Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica in Ajaccio on August 15, 1769. It was by chance that the future ruler of France was born as a French citizen. His christening name, Napoleone Buonaparte, was Italian, and his parents had just immigrated to Corsica from Italy in the 16th century. The island was transferred to France from the Republic of Genoa one-year before Napoleon was born. Napoleon was the second son in his family, which was very large. When he was a boy he did not like the French. He considered them oppressors of Italy. He got that from his father, Charles, who was a lawyer that actively plotted against the French taking control over Corsica. Because of this, Napoleon was very familiar with the ways in which revolutionist operated. This knowledge that he had of revolutionist was to serve him well in his rise to power.
             When Napoleon was nine years old his father sent him to a French government military school named Brienne. His classmates constantly picked on him. This only made him withdraw into dreams of military triumphs and personal glory. When he was 15 he attended the Ecole Militaire in Paris. There he received training as an officer and an artilleryman. He joined the French army when he had completed his course at the age of 16. He joined as a second lieutenant of artillery.
             In 1792 Napoleon was stationed in Paris, France. The French Revolution had been going on for three years. On August 10, 1792 a French Republic was established. This was a very important event in Napoleon's life. This gave him a chance to get ahead.
             Most of the French officers remained faithful to the king but Napoleon did not. The new French Republic was faced with foreign and civil war. The French needed able and loyal officers. In 1792 Napoleon was made a captain, and in 1793 he directed the artillery in the siege of Toulon. There is where he first proved himself to be a good soldier and leader of men. After Toulon w...