At the beginning of the 9th century, events took place in Europe that resulted in the conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Russian Emperor Alexander I, which influenced the entire course of history.
Proclaiming himself in 1804 as the French emperor, Napoleon bears ideas on the conquest of Europe. In contrast to his plans, a third anti-French coalition is being created between Austria, Great Britain, Russia, the Kingdom of Naples, Portugal and Sweden . Coalition forces were defeated near Austerlitz, and Austria entered into an alliance treaty with Bonaparte. Russia, as part of the fourth coalition, which included Prussia and Great Britain, continued military operations against the Napoleonic troops. In the battle of Friedland in the winter of 1807, the Russian army was defeated by the French and was forced to retreat. Napoleon achieved his goal and was able to impose on the emperor Alexander the shameful and unfavorable in all respects Tilsit world.
Contract signing
The meeting of the two emperors took place in the town of Tilsit. Now it is the city of Sovetsk in the Kaliningrad region. On June 25, 1807, a raft was built on the Neman River for a meeting of emperors, on which a face-to-face meeting took place, which had very serious, but, unfortunately, negative consequences for the Russian Empire. After this, several meetings between the heads of powers took place, and Alexander even attended the review of the French troops. On July 7, 1807, the Tilsit Peace was signed. From that moment, the redrawing of the map of Europe began, which, by and large, served as the beginning of the end of the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Terms of the contract (assignment)
The Tilsit world put the Russian Empire in a very disadvantageous position. According to this agreement, Emperor Alexander I was forced to make the following concessions:
- join the blockade of its ally - Great Britain;
- recognize Napoleon all his conquests;
- help France in wars;
- withdraw troops from Moldova;
- recognize Napoleon's relatives as kings (Neapolitan, Dutch and Westphalian);
- recognize the formation of the French-dependent duchy of Warsaw.
The Tilsit world of 1807 completely isolated Britain, which found itself in a continental blockade, and Napoleon no longer had rivals to carry out his ambitious plans.
Terms of the contract (compensation)
It should be noted that, concluding the Tilsit Peace of 1807, Emperor Alexander I made several concessions from Bonaparte. Russia went to the Bialystok Department as compensation. Danzig at this time becomes a free city, and the relative of the emperor Alexander, the Prussian king Frederick William III, gets back the old Prussia, Silesia and Pomerania.
Tilsit world, consequences
The progressive layers of Russian society took the terms of this peace treaty as a slap in the face, and Napoleon was not called a usurper otherwise. It took another five years for the Russians to be able to honestly and openly look into each other's eyes. Only the Patriotic War of 1812 was able to provide this opportunity.
The Tilsit world, the consequences of which the Russian economy experienced, in fact, was catastrophic. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire supplied grain, hemp, timber, and much more to the European market. Due to the blockade of Great Britain, which accounted for the lion's share of Russian exports, the economy of the Russian Empire suffered tremendous damage. Merchants and landowners were severely affected. The continental blockade of England caused a recession in Russian trade almost doubled, and its treasury significantly "lost weight." Prussia suffered the most from the Tilsit Peace Treaty. She lost half of her land and paid indemnities to France until the end of the 19th century.