Europe

The borders of Europe during the Napoleonic Wars

An Overview Of Europe Prior To The Napoleonic Wars

To be written; Essentially France invades Holy Roman Empire in 1793; annexes modern-day Belgium and all lands West of the Rhine. Prussia and Russia divide parts of Poland between themselves. France begins invasion of Italy in 1796.

Napoleon Bonaparte

French Client States

Confederation Of The Rhine

Established in 1806, the Confederation Of The Rhine was a collection of territories located in what is now Germany. While some of these territories were creations of the French Empire, many more were monarchies that had been in existence for many years, although many of these were expanded or merged under Napoleon's influence. It initially consisted (July 1806) of the following states:

• Duchy Of Arenburg
• Grand Duchy Of Baden
• Kingdom Of Bavaria
• Grand Duchy Of Berg
• Duchy Of Nassau (Union of Nassau-Usingen & Nassau-Weilburg)
• Grand Duchy Of Hesse-Darmstadt
• Principality Of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
• Principality Of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
• Principality Of Isenburg-Birstein
• Principality Of Leyen
• Principality Of Liechtenstein
• Principality Of Regensburg
• Principality Of Salm
• Kingdom Of Wurttemburg

The Confederation expanded over the following years, as many of the smaller nations in the region were incorporated into it.

• Duchy Of Anhalt-Bernburg (Joined April 1807)
• Duchy Of Anhalt-Dessau (Joined April 1807)
• Duchy Of Anhalt-Kothen (Joined April 1807)
• Principality Of Lippe-Detmold (Joined April 1807)
• Duchy Of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Joined March 1808)
• Duchy Of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Joined February 1808)
• Duchy Of Oldenburg (Joined October 1808)
• Principality Of Reuss-Ebersdorf (Joined April 1807)
• Principality Of Reuss-Greiz (Joined April 1807)
• Principality Of Reuss-Lobenstein (Joined April 1807)
• Principality Of Reuss-Schleiz (Joined April 1807)
• Kingdom Of Saxony (Joined December 1806)
• Duchy Of Saxe-Coburg (Joined December 1806
• Duchy Of Saxe-Gotha (Joined December 1806
• Duchy Of Saxe-Hildburghausen (Joined December 1806
• Duchy Of Saxe-Meiningen (Joined December 1806
• Duchy Of Saxe-Weimar (Joined December 1806
• Principality Of Schaumburg-Lippe (Joined April 1807)
• Principality Of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (Joined April 1807)
• Principality Of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (Joined April 1807)
• Principality Of Waldeck (Joined April 1807)
• Kingdom Of Westphalia (French Creation; Joined 1807)
• Grand Duchy Of Wurzburg (French Creation; Joined September 1806)

The borders changed several times over the years, as Napoleon either added or annexed lands to and from the various member states. The Duchy Of Oldenburg and the Principality Of Salm were ultimately annexed into the French Empire in December 1810.

A map of the 1812 borders of the Confederation Of The Rhine (in German) can be seen here: [1]

Kingdom Of Etruria

Established in 1801, the Kingdom Of Etruria was a short-lived state created from the former Grand Duchy Of Tuscany. It was later annexed into the French Empire in 1807.

Kingdom Of Italy

The Kingdom Of Italy was the last in a long line of territories created by Napoleon in Italy. Initially established in 1797 as the Cisalpine Reublic (itself created from the merging of the Napoleonic Cispadane and Transpadane Republics; both created in 1796), it was later reorganised as the Italian Republic in 1802 before becoming the Kingdom Of Italy in 1805. It was made up of conquered territories of Italy, including the Duchy of Milan, the Duchy of Mantua, the Duchy of Modena, the western part of the Republic of Venice, the northern part of the Papal States, and the province of Novara. After the defeat of the Austrian Empire in 1806, the eastern part of Venice was ceded to the Kingdom, along with the land that was later reorganised as the Illyrian Provinces. The Republic Of Ragusa was incorporated in 1808, and the Kingdom Of Bavaria (part of the Confederation Of The Rhine) later ceded land to the Kingdom Of Italy in 1810. At this time, the Illyrian Provinces were created as a region of the French Empire.

A map of Italy prior to the Napoleonic Wars can be seen here: [2]

Papal States

The Papal States was a name given to the lands held by the Pope from Rome. Established in (), the northern territories of the states were briefly reorganised into the Roman Republic by the French Empire in 1798, although they were restored the following year; despite the northern territories being granted to the Italian Republic (Later Kingdom Of Italy). The states were eventually annexed in 1808 and divided between the French Empire and the Kingdom Of Italy.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

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