The War Aims of Each Nation In the Napoleonic Wars 1804-1807
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- čas přidán 17. 12. 2022
- Between 1804-1814, Napoleon Bonaparte dominated the European continent . This video aims to be a short documentary looking at the overall war aims of the French Empire, as well as the more specific aims of the Great Powers that fought against Napoleon in the coalitions.
#NapoleonicWars, #History, #Austria
I hope you enjoy this short video on the Napoleonic Wars. The format of this one is a bit less rigid than usual, with France and in the next part, Britain, getting their own dedicated segments as opposed to being completely tied into the coalition segments. My reasoning for this is that since France and Britain were the only belligerents in a constant state of war, it is easier to discuss their grand strategies specifically, as opposed to the other Great Powers who changed their relationship with France and Britain constantly depending on which coalition one is referring to. I hope that makes some sort of sense. There is more diplomacy in this than previous video, as if I'm honest, the coalitions were often over so quickly the powers rarely had time to formulate comprehensive war aims, at least from what I can decipher.
As a side note, the Prussian borders will be at times slightly wrong, as they changed quite quickly in lead up to the Fourth Coalition (for example, the southern enclave of Ansbach had been lost by the time of the Fourth Coalition). Any feedback and corrections/mistakes that you notice is much appreciated. Thank you for watching.
Thanks for these videos man, they are really good!
hey
No, no, thank you for your dear and able time being spent thusly in such endeavors.
Another great episode
These videos are so crazy good keep it up man
"We will never lose to the French, we will fight to the last Austrian"-Britain
Britain lost more soldiers than Prussia or Russia throughout the wars - 311,000 British military deaths compared to 134,000 Prussians and 289,000 Russians.
@@roccfckco Did this came from Waterloo and the Spanish War only (also in Portugal, probably) ? If so, they managed to loose more men in less battles than most european nations had, considering they pretty much all fought in much more battles than the british did actually...well, except with their navy, which even though this should include other military deaths, obviously, shouldn't represent so much casualties for the british, as their superiority in naval battles was so overwhelming they didn't seem to loose a lot of ships in fact. But of course, I guess loosing Nelson single-handedly must have been considered like thousands at once...ha ha 😅
@@roccfckco Russia however suffered enormous civilian loses and infrastructural damage. Britain could claim neither
@@798jeremy there were two Spanish expeditions, John Moore's unsuccessful campaign which ended in the battle of Coruna and Wellington's. There were also multiple British landings on the north coast of Europe which ended in disaster, and the fact that Britain alone was tasked with the colonial theatres of war, such as in India and the Caribbean.
That 'single-handed' pun about Nelson was hilarious by the way hahaha
@@KaiserFranzJosefI The British public were plunged into recession and poverty during the war just like many other countries. British civilian losses were felt in the colonies, but you're right that they were somewhat sheltered from that aspect of war. However, given the huge losses in military personnel and the relatively small population of the island, its fair to say the Napoleonic Wars as a whole still had a huge detrimental impact on the average citizen, who likely lost family or friends - especially given the grouping of regiments based on localities, which meant a military disaster befalling a command group in Europe could essentially wipe out every able-bodied man in a community, condemning them to poverty.
Austria: Opposes "aggressive French expansionism"
Also Austria: Haha Venice go annex.
Those treacherous Bavarians, how dare they align with our enemies after we keep trying to annex them.
Austria annexing Venice was the most unbased thing they ever did.
@@illumey7884 What?
@@illumey7884 sure sure
@@jackbharucha1475 kinda how the Spanish felt about the Portuguese for being allied with the British. Like "how dare you be allied with our enemy after we keep trying to conquer you". 😅
I hope there's a second video which talks about Napoleon's territorial proposals in Iberia. Most know he annexed Catalonia but his first idea was to have the Ebro River be the border between Spain and the French Empire. His plans for Portugal are also fascinating
The aims in the Peninsular war will be discussed in detail in the next part, yes.
@Old Britannia If it is not so much of a hassle, could you include time-stamps within the next video, as you have done in your WW1 video?! Whatever you may decide, I still wish to thank you for such high-quality videos. Cheerios!
