Napoleon

Napoleon

by Kate Damico-Upham

​Early Life

​Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 on the island of Corsica into a fairly wealthy family. He attended a military academy in France where he was trained to become an officer in the army.

​Napoleon Complex

​Napoleon is famous for being fairly short, but he was probably around 5 feet, 6 inches tall.

This was average for the time period in which he lived.

Today when someone seems to be overcompensating for being short, they are said to have a “Napoleon Complex.”

​Returning to Corsica

​Napoleon’s father died in 1785, so Napoleon returned to Corsica to help his family handle his affairs. While there, Napoleon became involved with a local revolutionary, Pasquale Paoli. He helped him in the fight against French occupation in Corsica. Later, Napoleon switched sides, and returned to France

​French Revolution

​The French Revolution occurred while Napoleon was in Corsica. Many French revolted against King Louis XVI and took control of the country. The royal family and many aristocrats were killed.

Military Success

​Napoleon allied himself with a radical group of revolutionaries, known as the Jacobins.

​Napoleon devised a strategy to help defeat the British and force them out of the port of Toloun in 1793.

​His military leadership was recognized by the leaders of France and at just 24 years old, he was promoted to the position of brigadier general

​Military Success continued...

​Napoleon was given command of the French army in Italy in 1796. He found the army poorly organized and the French were losing. Napoleon was an ambitious and brilliant general. He used his superior organizational skills to move troops rapidly around the battlefield so they would always outnumber the enemy. Napoleon was able to quickly drive the Austrians out of Italy and become a national hero. Napoleon led a military expedition in Egypt and then returned to Paris in 1799.

​First Consul of France

​The political climate of France was changing and the current government, the Directory, was losing power. With his allies, Napoleon formed a new government called the Consulate. The original plan called for three consuls at the head of the government, but Napoleon gave himself the title of First Consul. These powers essentially made him the dictator of France. With this new power, Napoleon was able to institute a number of government reforms.

​Reforms

​One of these famous reforms was the Napoleonic Code, which said government positions would not be appointed based on a person’s birth or religion, but on their qualifications and ability. This was a radical change from what had been previously done in France. Up until this point, high positions were given to aristocrats by the king in return for favors, often leading to incompetent people in important positions.

​More Reforms

Another significant change Napoleon made improved the French economy by building new roads and encouraging business. He reestablished the Catholic Church as the official state religion, while still allowing for freedom of religion to those who were not Catholic. Non-religious schools were set up by Napoleon so anyone could receive an education.​

​Emperor

​Napoleon continued to grow in his power and reforms. He was crowned the first Emperor of France in 1804, but did not allow the Pope to place the crown on his head during his coronation, but instead crowned himself!

​Family Life

​Napoleon married his first wife, Josephine, in 1796. She was a stylish widow six years his senior with two teenage children. She became the first Empress of France, but Napoleon divorced her in 1810 since she had not produced any heirs. He then married Marie-Louise, daughter of the emperor of Austria. The following year they had a son, Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte, who became known as Napoleon II and was given the title king of Rome. Napoleon also had several illegitimate children.

​Napoleonic Wars continued...

​This was later known as the Louisiana Purchase. He likely sold the land to raise funds for future wars. The French lost a naval battle at the Battle of Trafalgar, causing Napoleon to attack Austria. During the next several years, Napoleon expanded the French Empire.

In 1811, at its greatest extent, France controlled much of Europe from Spain to the borders of Russia, but did not control Britain.

​Invasion of Russia

​Napoleon made his first major mistake in 1812 when he invaded Russia. He marched a huge army to Russia and many of them starved along the way. Napoleon entered Moscow after a fierce battle with the Russian army. The French army ran out of supplies as winter approached and Napoleon had to return to France. Most of the army died from the weather or starved to death. Of Napoleon’s 600,000 troops who began the campaign into Russia, only an estimated 100,000 survived. Since much of Napoleon’s army had been decimated from the invasion of Russia, the rest of Russia turned on France. They had a few small victories, but Napoleon’s army was too small and not successful.

​Napoleonic Wars

​In the beginning, Napoleon maintained peace in Europe, but was quickly at war with Britain, Austria, and Russia. From 1803 to 1815, France was engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, a series of major conflicts with various coalitions of European nations. In 1803 Napoleon sold France’s Louisiana Territory in North America to the newly independent United States for $15 million.

​EXILE

​On April 6th, 1814 Napoleon was required to abdicate the throne and forced into exile on the island of Elba, an island off the coast of Italy. Napoleon was given sovereignty over the island. In 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and the army quickly backed him. He once again took control of Paris for a period of time known as the Hundred Days. The rest of Europe did not stand for his return though and gathered their armies. They met at Waterloo on June 18, 1815 and Napoleon was once again forced into exile, but on the island of Saint Helena this time.

​Death

​Napoleon died on May 5, 1821 at the age of 51 after living in exile on Saint Helena for six years. He likely died from stomach cancer. During his reign, Napoleon often posed with hand in his vest, leading to a lot of speculation after his death that he had been plagued by stomach cancer for years. Napoleon was buried on the island, despite his request to be laid to rest “on the banks of the Seine, among the French people I have loved so much.” Napoleon’s remains were moved to France in 1840 to Les Invalides in Paris and entombed in a crypt, were many other French military leaders are buried