1814

1814 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. The year saw the waning of the Napoleonic era in Europe as the Sixth Coalition defeated France and reshaped the continent, while the War of 1812 continued in North America.

In France and central Europe, Paris fell to Coalition forces in early 1814. Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated on April 11 and was exiled to the island of Elba. The Bourbon monarchy was restored under Louis XVIII, who issued the Charter of 1814 establishing a constitutional monarchy. The Treaty of Fontainebleau formalized Napoleon’s exile, and the later Treaty of Paris (May 30, 1814) ended the war with the Sixth Coalition and restored France’s borders to a pre-revolutionary baseline. The year also saw the opening of the Congress of Vienna in November 1814, where major powers sought to redraw Europe’s political map and lay groundwork for the postwar order.

In North America, the War of 1812 continued between the United States and Britain. The British burned Washington, D.C., in August 1814, and Fort McHenry withstood a bombardment during the defense of Baltimore, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write what would become The Star-Spangled Banner. The Battle of Lake Champlain (September 1814) helped halt a British advance along the New York frontier. The Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814, ending the war, though ratification by the United States occurred in 1815.

Overall, 1814 marked a decisive turning point in European politics and transatlantic conflict, with the reshaping of Europe’s balance of power and the beginning of a new postwar order that influenced international relations for years to come.