Bavaria and the Napoleonic Wars

    
Fig. 4: Carl Theodor

Charles Theodor’s actions made him hated throughout Bavaria, and his continuing intrigues with Austria (unsuccessful attempts to swap the Bavarian duchy for the Austrian Netherlands and a royal crown) did nothing to endear him to the Bavarians. When French armies invaded the Palatinate and began moving towards Bavaria (1792-1795), Charles Theodor’s only idea was to offer up Bavaria as a puppet state to Austria in exchange for Francis II’s help – and the Austrians again occupied Bavaria. But nothing stopped the French approach; Charles Theodor ended up fleeing when the French came to Munich itself. An armistice was signed between the regency of Bavaria and Moreau (on behalf of the French), in return for which Bavaria had to pay an enormous amount of money to the French, and Bavaria was sandwiched between two aggressive powers – Austria and France. It’s not surprising that Charles Theodor was so hated that his death in 1799 led to city-wide celebrations in Munich.

Fig. 5: Maximilian I

Maximilian IV Joseph of Zweibrücken was the successor to Bavaria, and he inherited no enviable position. Because of the precarious state of Bavaria’s finances (largely because of the costs paid to France), Maximilian could not refuse Austria’s demands to support her against France. But with Bavaria’s involvement in Austria’s battles and the defeat at Hohenlinden inflicted by Moreau in 1800, it is unsurprising that Moreau once again occupied Munich. As a result of the Treaty of Lunéville, Bavaria was stripped of the duchies of Zweibrücken and Jülich, and also lost the Palatinate.

Maximilian Joseph’s minister, Maximilian von Montgelas, saw that the only hope for Bavaria was to forge an alliance with France. He convinced Maximilian Joseph to sign a separate peace treaty with France, as a result of which Bavaria received compensatory bishoprics and abbeys. And now at last came the period when Bavaria – so fresh from wounds inflicted by occupation and instability – took full advantage of its alliance with France… and moved towards a monarchy.