2 2 82 4 9 ; c
e
a
c a e , 2 50
2 58 ;
e i s
a
w a r , 2 5 82 6 2 ; vs
s
i a , 2 6 2 2 6 8 ; c
e
a
c
a de ,
2 6 92 87 ; vs
ss a ,
2 8 8 2 93 ;
e
ca
a
2
93
3 08 ;
e e se
,
a ce , 3 09 3 2 1
l st
ca
dom ti poli i
Con ul f or l f
Em
Co lition
Pru i
Ru i
ontin nt l blo k d
P n n ul r
Au tr
ontin nt l blo k
Ru i
L ipz i g m p i gn
dfn
of Fr n
A
bdi tion
;
3 2 2 3 2 3 ; E lb
3 2 6 3 3 5 3 3 6 ; r turn
d W t rloo 3 3 6 3 44 ; n l
r nd r 3 44 ; S t H l n 3 4 53 4 6
N
u in Conf d r tion o f t h Rhin
225
N tion l A mbly Fr n org n i d
6 4 ; j oin d b y ot h r O rd r
6 6 ; it
w or k 7 4 86 ; i t
lo 8 788
N tion l G u rd org niz d 74 ; o k d
77 ;
ll 7 7 7 8 ; rr t d
t V r
Loui XVI t V r nn 84 ; d
m
r o f t h C h m p d M r 85
a,
an
a e
ass a
e e
su r
a,
e a
e,
sse
se,
a e
e,
ec
a s,
a cq
es ,
of
M ini s t er
ce ,
L ipzig
s ee
es e
an
e,
es ,
N tion B ttl o f t h
b ttl o f
N k r J u Fr n
s,
ze
es ,
as s a c e
e s,
s c
e s ai
133
ce ,
ondo i b ttl of
Fin n
b f or th E t t
60 ;
ont ui u
G n r l 6 4 ; di m i d Jul y 1 1 1 7 89
ontm ir il b ttl o f
ll d Jul y 2 1 74
72 ; r
oor
Jo h B riti h o mm nd r N wind n b ttl o f 1 14 1 1 6
N l on 1 78 1 79 1 9 7 2 1 32 1 4
N th rl nd Au tri n
Au tri n
or u F r n h omm n d r
N th rl nd
orti r Fr n h omm nd r
N uf hat l nton o f Swi tz rl nd 3 3 4
N y F r n h o mm nd r 2 1 7 2 1 9 2 2 0
2 33 2 38 2 4 1 2 42 2 45 2 6 0 2 6 1
o o
pol on
2 84 2 88 2 9 2 2 93 2 9 9 3 00 301 3 05
b ttl o f
M ount in
J bi
3 16 3 2 2 3 2 3 336 337 339 34 1 3 4 2
M ount T bor b ttl o f 1 8 0
343
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
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
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
t r 4 ; in w t rn Eu op 9 ;
2 94 33 4
d
in politi 1 51 6 ; in Ru i 2 12 2 ;
in G r t Bri t in 3 5 ; h unting pri
46 ;
in
4
0
44
in
F
r
n
il
N pl
1 8t h
ntury 1 9 ; i 1 t o li
g
1
6
66 ;
d
E
t
t
G
n
r
l
F
r
n
tion 1 1 1 1 56 1 70 1 7 6 ; N pol on
74
1
7
1
7
9
8
l
K
ing
P
opl
Ju
y
;
2 11
d
224 225
2 74
269
251
d rt F r n 74 ; gi up pri il g
2 84 ; r tor d to F rdin nd 3 3 4
oppo ition to S t in
7 5 ; in P ru i
N pol on Bon p rt
d f n o f Con
l
Em igr e
S
2 57
1 3 6 ; lif
ti
1 6 2 1 6 4 ; g n r l
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
N oot k S ound in id nt 1 53
d polit i l r on t u tion i n It l y
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
ti n m p ign 1 7 7180 ; o rth row 3 7
o f D ir to y 18 11 83 ; on ul 1 84 N orth r M ritim L gu 19 7
1 89 ; 2 d It l i n
m p ign ( M r ngo) N orw y 1 9 ; Sw d n d m nd 2 86
o f Vi nn 3 3 4
2 9 72 98 ; Congr
189
193 ;
i nt rn tion l diplo m y
,
ce ,
e a
eer
s ee
e c
s ee
ca
an
cc
e,
e,
eas e n
