Treaties of Tilsit — peace treaties between Napoleonic France and (a) Russia and (b) Prussia
The Treaties of Tilsit reshaped Central Europe by forcing Prussia to cede half its territory and binding Russia into alliance with Napoleonic France.
Key Facts
- First treaty signed
- 7 July 1807, between Napoleon and Alexander I of Russia
- Second treaty signed
- 9 July 1807, with Prussia
- Prussian territory ceded
- Approximately half of Prussia's pre-war territories
- New states created
- Kingdom of Westphalia, Duchy of Warsaw, Free City of Danzig
- Signing location
- On a raft in the middle of the Neman river
- Context
- Aftermath of French victory at Friedland, end of War of the Fourth Coalition
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Napoleon's decisive victory at the Battle of Friedland in June 1807 effectively ended the War of the Fourth Coalition. The Grande Armée had already captured Berlin and driven King Frederick William III of Prussia to his easternmost frontier, compelling him to accept a truce on 25 June 1807.
Two peace treaties were signed at Tilsit in July 1807: the first on 7 July between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander I, famously concluded on a raft in the Neman river; the second on 9 July with Prussia. Prussia was stripped of roughly half its pre-war territory, which was used to establish French client states.
France consolidated dominance over Central Europe, with Russia and a reduced Prussia formally allied against Britain and Sweden, sparking the Anglo-Russian and Finnish Wars. The settlement freed French forces for the Peninsular War, while tensions sown at Tilsit contributed to Austria's renewed challenge in 1809 and Napoleon's catastrophic invasion of Russia in 1812.