"I shall reach Paris," Napoleon predicted, "without firing a shot."
The French soldiers who were sent to capture him went over to his side. Louis XVIII. fled from the kingdom, and Napoleon again seized the throne.
This news reunited the allies, and they once more set their armies in motion. Napoleon's policy was always to strike first. He now marched hastily into Belgium, to attack the British, under Wellington, and the Prussians, under Blucher. There he fought the great battle of Waterloo, on June 18, 1815.
Duke of Wellington
Two days before this battle, Blucher had been defeated and separated from Wellington. Without Blucher's troops, it would be impossible for Wellington to hold his position, at Waterloo. How anxiously, then, through that long day, did Wellington scan the horizon for the promised aid of the Prussians! But the roads were soft from recent rains, and the Prussians found it slow work dragging the heavy cannon through the mud. Meanwhile, the battle raged fiercely—here, there, all over the field! In this battle, Wellington earned the name of "the Iron Duke," for he—
"Taught us there
What long enduring hearts could do,
In that world-earthquake, Waterloo!"
At last, six miles away, a dark moving mass appeared. The field glasses showed that they were men—troops! But were they the promised aid from Blucher, or the reinforcements expected by the French?
"They are French; they must be French!" cried Napoleon.
But no! It was the advance guard of the Prussians!
The French fought desperately, but they had now to face two foes. Soon they gave way. Then the defeat became a rout. The new recruits flung aside their guns, and the shameful cry arose, "Let each save himself!"
In vain Napoleon's Old Guard stood firm. "The Guard dies," it was said, "but it does not surrender!"
This defeat of Napoleon caused his final downfall. For the second time, Paris passed into the hands of the allies. Napoleon tried to find a ship in which he could escape to America, but could not. At last, to avoid falling into the hands of the Prussians, he went on board a British man-of-war, and surrendered to its commander.
He was taken to England. Then, by the unanimous resolve of the allies, he was carried to the island of St. Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean, where he was kept a captive, until his death, in 1821. He had staked everything on making himself master of the whole of Europe, and had failed. He was one of the greatest generals in history, and in his few intervals of peace showed that he could be a great statesman and reformer. But his policy was coldly selfish, and the sufferings of France in his wars failed to move him. His overthrow was a real benefit to all the nations of Europe, and indeed of the world.
In the midst of her war against Napoleon, Great Britain fought her second war against the United States (1812-1815). The struggle between the giants of Europe had led both countries to interfere unjustly with the commerce of neutral nations, and American trade was practically destroyed. In addition, Great Britain forced many American seamen to serve on board her warships, claiming (truly or falsely) that they were British subjects. The United States chose to go to war with Great Britain alone, and American vessels won some notable victories over separate English vessels. The Americans failed, however, to conquer Canada, as was planned; and a British expedition captured the city of Washington and burned many of the government buildings. The battle of New Orleans, which General Andrew Jackson and his sharpshooters won against the British, came after peace had been agreed to, and so was without result. The treaty which ended the war left things just about as they were when it began. Nevertheless, the war accomplished two things for America: it caused Great Britain to respect her late colonies; and it united the States more firmly, and taught them that they were a nation.
In overthrowing the Emperor Napoleon, Great Britain had played the chief part. As was only natural, she profited by the war, through her conquest of the colonial possessions of France and of the countries allied with France—Spain and Holland. Thus she secured the Cape of Good Hope, Malta, Ceylon, Trinidad, and other important parts of the present British Empire.
But these gains were dearly bought. Her public debt increased to four times what it was at the beginning of the war, and has ever since remained a heavy burden. The prices of goods rose enormously, until wheat sold for about four dollars a bushel; but wages rose very little. The war left Great Britain, therefore, with many serious problems to solve. Moreover, fear of the French Revolution had stopped the movements toward democracy and reform, which existed before the war, and had left the rigid Tories in complete control of the government.
The wiping out of these effects of the struggle against the French Revolution was the work of the next twenty years of British history.
Topics for Thought and Search
Read an account of Napoleon Bonaparte's boyhood and rise to power.
Read an account of the Battle of Trafalgar (Southey's "Life of Nelson," Ch. ix).
Write and account of the Battle of Waterloo.
Read aloud Byron's verses on the festivities at Brussels the night before Waterloo ("Childe Harold," canto III., stanzas xxi-xxv).
Show how men like Drake and the Earl of Chatham had prepared England for her victory over the French Revolution. Show that Hargreaves and Watt had contributed to this same end.
A Period of Reform (1815-1837)
The sixty years' reign of George III. came to an end in 1820. During the last nine years of his life, he was permanently insane, and the government was carried on by his eldest son, George IV., as regent.
The reign of George IV. in his own right lasted from 1820 to 1830. He loved to be called the "First Gentleman in Europe," but he was far from being a gentleman at heart. Both before and after he became King, he led an evil and dissipated life. His attempt to gain a divorce from his wife, Queen Caroline, whose life was far less blameworthy than his own, made him very unpopular with his subjects. Before he became King he had been a great Whig; but after his father's power had passed into his hands he forgot all his liberal principles, and became an extreme Tory.
He was succeeded by his brother William IV., who ruled from 1830 to 1837. Until late in life there seemed little likelihood that William would succeed to the throne, so he was bred up to a sailor's life. He went to sea, as a midshipman, when he was fourteen years of age, and he showed a great liking for naval service. His bluff sailor-like ways gained him great popularity, both as prince and as King; but he lacked dignity of manner, and showed little ability as a ruler. Like his brother, George IV., he left no heir to the throne, and when he died the crown passed to the daughter of a younger brother. Queen Victoria, whose long and eventful reign will be described later.
William IV
The last years of George III., and the reigns of George IV. and William IV., were filled with questions of reform in the government. Bad times followed the close of the wars with France, and for a number of years taxes and the price of food were high, while great numbers of the people were out of employment. Ignorant people sometimes formed mobs, and broke machines used in manufacturing, which they fancied were the cause of their lack of employment. "Hampden Clubs" and other societies were formed among the people to work for political reforms, and these alarmed the Tories with fears of revolution, like that which had taken place in France.
In 1819 a meeting was called by the reformers in St. Peters Field, at Manchester. Probably fifty thousand persons, or more, gathered there, bearing banners with the words, "Unity and Strength," "Annual Parliaments," "Universal Suffrage," on them. Many of the men had been drilled to march in step; but they were without weapons, except some who carried about sticks.