The Rise and Fall of the Napoleonic Empire Across Europe
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era was defined by the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, who seized power in 1799, established the French Consulate, and crowned himself Emperor in 1804. Through brilliant tactical campaigns, France expanded its influence across Continental Europe, winning decisive victories at Austerlitz, Jena, and Wagram. Napoleon restructured legal systems with the Napoleonic Code and reformed European administration, education, and finance. However, catastrophic military failures during the 1812 Russian campaign and resistance from the Sixth Coalition led to his initial abdication in 1814. Following a brief return during the Hundred Days, his ultimate defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 ended French hegemony, permanently reshaping European geopolitics, nationalism, and institutional governance.
People
Birth
Death
Origin
Age (Death)
| 1732 | |
|---|---|
| 1753 | |
| 1754 | |
| 1755 | |
| 1758 | |
| 1759 | |
| 1767 | |
| 1769 | |
| 1769 | |
| 1769 | |
| 1770 |
Timeline
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Element |
| Year | Napoleonic Era |
|---|---|
| 1732 |
Birth of Jacques Necker (Period: September 30, 1732, Location: Geneva (present-day Geneva, Switzerland))
|
| 1748 |
Career as a Banker in Paris (Jacques Necker)
|
| 1753 |
Birth of Lazare Carnot (Period: May 13, 1753, Location: Nolay (present-day Nolay, Côte-d'Or, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France))
|
| 1754 |
Birth of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (Period: February 2, 1754, Location: Paris, France)
|
| 1755 |
Birth of Paul Barras (Period: June 30, 1755, Location: Fox-Amphoux (Fox-Amphoux, present-day Var, France))
|
| 1756 |
Seven Years' War
|
| 1758 |
Birth of André Masséna (Period: May 6, 1758, Location: Nice, France)
|
| 1759 |
Birth of Joseph Fouché (Period: May 21, 1759, Location: Le Pellerin (present-day near Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France))
|
| 1760 |
Education at Saint-Sulpice Seminary (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Management of the French East India Company (Jacques Necker)
|
| 1764 |
Marriage (Jacques Necker and Suzanne Curchod)
|
| 1767 |
Birth of Joachim Murat (Period: March 25, 1767, Location: La Bastide-Fortunière (present-day Labastide-Murat, Lot, France))
|
| 1768 |
Representative of the Republic of Geneva in France (Jacques Necker)
|
| 1769 |
Necker's Defense of the French East India Company
Birth of Michel Ney (Period: January 10, 1769, Location: Saarlouis (present-day Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany))
Birth of Jean Lannes (Period: April 10, 1769, Location: Lectoure, Gers, France)
Birth of Napoleon Bonaparte (Period: August 15, 1769, Location: Ajaccio, Corsica (present-day Ajaccio, Corse-du-Sud, France))
|
| 1770 |
Birth of Louis-Nicolas Davout (Period: May 10, 1770, Location: Annoux, Yonne, France)
|
| 1771 |
Admission to the Royal Engineering School of Mézières (Lazare Carnot)
Voyages as a Merchant Marine Sailor (André Masséna)
Enlistment in the French Royal Army (Paul Barras)
|
| 1775 |
Enlistment in the Royal Italian Regiment (André Masséna)
American Revolutionary War
Attendance at the Coronation of Louis XVI (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
|
| 1776 |
Participation in the Expedition to India (Paul Barras)
Appointment as Director-General of the Royal Treasury (Jacques Necker)
|
| 1777 |
Financial Reforms as Director-General of Finance (Jacques Necker)
Financing the American Revolutionary War (Jacques Necker)
|
| 1780 |
Appointment as Vicar General (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Second Anglo-Mysore War
|
| 1781 |
Publication of the Royal Financial Report (*Compte rendu au roi*)
Publication of the Report to the King (*Compte rendu au roi*)
Dismissal of Necker as Director-General of Finance
|
| 1782 |
Participation in Suffren's Fleet (Paul Barras)
|
| 1783 |
Establishment of Reputation through the *Éloge de Vauban*
|
| 1784 |
Publication of *Essay on Machines*
Publication of *A Treatise on the Administration of the Finances of France*
|
| 1785 |
Commissioned into the French Royal Army (Napoleon Bonaparte)
|
| 1787 |
French Financial Crisis
Enlistment in a Cavalry Regiment (Joachim Murat)
|
| 1788 |
Enlistment in the French Army (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Appointment as Bishop of Autun (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Reappointment during the Financial Crisis (Jacques Necker)
