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Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and was given the name Napoleon Buonaperte. He was the second of eight children of Carlo and Letizia Buonaperte, both of the Corsican-Italian gentry. Before Napoleon, had ever been a professional soldier. His father Carlo, was a lawyer who had fought for Corsican independence.
Napoleon, at the age of 16, and joined the artillery as a second lieutenant. I was then where Napoleon found his calling. The rest of his life would be based on the army. He had proven himself to be a great general. He is one of the most, if not the most, influential people of European History. Europe would not be the same today if it weren't for him.
After the revolution began in France, he became a lieutenant colonel (1791) in the Corsican National Guard. However, when Corsica declared independence in 1793, Buonaperte, a Republican, and a French patriot fled to France with his family. He was assigned, as captain, to an army besieging Toulon, a naval base that was aided by a British fleet, while in revolt against the republic. It was here that Napoleon Buonaperte officially changed his name to Napoleon Bonaparte, feeling that it looked "more French." It was here too that Napoleon replaced wounded artillery General and seized ground where his guns could drive the British fleet from the harbor and Toulon fell. As a result of his accomplishments, Bonaparte was promoted to brigadier general at the age of 24.
In 1795, he saved the revolutionary government by dispersing an insurgent mob in Paris. Latter in 1796, Napoleon became commander of the French army in Italy. He defeated four Austrian generals in succession, each at impossible odds, and forced Austria and it's allies to make peace. The Treaty of Campo Formio provided that France keep most of its conquests. In northern Italy he founded the Cisalpine Republic, and straightened his position in France by sending millions of francs worth of treasure to the government.
In 1798, to strike at British trade with the East, he led an expedition to Turkish-ruled Egypt, which he conquered. His fleet, however, was destroyed by the British admiral Horatio Nelson, leaving him stranded. Undaunted, he reformed the Egyptian government and law, abolishing serfdom and feudalism and guaranteeing basic rights. The French scholars he had brought with him began the scientific study of ancient Egyptian history.
In 1799 he failed to capture Syria, but won a victory over the Turks at Abu Q. France, meanwhile, faced a new threat, the coalition of Austria, Russia, and the lesser powers allied with Britain. Bonaparte, decided to leave his army and return to save France. In Paris, he joined a conspiracy against the government. In the coup d'etat of November 1799, he and his colleagues seized power and established a new regime-the Consulate. Under its construction, Bonaparte, as his first consul, had almost dictatorial powers.
The constitution was revised in 1802 to make Napoleon consul for life and in 1804, it made him emperor. Each of these changes received overwhelming assent of the electorate. In 1800, he assured his power by crossing the Alps and defeating the Austrians at Marengo. He also concluded an agreement with the pope, which contributed to French domestic tranquillity and ended the quarrel with the Roman Catholic church that had arisen during the Revolution. In France, the administration was reorganized, the court system was simplified, and all schools were put under centralized control. French law was standardized in the Code.
Napoleon, (the civil code) and six other codes. They all guaranteed the rights and liberties won in the Revolution, which included equality before the law and Napoleon, being the greatest general of his time, with the intentions of France in mind it is clear how the French people respected him, held him in high regard, and even praised him. With that same clarity that we can see how those "enemies of the state", and others not living in France feared Napoleon, and saw him as a power hungry mad man. Opposing generals fueled by hate attempted on many occasions to stop the momentum that Bonaparte and his French Empire was gaining. The view by others that he was a ruthless and sadistic leader, who created war for his personal gain. Another feeling of resentment towards Bonaparte was that he was unorganized, sloppy, and basically lucky.
Finally, many people felt that Napoleon was only interested in his own image and power, and essentially used France and its resources as an outlet to achieve this. Napoleon himself would prove all this wrong. By taking the position which France was in at the time, revamping the entire political system, and giving equality and freedom to all of France he quickly showed his loyalties. As for being unorganized, sloppy and very lucky, time after time, Napoleon would prove his military superiority in all aspects. Lastly, if Napoleon had used France to gain his personal goals he would not have taken the time to change the politics, to protect the rights of the citizens, or to make sure France was a good place to live, "France has more need for Napoleon, then he for France" In April 1803 Britain, provoked by Napoleon's aggressive behavior, resumed war with France on the seas. Two years after this Russia and Austria joined the British in a second coalition.
Napoleon then abandoned plans to invade England and turned his armies against the Austro-Russia forces, defeating them at the battle of Austerlitz on December 2 nd, 1805. In 1806 he seized the kingdom of Naples and made his elder brother Joseph king, converted the Dutch Republic into the kingdom of Holland for his brother Louis, and established the Confederation of the Rhine of which he was the protector. Prussia then allied itself with Russia and attacked the confederation. Napoleon destroyed the Prussian army at Jena and Auerstadt (1806) and the Russian army at Friedland.
At Tilsit in July of 1807, Napoleon made an ally of Czar Alexander I and greatly reduced the size of Prussia. He also added new states to the empire: the kingdom of Westphalia, under his brother Jerome, the duchy of Warsaw, and others. Outside of his military life Napoleon characterized his regime above all with a strong executive under the control of a single charismatic figure who appointed and dismissed ministers, generals, prefects, and bishops, commanded armies, directed foreign policy, saw to the codification of laws, and reorganized the systems of education, worship, and administration. Meanwhile Napoleon had established the Continental System (a French-imposed blockade of Europe against British goods, designed to force bankruptcy what he called "the nation of shopkeepers"). In 1807, Bonaparte seized Portugal. In 1808, he made his brother Joseph, the king of Spain.
Napoleon then awarded Naples to his brother-in-law, Joachim Murat. Joseph's arrival in Spain touched off a rebellion there, which became known as the Peninsular War. Napoleon appeared briefly and scored victories, but after his departure the fighting continued for five years, with the British backing the Spanish armies and guerrillas. The Peninsular War cost France 300, 000 casualties and incredible sums of money and...
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