“His majesty the king of Prussia cedes … all the territories and domains, and all territorial property of whatever kind, or by whatever title possessed, by his majesty the king of Prussia, between the Rhine and the Elbe, at the commencement of the present war … The kingdom of Westphalia shall consist of the provinces ceded by his majesty the king of Prussia, and of other states which are at present in possession of his majesty the emperor Napoleon … His majesty the king of Prussia cedes the circle of Kotbus, in Lower Lusatia, to his majesty the king of Saxony, with full right of proprietorship and sovereignty.”
– “Treaty of Tilsit, 9 July 1807” (specifically, Articles VII, VIII, and XII), between Napoleon Bonaparte of France and King Frederick William the Third of Prussia
During the French Revolution, at least 40,000 of the French people were executed by the guillotine. These eventually included King Louis the Sixteenth, and his wife Marie Antoinette. They even include a few of the Revolution’s leaders, such as Maximilien Robespierre. Eventually, the French Revolution was sucking much of the rest of Europe into the French Revolutionary Wars. At least half a million people died in this earlier conflict, which lasted for a decade. It was soon followed by the Napoleonic Wars, whose death toll proved even higher. (More about that later.) Like its predecessor, this conflict also lasted for a decade. These conflicts would be fought in Egypt, the Middle East, India, the East Indies, North America, South America, the Caribbean islands, and many of the world’s oceans and seas. But it would also involve countless battles on the European continent. The legacy of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars … has always been somewhat complicated. But it’s also extremely interesting, with many dramatic moments. Many of them shaped the course of history. Thus, this might be a good time to examine the general legacy of this period. I will try to show how these wars helped to shape Europe. But, through Europe, this conflict also affected many of Europe’s former colonies, in many different parts of the world.
Entry of Napoleon into Berlin – Prussia, 1806
The French Revolution spreads the contradictory ideals of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
In theory, at least, the French Revolution was initially committed to the ideals of liberty. Nonetheless, its legacy (sadly) turned out to be a bit more dictatorial, as I show here. The contradictory ideals of the French Revolution (particularly those of Rousseau) greatly influenced France as a whole. Indeed, Rousseau is often cited as one of the “Founding Fathers” of France. If so, that’s unfortunate. But Jean-Jacques Rousseau also influenced many German philosophers as well. These included Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel, in turn, influenced another German philosopher named Karl Marx. In the twentieth century, the Russian Revolution and the two World Wars contributed to spreading communism to much of Eastern Europe – including, sadly, East Germany. (But I’m getting ahead of myself here.) Marxist ideas also brought socialism to many other parts of Europe, including some parts of Western Europe. As I show here, Rousseau was a totalitarian. In twentieth-century Germany, Rousseau’s totalitarianism may have affected the National Socialists – a.k.a. the Nazis. Among other things, the Nazis shared Rousseau’s love of both the Spartans and Niccolò Machiavelli. Elsewhere, Rousseau’s totalitarianism also influenced other forms of fascism, such as that of Benito Mussolini. But there are some other legacies of the French Revolution, with both positive and negative aspects. Specifically, the Napoleonic Codes had a lasting impact in Europe. At times, certain aspects of these Napoleonic Codes are still debated to this day.
Storming of the Bastille, the event that began the French Revolution – France, 1789
This post will focus on the role of the various German and Italian states in this period
The “French Revolutionary Wars” and the Napoleonic Wars … are sometimes combined together into the larger term of “Coalition Wars.” I have already covered their effects upon the United States here, and their effects upon Canada here. I have already covered their effects upon the British Empire here. I have already covered their effects upon Spain and Portugal (and their colonies in Latin America) here. And I have already covered their effects upon Russia here. Thus, I will instead focus this post upon how these things affected certain other parts of continental Europe. Specifically, I will instead focus here on the many German and Italian states, who were caught in the crossfire of this conflict. These states all had to make some difficult decisions about which side to support – and, at times, it was both sides.
