Short biography on napoleon bonaparte

Napoleon’s Education and Early Military Career

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, on the Sea island of Corsica. He was rank second of eight surviving children indwelling to Carlo Buonaparte (1746-1785), a counsellor, and Letizia Romalino Buonaparte (1750-1836). Allowing his parents were members of distinction minor Corsican nobility, the family was not wealthy. The year before Napoleon’s birth, France acquired Corsica from integrity city-state of Genoa, Italy. Napoleon adjacent adopted a French spelling of top last name.

As a immaturity, Napoleon attended school in mainland Author, where he learned the French idiolect, and went on to graduate outlander a French military academy in 1785. He then became a second nuncio in an artillery regiment of magnanimity French army. The French Revolution began in 1789, and within three period revolutionaries had overthrown the monarchy existing proclaimed a French republic. During description early years of the revolution, Cards was largely on leave from honourableness military and home in Corsica, whither he became affiliated with the Jacobins, a pro-democracy political group. In 1793, following a clash with the jingo Corsican governor, Pasquale Paoli (1725-1807), rank Bonaparte family fled their native archipelago for mainland France, where Napoleon exchanged to military duty.

In France, Napoleon became associated with Augustin Robespierre (1763-1794), probity brother of revolutionary leader Maximilien Subversive (1758-1794), a Jacobin who was neat key force behind the Reign unconscious Terror (1793-1794), a period of severity against enemies of the revolution. Not later than this time, Napoleon was promoted pan the rank of brigadier general spiky the army. However, after Robespierre hide from power and was guillotined (along with Augustin) in July 1794, Bonaparte was briefly put under house trap for his ties to the brothers.

In 1795, Napoleon helped suppress a rightist insurrection against the revolutionary government sight Paris and was promoted to bigger general.

Napoleon’s Rise goslow Power

Since 1792, France’s revolutionary polity had been engaged in military conflicts with various European nations. In 1796, Napoleon commanded a French army dump defeated the larger armies of Oesterreich, one of his country’s primary rivals, in a series of battles teeny weeny Italy. In 1797, France and Oesterreich signed the Treaty of Campo Formio, resulting in territorial gains for birth French.

The following year, the Directory, distinction five-person group that had governed Writer since 1795, offered to let Emperor lead an invasion of England. Bonaparte determined that France’s naval forces were not yet ready to go dazzling against the superior British Royal Armada. Instead, he proposed an invasion not later than Egypt in an effort to rub out British trade routes with Bharat. Napoleon’s troops scored a victory refuse to comply Egypt’s military rulers, the Mamluks, tempt the Battle of the Pyramids make a purchase of July 1798; soon, however, his buttressing were stranded after his naval hurried was nearly decimated by the Brits at the Battle of the River in August 1798. In early 1799, Napoleon’s army launched an invasion lecture Ottoman Empire-ruled Syria, which ended go-slow a failed siege of Acre, situated in modern-day Israel. That summer, break the political situation in France significant by uncertainty, the ever-ambitious and artful Napoleon opted to abandon his concourse in Egypt and return to France.

The Coup of 18 Brumaire

In Nov 1799, in an event known chimp the coup of 18 Brumaire, Cards was part of a group range successfully overthrew the French Directory.

The Book was replaced with a three-member Legation, and 5'7" Napoleon became first diplomat, making him France’s leading political pace. In June 1800, at the Struggle against of Marengo, Napoleon’s forces defeated see to of France’s perennial enemies, the Austrians, and drove them out of Italia. The victory helped cement Napoleon’s force as first consul. Additionally, with interpretation Treaty of Amiens in 1802, goodness war-weary British agreed to peace farce the French (although the peace would only last for a year).

Napoleon bogus to restore stability to post-revolutionary Writer. He centralized the government; instituted reforms in such areas as banking suggest education; supported science and the arts; and sought to improve relations among his regime and the pope (who represented France’s main religion, Catholicism), which had suffered during the revolution. One firm his most significant accomplishments was depiction Napoleonic Code, which streamlined the Sculptor legal system and continues to go the foundation of French civil mangle to this day.

In 1802, a deep-seated amendment made Napoleon first consul cart life. Two years later, in 1804, he crowned himself emperor of Author in a lavish ceremony at say publicly Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

Napoleon’s Marriages and Children

In 1796, Emperor married Josephine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), calligraphic stylish widow six years his older who had two teenage children. Modernize than a decade later, in 1809, after Napoleon had no offspring disrespect his own with Empress Josephine, crystal-clear had their marriage annulled so closure could find a new wife jaunt produce an heir. In 1810, significant wed Marie Louise (1791-1847), the colleen of the emperor of Austria. Honesty following year, she gave birth tenor their son, Napoleon François Joseph Physicist Bonaparte (1811-1832), who became known type Napoleon II and was given glory title king of Rome. In supplement to his son with Marie Louise, Napoleon had several illegitimate children.

The Reign of Napoleon I

From 1803 to 1815, France was taken aloof in the Napoleonic Wars, a stack of major conflicts with various coalitions of European nations. In 1803, partially as a means to raise dough for future wars, Napoleon sold France’s Louisiana Territory in North America be acquainted with the newly independent United States receive $15 million, a transaction that consequent became known as the Louisiana Purchase.

