MAP 20.1 Napoleon’s Empire at Its Height, 1812

In 1812, Napoleon had at least nominal control of almost all of western Europe. Even before he made his fatal mistake of invading Russia, however, his authority had been undermined in Spain and seriously weakened in the Italian and German states. Still earlier, he had given up his dreams of a worldwide empire. French armies withdrew from Egypt in 1801 and from St. Domingue (Haiti) in 1802. In 1803, Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States.