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Revolution & War with the French
On 14th July 1789, the royal prison in Paris, the Bastille, fell. By the late summer of 1792 the French monarchy was no more and the French Revolution had spread beyond the French borders. In 1793 the French annexed the Austrian Netherlands and then declared war on Holland and Britain.
In 1789 the French rebels had much support in England. After all Britain had had her own revolution one hundred years earlier. It was not until Napoleon invaded Italy and Austria and declared war on Britain that the French Revolution lost its British supporters.
Napoleon I, Napoleon Bonaparte |
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE (NAPOLEON I) (1769-1821)- Emperor of France
- Born in Ajaccio, Corsica
- Joined the army in 1785
- Married Jos茅phine in 1796 but was childless and in 1809 divorced her and married Marie Louise of Austria
- Commanded the French army in Italy then, in Austria
- Went to Egypt to disrupt English trade
- Returned to France in 1799
- Founded the Bank of France and stabilized the franc
- In 1802 Pope Pius VII recognized the French Republic and the Peace of Amiens was signed
- Also founded the L茅gion d'Honneur
- Was elected First Consul for life and became Emperor in 1804
- In 1805 lost control of the high seas when Nelson defeated Villeneuve's fleet at Trafalgar
- Napolean had to abandon his plan to invade Britain from Boulougne
- Later his forces invaded Spain and Portugal
- The British under Wellesley (later the duke of Wellington) opposed him in what became the Peninsular War
- In 1814, after a series of defeats his own marshals forced him to resign, he was given the sovereignty of Elba in the treaty of Fontainbleau and momentarily, the Bourbons were restored to the throne
- In 1815 he returned and reigned for 'One Hundred Days'
- Europe declared war against him
- England, Belgium and Prussia combined under Wellington and defeated Napoleon at Waterloo
- Fled to Paris and abdicated
- Sent into exile in St Helena
In 1797 the navy mutinied twice. British ships blocked the Thames for weeks. The conditions in which ratings lived on the lower decks in the 18th century were appalling.
FRENCH PHILOSOPHERS
- Diderot
- Rousseau
- Voltaire
It has been said that Voltaire said what men thought and Rousseau said what men felt.
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1776 | American Declaration of Independence
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1778 | Death of Pitt the Elder France joins America against Britain
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1782 | North resigns Rockingham becomes Prime Minister Rockingham dies Shelburne becomes Prime Minister
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1783 | Shelburne resigns William Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister
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1788 | George III becomes insane
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1789 | French Revolution begins George Washington becomes 1st President of the USA
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1792 | French Revolutionary War begins
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1793 | Britain enters the War
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1798 | The Irish Rebellion is crushed Nelson wins at Aboukir Bay
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1801 | Pitt the Younger resigns Addington becomes Prime Minister Battle of Copenhagen is fought
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1802 | Treaty of Amiens ends French Revolutionary War
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1803 | Napoleonic Wars begin
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