Nine émigrés are executed by guillotine – France, 1793
Looking at the role of France gives us many insights into the fate of these states
To understand the role of the German and Italian states, we may have to look briefly at the role of their powerful French neighbors. To some degree, I have covered the Revolution’s domestic effects upon France … in my general post about the French Revolution. And, to some degree, I have covered Napoleon Bonaparte’s effects upon France … in my specific post about Napoleon himself. Thus, suffice it to say here that this domestic French Revolution (among other things) involved the Reign of Terror. Even King Louis the Sixteenth, and his wife Marie Antoinette, were actually executed by the guillotine in the bloodbath that followed, as mentioned earlier. Eventually, the Revolution came full circle, to Napoleon’s harsh dictatorship. Initially, the foreign policy side of things (the “French Revolutionary Wars”) actually went somewhat well for France. During the wars that bear his name, Napoleon then invaded Russia. Many of the German states from Napoleon’s “Confederation of the Rhine” also took part in this French invasion of Russia. Austria and Prussia were then among Napoleon’s allies in this invasion. And two Italian states, including Naples, also sent troops to participate in the French invasion of Russia. But the invasion was a complete disaster for the French. Eventually, Napoleon was (in part) turned back by the Russian winter. Good generalship on the part of the Russians also contributed to Napoleon’s eventual downfall. In the end, the death blow came at Waterloo in 1815. Three of the German states, including Prussia, fought hard against Napoleon Bonaparte at this Battle of Waterloo.
Battle of Rivoli – Italy, circa 1796 or 1797 – part of Napoleon’s Italian campaign
Soldiers killed in battle during the Italian Campaign – Italy, 1797
A number of these German and Italian states would sometimes switch sides in this conflict
But, speaking more generally, how did these things affect the many German and Italian states that were involved in these great conflicts? I might first mention that Napoleon was born in Corsica. Thus, he spoke Corsican as his native language. This “Corsican” language is actually quite related to Italian. Thus, Napoleon spoke French with a non-native accent. Many of the German states, including Austria and Prussia, actually began these conflicts as part of the “Holy Roman Empire,” which was then centuries old. But, as Voltaire once said, the Holy Roman Empire was “neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire” (Source: Comment from 1773) Regardless, these wars soon presented some real dangers for the “Holy Roman Empire.” A number of these German and Italian states actually switched sides multiple times, during certain parts of these “Coalition Wars.” Most of the German states, including Austria and Prussia, initially fought against Napoleon. Likewise, some Italian states, such as Piedmont-Sardinia and the Kingdom of Naples, initially fought against Napoleon as well. But, in 1796 and 1797, Napoleon invaded (and then dominated) much of Northern and Central Italy. One state in Italy actually became a French client republic, called the “Cisalpine Republic.” But, again, some of these things would be dramatically changed later on. For example, the Italian state of Naples briefly fought against Napoleon, only to see the Bourbons ousted from power there. Napoleon’s brother Joseph Bonaparte was even installed there as the new king. In the German states, Prussia actually remained neutral for roughly a decade after the 1795 Treaty of Basel. The “Holy Roman Empire” was then dissolved in 1806, to be replaced by Napoleon’s own “Confederation of the Rhine” (as mentioned earlier). Some of the smaller German states (such as Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony) briefly joined this same “Confederation of the Rhine.” And Austria likewise became a French ally in 1812, as the daughter of the Austrian king was married off to Napoleon himself. But, after the French invasion of Russia ended in the aforementioned disaster, many of these German states (including Austria, which was ruled by Napoleon’s new father-in-law) then smelled blood. Thus, they now switched back to fighting against Napoleon. This is why they then ended up on the winning side of these wars.
Battle of Leipzig – Saxony, Germany (1813) – sometimes called the “Battle of the Nations”
As a result of these wars, the Europeans get a number of new colonies, but lose others
Russia emerged victorious in the Napoleonic Wars, as I show here. So did the British Empire, as I show here. In truth, Britain actually made a number of poor decisions, including picking a fight with America in 1812. This gave them more enemies to fight in the conflict. More about how that war affected the United States here. And more about how it affected Britain’s Canadian colonies here. Incidentally, the Canadian colonies were on the British side of this same “War of 1812.” In general, though, I still would tend to be siding with the British in these Napoleonic Wars. On their own side, they were easily the most committed to their cause. By contrast, France would lose its rather distant colony in Haiti during the French Revolutionary Wars. Likewise, Spain and Portugal soon lost their own colonies in Latin America, in the decades that followed the Napoleonic Wars. (More about that subject here.) Obviously, these things were of great importance for Latin America. But, to a lesser degree, they would also prove somewhat important for the Europeans. That is, these European nations were losing their colonies in the Americas. In the decades that followed, Britain then consolidated its control of India, with conflicts like the Anglo-Sikh Wars. Britain then gained a few more overseas colonies, including Ceylon – basically modern-day Sri Lanka. And France likewise gained a few more overseas colonies, including Indochina – which itself includes Vietnam. But the biggest British and French expansions (at this time, at least) were instead on the African continent. For example, the French soon acquired Algeria in 1830. And Britain soon consolidated its control of South Africa. As you may know, this was all part of Europe’s “Scramble for Africa,” as I describe elsewhere. This would also involve some further Portuguese expansion into Africa, during some of these later decades. I mention this as context for the later German and Italian colonization there.
