Surrey
Surrey is a county in the south east of England. It shares borders with Kent to the east, East Sussex to the south-east, West Sussex to the south, Hampshire to the west and south-west, Surrey County Council sits extraterritorially at Kingston upon Thames, administered as part of Greater London since 1965. With a resident population of 1.1 million, Surrey is the most densely populated and third most populated county in the South East region, after Kent, the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and parts of Lewisham and Bromley were in Surrey until 1889. The boroughs of Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton and Richmond upon Thames south of the River Thames were part of Surrey until 1965, when they too were absorbed into Greater London. In the same year, the county was extended north of the Thames by the addition of Spelthorne, due to this expansion, modern Surrey borders on the London boroughs of Hounslow and Hillingdon. It has the highest GDP per capita of any English county, Surrey is divided in two by the chalk ridge of the North Downs, running east-west.
To the north of the Downs the land is mostly flat, the geology of this area is dominated by London Clay in the east, Bagshot Sands in the west and alluvial deposits along the rivers. Much of Surrey is in the Metropolitan Green Belt and it contains a good deal of mature woodland. Among its many notable beauty spots are Box Hill, Leith Hill, Frensham Ponds, Newlands Corner and Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons. Surrey is the most wooded county in England, with 22. 4% coverage compared to an average of 11. 8%. Box Hill has the oldest untouched area of woodland in the UK. Surrey contains Englands principal concentration of lowland heath, on soils in the west of the county. Agriculture not being intensive, there are many commons and access lands, together with a network of footpaths and bridleways including the North Downs Way. Accordingly, Surrey provides much in the way of leisure activities. The highest elevation in Surrey is Leith Hill near Dorking and it is either 293,294 or 295 metres above sea level and is the second highest point in southeastern England after Walbury Hill 297 metres in West Berkshire.
Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1 million people and its largest town is Guildford, with a population of 66,773, Woking comes a close second with 62,796. They are followed by Ewell with 39,994 people and Camberley with 30,155, towns of between 25,000 and 30,000 inhabitants are Ashford, Farnham and Redhill. Guildford is the county town, although the county administration was moved to Newington in 1791
James Barenger
James Barenger was an English animal painter and illustrator. Barenger was born in Kentish Town, the son of James Barenger Snr, a metal chaser and artist who exhibited paintings of insects at the Society of Artists and Royal Academy, and Sarah Woollett, the daughter of the engraver, William Woollett. His brother Samuel became an engraver, beginning as a landscape artist, Barenger went on to specialse in painting horses and other animals, and hunting scenes. In 1807, at the age of 28, he exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time, at this stage he was living with his father in Kentish Town, but moved to Camden Town. He went on to exhibit 48 paintings at the Royal Academy, for the last of these, Scott engraved Barengers painting of the racehorse Blucher. As well as painting, Barenger bred pointer dogs and he died on 1 October 1831 and was buried in Old St Pancras churchyard. BBC Your Paintings Paintings in British Public Collections
Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke
Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, 3rd Viscount St John was born on 21 December 1732. His father was John St John, 2nd Viscount St John, brother of The Hon. Henry St John, half-brother of Henry St John, Bolingbroke was educated at Eton College, Berkshire. He succeeded to the title of 3rd Baron St John of Battersea on 19 June 1748 and he succeeded to the title of 3rd Viscount St John on 26 November 1748. Bully, as he was called by his contemporaries, is best known for his extravagant lifestyle, on 8 September 1757 he married Lady Diana Spencer, elder daughter of the Duke of Marlborough after making a joking proposal to her in one of Londons pleasure gardens. Bolingbroke brought divorce proceedings against his wife for her criminal conversation with Topham Beauclerk, the Bolingbroke divorce is notable for being streamlined compared to similar proceedings and thus is credited with easing the way for noble divorces in the 19th century. Things worsened for Viscount Bolingbroke after his divorce, the damages he won from Beauclerk were paltry compared to the mountain of debt he acquired.
Rather than economize he chose to sell his prized racehorse, even before his divorce his tight finances led to his sponsoring changes in law that allowed inheritors to sell off family properties. Once the law was passed he set about selling property that had been in his family for centuries, in 1763 he sold the estate of Battersea, Surrey to Viscount Spencer. In the meantime he never stopped searching for an old enough or unattractive enough to wed a man of questionable finances. This led to laughable courtships with well-bred spinsters, including one who herself had lost her fortune to gambling, Viscount Bolingbroke found himself overshadowed by his wife even after their marriage ended. He died on 5 May 1787, aged 54, sir George Richard St. John, 3rd Viscount Bolingbroke General Hon. Frederick St. John Lord Chesterfield said. By his talents no way unworthy to bear his uncles name and solid good sense, real taste and Gibbs said, for the last six years of his life he was out of his mind. 1748 Baron St.
