(1769–1821). Regarded as one of the greatest military geniuses of all time, Napoleon I rose from humble origins to become emperor of France. He was known as The Little Corporal. Though short in height, he cast a long shadow across European history.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, in the town of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. Because Corsica belonged to France, Napoleon was a French citizen. At the age of 9 he was sent to a French government military school. He was a lonely child and was constantly bullied by his fellow students.
In 1784 Napoleon moved on to a military academy in Paris. He graduated a year later and became an artillery officer in the French army. He was only 16 years old.
Napoleon was stationed in Paris in 1792, at the height of the French Revolution. In that year the monarchy was overthrown and the French Republic was established. The new republic faced opposition from within France as well as from foreign powers. Napoleon took on the challenge of defending the revolutionary government and helped put down several uprisings by the French people.
In 1796 Napoleon was made commander in chief of all French forces in Italy. This army was fighting Austria and its allies from the Kingdom of Sardinia. Within months he defeated the Sardinians, winning new territory for France. Napoleon then attacked the Austrians. This was his first large-scale operation. After defeating the Austrians in Italy, Napoleon invaded Austria itself. As Napoleon neared Vienna, the Austrian capital, the enemy surrendered. Austria was forced to give up Belgium and other territory to France.
Napoleon's victories made him popular with the French people. He was able to convince the Directory—France's ruling body—that he would be able to cut off Great Britain's trade with Asia by occupying Egypt. Britain was then one of France's chief rivals as a world power. But the British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the French in the battle of the Nile in 1798. Amid unrest at home, Napoleon returned to Paris in October 1799.
While Napoleon was away, the Directory had fought unsuccessful wars of its own. As a result it had lost its popularity with the French people. Napoleon helped plan a takeover. In November 1799 the Directory was overthrown and a new government called the Consulate was set up. Napoleon was one of three consuls, but within three years he was made first consul for life. He began to call himself Napoleon I instead of General Bonaparte.
Now in control of France, Napoleon began a program of reforms. He modernized the government, founded the Bank of France, and reorganized the higher education system under a new University of France. His most important contribution to the nation, however, was the Code Napoléon. The code was the first clear, compact statement of French law in centuries. It set down in permanent form the new liberties that the people had gained in the Revolution. It became a model for law codes throughout the world.
Napoleon built up his power in 1804 by changing the government of France from a consulate to an empire. He thereby became the emperor of France. With this title, he would be able to hand down the throne to his descendants.
Meanwhile war had resumed between France and Britain. To keep from stretching his country's resources too far, Napoleon decided to give up French lands in North America. In 1803 France sold the vast Louisiana Territory to the United States (see Louisiana Purchase). The next year Napoleon secured Spain's help in the war against Britain. Nevertheless, the French lost again to Admiral Nelson in the battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805.
Yet defeat at Trafalgar did not slow the pace of Napoleon's military victories in other regions. One after the other he defeated the combined Austrian and Russian armies in 1805, Prussia in 1806, and the Russians again in 1807. Then Napoleon and the Russian emperor Alexander I signed a treaty dividing most of Europe between them. Napoleon took the west and Alexander the east.
Napoleon put his relatives on the thrones of conquered territories. But he needed an heir for his empire to continue. His first marriage, to Josephine de Beauharnais, was childless and ended in divorce. In 1810 he married Marie Louise, daughter of the emperor of Austria. Within a year they had a son to whom he gave the title king of Rome.
Only Britain, Russia, Sweden, and Turkey were outside Napoleon's influence. With a partnership between France and Russia, Napoleon renewed efforts to defeat Britain. Instead of invading, however, he tried to weaken Britain by cutting off its trade with the European continent. This strategy was unsuccessful. Most countries did not cooperate because they needed British goods.
When Russia abandoned the plan, Napoleon decided that his empire would not be safe until Russia was defeated. He invaded in 1812. The Russians retreated as the French army advanced. The Russians followed a “scorched earth” strategy, meaning that they destroyed anything usable that they could not take with them. On the day that the French reached Moscow, a huge fire broke out, destroying much of the city. Napoleon could do nothing but turn back. Early winter snows made the retreat into one of the great disasters in military history. Of the nearly 500,000 soldiers who had set out for the invasion, fewer than 10,000 returned still fit for combat.
Napoleon's enemies saw their chance. One by one they rose against him. Britain, Austria, and Prussia joined Russia in the War of Liberation. Outnumbered and outfought, the French suffered a devastating defeat in the battle of Leipzig, in what is now Germany, in October 1813. On March 30, 1814, the forces opposing Napoleon captured Paris itself. Napoleon was forced to give up his throne on April 6, 1814. France was reduced to its 1792 borders, and the monarchy was restored, meaning that the country once again had a king.
Napoleon was allowed to keep the title of emperor but was sent to Elba, a small island off the west coast of Italy. He stayed on Elba for only ten months. In March 1815 Napoleon escaped to France. Escorted by his old guard, he began a march on Paris, picking up supporters along the way. Eventually the king fled, and for a brief time Napoleon once again ruled France. This period, known as the Hundred Days, ended with the battle of Waterloo, in Belgium, on June 18, 1815. At Waterloo, Napoleon was defeated for the last time by forces led by the British and the Prussians.
Napoleon was once again sent into exile. This time he went to Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. The British watched him carefully. Napoleon died on Saint Helena on May 5, 1821.