The Siege of Laghouat, 1852 – during the French Pacification of Algeria
Many German states later unify into a single nation (Germany), and then get colonies
As mentioned earlier, the “Holy Roman Empire” (which included Austria) had been dissolved back in 1806, during the Napoleonic Wars themselves. The Nazis would later consider this “Holy Roman Empire” to be the “First Reich.” The Austro-Hungarian Empire was soon created in 1867. And many of these German states were unified into a single nation (called “Germany”) in 1871. This was the beginning of the “German Empire” – or, sometimes, Bismarck’s Empire. The Nazis would later consider this “German Empire” to be the “Second Reich.” In Africa, this German Empire would then acquire some new colonies. These colonies included Kamerun (modern-day Cameroon), Togoland, German South West Africa, and German East Africa. The Germans committed the Herero and Nama genocide in German South West Africa. The German Empire would also acquire some colonies in the Pacific. Specifically, they acquired New Guinea, Samoa, and the “Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory” in China. The Austro-Hungarian Empire also acquired the city of Tianjin in China, which was later ceded to Italy. But all of these German-speaking possessions were eventually lost in the First World War. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was eventually dissolved in the postwar Treaty of Versailles. Later on, Austria would be temporarily annexed by Germany, in the Nazis’ infamous Anschluss.
German colonial leader in the German colony of Togoland – Africa, circa 1885
The Italian states also later unify into a single nation (Italy), and get their own colonies
But I should backtrack here for a second. The Italian states were also unified into a single nation, beginning in 1861. And, in the late nineteenth century, the Italian Empire was fighting some brief (but early) wars in Africa. These included wars in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Libya. In 1902, the Italian Empire gained a portion of the city of Tianjin in China. But there was another portion of the city, which was then controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As mentioned earlier, this portion would later be incorporated into the Italian portion by the 1920s. In the 1920s and the 1930s, during Mussolini’s Fascist reign, the Italians also acquired some territories in East Africa, including Ethiopia. They also acquired some territories in the Mediterranean, including Greece and Albania. Like their Nazi cousins, the Italian Fascists committed some terrible atrocities. In their case, the atrocities were committed in Libya, with the Libyan genocide. All of these territories were likewise lost during the Second World War. However, one of them (Somalia) was later regained temporarily. (More about that here.) World War Two saw the final defeat … of both Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. As you may know, the latter was often referring to itself as the “Third Reich.” Again, both of these Fascist states had been influenced by Rousseau’s totalitarianism. The Soviet Union, as mentioned earlier, was also influenced by Rousseau’s totalitarianism. Thus, the Soviets would soon terrorize Eastern Europe (including East Germany) during the upcoming Cold War. And, again, socialist ideals would soon spread into many other European countries, with a few parts of Western Europe among them.
Concentration camp in Italian Libya, 1930 – which is related to Mussolini’s Libyan genocide
Conclusion: These periods had a great effect upon Europe, and upon European empires
Again, the “French Revolutionary Wars” and the Napoleonic Wars … are sometimes combined together into the larger term of “Coalition Wars.” Taken together, these two great conflicts lasted for more than two decades. They brought near-continuous warfare to the continent of Europe during that lengthy period. But the portion that would prove most costly for the Europeans was the Napoleonic Wars, whose death toll was easily in the millions. These wars also included some significant fighting at sea, as I show here. The 1813 Battle of Leipzig (sometimes called “the Battle of the Nations”) was then the largest battle ever fought in Europe. Moreover, it retained this status until the First World War. Thus, this rather-eventful period brought many changes for continental Europe. It continues to fascinate many European nations to this day. Its legacy is complicated – and, in some ways, unfortunate. Thus, perhaps partially because of this, the period continues to be examined and debated to this day – especially in continental Europe. Thus, these conflicts both certainly left their mark upon history.
Footnote to this blog post:
Among those who took part in Napoleon’s ill-fated invasion of Russia … was a Belgian soldier named Joseph Abbeel. He later wrote an account of his experiences, which I have not read. But the only other such surviving account, so far as we know, comes from a German soldier named Jakob Walter. It is today marketed as “The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier.” I actually read this latter account for a college history class. With some reservations, I would definitely recommend it. I link to it below, for anyone who is interested.
Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate marketer, and can sometimes make money when you buy the product using the link(s) above.
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