P. V. N. Myers

“ The French "July Revolution," as it is called, lighted the signal fires of liberty throughout Europe. In almost every country there were uprisings of the Liberals. Existing constitutions were so changed as to give the people a larger share in the government; and where there were no constitutions, original charters were granted. In some instances, indeed, the uprisings had no other result than that of rendering the despotic governments against which they were directed more cruel and tyrannical than they were before ”

“ Without waiting for the attack of the allies, Napoleon flung his Grand Army, as it was called, across the Rhine, defeated the Austrians in the battle of Ulm, and marched in triumph through Vienna to the field of Austerlitz beyond, where he gained one of his most memorable victories over the combined armies of Austria and Russia, numbering more than 100,000 men (Dec. 2, 1805) .
This battle completely changed the map of Europe. Austria was forced to give up Venetia and other provinces about the head of the Adriatic, this territory being now added to the kingdom of Italy. ”

“ The aim of the Revolution was to abolish privileges and establish rights,— to give every man lot and part in shaping the government under which he lives. These republican ideas and principles have, on the whole, notwithstanding repeated reverses, gained ground; for revolutions never move backward. ”

“ The loss by death of the French and their allies in this disastrous campaign is reckoned at about 300,000 men, [3] while that of the Russians is estimated to have been almost as large.
"The Battle of the Nations" (Leipsic, 1813) .—Napoleon's fortunes were buried with his Grand Army in the snows of Russia. His woeful losses emboldened the surrounding powers to think that now they could crush him. A sixth coalition was formed, embracing Russia, Prussia, England, and Sweden. Napoleon made gigantic efforts to prepare France for the struggle. ”

“ But during all this time the ideas of the Revolution were working among the people, and the republican party was constantly gaining strength. Finally, in 1848, some unpopular measures of the government caused an uprising similar to that of 1830. Louis Philippe, under the assumed name of Mr. Smith, fled into England. The Second Republic was now established. An election being ordered, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of the great Napoleon, was chosen president of the new republic (Dec. 20, 1848) . ”

“ Sixteen of the German states, declaring themselves independent of the empire, were formed into a league, called the Confederation of the Rhine, with Napoleon as Protector. Furthermore, the Emperor Francis II. was obliged to surrender the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, and thereafter to content himself with the title of Emperor of Austria. ”

“ Unable to reach his enemy directly with his arms, he resolved to strike her through her commerce. By two celebrated imperial edicts, called from the cities whence they were issued the Berlin and the Milan decree, he closed all the ports of the continent against English ships, and forbade any of the European nations from holding any intercourse with Great Britain, all of whose ports he declared in a state of blockade. ”

“ This decisive battle gave England the control of the sea, and relieved her from all danger of a French invasion. Even the " wet ditch," as Napoleon was wont contemptuously to call the English Channel, was henceforth an impassable gulf to his ambition. He might rule the continent, but the sovereignty of the ocean and its islands was denied him.
Jena and Auerstadt (1806) .—Prussia was the state next after Austria to feel the weight of Napoleon's power. Goaded by insult, the Prussian king, Frederick William III., very imprudently threw down the gauntlet to the French emperor. ”

“ The pretext upon which the war was actually declared was that Prussia was scheming to augment her influence by allowing a Prussian prince (Leopold of Hohenzollern) to become a candidate for the vacant throne of Spain (see p. 705) . ”