@@theworldisyours0722 Ah sorry I meant to here, will do so tomorrow. Thank you very much.
Can you please share more about his aims in Iberia? Sounds very interesting
@@757hh I don't wanna spoil his next video but look into the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Napoleon abandoned the Ebro border after being persuaded by his brother, Joseph King of Spain. There's other wierd stuff like the Basques appealing to Napoleon for the creation of a Basque state called "New Phoenicia" as well I believe
I feel when Napoleon famously quoted, “I shall be a new William”, he was referring more to William the Conqueror, a French Duke who conquered England in 1066. Quite sure you’ve covered this.
When he said that in the video I pictured William of Orange but William the Conqueror makes more sense lol
@@mac17633 LOL well Willem van Oranje, didn't quiet conquer England, more like replaced an unwelcome King there!
I, I think the context was a whole spiel about how the English were suffering under an Oligarchic yoke and how Pitt was afraid of his invasion and how he would have been greeted as a liberator.
William the orange king of the Netherlands more like duke from France 🤣
@@willemvanoranje5724 He did conquer England tho. He forced the English parliament to make him king
"War had given him the throne. War had kept him there."
Me : And war is what removed him.
Yep...and once again, we can justify whatever we like with war, sometimes (especially at this time, in history).
poetic
Live by the sword, die by the sword
No, logistics and poor winter campaign planning doomed him more than any battlefield
@@briantonkin7737 He said war, not battle, so he is correct. And logistics and winter campaigns are only a problem when you, guess what? Constantly engage in wars.
Another great video you honestly deserve so many more subs. It’s really cool how you cover topics rarely discussed by other CZcams history channels. The animation (if that’s the right word) for your videos looks clean and is very pleasant on the eye. Great stuff 👍
Love your work as usual.
Such a great channel and my favorite History channel
Honestly these conflicts go back to the Sun King. The Grand Alliance formed to contain French expansion and then France defended Spain during the war of succession. Britain was rightfully afraid of Napoleon invading England and wanted to dominate the sea to prevent that, and when they did they forced the French to respond on land. Britain is just as guilty as France for not coming to the table earlier. They could have avoided millions dead but they were both stubborn, which meant escalation after escalation and bigger and bigger invasions. The numbers in total manpower from 1812-1814 were insane for the time but were also a natural result of a continent fighting an on and off anti-French war for 22 years. Its actually insane how consistent the rest of Europe were against France after the Thirty Years War, but the British paid well and had the best navy since Spain had lost its hegemony. France was the only real challenge to Britain's dominance but France lost in India and North America before British troops marched into France. In some ways Napoleon created what he'd been fighting to avoid. He isolated himself mentally, politically and as a military leader and lost himself in the lure of greatest enemy to a great general: more.
That feels meaningful ! :-D
The Dutch had the most powerfull navy after Spain. Britain/England took over the Dutch Republic during the Nine Years War in the 1690s, when it was decided that the Dutch would be focussing on and leading the land war, while Britain/England was to play a larger role at sea
@@5thMilitia true them and Portugal were the reason the Ottomans never established a great navy right?
Britain was the aggressor, you biased f*ck
this was really nice to read, loved it
Great video, these are always more interesting
Great stuff as always
This channel has quickly become my favorite channel! Love the content!
what a awesome video , i hope you can do something about his Aims for the balkans and Iberia, either way great job and thanks for the video!
Like always a wondeful video!
Great stuff! Season's greetings from Canada, and thanks once again.
Keep up the great work.
This is a great video. You just got yourself another sub my friend. Very well done. Look forward to more of your content. Love content of the Victorian Era and napoleanic Era. I recently started to dive into this Era again.
Excellent work here
Another fab video!
Love your videos, keep it up.
brilliant clausewitzian analysis as ever mate. bravo.
These videos are sooooo good
Love this video, you definitely deserve more subscribers!
If I may ask, in the scenario of a part 2, would it go over the war aims and proposals against the Russian empire when France invaded it in 1812, including the aims in Spain and Portugal, all of these are really fascinating
Absolutely, thankfully from my preliminary reading the war aims for all that you have mentioned seem more substantial than those in the Third and Fourth Coalitions.
