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Present Day Map of Europe, With
the Location of Corsica
• Born on August 15, 1769
• City of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica,
shortly before coming under French rule
• Second son of Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia
Ramolino
• Carlo Bonaparte was a lawyer belonging to the
lower nobility
• Letizia Ramolino was a woman of great energy
• Both parents were Italian Descendents
• Name was actually spelt Buoanaparte until 1796
Island of
Corsica
• When Napoleon was nine he was enlisted
in military school at Brienne
• The French nobility prepared students
for a military career
• Napoleon was not very pleased with
his education – clearly unhappy
• He was a proud boy who withdrew
Napoleon Enlisted at Brienne Military School
away from others - spent his time reading and dreaming
• Did not display extraordinary talents, but was interested in mathematics,
geography, and history
• Was characterized as ambitious, and would stop at nothing to achieve his goal
• After leaving Brienne, Napoleon spent a year at
Military College in Paris
• Commissioned as Second Lieutenant of Artillery
on September 1, 1785
• He was only sixteen when this occurred
• Extremely bored at the college - spent his time reading
• Some authors included Corneille, Racine, Voltaire,
Montaigne, Montesquieu, and Raynal.
• Favorite author was Rousseau
• Favorite work to read was The Social Contract, by
Rousseau’s Famous Work, The
Social Contract
Rousseau
• After the French Revolution Broke out, Napoleon went to Corsica
three times to start a revolution against French rule
• His third visit and failure in 1793 led him to a new idea – a career
in the French military
• He rose very rapidly through the ranks
• Napoleon was a Commander of Artillery during the siege of
Toulon in 1793 and was distinguished so by the Committee of
Public Safety
• Got involved with the party of Robespierre, but when the party
was overthrown, he was put in jail, and lost his military title
• Was saved because of a cleverly written letter to the Convention
• With an approved strategy of a campaign against the Austrians,
Napoleon was unanimously appointed Commander-In-Chief of the
Army of Italy on March 2, 1796
Commander Bonaparte
• As Napoleon was rising through the military ranks, several important political
events were occurring
•At this time the National Convention rejected the Reign of Terror currently lead
by Maximillian Robespierre, and he was soon executed on July 28, 1794
• The Jacobin Club (the forum for Robespierre’s influence) was closed, and the
White Terror was the persecution of the terrorists from former victims
• The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolution against the Reign of Terror,
which was a period of violence that occurred after the beginning of the French
revolution (1794-1795)
• Upper class life with the ideas of pleasure and
luxury returned, along with poor harvests,
laissez-faire policies, and a revolt of the sansculottes occurred
Execution of Robespierre
• By the end of 1795, the National Convention considered the Revolution to be over
• The revolutionary government, which had replaced the fallen monarchy, lead to the
constitutional republic known as the Directory
• With an executive of five men, the Directory had an unstable regime, which suffered
a series of coups.
• The constitution of the Directory said little about popular rights, such as free
education, and had a ruling system comprised of a two house legislature and a five
man executive branch.
• Most citizens were apathetic; those who were politically active were either
ultraroyalists (more moderate monarchists), or the Jacobins (democrats)
• Babeuvists were followers of Gracchus Babeuf, who believed in
an early form of communism
• In the middle of the political spectrum, there were uncertain
supporters of the Directory, constantly changing sides
Examples of Members of the Directory
• Before Napoleon assumed the command of the Army of
Italy, he married Josephine Beauharnais
• Josephine was raised in the French West Indies
• Came to France as a young girl and married a noble named
Count Alexandre de Beauharnais
• The Reign of Terror claimed the life of Beauharnais, who
was a previous general in the French Army
Josephine Beauharnais
• Josephine met Barras, and was later introduced and married to Napoleon Bonaparte
• While she was not as glamorous as Napoleon, she did posses a certain charm
• Though she did not lose her heart to Napoleon, she still accepted his proposal – they
had consistent relationship problems
• On March 9, 1796, they were married at a civil ceremony
• After his marriage and honeymoon with Josephine, Napoleon assumed the
command of the Army of Italy. He appeared to his troops as a short, sickly man, but
quickly built up a strong reputation
• On April 9, 1796, he lead his troops against the combined Austrian and Sardinian
forces, and after a series of battles he succeeded in several victories
• On May 16 Napoleon triumphantly entered into the Habsburg domain of Lombardy
into their capital of Milan
•During this time he collected large amounts of money and great works of Italian art
and sent them to France
• This collection later became part of the Louvre in Paris
• Despite Napoleon’s success, his work was far from
over, as reinforcements from Germany were being
brought in, and he still had to force the Austrians
from Italy
• Long months of fighting across the Alps with Italian Campaign
1797-1799
daring tactics gave Napoleon an edge
• Forcing the Austrians back, and capturing the town of Mantua, Napoleon crossed
the Alps and advanced to within eighty miles of Vienna, before the Austrians allowed
peace negotiations
• The preliminary negotiations took place at Leoben in April, and in the following
October, a definite treaty was concluded at Campo Formio
• The Campo Formio resulted in the annexation of the Austrian Netherlands to France
(Belgium), distinguished the Rhine is the eastern border of France, and gave Austria
much of the Venetian territories in return for Milan
• This marked the end of Napoleon’s First Italian Campaign, which eliminated Austria
from the First Coalition.
