Who was Napoleon?
Napoleon was the first Emperor of France from 1804-1815. He became the Emperor because of his success as a military leader during the French Revolution. Once the French Revolution was over, Napoleon came to power at the consent of the people and began to lead them in a series of war campaigns against the rest of continental Europe. These wars became known as the Napoleonic Wars which led to Napoleon building a large empire which ranged from Poland to Italy. He was also influential in starting French Nationalism by writing the Napoleonic Code which defined what it meant to be French. He was born in August 15 1769 on an island in the Mediterranean known as Corsica. He was born into the nobility class but was not overly wealthy. He was educated in France and graduated from a French Military Academy in 1785. During the French Revolution, he was a second Lieutenant of an artillery unit. During the first part of the French Revolution in 1789, Napoleon did not largely participate in the military because he was on leave at his home in the Mediterranean. However, a conflict between the Corsican Governor and Pasquale Paoli led the Bonaparte family to return to France. Once the family was in France, Napoleon then returned to active duty and also met Augustin Robespierre. Around the same time, he was also promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. He was very successful on the front lines but fell from grace because of Robespierre’s death. He was placed under house arrest because of his ties with Augustus Robespierre. However, he was promoted again in 1795 to the rank of Major General because he helped to stop a royal insurrection against France’s new Republican style government instituted by the Revolutionaries. As a by-product of the French Revolution, France was fighting wars on several fronts against different European Nations. Napoleon commanded the French armies on the Austrian front and helped the French win several decisive battles in Italy which led to France and Austria signing the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Once the Treaty of Campo Formio was signed and there was peace with Austria, Napoleon then he was granted permission by France’s government to try to lead an invasion of England. This invasion would be put off for the time being as Napoleon believed that the French Navy was not strong enough to defeat the British. Instead of invading England, he chose to lead an attack on Egypt in order to cut off trade routes between Britain and India. Even though the French won a victory at the Battle of the Pyramids in July of 1798, the invasion did not go well after the French Fleet was destroyed by the Britains in the Battle of the Nile in August of 1798. This forced the French to retreat from Egypt and return to France empty handed. Napoleon returned to France and in 1799 overthrew the French directory. Once the French Directory was overthrown, Napoleon then established a Consulate made up of himself and two others. This made him the main political leader of France. He then continued his military conquests at the Battle of Marengo where Napoleon defeated the Austrians and drove them out of Italy which set in stone his power as the consul. In addition to their victory over the Austrians, Napoleon also successfully signed the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 with the British. Napoleon also had many achievements which helped him to maintain his power and unify France (to be discussed later). Once Napoleon had established his Empire, he began to wage war again with Europe in a series of conflicts known as the Napoleonic Wars which were conflicts with several European Nations. He also sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. Since Napoleon wanted to conquer Britain, but could not to by force fought Britain on an economic level where he would try to stop British trade. Napoleon fell from grace when he tried to invade Russia but it ended in a disastrous defeat. The failed Russian invasion was coupled with France fighting the Peninsular War in 1808 and France was defeated again in 1813 at the battle of Leipzig. This caused his exile to an island known as Elba. Napoleon however, regained his power in 1815 and began another military campaign that is known as the Hundred Days campaign. Napoleon invaded Belgium in 1815, but was defeated on June 18 at the Battle of Waterloo and this put an end to his military campaigns forever. Napoleon abdicated from the throne again in October of 1815 and was exiled again to Saint Helena where he died on May 5 1821. He was 51 years old.
What did Napoleon Do to make himself famous? Where did he receive his military education? Where did he learn his leadership qualities?
Napoleon received his military training at a Military Academy in Paris, College of Brienne, and College d’ Autun. These academies/colleges were similar to that of Westpoint here in the United States. Napoleon had great military success during the French Revolution. While people such as Robespierre and others worked to stabilize France from within with a good strong Republican government, Napoleon was out on the front lines fighting against Europe as they attempted to invade France. During the French Revolution he was promoted quickly as part of an Artillery regiment. When the revolution finally ended, Napoleon had gained the rank of General and returned to France very popular among the French People. Napoleon was appointed a Consul or Dictator of France and helped secure peace with the remaining European nations that France was still at war with. Once he had gained power, Napoleon wrote his famous Napoleonic Code. Before Napoleon came to power, France did not have a single set of laws which made its’ legal system very unreliable and unfair. The code was inspired by the law that the Romans used and was divided into Personal Status, Property, and the Acquisition of Property. Since these were the principles upon which the revolution was based on, it was received well by the people because everybody had a chance to gain the positions of the wealthy and the powerful. Most of the nations in Europe have used different parts of the Napoleonic Code with the exception of Britain, Russia, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. In order to raise funds for France, Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory in order to gain funds for his army. Napoleon also strengthened France’s economy and made prices reasonable yet profitable. He also made peace with the church and Roman Catholicism was the main religion of France, but people were not required to follow that faith. Once peace and stability was restored to France, Napoleon began a series of conquests known as the Napoleonic Wars in where he conquered much of Europe in a very short time. The inspiration for conquering Europe was so that he could see his ideas and values of everyone being equal and free instituted all over Europe. However, though this was successful in the short time, in the long run, Napoleon’s conquest of Europe ended badly, first with his defeat at the hands of Great Britain, and then at Russia. He also suffered his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo where he lost to the Prussians and British. Even though Napoleon never conquered all of Europe, many of his ideals were still implemented all over Europe, as other countries used the Napoleonic Code as inspiration for their own constitutions.
Where did Napoleon come from? Where was he Born? Where did he rule?
Napoleon was born on August 15 1769 in Ajaccio Corsica which is an island in the Mediterranean of Corsica. He was the son of Carlo Buonaparte who was a lawyer and Letizia Romalino Buonaparte. Both of his parents were technically part of nobility but they were not very wealthy because they were so far removed from French aristocracy. In fact, France had only taken control of Corsica a year before Napoleon was born. Napoleon went off to school on the mainland of France and there he was educated at France’s version of Westpoint. He returned to his home before the outbreak of the French Revolution. However, because of conflict with th
e Corsican Governor, the Bonaparte family left the island and went to live on the mainland of France. Napoleon came to power in 1795 where he did rapidly gained popularity amongst the people. He established himself as a Consul or Dictator and wrote the Napoleonic Code which, in short gave equal rights to all the people of France. He also sold the Louisiana Territory in order to gain funds for his military. Once the Louisiana Territory was sold, Napoleon began a series of military campaigns known as the Napoleonic Wars in which he conquered parts of Europe and established his empire. However, his conquests were stopped when he was defeated by Britain’s navy and began a land war in Russia. Once Napoleon was defeated in Russia, he never won another military campaign.