Love your videos, you have a really relaxing cadence - could listen to you for hours
Cant say I hear that particularly often lol. But thank you.
Another fantastic video! Keep it up!
Reminding me of the Napoleonic strategic board game Empire in Arms that I played many years ago . The victory conditions for different players taking on the role of the major powers are vastly different, as this video has demonstrated.
Great vid!
interesting as always
I really do like these types of videos, as no one really does look into the actual goals of each nation in these wars, if possible can you do WW2 and the Seven Years War next?
god I love this channel. You are one of the few people that when I see one of your videos in my feed I click immediately. I love the way you can condense such large and complex periods of history into enjoyable 15 minute segments.
Minor correction, at 2:03 you say Caroline is Queen of Naples, but she was not Queen regnant, she was Queen consort, married to Marshal Joachim Murat, who was King of Naples.
Truth be told, since Murat was absent from Naples a lot, usually due to wars in which he had to command, Caroline was usually acting as a virtual regent of the country. So yeah, she practically ruled it sometimes and otherwise had a ton of influence on politics in Naples.
War aim videos from that channel Are PERFECT
Your most entertaining type of video by far in my opinion. Great job!
Thank you for listing your sources.
2:10 King Louis was actually loved by many citizens in the Netherlands
I've read the same. King Louis wanted to be a good king and not merely a vessel for Napoleon.
Joseph was also quite popular in Naples and conducted very effective reforms to that neglected Kingdom. His time in Spain however was made a total dieaster by Soult and Massena's endless looting
He tried to be Dutch king rather than a French king in charge of 'the kingdom of Holland' even changing his name to Lodewijk from Louis
@@KaiserFranzJosefIit’s not the loot the problem. Everybody looted back then. It’s the Catholic Church and the corrupt locals who enlighten the Guerilla. Criminal bands were accepted and encouraged against the occupiers. Spain was back to the Middle Ages where criminals bands were ravaging France during the 100 years war. They did not disappear after the defeat of Napoleon. It was a mess. Joseph would have been an excellent king for Spain but bad pride pushed them to a terrible support for the terrible Fernando VII.
This is extremely well made! What do you use to make your maps?
As always great video man, these war aims video are such a good idea!!!!
I love these videos
great video, I love the napoleonic wars
Great stuff! Love your channel!
Oooh. Excellent!
Amazing work, as always - you've never ceased to be entertaining, informative, and engaging. Thanks for all the effort you put into these videos :)
But with the Alexandering aside, I am slightly curious - as an aspiring historian myself, what are your methods for your research? You undoubtedly do alot of reading, but a low attention span is something I really struggle with. What's the process you go through when looking into a new video topic, and how can I get more efficiency out of my own reading, of which I can only ever manage about 20 minutes a day? Thanks.
Thank you very much for the kind words. Reading like all things comes with practice, it is undoubtedly a skill, especially where (often very dry) history books are concerned. The best way I found at university was to force myself to read for 20 minutes a day, then up to 25 minutes the next week, and so on until your mind adjusts to not wandering off.
If you have a low attention span naturally it may be a little more difficult, but my mind is hardly laser focused either. However, when it comes to a new video topic I don't actually do formal reading of a whole book as such. Where research is concerned the index is your friend - I'll use it to find the page spread that refers specifically to my topic and just make notes from that. So for example, in my previous Baltic Plan video, I didn't read the entirety of Andrew Lambert's book on Corbett for the video. I used the Index to find the key sections on the Baltic Plan, and made notes from that.
I tend to find that when I'm sifting through multiple books, looking for the perfect passage/quote, I don't even notice I'm reading in the same way I do if I were to pick up a book before bed.
Pls Part 2 now
Could you put your sources in the description as well as at the end? The youtube video recommendation gets in the way of half the source list.
Loved the video.
Ah apologies, will do tomorrow.
Thank you
Could you make a video about The War of the Triple alliance and the war aims of every nation of the boxer rebellion it would be amazing to see your version
Boxer Rebellion might be slightly difficult as I’m not sure I could really stretch it out to a full war aims video. Although it’s something I want to cover yes. Id definitely like to branch out into regions like South America as well yes.