v en
on
an
ec
an
ec
ec
ve
ca
es ,
s.
s e
e n
a e
an
ce ,
ve
e,
ce ,
c e
ee a s o
e a
on -
es e
ss a ,
s r
se
ce ,
e a
vs
e,
ss a ,
es
e e
ca
ca
ca
e,
e,
e ce
es e
s a es
ce
es
ce ,
ea
ce
an
es ,
s.
cs ,
a co
s,
s a es
s se
e s
ec a
ac
ea
ess
e,
s,
a,
IN D EX
3 56
O
R u i n i t y o r T ur k
2 4 ; Briti h i t r t i n 1 53
O l d nbu g du hy o f nn x d by N po
l on 2 74
f f t on Al x nd r o f
Ru i 2 8 1
O porto b ttl o f 2 70
O rd r in Coun il Bri t i h 2 3 7 2 5 1
72
O rl n D
O tt A u tri n o mm nd r 1 9 2
O tto I H ol y R o m n E m p ror 3 4
O di
t F r n h o mm nd r 2 64 2 88
O ch a ko ff ,
r
ss a ,
uo
s,
no
ec
ea
e es
ve
v c or
ss a
2 9 2 , 2 99 , 3 03 , 3 05 , 3 1 6 , 3 1 7 , 3 1 9 , 3 2 0,
32 1 , 32 2
.
a a
261
P l i R oy l 72 77
P p l S t t 19 2 79 3 3 4
P ri r olt in Jul y
a
a es ,
s,
ev
O ctober
32 1
P ri T r ty o f
2 6 0,
( 2 d) 3 4 7
,
a,
an
pit
ul a
33 1 ;
ce ,
av
ss a ,
on ,
e ru
,
ce
z,
v s
s e
e, an
ee a s o
as
s,
ce
ac s
es
a ns
Congr
2 96 ;
se
s se
o f Vi nn
ess
Portl n d D uk of B ri t i h
2 54
2 55
P ortug l 1 9 1 1 1 1 56 2 1 1
a
e,
2 02
es s
ve
mci al
P r burg T r ty o f 2 2 3 2 57 2 6 2
Prol t ri t in Fr n 4 344 78 85
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
16 0
L oui X VIII F r n
S
l
Pro i ion l Co mm n P ri 1 79 2 101
1 05 1 1 0
Pru i t ri tory 1 8th ntury 19 ;
r l tion with Ru i 2 4 ; hi tory
2 93 3
89 ;
w it h
w
( 1 74 0
F r n 9 5 i n l t o lit i on 1 1 1 w
i th F r n
1 1 9
1 2 4 1 2 71 3 1 15 8
162
14 3
hi tory
d P ol nd 14 1
1 7 8 9 1 7 9 5 1 4 4 14 8 ;
d N pol on
2 2 8 24 9
2 00
2 16
2 2 32 2 4
2 14
2 56
2 5 7 2 74 2 86 2 9 4 ; tr t y w i t h
Ru i 2 9 7 ; N pol on 2 98 2 9 9
mp i gn i n F r n 3 14 3 2 3
3 08
Congr o f Vi nn 3 2 83 3 5 All i n
g in t N l n 3 3 8 ; W t rloo
3 3 9344
Pultu k ng g m nt t 2 39
Pyr m id b ttl o f t h 1 781 79
.
es s
ea
e a
ve
ce ,
ce ,
v s
s,
ce
e,
ee a s o
e,
c e.
er
ss a ,
e a
ss a ,
ar
ce ,
ce ,
ar
an
an
vs
ss a ,
ca
es s
ea
ce ,
a,
a p o eo
a e
s,
e,
Q
Qu a tre B ra s e nga gem e nt at . 34 1
Qui beron e x p e dit i on 1 3 4
a,
2 52 , 2 53,
2 8 0, 2 8 2 - 2 85 , 2 94 , 2 98 ,
ce
in t r
m is
n s e
a.
e,
ee a s o
ce
s,
e,
a e
assass
s,
e e
es e
e ce
e s a , an
ce
ca
ce ,
e as e
ce ,
an
c,
ss a ,
ea s a
es ,
e a
v s
e,
an
s,
ea
t i on o f Pr gu Congr o f 3 02 3 03
Pr f t Fr n h d min i tr ti
328,
325,
a e
a
ce ,
Fr n 5 4 5 8
5 8
d t x
59 ;
P rl m nt of P ri
b ni h d d r tu n d 5 9
P rm 1 70 1 7 2 3 3 4
P rth nop n R publi 1 76 1 7 7
26
P t nt o f T ol r n A u tri
P ul Ru i 1 9 7
P ntry 18t h ntury E urop ntr l
t rn 3 4 ; in w t rn E urop
d
politi l ondition 1 6 ; in
78 ;
i n S p in 1 4 8 ; in
Fr n
3 8
42 ;
Fr n f or d N pol on 3 3 7
