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Auburn Phillips
Miss O’Dell
English block M3
2 May 2012
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte once said that “A leader is a dealer in hope.” Napoleon was a
successful leader. Despite Napoleon’s short childhood, he led many successful
expeditions and became the Emperor of France.
Napoleon grew up with many siblings and had respectable parents. Before
Napoleon was born the French army had taken over the island of Ajaccio. A few years
after Napoleons birth, the French were planning on selling the island to England, and
Napoleon would not allow it; this is the reason why Napoleon had started a lot of the
wars that had happened between France and some European Countries (Bowle).
Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 in the town of Corsica. Napoleon’s birth name
was Napoleon Bouna Parte before it was changed to Napoleon Bonaparte (Welsh).
Bonaparte was the second son of the Bouna Parte family (Bowle). Not including himself,
Napoleon had seven siblings, Joseph, Lucien, Elisa, Louis, Pauline, Caroline, and Jerome
(McDowell). His father was Carlo-Maria Buona Parte or Charles Bouna Parte, and his
mother was Marie Letizia Romolino. Napoleon’s father and mother were of Genoese
Ancestry (Bowle). Just as his family grew to be great leaders, Napoleon soon followed in
their footsteps.
Napoleon was to gain lots of success after going to school. In 1779 Napoleons
father had taken his two elder sons to France where a place had been found for Napoleon,
who was now nine, in one of the military schools. Being dyslexic Napoleon was not very
good in school, and the only thing that saved his grades was his love for math. Napoleon
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applied math to all of his courses in order to pass (Bowle). Napoleon went to school at
the Parisian Ecole Royal Militaire where he graduated one year later as the second
lieutenant of the artillery. Since the infantry and cavalry were reserved mainly for the
aristocracy, Napoleon had to enroll in artillery school instead (Welsh). At the age of 24,
Napoleon devised a plan to capture Toulon. Napoleons plan was so successful that he
was then promoted to Brigadier General (Welsh). Napoleon’s success in school, led him
to become a great Commander.
Soon after becoming Brigadier General, Napoleon became Commander of the
French Army and lead many successful expeditions. Napoleon became Commander of
the French army of Italy in March of 1796. Before becoming Commander of the French
army, he was promoted to Major-General, and then was made second in command of the
Army four days later (McDowell). In 1798, Napoleon conquered the Ottoman-ruled
Egypt in attempt to attack the British trade routes. In attempt to succeed, Napoleon was
stranded when his fleet was destroyed by the British (Napoleon Bonaparte). May of the
same year, Napoleon led an expedition to Egypt, where he used it as a “springboard” to
invade India. At first it had started to go well with “spectacular victory” over the
Mamelukes, Egyptian warrior caste and at the battle of the Pyramids during the same
year (Welsh). When Britain inflicted a navel retreat on the French army at Trafalgar in
1805, Napoleon decided to abandon his plans to invade England. Napoleon turned on the
Austro-Russian forces, where he defeated them at Austerlitz in the same year (Napoleon
Bonaparte). In conclusion once Napoleon became Brigadier General, he became
Commander of the Army and won many battles.
After many successful wars and expeditions Napoleon soon became Emperor. On
November of 1799, in a coup d’état, Bonaparte became the first consul. Two years later
Bonaparte was promoted first consul for life and would soon become emperor two years
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later (Napoleon Bonaparte). In 1800, Napoleon defeated the Austrians at Marengo.
Napoleon then negotiated a “general European peace” which was to establish French
power on the continent (Napoleon Bonaparte). December 2, 1804 Napoleon became the
Emperor of France at the age of 35. As emperor, Napoleon would be known as Napoleon
I (Welsh). Becoming the first consul for life, Napoleon became widely popular. He then
became emperor and married the wonderful Josephine de Beauharnais.
As emperor, Bonaparte would soon marry and lead more expeditions. In 1810
Napoleon had a childless marriage with Josephine de Beauharnais, which was later
annulled. He then married the daughter of the Austrian emperor in hope of receiving an
heir. As emperor, Napoleon gained new territory, including the annexation of Prussian
lands which gave him extensive control over Europe. Holland and Westphalia were
created, and in the next five years, his relatives became leaders of the countries . In 1808
the Peninsular War had begun. The French’s loss over the five years drained French
military resources. Napoleons invasion of Russia in 1812 resulted in a retreat. The tide
started to turn in favor of the allies and on March of 1814, Paris fell. Soon after Napoleon
went into exile (Napoleon Bonaparte). Napoleon’s luck started to change after the
Peninsular War began. A few years after, Napoleon had died.
Napoleons would soon leave all his success to be known around the world.
Napoleon died on May 5, 1821 on the island of St. Helena. He died at an early age of
fifty-one, which soon led people to wonder what the cause of his death was. Napoleon
was buried in Geranium Valley. His coffin was draped with a cloak that he wore at
Marengo, and on top was his sword. Today, after 150 years, Napoleons death is still a
mystery. Most people believe that Napoleon died from stomach cancer, or arsenic
poisoning (Bowle). Napoleon was a great leader who died of a cause that is still unknown
to the world.
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Napoleons life was full of both failure and success. His short childhood was what
helped him to become a successful leader. Napoleon was a great leader, and the
Commander of the French army in Italy that led many successful expeditions, and gained
a lot a land all in one life time. Despite dying at a young age, Napoleon is still one of the
most talked about people on the planet.
Works Cited
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Bowle, John. Napoleon / John Bowle ; Introduction by Elizabeth Longford. Chicago:
Follett, 1975. Print.
McDOWELL, EDWIN. "PUBLISHING: HOW DID NAPOLEAN DIE?" The New York
Times. The New York Times, 30 Apr. 1982. Web. 02 May 2012.
<http://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/30/books/publishing-how-did-napoleandie.html>.
"Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)." BBC News. BBC. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bonaparte_napoleon.shtml>.
Welsh, William E. "Napoleon Bonaparte's Coronation 200 Years Ago Split His Life into
Two Separate Chapters." Military History 4 Dec. 2004: 10-16. ProQuest
Discovery. Web.