@@OldBritannia learning about South American shenanigans from you would be dope!
@@OldBritannia thank you very much great sir
@@OldBritannia What about the Wars of the Roses? Quite far back in time compared to most of your videos but important history in England/UK
@@lynx8437 Indeed, I’d like to do a history of England series eventually. Medieval history is certainly not my area of ‘expertise’ though so it will take a lot of time and research.
do you think you could do a video on the treaty of versailles, perhaps a more in-depth look?
I cannot put into words my admiration for this man's work
Well this is nice
Short answer:
-France: be big, do revolution.
-Everyone else: don't let France be big and do revolution.
Long answer:
Oh, Praise Heaven's tonight, something utterly worthwhile to fixate my mind towards. Thank you kindly Sir.
The Ottoman Empire being destroyed and divided in the Napoleonic wars instead of being killed by a 1000 cuts over the next 100 years is an interesting counterfactual with lots of important consequences. For example would Mohammed Pasha's de facto independent Egyptian state have come into existence which was a precondition for the Suez canal and British protectorate. If Russia had focused on territory in Anatolia rather than the headaches that Congress Poland and Finland (as prizes from Prussia and Sweden won by Alexander's clever machinations during the chaos unleashed by Napoleon) that they ultimately proved would they have had quite a different trajectory as an imperial entity in the 19th century, more Asiatic focused? Maybe more of a threat to the East India Company/Raj than they ended up being? Would the modern Greek state look as it does? Would Greece or Russia have Constantinople now? Would Serbia become the dominant South Serb Kingdom and would Bulgarian and Romanian national identity even exist? Would the Balkans have been the powder keg they were for 150 years if they had not been under a weak and falling empire ruled by their religious enemies? Would France have expanded into its imperial domination of north west Africa if Algerian and Moroccan territories had been under British and/or Spanish suzerainty rather than an Ottoman one? The course of 1815-1914 would have been transformed.
"April, 1805. Napoleon is master of Europe. Only the British fleet stands before him. Oceans are now battlefields."
this ship, is england
France’s aim:
Literally everything
That’s what coalition centric sources would tell you anyway.
Source: The English
the big blue blob in a nutshell
@@bebos1262 this video is pure english propaganda
@@Chrysobubulle i think you might be a french apologist
Please set up a Patreon mate.
On an unrelated note can I reccomend a video on the 2 Morrocan Crisis? You've mentioned you're a Fischer thesis kind of guy (as am I) so it would be nice to have it explained to people just how blatenly warmongering the Germans were during those crisis
Thank you. I’ll look at setting one up in the new year I think. Still feel a bit uncomfortable asking for donations for a fairly new channel.
I wouldn’t say I support the more radical conclusions of Fisher i.e. Germany planned for a premeditated war in 1912. But yes I generally fall on his side of the argument. Morocco will definitely get covered in a build up to WW1 series I’m planning to start soon. Thanks for watching.
@OldBritannia I don't see how the Kaisers war cabinet meeting of 1912 can be interpreted any other way than Germany planning a war personally. Tirpitz's objections to the war being based on the Kiel canal not being finished for another 1 and a half years and then 1 and a half years later Germany takes the opportunity supplied by the July crisis to go to war is way to big of a coincidence for my liking
And setting up a Patreon isn't asking for donations. At least not unless you start gatekeeping content behind it
Is there going to be another part?
Has anyone else noticed that nearly every portrait of Napoleon he's posing with the hidden hand gesture of Freemasonry?
When is part 2?
Dude what's the music you have in your videos?
Is there part 2?
Great video. May this be a sacrifice to the Algorithm. Cheers from Tennessee
9:15 i almost feel like the initial Your Majesty is said sarcastically, and the later Yous and Yours are meant as belittlement
What is the name of the song at 9:45?
Part 2?
I felt a bias since the start of this video, then I saw the account name, Good Show!