Involvement in Convoking the Estates-General (Jacques Necker)
Reappointment of Necker
|
| 1789 |
Outbreak of the French Revolution
Participation in the French Revolution and Loss of Position as a Royalist Officer (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Participation in the National Guard and Volunteers after the French Revolution (André Masséna)
French Revolution and Nationalization of Church Property
Involvement in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Support for Constitutional Monarchy (Jacques Necker)
Participation in the Administration of the Var Department (Paul Barras)
Participation in the Estates-General (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Dismissal of Necker and the Storming of the Bastille
Storming of the Bastille
French Revolution and the Storming of the Bastille
Return as Chief Minister of the King (Jacques Necker)
Marriage (André Masséna and Anne-Marie-Rosalie Lamare)
|
| 1790 |
Participation in the National Guard (Joachim Murat)
Opposition to Assignats
Departure of the Necker Family from France
Retirement at Coppet Castle and Political-Economic Research (Jacques Necker)
Fête de la Fédération on the Champ de Mars
Resignation from the Financial Post (Jacques Necker)
|
| 1791 |
Election as Battalion Commander of the Yonne Volunteers (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Proposal for Educational Reform (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Marriage (Paul Barras and Marie-Pélagie Templier)
Excommunication of Talleyrand
Marriage (Lazare Carnot and Jacqueline-Sophie Dupont)
Election to the Legislative Assembly (Lazare Carnot)
Marriage (Louis-Nicolas Davout and Marie-Nicole-Adélaïde Séguenot)
|
| 1792 |
War of the First Coalition
Promotion to Officer in the Army of the North (Michel Ney)
Joining the Army due to the French Revolution (Jean Lannes)
Enlistment in the Gers Volunteers Battalion (Jean Lannes)
Diplomatic Mission to Britain (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
French Revolutionary Wars
Storming of the Tuileries Palace
Election to the National Convention (Joseph Fouché)
Marriage (Joseph Fouché and Bonne-Jeanne Coiquaud)
Participation in the Battle of Valmy (Michel Ney)
Trial of Louis XVI and Vote for Execution
Trial and Execution of Louis XVI
|
| 1793 |
War in the Vendée
French Revolutionary Wars: Northern Front
Mission to the Northern and Eastern Borders (Lazare Carnot)
Response to the Law on the Levy of 300,000 Men
Establishment of Reputation as the "Organizer of Victory" (Lazare Carnot)
Promotions in the Army of the Pyrenees (Jean Lannes)
Dechristianization Movement
Revolutionary Policies in Nèvre
Meeting Napoleon at Toulon
Vote for the Execution of Louis XVI (Paul Barras)
Suppression of the Marseille Rebellion
Joining the Committee of Public Safety (Lazare Carnot)
Siege of Toulon
Participation in the Battle of Wattignies (Lazare Carnot)
Suppression of the Lyon Rebellion
Rise to Prominence at the Siege of Toulon
Recapture of Toulon
|
| 1794 |
Promotions in the Army of Italy (André Masséna)
Expulsion from Britain and Exile in the United States (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Election as President of the National Convention (Lazare Carnot)
Expulsion from the Jacobin Club (Joseph Fouché)
Thermidorian Reaction
Coup of 9 Thermidor
Arrest of the Robespierrist Faction
|
| 1795 |
Army Reorganization by Thermidorians and Temporary Dismissal (Jean Lannes)
Distinction in the Army of Italy (Jean Lannes)
Activities as the Principal Leader of the Directory
Appointment as President of the National Convention (Paul Barras)
Marriage (Jean Lannes and Polette Méric)
13 Vendémiaire
Royalist Uprising of 13 Vendémiaire
Uprising of 13 Vendémiaire
Appointment as Director of the Directory (Lazare Carnot)
Establishment of the Directory
|
| 1796 |
Appointment as Napoleon's Aide-de-Camp and the First Italian Campaign (Joachim Murat)
French Revolutionary Wars: Italian Campaign
Babeuf's Conspiracy
Involvement in Napoleon's Appointment as Commander of the Army of Italy (Paul Barras)
Appointment as Commander of the Army of Italy (Napoleon Bonaparte)
Involvement in the Marriage of Joséphine and Napoleon
Marriage (Napoleon Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais)
Promotion to Brigadier General (Michel Ney)
|
| 1797 |
Seizure of Pichegru's Correspondence and the Coup of 18 Fructidor
XYZ Affair
Battle of Rivoli
Battle of Neuwied and Capture (Michel Ney)
Appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Coup of 18 Fructidor
Treaty of Campo Formio
|
| 1798 |
French Revolutionary Wars and the Egyptian Expedition
