ABSTRACT
In July 1789, the starving populace of Paris stormed a prison known as the Bastille, a monument of monarchical power. The event touched off the French Revolution. The following ten years were marked by civil war, external wars with Prussia and Great Britain, and a despotic regime known as the Reign of Terror. In 1799, general Napoleon Bonaparte led a coup d’etat that replaced the revolutionary government with a military dictatorship. After restoring internal peace, reforming national law, and reorganizing the military, Napoleon set out to build a new French Empire. Between 1801 and 1812, Napoleon conquered most of continental Europe, before suffering a disastrous defeat in a failed invasion of Russia. After losing to a coalition of European powers at the Battle of Leipzig in 1814, Napoleon was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba. The following year, he staged a brief return to power that ended with his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