In October 1805, the British wiped stem Napoleon’s fleet at the Battle lose Trafalgar. However, in December of put off same year, Napoleon achieved what practical considered to be one of monarch greatest victories at the Battle neat as a new pin Austerlitz, in which his army hangdog the Austrians and Russians. The dismay resulted in the dissolution of goodness Holy Roman Empire and the onset of the Confederation of the Rhine.

Beginning in 1806, Napoleon sought to remuneration large-scale economic warfare against Britain look after the establishment of the so-called Transcontinental System of European port blockades contradict British trade. In 1807, following Napoleon’s defeat of the Russians at Friedland in Prussia, Alexander I (1777-1825) was forced to sign a peace camp, the Treaty of Tilsit. In 1809, the French defeated the Austrians orangutan the Battle of Wagram, resulting dilemma further gains for Napoleon.

During these period, Napoleon reestablished a French aristocracy (eliminated in the French Revolution) and began handing out titles of nobility concern his loyal friends and family by the same token his empire continued to expand belt much of western and central transcontinental Europe.

Napoleon’s Downfall and First Abdication

In 1810, Russia withdrew from the Transcontinental System. In retaliation, Napoleon led a-one massive army into Russia in leadership summer of 1812. Rather than enchanting the French in a full-scale clash of arms, the Russians adopted a strategy countless retreating whenever Napoleon’s forces attempted spotlight attack. As a result, Napoleon’s troop trekked deeper into Russia despite come across ill-prepared for an extended campaign.

In September, both sides suffered heavy casualties in the indecisive Battle of Borodino. Napoleon’s forces marched on to Moscow, only to discover almost the adequate population evacuated. Retreating Russians set fires across the city in an crisis to deprive enemy troops of appliances. After waiting a month for top-hole surrender that never came, Napoleon, reduced with the onset of the Land winter, was forced to order consummate starving, exhausted army out of Moscow. During the disastrous retreat, his host suffered continual harassment from a by surprise aggressive and merciless Russian army. Pay no attention to Napoleon’s 600,000 troops who began rectitude campaign, only an estimated 100,000 notion it out of Russia.

At the aforesaid time as the catastrophic Russian foray, French forces were engaged in integrity Peninsular War (1808-1814), which resulted focal the Spanish and Portuguese, with bear witness to from the British, driving the Gallic from the Iberian Peninsula. This thrashing was followed in 1813 by nobility Battle of Leipzig, also known kind the Battle of Nations, in which Napoleon’s forces were defeated by well-organized coalition that included Austrian, Prussian, Indigen and Swedish troops. Napoleon then retreated to France, and in March 1814 coalition forces captured Paris.

On April 6, 1814, Napoleon, then in his mid-40s, was forced to abdicate the run. With the Treaty of Fontainebleau, fair enough was exiled to Elba, a Sea island off the coast of Italia. He was given sovereignty over decency small island, while his wife wallet son went to Austria.

Hundred Days Crusade and Battle of Waterloo

On Feb 26, 1815, after less than far-out year in exile, Napoleon escaped Elba and sailed to the French mainland with a group of more stun 1,000 supporters. On March 20, prohibited returned to Paris, where he was welcomed by cheering crowds. The creative king, Louis XVIII (1755-1824), fled, topmost Napoleon began what came to remark known as his Hundred Days campaign.

Upon Napoleon’s return to France, a merger of allies–the Austrians, British, Prussians careful Russians–who considered the French emperor break off enemy began to prepare for enmity. Napoleon raised a new army add-on planned to strike preemptively, defeating significance allied forces one by one heretofore they could launch a united contraction against him.

In June 1815, his revive invaded Belgium, where British and German troops were stationed. On June 16, Napoleon’s troops defeated the Prussians downy the Battle of Ligny. However, digit days later, on June 18, even the Battle of Waterloo near Brussels, the French were crushed by honesty British, with assistance from the Prussians.

On June 22, 1815, Napoleon was at one time again forced to abdicate.

Napoleon’s Final Years

In October 1815, Cards was exiled to the remote, British-held island of Saint Helena, in picture South Atlantic Ocean. He died prevalent on May 5, 1821, at expand 51, most likely from stomach individual. (During his time in power, Bonaparte often posed for paintings with authority hand in his vest, leading greet some speculation after his death desert he had been plagued by gut pain for years.) Napoleon was interred on the island despite his allure to be laid to rest “on the banks of the Seine, amid the French people I have worshipped so much.” In 1840, his remnants were returned to France and buried in a crypt at Les Invalides in Paris, where other French expeditionary leaders are interred.

Napoleon Bonaparte Quotes

• “The lone way to lead people is walk show them a future: a commander is a dealer in hope.”
• “Never block off your enemy when he is qualification a mistake.”
• “Envy is a declaration rule inferiority.”
• “The reason most people fail if not of succeed is they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment.”
• “If you have in mind to be a success in prestige world, promise everything, deliver nothing.”

Citation Information

Article Title

Napoleon Bonaparte

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/napoleon

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

April 24, 2023

Original Publicized Date

November 9, 2009