War of the Second Coalition
Egyptian Expedition (Napoleon Bonaparte)
French Revolutionary Wars: Egyptian and Syrian Campaigns
Participation in the Egyptian Expedition (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
French Expedition to Egypt and Syria
Quasi-War
French Invasion of Switzerland
Mutiny of the Garrison in Rome
|
| 1799 |
Appointment as Commander of the Consular Guard (Joachim Murat)
Centralization of the Police Apparatus (Joseph Fouché)
Retirement at Grosbois Castle and Exile (Paul Barras)
Capture of Mannheim and Promotion to General of Division (Michel Ney)
Promotion to General of Division (Michel Ney)
Appointment as Minister of Police (Joseph Fouché)
Cavalry Charge at the Battle of Abukir (Joachim Murat)
Battle of Abukir (Jean Lannes)
Cooperation in the Coup of 18 Brumaire (Jean Lannes)
Fall from Power in the Directory (Paul Barras)
Coup of 18 Brumaire
Appointment as First Consul (Napoleon Bonaparte)
|
| 1800 |
Appointment as Commander of the Consular Guard (Jean Lannes)
Activities as Minister of War and Commander of the Army of Italy (André Masséna)
Appointment as Minister of War (Lazare Carnot)
Siege of Genoa
Defense of Genoa
Meeting with Napoleon (Jacques Necker)
Battle of Montebello
Battle of Marengo
Marriage (Jean Lannes and Louise-Antoinette de Guéhéneuc)
Battle of Hohenlinden
Plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise
|
| 1801 |
Appointment as French Ambassador to Portugal (Jean Lannes)
Reorganization of the German States and German Mediatization
Treaty of Lunéville
Marriage (Louis-Nicolas Davout and Louise-Aimée-Julie Leclerc)
|
| 1802 |
Diplomatic and Military Missions in Switzerland (Michel Ney)
Publication of *Last Views on Politics and Finance*
Marriage (Joachim Murat and Maria Annunziata "Caroline" Bonaparte)
Treaty of Amiens
Life Consulate and Resignation as Minister of Police (Joseph Fouché)
Marriage (Michel Ney and Aglaé Auguié)
Marriage (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord and Catherine Noël Worlee)
|
| 1803 |
Louisiana Purchase
Publication of *Geometry of Position*
Purchase of the Château de Valençay
Napoleonic Wars
|
| 1804 |
Promulgation of the Napoleonic Code
Opposition to Napoleon's Coronation as Emperor
Appointment as Marshal of the Empire (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Cadoudal-Pichegru Conspiracy
Death of Jacques Necker
Coronation as Napoleon I, Emperor of the French
Appointment as Marshal of the Empire (Joachim Murat)
Appointment as Marshal of the Empire (Michel Ney)
Reappointment as Minister of Police (Joseph Fouché)
Coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of the French
|
| 1805 |
War of the Third Coalition
Battle of Elchingen
Conquest of the Kingdom of Naples
Battle of Austerlitz
|
| 1806 |
War of the Fourth Coalition
Berlin Decree and Continental System
Conferment of the Title Duke of Elchingen (Michel Ney)
Suppression of the Rebellion in the Kingdom of Naples
Appointment as Prince and Sovereign of Benevento (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Appointment as Grand Duke of Berg (Joachim Murat)
Establishment of the Confederation of the Rhine
Siege of Magdeburg
Battle of Auerstedt (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Jena-Auerstedt Campaign (Jean Lannes)
|
| 1807 |
Appointment as Governor-General of the Duchy of Warsaw (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Deterioration of Relations with Napoleon and Resignation as Foreign Minister (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Battle of Eylau
Battle of Friedland
Resignation as Foreign Minister (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
|
| 1808 |
Peninsular War
Command in the Peninsular War (Michel Ney)
Conferment of the Title Duke of Auerstaedt
Acquisition of the Title Duke of Montebello (Jean Lannes)
Conferment of the Title Duke of Rivoli (André Masséna)
Dos de Mayo Uprising
Accession as King of Naples (Joachim Murat)
Accession to the Throne of Naples (Joachim Murat)
Accidental Shooting by Napoleon during a Hunt (André Masséna)
Congress of Erfurt
Battle of Tudela
Siege of Saragossa
|
| 1809 |
War of the Fifth Coalition
Eckmühl and Wagram Campaigns (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Conferment of the Title Prince of Eckmühl (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Conferment of the Title Duke of Otranto (Joseph Fouché)
Response to the Walcheren Campaign (Joseph Fouché)
Public Reprimand by Napoleon (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
Battle of Aspern-Essling
Assumption of Command at the Battle of Aspern-Essling (André Masséna)