P r i d N pol on 2 4 4
P t r III Ru i m rri d to C th rin
Cz r
in t d 2 0
P t i
m yor o f P ri 9 2
Pi h g
Fr n h o mm nd r 1 2 3 1 2 7
1 2 8 1 58 1 5 9 1 6 0 2 06
Pi dmont 1 8th ntury 1 9 1 7 6 ;
N pol on in 1 90 1 99 2 09 2 1 5
S
S rdini
l
Pitt E rl o f C h th m Pri m M ini t r
in E ngl nd 3 6 1 5 1
P itt W illi m ( Pitt T h you g r) P rim
M i i t r in E ngl nd 3 7 1 5 1 1 5 7
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
S
Pop
l
Pl wi t
Armi ti o f 3 01303
Pol nd di i ion 1 7 ; t rritory 1 8 th
ntury 1 8 1 9 ; 1 t p rti tion 2 42 5
a
P a r l em en t,
Politi l on i t o
E urop
P oliti Th ori
nt y
P on to i King of Pol nd
Pop i i t d V i nn to prot t Jo ph
II
r f orm 2 7 N tion l A m bl y
i n Fr n
t g i t 8 2 1 55 1 76 ;
2 04
2 05
2 08
d N pol on
2 54
2 5 5 2 6 9-2 7 1 ,
3 1 1 3 1 4
ca
l st ,
of Vi nn
e ec
N pol on
Congr
ea
s,
77 ;
1 789 ,
Ru i n
p rt i ti on
2 7 8
2 79 ,
3 34
a a s-
p rt i tion
l im
an
l Fr n h o mm n d r 3 3 9
P l f ox S p ni h omm nd r 2 5 9
P a ja
1
12
14
1
14 2 ; 3 d
,
,
14 3 ,
1 4 5
14 8 ;
a
ss a
,
c a
s,
2 14 ;
an d
a
e
2 39
,
2 4 0, 2 48 , 2 6 8 , 2 6 9 , 2 8 1 , 2 86 , 2 9 4 ,
2 9 7 , 2 98 , 3 1 8 ;
es s
e
a,
3 30, 3 3 1 , 3 3 3
ca
c
d i ns,
i 8 th
c en t u r y
e , 1 5 , 18
cal
e
e s , 1 8 t h ce
ur , 16 , 1 7,
4 75 0
i a wsk ,
a
2 5 , 2 88 ,
,
291
2d
89 ;
R t dt Congr o f 1 76 1 77
R i h nb h T r ty o f 3 02
as a
e c
es s
ac
ea
ce
I N DE
R i h nb h C on nti on o f 1 790
139
R ill
Fr n h om m d 33 9
e c
ac
ve
1 38
e,
b y Co
nve
an
nti o
er
of
eace
2 6 7
2 6 8,
S hw rz nb rg Au tri n
c
357
S ch n bru n n
X
a
omm nd r
a
n,
1 04 , 1 1 7
b ti ni Fr n h g nt
S ign ori l h rg
d t u tion o f
r ord o f
S n t Fr n h on ul t 1 86 2 06
mpi 2 4 0 2 77 3 2 5
S rf dom R u i C th rin I I poli y
tow rd 2 1 2 2 2 3 ; Au tri Jo p h
II
poli y tow rd 2 72 8 ; r mn nt
in Fr n 3 8 ; boli h d in P ru i
r ec
an
a e,
2 8 2 , 2 88
es
e,
oc
ea
e , s ee
ea
e,
so n
ssea
ss a ,
s
ea
ac
ss a
e,
n a
an
an
e es s ,
an
ce
ea
se
es ,
a g ee
vs
2 99
3 08 ,
an
ss a ,
l on
Ru i n mp ign
Ru o Tu i h
,
S
S l m n b ttl o f 3 1 2
S rdini 1 8t h ntury 1 9 ;
ca ,
a a
S
S
S
S
oy
it h
w ar w
1 6 01 6 2 , 1 6 6
an ce 1 08 1 1 1 1 56 ,
1 6 7 , 1 70 1 7 6 , 2 1 5
a ce , 1 09 , 3 1 8
av
an d
,
cc
a,
r e
o e
ce ,
a n
a,
ve e
a,
se
s,
ss a ,
s a es
s a es
es a ,
ea
a s
c a
an
ce
as e
oc
au
es e
cs
ou
e,
e,
2 3 3 , 2 3 8 , 2 6 0, 2 6 1 , 2 6 2 , 2 70, 2 7 1 , 2 8 2 ,
2 8 3 , 2 84 , 3 1 2 , 3 1 3 , 3 1 4 , 3 3 9
a
on s
s a es
co n
an
2 6 9 , 2 7 0, 2 8 2
2 85 , 2 9 4 , 2 9 8 , 3 1 13 1 4
57 ;
o se ,
T a x,
a ce ,
a
e
a s , 58
a e
se
r , 18 2 0
ce
e, 18
r
a es
1 7 8 9 1 7 9 5 , 1 3 71 5 7
e , 2 1 1 , 2 17,
e c
c
a
,
S t mp
