Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica on the 15th of August 1769 to Carlo Maria Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino. His family belonged to a minor Tuscan noble line that had emigrated to Corsica in the 16th century. The island itself had been ceded from Genoa to France by the Treaty of Versailles just one year before his birth. Napoleon's father initially supported Pasquale Paoli during the Corsican war of independence but later became friends with the French governor Charles Louis de Marbeuf after the Corsican defeat at Ponte Novu in 1769. This connection secured a royal bursary for young Napoleon, allowing him to attend military academies on mainland France.
In January 1779, nine-year-old Napoleon moved to Autun to improve his French language skills, though he spoke Corsican and Italian as mother tongues. He transferred to Brienne-le-Château in May where peers bullied him for his accent and short stature. Despite these hardships, examiners noted his exceptional application in mathematics and reading habits. In September 1784, he entered the École militaire in Paris to train as an artillery officer. He excelled in math while struggling with French and German. His father died in February 1785, cutting family income and forcing Napoleon to complete the two-year course in just one year. By September 1785, he became the first Corsican to graduate from the school under examination by scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace.
Napoleon's rise began with the siege of Toulon in late 1793 when allied forces occupied the port city. As captain of a coastal battery, he proposed capturing a hill fort that would allow republican guns to dominate the harbor. The successful assault on 16, the 17th of December led to the city's capture and brought him to the attention of Augustin Robespierre. He was promoted to brigadier general and placed in charge of Mediterranean coast defenses.
After Maximilien Robespierre fell in July 1794, Napoleon faced political suspicion due to his Jacobin associations. He was briefly arrested on the 9th of August but released two weeks later. During this period, he wrote the romantic novella Clisson et Eugénie about a soldier and his lover, mirroring his own relationship with Désirée Clary. In October 1795, royalists rebelled against the National Convention in Paris. Paul Barras appointed Napoleon second-in-command to defend the Tuileries Palace. He ordered cavalry officer Joachim Murat to seize cannons and deployed them strategically. On the 5th of October, known as 13 Vendémiaire An IV, he fired canister rounds at rebels, killing between 300 and 1,400 people. This victory earned him patronage from the new government and promotion to commander of the Army of the Interior.
In January 1796, Napoleon took command of the Army of Italy and launched an offensive against Sardinia before Austrian allies could intervene. Within two weeks, French forces knocked Piedmont out of the war through victories during the Montenotte campaign. The army then focused on Austria, winning battles at Castiglione, Bassano, Arcole, and Rivoli. At Rivoli in January 1797, Austria lost 43% of its soldiers dead, wounded or captured. French troops captured 150,000 prisoners, 540 cannons, and 170 standards while extracting approximately 45 million pounds from Italian territories.
By May 1798, Napoleon led an expedition to Egypt with 167 scientists including mathematicians and naturalists. Their discoveries included the Rosetta Stone, later published in Description de l'Égypte in 1809. After capturing Malta with minimal losses, he landed at Alexandria on the 1st of July 1798. The Battle of Shubra Khit helped practice defensive tactics for the subsequent Battle of the Pyramids on the 21st of July where 29 French and roughly 2,000 Egyptians died. British Admiral Horatio Nelson destroyed most French ships at the Battle of the Nile on the 1st of August, trapping Napoleon's army. He marched into Syria in early 1799, executing 1,500, 5,000 prisoners at Jaffa before retreating due to plague and failed sieges.
Napoleon returned to France in August 1799 despite receiving no explicit orders from Paris. By October, when he reached Paris, France faced bankruptcy under the unpopular Directory government. He formed alliances with Talleyrand and other conspirators including Lucien Bonaparte, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, Roger Ducos, and Joseph Fouché. On the 9th of November 1799 (18 Brumaire), they launched a coup forcing the Council of Five Hundred to dissolve the Directory.
The Constitution of Year VIII established three consuls for ten years with real power concentrated in Napoleon as First Consul. Official plebiscite results showed over three million votes in favor but historian analysis suggests Lucien doubled the yes count. Local administration reforms centralized power while censorship closed opposition newspapers. Napoleon improved state finances by securing loans, raising taxes on tobacco and alcohol, and extracting levies from satellite republics. In May 1800, he led troops across Swiss Alps to surprise Austrian armies reoccupying Italy. The Battle of Marengo on the 14th of June saw French General Louis Desaix arrive late to reverse defeat, leaving 14,000 Austrian casualties before signing an armistice.
On the 18th of May 1804, the senate proclaimed Napoleon Emperor of the French after approving a new constitution. Two days later, he appointed 18 leading generals as Marshals of the Empire. His coronation at Notre Dame de Paris on the 2nd of December 1804 featured Pope Pius VII anointing him before Napoleon crowned himself with Charlemagne's replica crown. He then crowned Joséphine as Empress, making her only the second woman in history to receive such honors.
