Napoleon
Napoleon was born August 15, 1769 in
Ajaccio, Corsica. This small, yet gallant
figure was initially a fiercely
independent Corsican, not a Frenchman as most
would believe him to be. His
areas of achievement were government, politics, and
military. He was a strong
leader during the French Revolution. He was very eager
and determined to
fight battles and win them. Sometimes, he was extremely
stubborn. One of his
most prestigious actions was when Napoleon crowned himself
not the pope.
Napoleon was the second of eight children of Charles Bonaparte
and
Letizia Ramolino Bonaparte, both of the Corsican-Italian gentry. Not
one member
of the family was a professional soldier. Napoleon was always a
little boy and
man. When he was young, he often had little "play" fights with
the other
Corsican boys and he would often lead his "troops" to victory.
Napoleon was
educated at Brienne and the Ecole Militaire, (French for
"military school")
in Paris. Napoleon graduated in 1785, at the age of
sixteen. Then he joined the
artillery as a 2nd lieutenant. His initial goal
was to help Corsica, not France.
In 1796, Napoleon was made commander of
the French army in Italy. He defeated
four Austrian generals and forced
Austria and its allies to make peace. During
his tenure in northern Italy, he
founded the Cisalpine Republic and strengthened
his position in France by
sending millions of francs worth of treasure to the
government. It was a
morale boost to a nation cast in anarchy. Napoleon led an
expedition to
Egypt, ruled by the Turks, to cripple at British trade with the
East.
Despite his success in the Middle East, British Admiral Horatio
Nelson
destroyed his fleet, which left he and his army stranded. Napoleon
took the
chance to enhance his political skills by reforming the Egyptian
government,
abolishing serfdom, and feudalism. He also guaranteed basic
rights for the
citizens. Culturally, Napoleon brought French scholars to
study ancient
Egypt’s history. These scholars helped decipher the famous
Rosetta stone.
Hence, the Egyptian hieroglyphics were fully translated.
Although Bonaparte
failed to defeat Syria in 1799, he won a crucial battle
over the Turks at Abu
Qir. However, France faced a major domestic
problem. Austria, Russia, and lesser
powers allied with Britain against
France. These monarchies feared that the
revolution in France would spread
and incite the people of their nations. Their
power was declining steadily
and the only way to stop it would be to restore the
French monarchy.
Napoleon joined a conspiracy against the weak government in
Paris. He and
his colleagues seized power and established and new regime. The
constitution
was edited in 1802 to make Napoleon consul for life an in 1804 to
create him
emperor. In 1800, he assured his power by crossing the Alps and
defeating the
Austrians at Marengo. He then negotiated for peace in Europe that
established
the Rhine River as the eastern border of France. Napoleon also
concluded an
agreement with the pope that ended the argument with the
Roman-Catholic
Church. In France, the administration was reorganized, the court
system was
simplified, and all schools were put under centralized control.
France’s
law was standardized in the Code Napoleon and six other codes. They
guarantee
rights won in the Revolution. Great Britain was prepared to take the
war to
Napoleon.