Fr n
prop d
oppo d by P rl m nt of P ri
S t t o f Eu op
th ntu y
S t C yr Fr n h omm nd r
2 6 0 2 8 8 3 04
S t D izi r gh t t 3 1 6
S t in P ru i n t t m n 2 5 6 2 5 7 2 9 7
S t y r rmi ti o f 1 94
S t H l n N pol on t 3 4 53 4 6
S t L oui O rd r o f 3 2 8
S to k h b ttl o f 1 7 7
S t Pri t P u i n o mm nd r 3 2 1
S u h t Fr n h o mm nd r 1 90 1 9 1
3 1 2 3 1 3 3 14 3 3 9
Sw d n 1 9 8 9 1 9 7 2 1 4 2 4 3 2 52 2 5 3
e e
a,
es
e
,
ss a
ce
s,
ac
s a es
ss a
c a
ar
ss a
es s
e,
ce
ea s
ev e
an
Fr n
x
G ot h o upi d b y N p l on
2 35
x -W im r d N pol on 2 3 5
x ony p rt o f H ol y R o m n E mpir
1 9 ; n utr lit y f or d b y N pol on
m d o r ign o f
2 3 5 ; Ki g o f
P ol nd 2 4 8 ; l ly o f N pol on 2 94 ;
2 72
4
2
7
1
2
5
2
3
3
Congr o f Vi nn 3 3 1 3 3 3
3 02 3 3 4
S h r h or t P u i n t t m n 2 5 6
Switz rl nd 1 9
2 57 2 96
2 1 5 2 74 3 2 6
S her r Fr n h o mm nd r 1 6 1
a
ce
a,
Congr
o f S p in 1 9 ; in l t o lition 1 1 1 ;
li n
g in t di ti i 1 789 1 7 9 5 1 4 81 5 1 ; d
N pol on 2 1 1 2 5 1 2 52 2 5 52 6 2
3 1 83 1 9 ;
es s
s
e na
3 2 8
3 35 ;
al a ce
a a
N a p o e , 3 38 3 3 9
2 88 2 9 3
ca
ss a
a
1 774
24 ;
w ar ,
ss rk s
1 768
1 78 71 78 8 2 4
Vi n
a e,
S er u i r Fr n h omm nd r 1 6 1 1 6 2
166
S n Y r W ( 1 75 6
30
S h rid n Briti h t t m n 1 5 2
S i ye Fr n h t t m n 1 80 1 8 1 1 82
1 83 1 84 1 8 5 1 86
Sil i F r d ri k th G r t w r f or
30
Sm ith A d m 5 0
Sm ith Si S idn y Briti h omm nd r
1 79
S o i l ondition 1 8t h nt ry C ntr l
d E t rn E urop
2 6 ; W t rn
Europ 6 1 1
S it d
Eg x 1 7 2
S
h m F r n h omm nd r 12 8
S oult Fr n h omm nd r 1 6 2 2 1 7 2 2 2
ss a ,
2 56
ea
Ri oli b ttl o f 1 6 9
Rob pi rr 1 02 1 05 1 1 0 1 1 6 1 1 9
1 2 4 12 7 1 3 1 1 3 2 1 6 1
R h m b u F r n h o mm nd r 98
R ol nd M m G irond l d r 1 10
Ro m n R publi 1 7 6 1 77
Ro m
Pop
Ro m Ki ng o f
of N pol on 2 7 6
324
R ou u J n J q u 4 9 1 48
Ru h l P ru i n o mm nd r 2 3 4
Ru i t rritory 1 8t h ntury 1 8
hi to y 1 76 2 1 789 2 02 5 int r t
1 7 88 1 7 9 1 88
in N ort h rn M ritim
L gu 1 97 in 3 d o lition 2 14 2 1 5
2 2 8
249 ;
d N pol on ( 1 806
iz d Fi l nd 2 54 ; d N pol on
2 7 1 2 7 2
2 69
d
d Sw d n
N pol on 2 84 2 80 ; r m nt wit h
2 96
Au tri
tr ty w ith
2 98
P ru i 2 9 7
N pol on
,
r e,
D i tor 1 75
R yn r Fr n h o mm d r
,
124
R ew be ll
e
ie
2 9 9 3 00
R olution ry T ribun l
12 7 , 1 3 2
2 89 , 2 9 1 , 2 9 3 , 3 03 , 3 04 , 3 05 , 3 06 , 3 07 ,
308 , 3 1 5 , 3 1 6 , 3 1 7 , 3 1 9 , 3 2 0, 3 2 1
S e as a
e c
a e
2 09 , 2 3 9
,
e
i
a c a
es , 7 , 3 9 ;
es r c
ec
s
73
,
,
ev
2 81,
2 7 4 , 2 86 , 2 87 , 2 9 72 9 8 ,
2 00, 2 09 , 2 1 1 ,
1 76 , 1 99
3 3 3 3 3 4
.
INDEX
358
T ill 8 3 9 5 2 r du tion propo d 5 7

