1.coup d'etat - the military takeover of a government. Napoleon took
over the Directory in this fashion in 1799.
2. consulate -
the type of government established in France between 1799 and 1804. It consisted of a
bicameral legislative assembly elected indirectly and executive power placed in three
consuls with 10 year terms. Napoleon was the head, First, consul and he had all the power.
3. Concordat of 1801 - Napoleon signed this agreement with the Pope. The
papacy agreed to not question the Church's confiscated land and to recognize the
accomplishments of the revolution, in return for an alliance with France and the reopening
of seminaries and the resuming of religious festivals.
4. Code Napoleon - published in 1804, it replaced varied and inequitable
medieval code with a uniform legal system, that recognized many of the revolutionary
goals:
- equality of all citizens before the law
- religious toleration
- abolishment of serfdom and feudalism
- protection of property rights
- outlawing trade unions and strikes
5. Napoleonic Complex - Napoleon was only 5' 2". His lack of height,
however, did not measure his ego: he thought he was superior to everyone else.
6. Waterloo - this term refers to
Napoleon's great defeat. On June 18, 1815, Napoleon's troops were completely crushed at
this battle (in Belgium) by Prussian and British soldiers led by the Duke of Wellington.
7. the "Great Retreat" - refers to the trip Napoleon's army took after they
left Moscow in October, 1812. They traveled west through hostile territory, a lot of snow,
and a very limited (almost nothing) supply of food. Out of the 600,000 soldiers that left
for Russia, only 40,000 reached Poland in January, 1813.
8. Continental System - Napoleon's blockade of England. In 1806, unable to
defeat the British navy, his plan was to starve them out by closing the ports of Europe
(Russia, Prussia, Denmark, Portugal, and Spain) to British commerce. This plan failed
because the Broth allied themselves with Latin America and open trading posts there.
9. Congress of Vienna - (1814-1815) Dominated by the host, Metternich, its
goal was to restore peace and order to Europe after Napoleon's domination over the
continent, by legitimacy, the restoration of a balance of power, and just compensation. It
designed the European map.
10. legitimacy - the attempt by the Congress of Vienna to restore the
original monarchs (like the Bourbons in France) to power to restore peace.
11. balance of power (Concert of Europe) - a goal of the Congress of Vienna
to not let any one country in Europe dominate. For example, they tried to strengthen
Prussian and Austrian armies so they can compete with Russia and build strong powers
around France to prevent future attempts at expansionism.
12. conservatism - a "Thermidorean Reaction" to Napoleon's
liberalism supported by monarchs, government bureaucracies, landowning aristocrats, and
Church officials. Their beliefs were:
- obedience to political authority
- organized religion was crucial to social order
- community more important than the individual
- hated revolutionary upheavals and demands for civil liberties, representative
governments and nationalistic aspirations.