Napoleon Bonaparte: History and Timeline
Napoleon Bonaparte or Emperor Napoleon I of France was born on 15 August
1769. He was a political and military leader of France, also credited with renewed
European politics during the early 19th century. A common man who felt strongly
about the resurgence of French glory, Napoleon is remembered even today for
the establishment of the Grande Armee and institutionalizing the Legion of
Honor...
Napoleon Bonaparte: Timeline
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica, near France, in 1769.
He served in the French military on the side of the commoners during the
French Revolution. Loved unconditionally by his people, like a phoenix he
rose amidst victory and defeat, till the time of his death in 1821.
Napoleon Bonaparte: History
Napoleon Bonaparte is still remembered in France for the establishment of
the Code of Napoleon, prefectship in general administration and the
judicial foundation in the country. He was the second of seven children,
born in the town of Ajaccio, Corsica. The family relocated when the island
was transferred to France. Napoleone di Buonaparte or Napoléon
Bonaparte came from a family of minor Italian nobility. Their relocation to
mainland France in the 16th century exposed Napoleon to turbulent
French politics at an early age.
His father, Carlo Buonaparte, was an attorney and Corsica's representative
at the court of Louis XVI. His mother, Maria Letizia Ramolino, was a firm
disciplinarian. Napoleon was baptized just before his second birthday. He
studied French at a religious school and military tactics in the Brienne-leChâteau Military Academy. Napoleon used to be teased by other students
for his Corsican accent. He was good in mathematics and social sciences.
In 1784, Napoleon Bonaparte attended the École Militaire, Paris. On
graduating the following year, Bonaparte was made second lieutenant in
the La Fère artillery regiment. He opposed the Corsican royalists,
nationalists and revolutionaries.
Under the command of the Jacobin faction, Napoleon rose to the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel and led volunteers. Napoleon was a trained artillery
officer. He rose to fame as he led the commoners in a series of successful
campaigns against the First and Second French Coalitions. He proclaimed
himself 'First Consul of France' in 1799, after the famous coup d'état. In
1804, Napoleon crowned himself 'Emperor of France'. In his quest for
territorial expansion, Napoleon marched on every major power in Europe.
Military victories generated a sphere of influence around him in the form of
political alliances.
In recognition of his victory over the republican government and British
troops in Toulon, in 1793, he was promoted to the post of Brigadier
General. Subsequently, he earned command of the artillery arm of the
Army of Italy under French command. His military exploits earned him the
command over improvised forces garnered to protect the Convention held
in the Tuileries Palace. Bonaparte defeated Royalist insurrection and was
promoted to Commander of the Interior. In a clever political move, he
broke his earlier engagement to Désirée Clary and married Joséphine de
Beauharnais in 1796. Two days after his marriage to Josephine, Bonaparte
took command of the Army of Italy and led a successful invasion of Italy.
Thereafter, via the Battle of Lodi and Battle of the Bridge of Arcole, he
proved the effectiveness of his 'envelopment' strategy that involved taking
up central position and attacking two opposing and cooperating forces at
the hinge, simultaneously. Bonaparte's military tactics enabled the French
army to celebrate victory in 67 actions and more than 15 pitched battles.
With victories like these, Bonaparte became very influential in French
politics. The coup d'état and Treaty of Campo Formio made Bonaparte a
hero in France. Although unsuccessful, he led the French army against the
British forces in Egypt, in the famous Battle of the Nile. The tactics of fiscal
destruction of the enemy and its isolation on land enroute a sea-extensive
trade route was tried out for the first time. Napoleon met his match in
Admiral Nelson in the Battle of the Nile.
On his return to France, he capitalized on Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès'
support and planned a coup to overthrow the then reigning constitutional
government. Bonaparte successfully gained control and declared himself
First Consul. His immediate investment of military might for territorial
expansion led to a number of battles across Europe. Bonaparte
institutionalized higher education, tax codes, a central bank called Banque
de France, Légion d'Honneur and the Code Civil or Napoleonic code. He
crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I in 1804, at Notre Dame de Paris. In
1810, Napoleon married for the second time. He married Marie Louise,
Duchess of Parma, Austria, arresting thirteen cardinals for not attending
the ceremony, confining the Pope for 5 years and totally defying the rules
of Catholicism, with regards to marriage and annulment of the institution.
Napoleon's struggle for supremacy through the Wars of the Third,Fourth,
Fifth and Sixth Coalition and the Peninsular War culminated with the
famous Battle of Waterloo, in 1815. Defeated by the Duke of Wellington,
Napoleon was imprisoned and exiled to Saint Helena, an island in the
Atlantic Ocean. The strategic location of St. Helena was chosen to ensure
that Bonaparte had no way of escape. In 1821, he succumbed to
deteriorating health following the development of stomach cancer, and was
buried below a nameless epitaph in the Valley of the Willows, St. Helena.