T l r b ttl o f 2 70
T ll yr nd Fr n h t t m n 1 9 51 9 6
a
e,
a ave a ,
e
s a es
1 99 , 2 00, 2 1 6 , 2 2 5 , 2 2 6 , 3 2 4 , 3 2 5 , 3 3 1
33 2 , 3 3 3
ve
e ,
a
, 2 95
T urogg n Con ntion o f

T m pl of R on on r ion o f Fr n h
hur h into 1 2 6
T nni Court O th F r n 6 5
T rror T h Fr n 1 19 12 4 1 2 7 1 3 1
Third Co lition w o f 2 082 2 7
Third E t t in E t t G n r l 6 1
N tion l A m bl y 80
i
66
Fr n h o mm nd r 1 9 1
Th
T il it T r ty o f 2 4 6 2 4 8 2 5 2
T ith 8
T orr V dr lin 2 7 1 2 84
T oulon Fr n h port urr nd r d to
Briti h 1 1 8 1 2 5 ; r ptur d 1 2 6
1 6 4 1 78
T o w n onditio in ntrl d t rn
Europ 1 8th ntury 5 6 in w t rn
E urop 1 0 1 1 Fr n 5 3
T r f lg r b ttl o f 2 1 3
T r ty o f t h S ond P rtition o f
Pol nd 14 2
T r ty o f t h Third P rtition o f Pol nd
1 43
Tr
El tor o f 94
T ribun t 1 86 2 07 boli h d 2 76
T rinid d d d to G r t Brit in 1 98
T urk y t rritory 1 8 h ntury 1 9
r l tion with Ru i 2 4 88 d f n
o f E gypt 1 78 1 80
d N pol on
2 3 9 2 4 4 2 4 72 4 8 2 5 8 2 6 9 2 8 1 2 86
T u ny 1 1 1 1 56 1 70 2 5 1 2 5 2 2 5 4
.
es
ea s
es
s a e,
u rr eau
s
ea
es ,
es
s a es
s se
e a
e e
e ca
es ,
as
ar
ce ,
ce ,
e,
ve s
e,
s,
1 6 4 , 2 01
ee
s, c
ce
ec
ea
es e
ce ,
ea s e
an
e,
a a
ce
ns
ea
ev es ,
ec
a e,
ce
e a
s ca
2 6 3 , 3 34
se
e e
an
ce
ss a ,
ea
ce ,
er
a es ,
e c
ar
a se
s a
e s,
a,
1 10
e ,
190, 1 92
2 93 , 3 00, 3 16
ea
2 4 5 , 2 6 0, 2 7 0, 2 82 , 2 9 2 ,
3 17 , 3 19
a e
c e
es ,
1 1 6 , 1 18
Vi nn Congr o f 3 2 8 3 3 5 3 4 7
Vill n u F r n h d m ir l 2 1 2 2 1 3
Vingtiem 8 5 2 ; uppr ion propo d
e
a,
ca
v e,
e,
57
es s
se
Vitry o m b t t 3 2 1
Vittori b ttl o f 3 1 0 3 1 3
Volt ir ( F r n coi A rou t)
c
a,
148
4 8 4 9 , 80,
W gr m b ttl e o f 2 6 6 2 6 7
W l h r n I l nd Briti h
a
a c
e e
2 73
W r
W r
a s aw
s a
d r 251
G r nd du h y o f
e c ee ,
a s aw ,
x p edition
2 4 8 2 6 8 , 2 74 ,
,
W t rloo b ttl o f 3 3 5
W ttigni b ttle o f 1 2 2 1 2 3
W ll l y S ir A rt hur e W ellington
a e
es ,
es e
se
D uk of
W llington D u k o f
e
2 8 1 , 2 86 , 3 02 , 3 3 1
2 59 , 2 70, 2 7 1 , 2 82 ,
2 83 , 2 84 , 3 1 0, 3 1 1 3 12 3 1 3 , 3 1 5 , 3 39 ,
3 4 0, 3 4 1 , 3 4 2 , 3 4 6 , 3 4 7
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1 7 75

