Napoleon

Napoleon was one of the greatest military commanders in history, even though; he has also been portrayed as a power hungry conqueror. Napoleon denied such accusations and argued that he was building a federation of free people in Europe united under a liberal government. There are not very many people in history that have captured the imagination of their generation and of historians. Possibly, the most compelling of these figures is Napoleon Bonaparte. Perhaps the aspect of his life that fascinated his generation was his humble beginning.

Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica, as an Italian in 1769, however he was officially a French citizen because France had annexed Corsica in 1768. He spent his childhood hating France, which is ironic because France was the country he would rule one day. His parents were not extremely wealthy, but he was still on a higher social scale than most Europeans. After the French victory, many Corsican rebels fled to the mountains, where they continued to fight on. However, Napoleon’s father easily submitted to French rule. Napoleon despised his father for this.

He attended French schools, and at the age of sixteen became a weapons officer in the French army in 178

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The most famous of these codes was the Code Napoleon or code civil, still forms the basis of French civil law. After his release from jail, there was no position left for him, so Bonaparte thought about joining the Turkish army and even joining a naval expedition to Australia, however, he instead became involved with a member of the directory, which became France’s executive power from 1795-1799, Paul Barras, who used Napoleons passion to put down a royalist mob in 1795.

Bonaparte was hoping to force a critical battle soon after entering Russia, but the defenders traded space for time by retreating.

When the Jacobeans were thrown from power, he only barely hung on to his charge.

In the states that Napoleon created, he granted constitutions, introduced law codes, abolished feudalism, created efficient governments, and fostered education, science, literature, and the arts.

Napoleon was a tyrant but he believed in ruling by consent from the people. When the revolution started, he was a dedicated supporter of the revolutionary and then Jacobean cause. The men who fought against Bonaparte and his armies were tested to the extreme, but they were still unable to defeat Napoleon.

The next stage in Bonaparte's career was in 1800, when he again moved into Italy with another brilliant man who watched him lead the French army over the Alps and surprise the occupying Austrians. One of his greatest achievements was his supervision of the revision and collection of French Law into codes. While on the island, Bonaparte planned his return to France, and due to “lax-security” on the island, he was able to come back in March, 1815. Her affairs almost let to their divorce in 1799, however Bonaparte knew that he needed children of his own to secure succession to the crown, but when she was unable to give him any children, he divorced her in 1809.

Now, Napoleon was a brigadier-general and served in the army campaigning in Italy but was thrown in jail for being an associate for the brother of Maximilien Robespierre. He became a national hero when he crushed the Austrian and Sardinian armies in Italy, and brought the war with the alliance to an end in October of 1797 by negotiating the Treaty of Campo. Bonaparte was said to have been completely smitten with her the moment he laid eyes on her, and the two got married in 1796.

Approximate Word count = 1479
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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