Wounding at Aspern-Essling (Jean Lannes)
Death of Jean Lannes
Arrest of Pope Pius VII
Battle of Wagram and Peace with Austria
Battle of Wagram
Conferment of the Title Prince of Essling (André Masséna)
|
| 1810 |
Retreat in Portugal during the Peninsular War
Retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras (André Masséna)
Appointment as Commander of the Army of Portugal (André Masséna)
Marriage (Napoleon Bonaparte and Marie Louise of Austria)
Dismissal as Minister of Police and Secret Diplomacy (Joseph Fouché)
|
| 1812 |
French Invasion of Russia
Command of Cavalry in the Russian Campaign
Command of the I Corps in the Russian Campaign (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
French Invasion of Russia and War of the Sixth Coalition
Opposition to the Invasion of Russia (Joseph Fouché)
Russian Campaign and the Occupation of Moscow
Malet Coup Attempt
Crossing of the Dnieper River
|
| 1813 |
War of the Sixth Coalition
Defense of Antwerp
Siege and Defense of Hamburg
Defense of Hamburg
Conferment of the Title Prince of the Moskva (Michel Ney)
Command in the German Campaign of 1813 (Michel Ney)
Defection from Napoleon after the Battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
|
| 1814 |
Treaty between the Kingdom of Naples and Austria
Campaign in North-East France (Michel Ney)
Retirement during the First Restoration (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Loyalty to the Bourbon Restoration
Congress of Vienna
Fall of Paris and the First Abdication
Abdication of Napoleon and Formation of the Provisional Government
Abdication of Napoleon in 1814
Swearing Allegiance to Louis XVIII and Appointment to the Chamber of Peers (Michel Ney)
Response to the Abdication of Napoleon (Joseph Fouché)
Marshals' Demand for Abdication at Fontainebleau
|
| 1815 |
Hundred Days and War of the Seventh Coalition
Final Years and Death on Saint Helena (Napoleon Bonaparte)
Final Years and Death in Magdeburg (Lazare Carnot)
Neapolitan War
Exile during the Second Restoration (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Napoleonic Wars and War of the Seventh Coalition
Marriage (Joseph Fouché and Ernestine-Gabrielle de Castellane-Majastre)
Final Years after the Second Restoration (Paul Barras)
Secret Treaty of Alliance of 1815
Escape from Elba and the Hundred Days (Napoleon Bonaparte)
Appointment as Minister of the Interior during the Hundred Days (Lazare Carnot)
Participation in the Movement for Italian Independence and Unification (Joachim Murat)
Appointment as Minister of War and Defense of Paris during the Hundred Days (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Minister of War during the Hundred Days (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Minister of Police during the Hundred Days (Joseph Fouché)
Rejoining Napoleon (Michel Ney)
Proclamation of Rimini
Defeat at Tolentino
Participation in the Executive Commission after Napoleon's Defeat (Lazare Carnot)
Defense of Paris after Waterloo (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
Appointment as Commander of the Paris National Guard (André Masséna)
Appointment as Commander of the Left Wing of the Army of the North during the Hundred Days (Michel Ney)
Battle of Waterloo
Appointment as President of the Executive Commission (Joseph Fouché)
Exile to Saint Helena (Napoleon Bonaparte)
Second Restoration and Exile of Carnot (Lazare Carnot)
Second Restoration and Minister of Police (Joseph Fouché)
Flight to Corsica (Joachim Murat)
Landing at Pizzo and Arrest
Death of Joachim Murat
Execution of Joachim Murat by Firing Squad
Trial and Execution of Michel Ney
Death Sentence for High Treason and Execution (Michel Ney)
Death of Michel Ney
|
| 1816 |
Exile and Final Years (Joseph Fouché)
|
| 1817 |
Death of André Masséna
|
| 1819 |
Admission to the Chamber of Peers (Louis-Nicolas Davout)
|
| 1820 |
Death of Joseph Fouché
|
| 1821 |
Death of Napoleon Bonaparte
|
| 1823 |
Death of Louis-Nicolas Davout
Death of Lazare Carnot
|
| 1829 |
Death of Paul Barras
|
| 1830 |
Appointment as Ambassador to Great Britain (Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord)
July Revolution and Transition to the July Monarchy
|
| 1834 |
Quadruple Alliance of France, Britain, Spain, and Portugal
|
| 1838 |
Map
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Element |
Europe
World
Related Links
| Group | List |
|---|---|
| Western Europe | Napoleonic Era Victorian Era Music |
| Central Europe | liberalism German Empire Musical Revolution Marxism |
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