Napoléonic Wars

A form of Napoleonic Wars — The series of wars (1803–1815) between France (ruled by Napoleon) and other European countries.

Meanings

proper nounthe Napoléonic Wars pl (plural only)
  1. alternativepluralplural onlyAlternative spelling of Napoleonic Wars.

    The politicization of U.S. interests in Latin America began to take clearer form as a consequence of the Napoléonic Wars.

    2002, Martin Sicker, The Geopolitics of Security in the Americas: Hemispheric Denial from Monroe to Clinton, Praeger Publishers, →ISBN, page 12
    2 more examples

    What Napoléon did not understand was the importance of controlling the seas. Thus, his fortunes began to shift after Lord Nelson’s great naval triumph over the French at Trafalgar, off Cádiz, Spain, in October 1805. From this point forward, Britain ruled the seas, but while the victory was a turning point in the Napoléonic Wars, Napoléon’s defeat on land took several years more.

    2008, Richard W[allace] Mansbach, Kirsten L. Taylor, Introduction to International Relations, Routledge, →ISBN

    The German states of the 19th century saw the battle of Leipzig as the most important victory of the Napoléonic Wars. It became a symbol of German military virtue. The battle of Leipzig was called the ‘Battle of Nations’. It was the largest battle of the Napoléonic Wars, and the Germans viewed Leipzig as the most significant victory to the end of Napoléon’s empire.

    2019, Timothy Fitzpatrick, The Long Shadow of Waterloo: Myths, Memories and Debates, Casemate Publishers, →ISBN
Cite this entry
APA

Napoléonic Wars. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Napol%C3%A9onic%20Wars

MLA

“Napoléonic Wars.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Napol%C3%A9onic%20Wars. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Napoléonic Wars,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Napol%C3%A9onic%20Wars.

Source: Napoléonic Wars on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.