23 Facts About Napoleonic Wars

Here are 23 Napoleonic Wars facts.

1-5 Napoleonic Wars Facts

1. Due to the Napoleonic Wars, the capital of Portugal was moved from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro for thirteen years. – Source

2. During the Napoleonic Wars, the English Navy inflicted over 3 times as many casualties on the French Navy than the French Navy inflicted on the English Navy, in part because French gun crews fired high to disable enemy masts & rigging while English gun crews fired low into enemy gun crews & hulls. – Source

3. The phrase “Die Hard” was coined in 1811 by an English officer during a battle in the Napoleonic Wars. He was wounded but refused to leave the field, telling his outnumbered regiment to “die hard” against the French troops. – Source

4. The woods oldest grape vine is 500 years old and found in Slovenia. It has survived Napoleonic wars, WW1, and bombing by the Nazis in WW2. It still produces 35-55kg of grapes and 100 bottles (250 ML each) of wine are produced each year. – Source

5. After the Napoleonic Wars, a tobacco merchant named Joseph Williamson paid people in Edge hill, Liverpool to dig miles-long tunnels underground. The tunnels served no purpose, and he did so only to provide employment. – Source

6-10 Napoleonic Wars Facts

6. During the Napoleonic wars, a French ship wrecked off the coast of Hartlepool. The only survivor, a monkey, was denounced as a spy after an impromptu trial and hanged. – Source

7. The War of 1812 is only seen as a war in its own right by Canada and the United States, in Europe it is seen as a theater of the Napoleonic wars. – Source

8. Braille was originally developed as ‘Sonography’, a means for French spies in the Napoleonic Wars to communicate without the use of light. Louis Braille would later point out the flaws in the original code, creating the version we use today. – Source

9. The Rothschild family decided the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars by putting their financial weight behind Britain. – Source

10. William Pitt was the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24. He was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806. His tenure included the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. – Source

11-15 Napoleonic Wars Facts

11. There is an island in the Caribbean, HMS Diamond Rock, which was considered a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy. The ‘vessel’ played an important role during the Napoleonic wars. – Source

12. The Spanish-Portuguese border is still disputed, with Portugal claiming lands it was forced to cede during the Napoleonic Wars. – Source

13. Spain was allied with France during the Napoleonic Wars until Napoleon decided that the weakness of the Spanish regime meant he could take control of it. – Source

14. During the Napoleonic Wars, the British lost a fort when a leaky powder keg left a trail of gunpowder leading back into ammo storage. A lucky French shell hit the trail, and the resulting fire followed it back into the ammo store, blowing it up. – Source

15. During WW1 the French cuirassiers wore plumed helmets and colorful outfits essentially unchanged from the Napoleonic Wars. – Source

Featured image credit: en.wikipedia.org