Meanwhile the Northern powers listened to the solicitations of England, and united in a coalition against the new emperor. Russia, Austria and Sweden all joined in the charges of aggrandizement laid against Napoleon by the English government; Gut Prussia, tempted by him with the promise of Hanover, could not be brought to enter the coalition. The emperor abandoned his design of making a descent on England, broke up the camp at Boulogne, and concentrating his widely scattered forces at Mainz, September 1805, he marched at once across Bavaria at the head of 180,000 men, and compelled the Austrian general Mack to capitu late at Ulm, with 23,000 men (20 October). On 13 November he had reached Schönbrunn, near Vienna, where he received news of the victory of Nelson at Trafalgar, over the united fleets of France and Min. Entering the Austrian capital, he made rapid preparations to meet the combined armies of Russia and Austria, then concentrating on the plains of Olmiitz. On 2 December the three armies, each commanded by an emperor, net at Austerlitz. The struggle was desperate and long but at last victory was won by Napoleon. The rout of the Allies was complete. The Austrian emperor instantly sued for peace, giving up to France all his Italian and Adriatic territories. The Russian emperor retired behind his own frontiers, and Hanover was handed over to Prussia. As the king of Naples had received English and Rus sian troops into his dominions, Napoleon con strued this act into one of direct hostility. In February 1806 a French army occupied the Con tinental part of the Neapolitan States, of which Joseph Bonaparte was declared king on the deposition of their former sovereign. The Ba varian republic was transformed into a king dom dependent on France and given to another brother of the emperor, who took the title of king of Holland. Various districts in Germany and Italy were erected by the con queror into dukedoms and bestowed on his most successful generals.
But the most important change of all was the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine on 12 July, and the dissolution of the old German Empire. On the death of the English Minister, Pitt, and the accession of Fox, nego tiations were entered into for the cessation of hostilities between France and England, and as propositions were entertained toward the resto ration of Hanover, the eyes of the Prussians were at once opened and war, however hazard ous, was determined on and was declared on 8 October, the emperor being already at Bam berg directing the movements of his troops, v:hich had remained in Germany. On the 14th Napoleon met the enemy at Jena, and inflicted on them a severe defeat; while his general, Davout, added on the same day to the French triumph by the brilliant victory of Auerstidt. On the 27th Napoleon entered the Prussian cap ital. After garrisoning all the important for tresses and reducing such towns as made a show of resistance. he issued the celebrated Berlin decree (see CONTINENTAL SYSTEM), di rected against English commerce. This policy nearly ruined the commerce of France and the other European nations, While it increased the prosperity of England. Her fleets and cruisers swept the seas; nothing could be obtained from the colonies save through her, and the Conti nental merchants engaged in an extensive smuggling trade with the British, which it was impossible to prevent.
After the capture of Berlin Napoleon marched north against the Russians, who were advancing to assist the Prussians. He called on the Poles to rise, but was answered with little enthusiasm. At Pultusk, 28 Dec. 1806, and at Eylau, 8 Feb. 1807, he met with severe checks, and retired on the line of the Vistula; in the course of a few months, however, having received heavy reinforcements, he once more took the offensive. On 14 June was fought the battle of Friedland, which was so disassrous to the Russian arms that Alexander was com gelled to sue for an armistice. The Peace of
Tilsit was concluded 7-9 July, and by it the king of Prussia received back half of his do minions, and Russia undertook to close her ports against British vessels. The duchy of Warsaw was erected into a kingdom and given to the king of Saxony; out of the Prussian territories west of the Elbe the kingdom of Westphalia was formed and bestowed on Jer ome, Napoleon's youngest brother; and Russia obtained a part of Prussian Poland, and by se cret articles was allowed to take Finland from Sweden. Soon after the Peace of Tilsit was signed Napoleon entered into a war against Portugal, as that nation had refused to respect the Berlin decree, and Junot was sent to occupy Lisbon (30 Nov. 1807). The Pope refusing to carry out the Continental blockade and to rec ognize Joseph Bonaparte as king of Naples, Rome was occupied 2 Feb. 1808. The adminis trative affairs of Spain having fallen into inex tricable confusion, Napoleon sent into that kingdom an army under Murat, who with dif ficulty took possession of the capital and by the Treaty of Bayonne Charles IV resigned the Spanish crown, which was given to Joseph Bonaparte, Murat (q.v.) receiving the vacant sovereignty of Naples.
The great body of the Spanish people rose against this summary disposal of the national crown, and England assisted them with im mense supplies. Thus began the Peninsular War (q.v.), which lasted seven years. The Spaniards were at first successful; a French squadron was captured by the English at Cadiz, 14 June; General Dupont surrendered at Bay len, 22 July, with 18,000 men; junot was de feated 21 August by Sir Arthur Wellesley at Vuneira. But Napoleon rushed to the scene of action in October at the head of 180,000 men, and entered Madrid in spite of all resistance by the Spaniards, 2 December. The British troops which had advanced to the aid of the Spaniards were driven back on Coruna, where they made a successful stand, but lost their general, Sir John Moore, 16 jan. 1809. In the meantime Austria, alarmed at the aggressive policy of Napoleon, who had seized Tuscany and the states of the Church, and determined to profit by his absence in Spain, again declared war, and got together an effective army under the Archduke Charles. Napoleon hurried into Ba varia, encountered the archduke at Eckmiihl (22 April), and completely defeated him; on 13 May he again entered Vienna. Reorganiz ing his shattered army, Charles likewise ad vanced toward Vienna on the opposite bank of the Danube. The French seized the island of Lobau, threw a bridge across the river and at tacked the enemy at Aspern and Essling on the 21st and 22d, but were repulsed and thrown back on the island, which they proceeded to for tify, waiting the arrival of Eugene with the Army of Italy. On 5 July they debouched on the left bank of the Danube, and on the 6th the Austrians were crushed at Wagram. This enabled Napoleon to dictate his own terms of peace, which were agreed to on 14 October at Schlinbrunn. On the preceding day an unsuc cessful attempt was made to assassinate him by a young German enthusiast named Staaps Whether the subsequent marriage with the daughter of the Austrian emperor was in course of negotiation at Schonbrunn is doubtful, but soon after his return to Paris Napoleon in formed Josephine of his determination to di vorce her. He seems to have arrived at the conclusion that he could only put an end to the machinations of the old legitimate dynasties by intermarriage. Josephine, too, had borne him no children, and he was ambitious of perpetuat ing his power in his family. On 16 December an act of divorce was passed by the commis sioners of the Senate, and by proxy 11 March (formally 2 April) 1810 he was married to the Archduchess Maria Louisa. The fruit of this union was a son, Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph, born 20 March 1811, and proclaimed in his cradle king of Rome. See REICHSTADT, Dime OF.