I mean this most sincerely as the aspiring composer and bookwriter of the Madison Exposé musical (being born in Italy), knowing in the framework of Hamilton, I must cast myself as Napoleon
I hope the series also focuses on minor countries that played important roles like Portugal or Sweden - of course you can argus Portugal was still a falling out major power, but it was by far the weakest compared with European superpowers.
Portugal hadn't been considered a major power since late 1500s or early 1600s
@@5thMilitia they still had a vast colonial empire at this time including Brazil and Angola.
@@t.wcharles2171 But that doesn't refute my point
@@5thMilitia they were still greater than most other European nations such as Naples Poland and probably the Ottomans with great quantities of territory and taxable population made the Portuguese government quite rich and able to build grand constructions in peace and war came to Portugal the lines of Torres Vedras was mostly funded and. Built by the Portuguese but that's just my opinion and many places are free countries so think what you want to think.
@@t.wcharles2171 That still doesn't make them a major power. France, Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia are considered that in this period
Not all of the family members of Napoleon placed on the thrones of client kingdoms/states were incompent atleast his older brother Louis Napoleon. Imo the most underrated Napoleon and king
From Dutch historic point of view, Louis (Full name also has Louis Napoleon just shortened to Louis) as puppet king of the client kingdom of Holland, was historically seen as a benevolent ruler and admired by the general public.
He intented to rule the Netherlands as he was one of them. He did this by planning big building projects (like his son Napoleon III did in Paris) and trying to become one of them by showing effort and portraying himself as one of them (one famous quote is in broken Dutch "Iek bien Konijn from Olland", trying to say i am king of holland its actually saying i am rabbit of Holland). This was seen as an act of effort in trying to become one of the Dutch. One notable event is during an explosion in the City of Leiden in 1807 he personally helped/led the rebuilding of the place for a whole day.
However this was not to last as Dutch interest conflicted with that of France and his younger brother the Emperor Napoleon. Like said in the video he continued trade with Brittain as well as refused to help subsidize the French war effort as he was standinf up for "his country". This led to him being removed from power by hus younger brother and the Netherlands being annexed into the French Empire. This also resulted in the building projects mentioned earlier never realizing. Even after Napoleon got beaten the first round, the great powers would never allow another Napoleon to return back to power so he was forced to watch as the Kingdom of the Netherlands was proclaimed.
The one time he did return to the Netherlands during his time it was ruled by another King people shown support for him (or were against the reïnstated house of orange who knows), made him emotional
Lodewijk Bonaparte.
4:43 does anyone know this soundtrack??
Superrrrr
Been looking on a map for 15 minutes and still can't find Hernova.
Who is the narrator? He sounds familiar?
Lets admit it, france bordering all of river rhein is sexy
No its not. Germany having northern France tho. Thats sexy.
@@RK-cj4oc ew gross
Your sources get cut off by the video recommendation
I heard Nepolean also met Tipu Sultan of Kingdom of Mysore. Is it true?
He didn’t ever meet him personally as far as I am aware. He did however hope to use his state as a counter to the EIC in the subcontinent.
He was in tenuous contact with Tipu during the French invasion of Egypt, as he hoped to use Egypt as a means of challenging British hegemony in India
This is a very British point of view
He literally provided historical sources. Facts don’t care your feelings.
@@Chips-Dubbo Historical sources favorable to the British pov
@@MtiuliBichi They are fact checked sources
@@Chips-Dubbo still favorable to the British
One of my favourite Congress facts is Britain turned up eager to see the HRE restored and its elector’s vote returned but neither the Austrians nor Prussians were interested.
This video's narration and the name of the channel are perfect case of "username checks out" lol
I took a leak on the side of Joseph Bonaparte's home once. I was drunk coming from South Street (Philadelphia) and didn't even realize it was his home until I walked back out of the alley and saw the placard. I also pissed on the side of Walt Whitman's home one night down in Camden (NJ). I should write a book with imagery of all the famous homes I've pissed on. It just might sell.🤔
you upset the boneyboos
Luvs ya kid zx
As a Pole , I wish Napoleon had won .
✊😔
The little Corsican caused so much trouble.
Other powers: do arbitrary conquests
France: does arbitrary conquests
Other powers: how dare they do that?
