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Napoleon is born on the island of Corsica, France on August 15, 1769.
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Gains scholoarship to military school at the age of 15. Becomes second lieutentant one year later.
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Napoleon supports the French Revolution by fighting for the revolutionaries. He rises quickly through the ranks, from captain, to brigader general, to commander of the French Army in Italy over the next 7 years.
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Napoleon returns to France as a hero in 1797 after defeating Italian and Austrian allied forces. He is then given charge of a new army, who he orders to invade Egypt, as a indirect attack on Britain. He is defeated after two years of fighting.
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After fleeing back to Paris after his defeat in Egypt, Napoleon leads a coup d'etat to overthrow the Directory to establish the Consulate. Napoleon becomes the First Consul of France.
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Napoleon signs the Concordat in 1801, which creates peace with the Catholic Church.
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Napoleon creates the Napoleonic Code, a new set of laws to govern France.
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Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France on Dec 2nd, 1804. He sets out to create military conquests to expand his empire.
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The French Empire was at it's strongest from 1807 to 1812. It was composed of France itself, dependent states, and allied states. Britain, Russia, Portugal, and Sweden allied to form a coalition against the Empire to take Napoleon down.
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The growing idea of Nationalism is detrement to Napoleon's power. He begins to lose battles as his own people turn against him. He is exiled to the island of Elba in 1814, but soon escapes.
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Napoleon seizes power of France again on March 20, 1815. He attemps to recapture his Empire. On June 18th, 1815, British, Russian, Prussian and Austrian allies defeat Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo, in Belgium.
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After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was captured and exiled to a prison on the British island of St. Helena in the S. Atlantic. He would be held there for the next 6 years, until he died of stomach cancer on May 5th, 1821.
