The Napoleonic Wars: How Europe Was Rewritten — Fexingo History cover art

The Napoleonic Wars: How Europe Was Rewritten — Fexingo History

The Napoleonic Wars: How Europe Was Rewritten — Fexingo History

By: Fexingo
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The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) redrew the map of Europe and the world. From the sun-scorched sands of Egypt to the frozen plains of Russia, Lucas and Luna trace the campaigns, coalitions, and catastrophes that toppled thrones and sparked modern nationalism. They examine Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise from Corsican outsider to Emperor of the French, his revolutionary military tactics, and his sweeping legal and administrative reforms, especially the Napoleonic Code. The show covers key battles—Austerlitz, Jena, Borodino, Waterloo—and the shifting alliances of the Third through Seventh Coalitions, featuring figures like Tsar Alexander I, the Duke of Wellington, and Archduke Charles. It explores the Continental System’s economic warfare, the Peninsular War’s guerrilla insurgency, and the disastrous invasion of Russia. Beyond the battlefield, Lucas and Luna debate Napoleon’s legacy: was he a liberator spreading Enlightenment ideals or a tyrant who caused millions of deaths? They consider the Congress of Vienna’s attempt to restore the old order, the birth of Latin American independence movements, and the enduring myth of the ‘Little Corporal.’ This podcast is for anyone who wants to understand how a single man’s ambition reshaped nations, inspired Romantic art, and planted the seeds of modern conflict. #NapoleonicWars #NapoleonBonaparte #BattleOfWaterloo #BattleOfAusterlitz #CongressOfVienna #PeninsularWar #ContinentalSystem #NapoleonicCode #CoalitionWars #TsarAlexanderI #DukeOfWellington #InvasionOfRussia #EgyptianCampaign #Marengo #Trafalgar #RevolutionaryWars #FexingoHistory #WorldHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo© 2026 Fexingo. All rights reserved. Hourly Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Napoleon's 1797 Coup d'État: The Coup of 18 Fructidor

    Napoleon's 1797 Coup d'État: The Coup of 18 Fructidor
    Jun 28 2026
    In September 1797, the French Republic faced a constitutional crisis. Royalist factions had won elections and threatened to undo the Revolution. The Directory, with General Napoleon Bonaparte's backing, launched a military coup — the Coup of 18 Fructidor Year V. This episode explores how Napoleon, far away in Italy, sent General Augereau to Paris to purge the government, deport opposition leaders, and crush the royalist press. We examine the role of the Clichy Club, the deportation of 65 deputies to French Guiana, and how this coup set a precedent for Napoleon's later seizure of power. The episode also touches on the broader European context: the Treaty of Campo Formio, the Cisalpine Republic, and the weakening of the Directory. A pivotal moment when the army first intervened directly in French politics. #Napoleon #FrenchRevolution #Coup18Fructidor #Directory #GeneralAugereau #ClichyClub #Royalists #TreatyOfCampoFormio #CisalpineRepublic #FrenchGuiana #Barthelemy #Carnot #FructidorCoup #History #FexingoHistory #NapoleonicWars #CoupDetat #FrenchHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • Napoleon's 1807 Polish Campaign: The Duchy of Warsaw

    Napoleon's 1807 Polish Campaign: The Duchy of Warsaw
    Jun 28 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Napoleon's often-overlooked Polish campaign of 1806-1807, which led to the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw. They discuss the Battle of Eylau, the bloodiest engagement of the Napoleonic Wars up to that point, and the decisive Battle of Friedland. Lucas explains Napoleon's pragmatic alliance with the Polish nobility, the establishment of the Duchy as a French satellite state, and the introduction of the Napoleonic Code and emancipation of peasants in Polish lands. The episode also covers the role of Polish lancers, the Treaty of Tilsit, and the long-term legacy of the Duchy for Polish national aspirations. Key figures include Tsar Alexander I, King Frederick William III of Prussia, General Bennigsen, and Polish leaders like Prince Józef Poniatowski. #Napoleon #PolishCampaign #DuchyOfWarsaw #BattleOfEylau #BattleOfFriedland #TreatyOfTilsit #PrincePoniatowski #PolishLancers #NapoleonicWars #Europe #Poland #1807 #GrandeArmée #Bennigsen #Emancipation #NapoleonicCode #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • Napoleon's 1798 Swiss Coup: The Helvetic Republic

    Napoleon's 1798 Swiss Coup: The Helvetic Republic
    Jun 27 2026
    In January 1798, French troops marched into Switzerland, not as invaders but as 'liberators' — and within months, the centuries-old Swiss Confederacy was dissolved, replaced by the centralized Helvetic Republic. This episode of The Napoleonic Wars: How Europe Was Rewritten explores the lesser-known but pivotal Swiss campaign of 1798, a brutal occupation that sparked a peasant revolt, cost thousands of lives, and set the stage for Napoleon's later European restructuring. We follow the French invasion under General Guillaume Brune, the uprising in Nidwalden where Austrian-backed rebels fought house-to-house, and the failed experiment of the Helvetic Republic — a satellite state that would last barely five years before collapsing into civil war. Along the way, we meet figures like Frédéric-César de La Harpe, the Vaudois revolutionary who invited the French in, and Alois von Reding, the Swiss commander who led the last stand. This episode covers the contrast between Swiss cantonal independence and French revolutionary centralism, the role of the Confederacy's mercenary tradition, and how Napoleon's 'mediation' in 1803 finally gave Switzerland a constitution that actually worked. A crucial turning point in the reshaping of Europe, often overshadowed by Italy and Egypt. #NapoleonicWars #Switzerland #HelveticRepublic #FrenchInvasion #GuillaumeBrune #FrédéricCésardelaHarpe #Nidwalden #AloisvonReding #1798 #Confederacy #Canton #Centralism #SatelliteState #Mediation #EuropeanHistory #History #FexingoHistory #Napoleon Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
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