Napoleon and His Times
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. This was only a few months after France had annexed the island. Napoleon grew up in a unique situation, he a citizen of a conquered nation. This may have played a role in his fierce will to always win at whatever he set his mind to. He had seven brothers and sisters, and his father was a lawyer whose family stemmed from the Florentine nobility. His original nationality was Corsican-Italian. In 1779, Napoleon went to school at Brienne in France. There he took a great interest in history, especially in the lives of great ancient generals. Napoleon was often badly treated at Brienne because he was not as wealthy as his fellow classmates and came from a conquered nation. He also did not speak French well being from Corsica he spoke Italian, he was just beginning to learn the French language. He studied very hard so that he could do better then those who snubbed him. I found all aspects that examined the roots of his personality in the book very interesting. The works show how Napoleon was shaped into a fearless man. I believe Napoleon was naturally inclined to be the
The Bonaparte family now ruled the whole of Western Europe. The Bonaparte has made many improvements to the laws of the countries the governed. He drafted many men from all over Europe. Most of these men did not want to serve in his armies, but the had no choice. With all this power, Napoleon's most hated enemy England, was still untouchable. By the Berlin Decree of November 1806, Napoleon had closed all the ports of the continent against English trade. This became known as the Continental System. Napoleon figured that if he could not beat England in a battle, he would just cut off their supplies and forces them to make a treaty with France. This strategy did not go as planed. He was not well liked by his fellow officers because he was short, spoke with an Italian accent, and had little money and a hungry aggressive attitude. Napoleon spent little time with his regiment. He was more concerned with trying to free his homeland of Corsica, which had been taken with force by France. After being commissioned his father died, and he was forced to provide for his family. Napoleon spent the next seven years reading the works of the philosophers, and educating himself in military matters by studying the campaigns of the great military leaders of the past. The French Revolution and the European war that followed broadened his sights and presented him with new opportunities. Napoleon was a supporter of the French Revolution. He went back and forth between Paris and Ajaccio, working for the Republic. Napoleon rose quickly through the ranks and became a captain in 1792. He decided that if he could take Moscow, the Russian government would crumble and ask for peace. Napoleon would soon learn how wrong he was. At the beginning of Napoleon's campaign, he was fabulously victorious, but when he reached Moscow, he found the city in ruins. Instead of giving in to Napoleon, Alexander had burned Moscow to the ground. Alexander knew that the winter was coming, and with no refuge, Napoleon and his troops would be in grave danger. Alexander was right, Napoleon lost many men to frost bite and other such related winter ailments. This single strategy killed almost half a million men. Again, just as in Egypt Napoleon had to pack up and just go home, defeated, but this time he could not hide his defeat as he did in Egypt. This became known as the "Great Retreat". On December 2 1805, Napoleon met the Austro-Russian army at Austerlitz. This was one of his best-planed battles. When the morning light came, he saw that the enemy had lined up in the exact order he had said they would. The victory was decisive; Napoleon made himself king of Italy, his brother Joseph, king of Naples, and another brother Louis king of Holland. In October of 1806 Napoleon was facing war again. He defeated the Prussians in the battle of Jena, and captured, Berlin. The Prussian king fled to Russia and Napoleon advanced through Poland. While away he was in constant communications with Paris. He received word every day of its internal affairs although he was 1500 miles away. On February 8, 1797, Napoleon fought an even battle with the Russians at Eylan, Germany, and on June 14, he destroyed the Russian army at Friedland, Germany. After this battle Napoleon and Alexander I, the Czar of Russia meet at Tilsit. Together they divided Europe, all except for Austria and Prussia. Napoleon did not hesitate to abandon his army and return to Pairs. He left his army in the hands of General Jean Kleber, which he did not have the nerve to even tell him himself that he was leaving in person. On June 18, 1815 Napoleon with his new army once again attacked the English, led by the Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo. This battle was short lived and Napoleon was quickly defeated, and he was again abdicated. Defeated and embarrassed again he was sent to live on the Island of St. Helena, where he died in May 1821. It would take almost 20 years before his body was returned to France to be
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Approximate Word count = 3146
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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