Napoleonic France · 1793-1804

Napoleon: from Corsica to emperor

An artillery officer from Corsica becomes a general at 24, conquers Italy, invades Egypt and crowns himself emperor. Students follow Napoleon's rise on the map and ask how a revolution produced an emperor.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1783 to AD 1800
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

An artillery officer from Corsica becomes a general at 24, conquers Italy, invades Egypt and crowns himself emperor. Students follow Napoleon's rise on the map and ask how a revolution produced an emperor.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Trace the main steps of Napoleon's rise from Toulon (1793) to emperor (1804) on the map.
  • Explain how the coup of 1799 gave Napoleon power while France was still called a republic.
  • Give two lasting results of Napoleon's rule, such as the Civil Code.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1783

An island childhood

Open the map in 1783 and find Corsica. Genoa had handed the island to France in 1768, a year before Napoleon was born there. Which coasts are closer to Corsica: France or Italy?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1800

Battles of the general

Open the map in 1800 and turn on Historical Events. Find the battle of Marengo in northern Italy. What did winning there give Napoleon at home?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1800

France in 1800

Stay in 1800 and zoom out over Europe. Compare France's borders with 1789 by dragging the slider back. Which lands has France gained?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Napoleon became a general at 24. Why could a young officer rise so fast during the Revolution?
  2. In Egypt he brought scholars as well as soldiers. Why would a general bring scientists to a war?
  3. After 1799 France was still called a republic. Was it really one? Give reasons.
  4. The Civil Code made men equal before the law but gave wives few rights. Was it progress?
  5. Napoleon crowned himself in 1804. What message did that send to the pope, to kings and to the French?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Rule History as Napoleon Bonaparte: the 1799 coup round and both 1804 rounds (the crown and the Civil Code). After each ruling, ask: did this choice keep the ideas of 1789 alive, or end them?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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