The Spanish and Russian resistance of French absolute power broke the feeling of French invincibility. The spirit and success of both the Spanish and Russian Guerrillas gave a model to other European nations, specifically the German states. For the first time, Germans began to have a sense of national identity and pride. They resented being pawns in Napoleon’s fight against the British, which led them to resent everything that was French. They started to see themselves as better than France and so they sought to unite their states, but in a different way than France. The revolution was not only a physical revolution but an ideological revolution. The Germans started a counter movement to French enlightenment called Romanticism. Romanticism bluntly contradicted French rationalism by stressing emotion and imagination rather than reason. Romanticism coincided with German Nationalism and was a sort of “stick it to the man” to the French. The German states called for rebellion and liberation with the slogan “With God for King and Fatherland.” At the forefront of German nationalism was Prussia. Despite being more liberal than other states, Prussia was able to grow strong under the same principles of anti-French Germany. In 1813, William III of Prussia joined forces with Russia against France. Napoleon and the Russo-Prussian forces began a great conflict for Germany. When Napoleon called on the still neutral Austria for aide, Austria requested to receive some of its land back in exchange for becoming an ally. Napoleon responded, "I will give you nothing because you have not defeated me. So it's war you want, you shall have it. I will beat you." Napoleon now had nearly all of Europe against him. He refused to give up, but he was no match for the allied nations fighting against him. Napoleon was defeated and sent into exile. He attempted a comeback but was soon defeated once again, famously at the battle of Waterloo, and this time exiled for good.
Main Points:
- The Russian and Spanish resistance of the French gave new life to the rebellions in the German states.
- A great sense of German pride formed across the German states, most notably Prussia. As an act of opposition to the French way of life, Romanticism, a movement which stressed emotion rather than reason was made to counteract the enlightenment.
- Russia and Prussia united against Napoleon and when he sought aid from Austria he was refused. Napoleon now had nearly all of central Europe against him, and he defeated by these allies and sent into exile.
- He attempted a comeback but was soon defeated once again, famously at the battle of Waterloo, and this time exiled for good.
Napoleon's errors:
- By attempting to impose his ways on his territories, Napoleon created resentment and anger against the French rule. This resentment along with a great sense of German pride prompted the German states to rebel and unite to defeat Napoleon.
- When Napoleon called upon Austria for aide, he was too proud to cede territory back to Austria in exchange for their alliance and so Austria joined with Russia and Prussia against France instead
- Napoleon kept relying on a victory that would be a turning point, but he never got it. With all of the powers of Europe against him, he was doomed.
Conclusion:
Napoleons greatest flaw was his "Hubris", or excessive pride. He wanted to make all of Europe like France and failed to see the conflict this would cause. He believed the people would be in favor of his new enlightenment ideas over their old traditional regimes and institutions. He greatly miscalculated the people's sense of pride in their homelands and their religion. Rather than seen as a liberator, which he expected, he was seen as a villain who was destroying their way of life. At the first opportunity they received, the people rebelled and fought back against the new imposed regime. In the end the people were able to unite against France and take down Napoleon and end his great rule.