Revision notes . Napoleon - Reasons for Second Coalition

International Baccalaureate History

Reasons for Second Coalition – Austria

First Coalition

One of the many reasons as to why Austria was part of the Second coalition was because of the fact that they were part of the first coalition.
The war of the first coalition started in the year 1793 and ended on 1797. In October 1797 the Treaty of Campo Formio was signed between France and Austria.
This treaty resulted in France taking control of numerous Austrian territories. The lands that France took possession of included the Austrian Netherlands (which is now Belgium), a few Mediterranean islands, as well as northern Italy.
As a result of this treaty, France also expanded its borders to the Rhine.
There was also a hate towards the French because of the assassination of Marie Antoinette.

Sister of Hapsburg Emperor Leopold II
Aunt of Francis II
Austrians still wanted revenge against the revolutionaries.

Stop the spread of the French Revolutionary Ideas

After the War of the First Coalition, France had the ability to expand its borders into many of the other European Countries. It was against any monarchy governing a country, and therefore began to introduce its own revolutionary ideas on other countries.
France forced Austria to recognize the Cisalpine Republic, and the Ligurian Republic (Northern Italy).
During the year of 1789, France had decided to invade Switzerland to ...

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Sister of Hapsburg Emperor Leopold II
Aunt of Francis II
Austrians still wanted revenge against the revolutionaries.

Stop the spread of the French Revolutionary Ideas

After the War of the First Coalition, France had the ability to expand its borders into many of the other European Countries. It was against any monarchy governing a country, and therefore began to introduce its own revolutionary ideas on other countries.
France forced Austria to recognize the Cisalpine Republic, and the Ligurian Republic (Northern Italy).
During the year of 1789, France had decided to invade Switzerland to support revolutionary ideas that some citizens had. France used their military in order to remove the old Swiss Confederation, and to create the Helvetic Republic.

Imperialism

The attempts of the French trying to restrict the rights of the German princes in the Rhine region. The French wanted the Rhine region for a long time, and have been trying to gain control of this land.
Austrians as well wanted this land, and wanted to keep it away from the French. The control of the Rhine gave the occupier many advantages. It would allow France to defend itself much easier. Control of the Rhine would mean an easier way of transporting military personnel from northern to southern Europe.
The Austrians did not want the French to get this land, and therefore joined the second coalition. Control of this for Austria would mean easier access to France.

Works Cited

“Second Coalition.” French Revolutionary Wars. Encyclopedia.com , n.d, Web. 11 Nov 2010.
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/French_revolutionary_wars.aspx>.

“War of the Second Coalition.” Absolute Astronomy. AbsoluteAstronomy.com , n.d. Web. 11 Nov 2010. <http://absoluteastronomy.com/topics/war_of_the_second_Coalition>.

“War of the Second Coalition.”, Absolute Astronomy, November 11, 2010 <http://absoluteastronomy.com/topics/war_of_the_second_Coalition>

“Second Coalition.”, French Revolutionary Wars, November 11, 2010 <http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/french_revolutionary_wars.aspx>.