Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the small island of Corsica in the
Mediterranean Sea. He was born at a very hectic time. Corsica was trying to gain
independence when French troops invaded. He was born during a war, and he'll
die because of one. When he turned ten his parents sent him to a military school
just outside of Paris. He devoted himself to learning and gaining experience to
military tactics, it paid off. When he was 16 he became a lieutenant in the artillery.
Revolution broke out the same year. He joined the military of the French Republic.
In October of 1705 a government official told Napoleon to defend the palace
where the National Convention took place. He, with his small army, defeated the
thousands of royalist in minutes. He is declared a hero. In 1796 the Directory
appointed him to command a French army. He marched into Italy and liberated it
from Austria, although some say he conquered it.
The Directory wasn't doing very well. In 1799 it accused the French people
of being corrupt. Napoleon seized this opportunity to take it over. On November 9,
1799 he and 500 soldiers took over one chamber of the National Legislature and
drove out the members. The second chamber voted to end the directory. France
was now in the hands of three officials, called consuls. Napoleon was one.
In 1800, he and his fellow consuls set up the plebiscite in which the citizens
had the right to vote yes or no on an issue. On December 2, 1804, Napoleon
crowned himself emperor. The plebiscite made this so. The Pope crowned him
himself. People thought he was a godsend. He greatly changed the economy of
France by making a lot of reforms. He set up a bank, let emigres back into France,
he let their be freedom of religion, he freed slaves, and set up the Napoleonic Code.
The people outside of France thought differently about Napoleon. They hated him.
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