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Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Corsica. He was born into a noble family, and belonged in the second estate. His parents were Carlo and Letizia Buonaparte.
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Royalist rebels marched on the National Convention, and a government official let Napoleon prove himself and defend France. Napoleon and his gunners received the rebels with a cannonade. The attackers left within a short amount of time, and Napoleon Bonaparte became “hero of the hour”, being hailed all through Paris.
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He was appointed by the Directory to command the French army in a battle against Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia. He crossed the Alps and and won many victories in Italy. He later led an expedition to Egypt with the purpose of protecting French trade and disrupting British trade with India. He didn't have the same luck as he did in Europe, since Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon's naval force, and his army was attacked.
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The Directory had no control over politics and confidence of the French. As Napoleon returned from Egypt, he was urged to seize political power, and he did. His troops surrounded the national legislature and drove out the majority of its members. Lawmakers who stayed established a group of three consuls, Napoleon taking the title of first consul, and embraced the powers of a dictator.
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When Napoleon seized power so sudden, France was still at war. Britain, Austria and Russia joined forces to remove Napoleon from power. After war and diplomacy, all three nations signed peace agreements with France, and for the first time in ten years, in 1802, Europe was at peace. Napoleon could now put all his focus on returning France to the best state possible.
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A vote of the people, also known as a plebiscite took place. This approved a new constitution, since a grand majority was in favor of it, desperately seeking a strong leadership. This gave all real power to Napoleon as first consul.
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Napoleon took back the colony that was under the leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture african slaves. He restored the sugar industry, but the French were attacked by diseases. This expedition to Saint Domingue was a failure, so Napoleon decided to remove all connections in the Americas.
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Napoleon offered to sell all Louisiana Territory to the United States, and President Jefferson bought the land for $15 million. This brought two benefits, he gained money to pay for operations in Europe, and he could punish the British by giving them a new enemy.
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Napoleon decided to name himself emperor with the support of the French voters. He dressed with a purple, velvet robe, and walked down the aisle of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, where the pope was waiting for him with a crown. With many people watching, he grabbed the crown from the pope's hand and placed it on his head, signaling that he was more powerful than the Church.
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The Battle of Austerlitz, which was a war between France, vs. Russia, Austria, and Prussia, was won successfully by Napoleon. This forced Russia, Austria, and Prussia to sign peace treaties, which resulted in Napoleon building the largest European empire since the Romans. The only enemy left was Britain, due to their strong naval power.
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The Battle of Trafalgar, located off the southwest coast of Spain, was the only major battle Napoleon lost. The British commander, Horatio Nelson, with many tactics, was able to capture many French ships, being victorious against the French. This caused the British to be dominant in the navy for the next 100 years. Also, because of this loss, Napoleon had to forget about his plans of invading Britain.
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Napoleon created a blockade, or the forced closure of ports, so Great Britain could not have trade and communication with other European nations. He called this the Continental System, with the purpose of making Europe more self sufficient. This was a failure, since everyone found a way out of the blockade, and everyone disagreed with the policy.
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With the purpose of getting Portugal to accept the Continental System, Napoleon sent an invasion of troops to Spain. This angered the Spanish people, and they started to protest. As a result, Napoleon removed the Spanish king and placed his brother Joseph as king. This worried the Spanish people, since they feared that Napoleon would attack the Church, since they were devout Catholic.
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This six year war acquired the name, Peninsula War, where Napoleon lost 300,000 men. Spanish fighters named guerrillas, fought against French armies, by ambushing troops, and receiving help by the British. Nationalism was becoming a strong weapon against Napoleon, causing Germans, Italians and other conquered people to turn against the French.
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Napoleon and his Grand Army, which was made up of more than 420,000 soldiers marched into Russia. Alexander held back, as he saw the large quantity of troops Napoleon had, and the unequal battle it would be. So, he practiced the scorched- earth policy, which was the burning of grain fields and slaughtering livestock so their enemies wouldn't have anything to eat.
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The Battle of Borodino occured, and after several hours of fighting, Russians felt defeated, allowing Napoleon to enter Moscow. Alexander, instead of giving up Moscow to Napoleon, destroyed the city by burning it. Napoleon stayed in Moscow until the middle of October, and as he went back to France, Russians attacked Napoleons tired army. Many died from exhaustion, hunger and cold, leaving the Grand Army with only 10,000 soldiers to fight.
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Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Austria joined forces against Napoleon. Napoleon was able to create an army, but the troops weren’t as trained and prepared. The allied forces quickly defeated the French army, slowly destroying Napoleon's power.
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The allied forces of Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Austria marched toward Paris, and King Frederick William III of Prussia and Czar Alexander I of Russia led their troops in victorious parade through the Paris. Napoleon wanted to fight them, but his generals denied.
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Napoleon Bonaparte accepted defeat, and surrendered by giving up his throne. The allied armies gave him a small amount of money and exiled him to Elba, which was an island off the Italian coast. However, Napoleon wasn't going to keep quiet or still about the situation.
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The defeat in Waterloo ended with Napoleon's power, which was called the Hundred Days. The British shipped Napoleon to an island in the South Atlantic, called St. Helena. He lived alone for six years, until he died in 1821, of a stomach disease, that might have been cancer.
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Napoleon took advantage that the French people hated the new emperor, which was Louis XVIII, and escaped Elba. He arrived in France, and was well received on his march to Paris. In a matter of days, he was the emperor of France again.
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Napoleon attacked, and the British and Prussian army fought against him. Two days later, Napoleon accepted defeat, as his troops were tired. This battle was named the Battle of Waterloo, since it took place near the village of Waterloo in Belgium.