In November 1806, Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree establishing the Continental System to prohibit European nations from trading with Britain. This policy faced widespread violation throughout his reign but aimed to cripple British economy. By 1807, France controlled about 40% of European population either directly or through satellite kingdoms. The Confederation of the Rhine created the 12th of July 1806 served as buffer zone between France and Central Europe while ending Holy Roman Empire existence. Prussia lost half its territory following defeats at Jena-Auerstedt on the 14th of October 1806 where French forces captured 140,000 soldiers and over 2,000 cannons.
Napoleon began planning invasion of Russia in late 1811 after Tsar Alexander allowed neutral shipping into Russian ports. On the 24th of June 1812, his multinational Grande Armée comprising around 450,000 frontline troops crossed Nieman river into Lithuanian territory. Russians implemented scorched earth policy retreating 320 kilometers east to Dvina river making food foraging increasingly difficult. At Borodino outside Moscow on the 7th of September, battle resulted in 44,000 Russian and 35,000 French casualties in one of bloodiest days up to that time.
Napoleon entered Moscow on the 14th of September only to find city set ablaze by Governor Feodor Rostopchin's orders. After six weeks, his army evacuated Moscow facing attacks from Cossacks and peasants during intense cold. Around 40,000, 50,000 troops reached Smolensk on the 9th of November representing loss of about 60,000 men in three weeks. The Grande Armée managed crossing Berezina river on pontoon bridges in temperatures reaching minus degrees before Napoleon left disintegrating forces for Paris on the 5th of December. Only approximately 75,000 troops crossed Nieman into allied territory while total military deaths reached up to one million.
Napoleon escaped Elba on brig Inconstant on the 26th of February 1815 with about 1,000 men and seven vessels. He landed at Golfe-Juan on the 1st of March heading toward Grenoble through Alpine foothills now known as Route Napoléon. When the 5th Regiment intercepted him south of Grenoble on the 7th of March, he approached alone declaring "Here I am. Kill your Emperor if you wish!" Soldiers responded with "Vive l'empereur" joining his forces.
On the 13th of March powers declared Napoleon outlaw while Great Britain Russia Austria and Prussia pledged 150,000 men each to end rule. Louis XVIII fled Paris the 20th of March after realizing insufficient reliable troops existed. Napoleon entered Paris that evening appointing government introducing constitutional changes approved by plebiscite in May. On the 18th of June 1815 he confronted Wellington at Battle of Waterloo where Blücher's Prussians arrived late afternoon breaking French lines inflicting devastating defeat. Napoleon abdicated the 22nd of June surrendering to Frederick Lewis Maitland on the 15th of July 1815.
Napoleon arrived Jamestown October 1815 aboard HMS Northumberland with 27 followers for transfer to Saint Helena island from west coast Africa. A garrison of 2,100 soldiers guarded prisoner while squadron of 10 ships patrolled waters preventing escape. He stayed two months at Briars pavilion before moving to Longwood House described as damp windswept rat-infested wooden bungalow containing 40 rooms.
The Times published articles suggesting British government tried hastening death while Napoleon complained of colds catarrhs damp floors poor provisions in letters to governor Hudson Lowe. His physician Barry O'Meara diagnosed chronic hepatitis warning Lowe could die from climate and lack exercise though Lowe dismissed him July 1818. In November 1818 allies announced Napoleon would remain prisoner indefinitely. He died of stomach cancer on the 5th of May 1821 aged 51 after years of captivity marked by isolation and deteriorating health conditions.
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Common questions
When and where was Napoleon Bonaparte born?
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the 15th of August 1769 on the island of Corsica to Carlo Maria Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino.
How did Napoleon rise from a military officer to Emperor of the French?
Napoleon rose through key victories at Toulon in December 1793 and the Italian campaign of 1796 before seizing power via the coup of 18 Brumaire on the 9th of November 1799. He became First Consul under the Constitution of Year VIII and was proclaimed Emperor by the senate on the 18th of May 1804 following his coronation at Notre Dame de Paris on the 2nd of December 1804.
What happened during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812?
Napoleon crossed the Nieman river into Lithuanian territory with 450,000 troops on the 24th of June 1812 but suffered catastrophic losses after entering Moscow on the 14th of September. The Grande Armée evacuated Moscow facing attacks from Cossacks and peasants while temperatures dropped below zero, leaving only approximately 75,000 troops to cross back into allied territory out of one million total deaths.
Where did Napoleon die and what caused his death?
Napoleon died of stomach cancer on the 5th of May 1821 aged 51 while imprisoned on Saint Helena island aboard HMS Northumberland since October 1815. His health deteriorated due to isolation, damp conditions at Longwood House, and poor provisions under the supervision of governor Hudson Lowe.