John of Battersea 1748 Viscount St. John of Battersea 1751 Baronet St. John, of Lidiard Tregoze
Prussia
Prussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership, in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, from 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. Prussia existed de jure until its liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No.46 of 25 February 1947. The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians, in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights—an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders—conquered the lands inhabited by them.
In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk and their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany and in the south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia. The Second Peace of Thorn split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the part, from 1525 called the Duchy of Prussia. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom, and exercised most influence in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century it had a say in many international affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a Lesser Germany which excluded the Austrian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleons defeat, Prussia acquired a section of north western Germany.
The country grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became the core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. East Prussia lost all of its German population after 1945, as Poland, the main coat of arms of Prussia, as well as the flag of Prussia, depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with a cross with gold insert
Napoleonic Wars
The wars resulted from the unresolved disputes associated with the French Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars, which had raged on for years before concluding with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Napoleon became the First Consul of France in 1799, Emperor five years later, inheriting the political and military struggles of the Revolution, he created a state with stable finances, a strong central bureaucracy, and a well-trained army. The British frequently financed the European coalitions intended to thwart French ambitions, by 1805, they had managed to convince the Austrians and the Russians to wage another war against France. At sea, the Royal Navy destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in October 1805, Prussian worries about increasing French power led to the formation of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. France forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July, although Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, it did not bring a lasting peace for Europe.
Hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia, the Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, the Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia. Unwilling to bear the consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse and retreat of the Grand Army along with the destruction of Russian lands. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France, a lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813. The Allies invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814 and he was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power.
However, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again, the Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June. The Congress of Vienna, which started in 1814 and concluded in 1815, established the new borders of Europe and laid out the terms, Napoleon seized power in 1799, creating a de facto military dictatorship. The Napoleonic Wars began with the War of the Third Coalition, Kagan argues that Britain was irritated in particular by Napoleons assertion of control over Switzerland. Furthermore, Britons felt insulted when Napoleon stated that their country deserved no voice in European affairs, for its part, Russia decided that the intervention in Switzerland indicated that Napoleon was not looking toward a peaceful resolution of his differences with the other European powers. The British quickly enforced a blockade of France to starve it of resources. Napoleon responded with economic embargoes against Britain, and sought to eliminate Britains Continental allies to break the coalitions arrayed against him, the so-called Continental System formed a league of armed neutrality to disrupt the blockade and enforce free trade with France
General officer
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe.
It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles
Whalebone (horse)
Whalebone was a British Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1810 Epsom Derby and was a successful sire of racehorses and broodmares in the 1820s. Whalebone raced until he was six years old and was retired to stud at Petworth in 1815, Whalebone sired the Derby winners Lap-dog and may have been the sire of Moses. Other notable sons are Sir Hercules and Camel, the sire of Touchstone, Whalebone died in 1831 at the age of 24 of hemorrhage after covering a mare. Whalebone was bred by the Duke of Grafton in 1807 at his Euston Hall stud farm near Newmarket and he was sired by the 1793 Epsom Derby winner Waxy out of the mare Penelope, both owned by the Duke. Penelope was a prolific and influential broodmare, producing eight full-siblings to Whalebone that achieved success on the turf, Whalebone was a mottled bay or brown colt that stood 15.2 hands high with short legs, high-bred nostrils and very prominent eyes. He was a plainish looking horse with a Turkish-pony look and thick neck, Whalebone was reportedly one of the smallest horses Waxy ever produced.
In the words of his groom, Dryman, he was the lowest and longest, and most-double jointed horse, with the best legs—eight and a half below the knee—and worst feet I ever saw in my life. On 7 June at Epsom, Whalebone won the Derby Stakes, beating The Dandy, Eccleston and a field of eight other horses after leading from the start in a race where he was never headed. He was the favorite at 5 to 2, and his Derby win was a consecutive victory for the Duke of Grafton who had won the race the previous year with his colt Pope. Pope was sired by Waxy and was out of Whalebones maternal grandam Prunella, at the First October Meeting at Newmarket, Whalebone received a forfeiture of 60 guineas from Mr. Shakespears colt Nuncio and walked over for a 25-guinea subscription stakes. On 29 October at Houghton, Whalebone was beaten in a race by the colt Treasurer while carrying seven more pounds than his opponent. He received forfeitures of 100 guineas from Mr. Shakespears Knave of Clubs, in May, Whalebone received 60 guineas forfeiture from Mr.