I ITAR Y CAM PAIGNS

WILLI A M KELLY H A RRI S ON

THE M A C M I LLAN C O M PANY

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

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

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

D U E L W ITH G R EAT B R ITAI N

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

of the imagination So accustom e d h av e we become to

THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

social economic and political conditions in w hich th ese

Looking broadly at social conditions in Europ e o f t he l ater

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

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

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

THE HI STORY OF E UROPE

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

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

THE HIS TORY OF E UROPE

that Berli n numbered over

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

In western Europe as i n eastern agriculture was the chief

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

ture O f seigniorial charges o r dues and o f a

THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

rather than burdensome The forced labor called in

truly a burdensome levy

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

THE HI S TORY OF E U ROPE

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

which existed in rural communities between the nobilit y

THE HISTORY OF E U ROPE

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

Thus the weavers guild included all the master

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

THE HI STORY O F E UROPE

manufacture would regulate the amount of raw mat e rial

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

Wh en we sp e ak of the politics of the later eig h teent h

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

portant Princes intrigued to add to the number o f souls

THE HISTORY O F E U ROPE

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

ight e eii t h century

kingdom stretching from Posen to the Dnieper River and

next chapter we shall co n sider here political conditions

Catherine II of Russia Catherine the Great succeeded

Peter s death b y apoplexy was announced He was

ment which marked her as an unusual genius Though

naturally since it lived upon serfdom con s idered

Catherine appreciated keenly the need for gen e ral edu

THE HI S TORY O F E U ROPE

More notable than her internal reforms wer e her success es

election o f her favorite Stanislas Poniatowski as King o f

THE HI STORY OF E U ROPE

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

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

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

the annulment o f his reform measures ( with the ex

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

THE HI S TORY OF E UROPE