Denmark: please leave our ships alone :(
Wow. He really was a “troll” as well, lol.
Napoleon's ego was so large, that it's difficult to comprehend it. ;-)
I will say it. I'm one of those people who were fooled by Oversimplified.
Man this is complicated af 💀
Napoleon was probably farming renown by putting his siblings on their own thrones
Wait... I got it. To dab on the French navally was the aim of the British Empire.
Great video! I have often wondered about this very question, especially what exactly Napoleon's aims with Europe were. Compared with Hitler his goals always seemed very improvised, non ideological and not very far reaching.
Napoleon wasn't a lunatic like Hitler though. Of course then, his goals would be different than Hitlers.
@@ShayPatrickCormacTHEHUNTER That really depends on your understanding of the question. Lunatic? No, but full of narcissistic grandeur in the same way. The real difference seems to be that Hitler followed (his own) ideology strictly and made plans for Europe accordingly, Napoleon did not have such a firm basis for his conquests.
@@Adonnus100 ah yt and their censoring.
To summarize, Napoleon earned his confidence by demonstrating greatness time and time again. Nothing narcissistic there.
And he had no strict plans, since he was under attack and rarely started an offensive war. All his conquests were simply a result of outmatching the coalitions. Unlike Dolfus who started things first, fueled by ulterior reasons.
@@ShayPatrickCormacTHEHUNTER That is faulty logic. You can be a narcissist and be good at what you do, but it is a separate personality disorder.
"As for myself, my dear Miot, I may inform you, I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up. I have made up my mind, if I cannot be master I shall leave France; I do not choose to have done so much for her and then hand her over to lawyers."
"All authority is in the throne; and what is the throne? This wooden frame covered with velvet? No, I am the throne."
"Women are nothing but machines for producing children."
"Destiny urges me to a goal of which I am ignorant. Until that goal is attained I am invulnerable, unassailable. When Destiny has accomplished her purpose in me, a fly may suffice to destroy me."
This does not really sound like a mentally balanced and humble man. You get in that position and with that self belief not through a normal thought process. The primary sign is an inflated sense of one's own importance and disregard for others. You see that here.
@@Adonnus100 my law professors would give you an F for this comment. All I see are theatrically designed statements, made by a man who is crafting an image of a conqueror, all for propagandist reasons. Not an actual argument whatsoever. And how could it be?
His actual letters to his wife and family, where he was being himself, shatter your claims beyond repair for they show a man's love for his family. In fact, napoleon did more for his family than they did for him. Something a true NPD would never ever do. Unlike you I have seen and interacted with NPD people, and napoleon simply doesn't meet that description. As simple as that.
And, a side note, humble? Really? Which one, be it Hannibal, Alexander, Ceasar, Jesus... Was humble in the way that you have shown to understand it? No one. Not a single one would meet your definition of humble.
I want this video to hit a million
This comment has been made by Algo gang
What were the aims of Spain?
I’ll cover them in the next part.
Having a good king and an estable government, sadly they failed.
What about the ottomans ?
>"Old Britannia"
Yeah this totally isn't going to be biased.
how tf can you be biased in this topic-
I mean aside from just blatantly lying but he cites his sources at least 👀
Definitely nothing to do with the fact that the guy behind the channel is British and named his channel after that.
So it's basically one war after the other, continued for centuries. That's European history summed up.
ther was no major goal in particular just the read contemporary accounts of the leaders of the war. Napoleon was ambitious but born a commoner and the rest of Europe just wanted to maintain the status quo. and the masses had just lost their minds. one of the best examples of mass hysteria.
As great of a military commander Napoleon was, he seemed to be a very bad politician/diplomat. Constantly bullying his neighbors and making enemies it was only a matter of time until he was overthrown. Had he just been better behaved, he probably would have stayed on the throne of France till his death. He had all of Europe under his influenced but that was through fear and that will only last so long.
Netherlands: current objective, survive
Objective in 1792-1795: defend borders and crush the French Revolution.
Objective 1795 to 1810: Try to make it seem like we aren't a puppet of France and defend colonies
Objective 1810-1812: error
Objective 1813: Freedom
Objective 1815: defend new borders