Henry Vansittarts colt Gloster. On 6 August at Huntingdon, Whalebone was third in the Portholme Stakes to the filly Barrosa, for the Newmarket Trial Stakes on 30 September, Whalebone was third to the colt Florival and the filly Sprightly. Whalebone won the 100-guinea Kings Plate a few later, and at the Second October Meeting. In November he received 140 guineas forfeit from Mr. Shakespears colt Tumbler, at the Newmarket-Craven Meeting, Whalebone was beaten in a match race by Major Wilsons colt Bolter. In April at Newmarket, Whalebone won the 100-guinea Kings Plate and was third in a 300-guinea sweepstakes race to the colts Trophonius, in July at Newmarket, he won a £50 race and paid a 10-guinea forfeit for a handicap sweepstakes. On 9 September at Northampton, Whalebone won a 100-guinea gold cup race against four other horses, Whalebone was sold by the Duke of Grafton in October 1812 to Mr. Ladbroke for 700 guineas. Whalebones first start under Ladbrokes ownership was on 26 October at the Houghton meeting where he won a race against Mr.
Lakes two-year-old colt Turner
Egham
Egham /ˈɛɡəm/ is a town in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area and has its own railway station and it adjoins, junction 13 of the M25 motorway and is centered 19 miles WSW of London. It can be considered a university town as it has on its part, Egham Hill. Not far from town at Runnymede Magna Carta was sealed. Egham predates 666 AD when Chertsey Abbey was founded with many miles of land. Egham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Egeham and it rendered one of the largest sums in Surrey to its feudal overlords per year, £30 10s 0d. Magna Carta was sealed at nearby Runnymede in 1215, and is commemorated by a memorial, built in 1957 by the American Bar Association, at the foot of Coopers Hill. A Sculpture by artist David Parfitt portraying King John and Baron Fitzwalter in the act of sealing Magna Carta is in Church Road in the centre of town. Another memorial at the top of the hill in nearby Englefield Green and it was the first new-built British building to be listed in the post-war era.
The memorial is administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and freely open to the public year-round and it has excellent views towards London and the Surrey Hills, as well as being a place of quiet contemplation and reflection. In 1836 the races was presided over by William IV, who gave a plate to be run for at the meeting, which coincided with festivities at Windsor for his daughters marriage. During World War II, American author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss was briefly stationed in Egham as part of his work on the propaganda film Your Job in Germany. He did not settle well in the town, despite the efforts of his RAF host Flight Sergeant Sam Beckinsale to draw the local amenities to his attention. When it was pointed out how green the area was, due in part to its proximity to Windsor Great Park he retorted I do not like green Egham. Geisel cited this as the inspiration for his 1960 best-selling book Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like green eggs and ham. Parts of Egham have featured in national and international news in the 21st century, on 12 September 2007 a case of foot-and-mouth disease was found in Egham,12 miles from the previous outbreak found in early August 2007.
In December,2008, Egham was at the centre of a due to possible traffic impact on the 3 level crossings in the town to be kept in situ under the abandoned Heathrow Airtrack project. Egham Rural District was a Local Government District within the county of Surrey
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He ruled Prussia during the times of the Napoleonic Wars. Steering a careful course between France and her enemies, after a military defeat in 1806, he eventually and reluctantly joined the coalition against Napoleon in the Befreiungskriege. Following Napoleons defeat he was King of Prussia during the Congress of Vienna which assembled to settle the questions arising from the new. He was determined to unify the Protestant churches, to homogenize their liturgy, their organization, the long-term goal was to have fully centralized royal control of all the Protestant churches in the Prussian Union of churches. Frederick William was born in Potsdam in 1770 as the son of Frederick William II of Prussia and he was considered to be a shy and reserved boy, which became noticeable in his particularly reticent conversations distinguished by the lack of personal pronouns. This manner of speech came to be considered entirely appropriate for military officers.
As a child, Frederick Williams father had him handed over to tutors and he spent part of the time living at Paretz, the estate of the old soldier Count Hans von Blumenthal who was the governor of his brother Prince Heinrich. They thus grew up partly with the Counts son, who accompanied them on their Grand Tour in the 1780s, Frederick William was happy at Paretz, and for this reason in 1795 he bought it from his boyhood friend and turned it into an important royal country retreat. He was a boy, but he grew up pious. His tutors included the dramatist Johann Engel, as a soldier he received the usual training of a Prussian prince, obtained his lieutenancy in 1784, became a colonel in 1790, and took part in the campaigns against France of 1792–1794. On 24 December 1793, Frederick William married Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in the Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin, Frederick William lived a civil life with a problem-free marriage, which did not change even when he became King of Prussia in 1797. His wife Louise was particularly loved by the Prussian people, which boosted the popularity of the whole House of Hohenzollern, Frederick William succeeded to the throne on 16 November 1797.