• France would now turn its attention to its main enemy,
England
• After twenty one months, Napoleon finally returned to
Paris, as a famous and important figure, who was
recognized almost everywhere
The Meeting of the Treaty of Campo Formio
• The victories in France’s Italian Sister Republics made Napoleon a famous and
important person
• Due to the efforts to defeat the British naval forces were fruitless due to France’s
insufficient navy. Instead, Bonaparte intended to strike at the British movements to
India with an expedition to Egypt
• In May of 1798, the expedition set sail from Toulon
• On the way to Egypt the fleet seized the island of Malta, and proclaimed it as a
possession of France
• Within a few hours, Napoleon and his men had
captured the city of Alexandria, and had started
to move towards Cairo
• Futile resistance from a group of Arabic militaryfeudal aristocracy lead to the instant surrender of
Cairo
• Within three weeks, Napoleon had made
himself master of Egypt
Napoleon in Egypt – The Great Sphinx
• The British Navy, lead by Admiral Horatio
Nelson defeated Napoleon at the Battle of the
Nile on August 1 in the bay of Aboukir
• This lead to the marooning of a French army
in North Africa and the destruction of many ships
• Napoleon then decided to focus his efforts on
The Battle of the Nile
Egypt
• The Sultan of Turkey rallied an army to defeat Napoleon – he met with the army
before they reached Egypt
• He led sieges against the Turks in Syria, Jaffa, Acre the Garrison, and Cairo
• Important news regarding the political situation in France lead Napoleon to leave
Egypt
• Leaving the majority army in Egypt, Napoleon escaped with 500 of his most
trustworthy soldiers in four vessels
• Several times the ships were nearly captured, but the French escaped to the bay of
Frejus after a forty seven day voyage
• Due to poor news management, the full story of Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition did
not reach France
• Despite the harsh failures in Egypt, Napoleon returned to France with his reputation
intact
• As oppose to the defeats being published, the
exotic details and scientific discoveries and
explorations were viewed by the French public
Napoleon’s Leave From Egypt
• While Napoleon was in Egypt, a second coalition of European
powers had formed against the French, comprised of Austria,
England, and Russia
• Due to the Directory’s “republicanization” of many different
territories, the second coalition was alarmed and ready to take
action against it
• In the war that began in March, 1799, the French were defeated
at nearly every point – losses resulted in the abandonment of
Milan, Rome, Naples, and the defeat of the Italian Sister
Republics
• Meanwhile, the Directory of France named Emmanuel Sieyes in
1789 among the replacements. Sieyes secretly wished to alter the
constitution and change the regime
• His supporters (“revisionists”) wanted to alter the republic and
oppose the Neo-Jacobins – they moved against the Neo-Jacobins
and prepared for a coup
Emmanuel Sieyes
• General Bonaparte was chose to support the coup, as he could be seen as a
national military hero
• Napoleon joined hands with Sieyes, and together the two men formed a triumvirate
of power along with Ducos, who was also a Director, like Sieyes
• The group plotted to overthrow the Directory, and the plan was approved by the
Council of Elders and the Council of the Five Hundred, led by Lucien Bonaparte
• Bonaparte soon became “the tail that wagged the dog” and became the head of the
movement
• An interference by the Jacobin plot, and conflictions with
the Council of Elders and Council of the Five Hundred
almost ruined the plot
• This led to Napoleon being seen as a dictator, in which
the people were greatly against – It was only due to the
help of his brother Lucien that Napoleon was able to save
himself
• And it was so that the Coup D’Etat was established
Napoleon Selected to Support the Coup
• The Coup D’Etat was set for 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799)
• Thus it was known as the Brumaire Coup – overthrew French Directory
• It was not intended to install a dictatorship, but that was the final result
• Through the Coup, Bonaparte was allowed to install many of his personal
interests in the revisions
• The plotters agreed to eliminate elections and other
“politically unstable” policies and aspects of government,
such as civil equality and popular democracy
• The plotters wished for peace under Napoleon’s reign,
but what they received was expansion and endless
warfare under a dictator
• Ultimately led to the reign of Napoleon I
The Coup D’Etat
•Thus, the Coup D’Etat was accomplished, and the
French Revolution was ended, in everything but name
• The crowning of Napoleon as Emperor marks the
“ending” of the French Revolution
• It is debatable whether Napoleon’s reign continued
or ended the ideals of the Revolution
• The story of Napoleon’s Rise to Power is known as
one of the most memorable in history
• He has proved that even someone who has come
from nothing (small Corsican boy) can come to have
everything (emperor of France)
Emperor Napoleon I of France
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