He became, in union, the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel. He had the Hohenzollern determination to retain personal power but not the Hohenzollern genius for using it, too distrustful to delegate responsibility to his ministers, he lacked the will to strike out and follow a consistent course for himself. Disgusted with the moral debauchery of his fathers court, Frederick Williams first endeavor was to restore morality to his dynasty. He was quoted as saying the following, which demonstrated his sense of duty and peculiar manner of speech, Every civil servant has an obligation, to the sovereign. It can occur that the two are not compatible, the duty to the country is higher, at first Frederick William and his advisors attempted to pursue a policy of neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey over a distance of one mile, four furlongs and 10 yards and it is Britains richest horse race, and the most prestigious of the five Classics. It is sometimes referred to as the Blue Riband of the turf, the race serves as the middle leg of the Triple Crown, preceded by the 2000 Guineas and followed by the St Leger, although the feat of winning all three is now rarely attempted. The name Derby has become synonymous with great races all over the world, the Epsom Derby is the original. It is one of Britains great national sporting events and has a large worldwide TV audience, in Great Britain the name Derby is pronounced /ˈdɑːrbi/, while in the United States it is /ˈdɜːrbi/, a case of spelling pronunciation. The Derby originated at a following the first running of the Oaks Stakes in 1779. A new race was planned, and it was decided that it should be named either the host of the party.
According to legend the decision was made by the toss of a coin, but it is probable that Bunbury, the inaugural running of the Derby was held on Thursday 4 May 1780. It was won by Diomed, a colt owned by Sir Charles Bunbury, the first four runnings were contested over 1 mile, but this was amended to the current distance of 1½ miles in 1784. Lord Derby achieved his first success in the event in 1787, the starting point of the race was moved twice during the 19th century. The first move, suggested by Lord George Bentinck, was in 1848, and it was discovered in 1991 that the exact length of the race was one mile, four furlongs and 10 yards. Initially, the Derby was run on a Thursday in late May or early June depending on when Easter occurred, in 1838 the race was moved to a Wednesday to fit in with the railways timetables but was still run on different dates depending on Easter. In 1995 the day was changed from the first Wednesday in June to the first Saturday, the Derby has been run at Epsom in all years except during the world wars.
From 1915 to 1918 and from 1940 to 1945 the Derby was run at Newmarket and these races are known as the New Derby. The Derby has inspired similar events around the world. European variations include the Derby Italiano, the Deutsches Derby, the Irish Derby, other national equivalents include the Australian Derby, the New Zealand Derby and the Tokyo Yūshun. Several races in the United States include the Derby name, including the Kentucky Derby, investec became the sponsor of the Derby in 2009, and the current sponsorship deal runs until 2022. The race was backed by Ever Ready and Vodafone
Westport House
Westport House in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, is a well known Irish tourist attraction, owned by the Hughes family, who own a number of businesses in the west of Ireland. Until January 2017 it was the seat of the Browne family. It was built by the Browne family in the 18th Century, the architects were Richard Cassels, who built the east section of the house facing the town, and James Wyatt, who built the other three façades to form a quadrangle. Later the quadrangle was filled in with a grand staircase and south wings were added to the designs of Benjamin Wyatt. The south wing, which contained a library, was burned soon after it was due to a defect in the heating system. A model farm was built in the demesne in the part of the 19th century with accommodation for housing animals. The remains of an old boathouse open to the sea, Colonel John Browne, who had the original Westport House built, married Gráinne OMalleys great great granddaughter, Maude Burke. He was a Roman Catholic who fought on the Jacobite side in the War of the Two Kings and his descendants, converted to the established Church of Ireland, and prospered.
After the death of The 11th Marquess of Sligo in July 2014, the title Marquess of Sligo passed to Sebastian Ulick Browne, a first cousin of the 11th Marquess who is a residential real estate salesman in Australia. Westport House is situated in a setting with a lake and garden views overlooking Clew Bay. It was built and was owned by the Browne family, who are descendants of the 16th-century Pirate Queen Gráinne OMalley. The Brownes sold Westport House to the Hughes family, a business family in Westport on 17 January 2017 ending an association with Westport lasting hundreds of years. In January 2017 Westport house was sold to the Hughes Family of Westport, in October 2015 it was revealed that the Westport House Estate was in NAMA for debts secured on the 380-acre estate, but not the house, for almost 10 million Euros. In 2007 the privately owned estate received a grant of 1,314,000 Euros for repairs to Westport House, the house was built for and owned by the Browne family, some of whom were wealthy slave and plantation owners in Jamaica.
A prominent slave-owning head of the family was The 2nd Marquess of Sligo and his wife, the 2nd Marquess served as Governor of Jamaica from 1834 to 1836. During the 16th century, Gráinne Ní Mháille or Granuaile was a famous Pirate Queen of Connaught, after her death, a report stated that for forty years, she was the stay of all rebellions in the west. She was chief of the OMalley Clan and ruled the seas around Mayo, there is a Bronze statue of Gráinne Ní Mháille by the artist Michael Cooper situated on the grounds of Westport House. The original House was built by Colonel John Browne, a Jacobite, who was at the Siege of Limerick, Maude Bourke was Gráinne Ní Mháilles great-great granddaughter
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power.
He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies.
The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years at the age of 51
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