Napoleon

A detailed Summary of Napoleon

Napoleon was one of the greatest military commanders in history, even though; he has also been portrayed as a power hungry conqueror. Napoleon denied such accusations and argued that he was building a federation of free people in Europe united under a liberal government. There are not very many people in history that have captured the imagination of their generation and of historians. Possibly, the most compelling of these figures is Napoleon Bonaparte. Perhaps the aspect of his life that fascinated his generation was his humble beginning.

Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica, as an Italian in 1769, however he was officially a French citizen because France had annexed Corsica in 1768. He spent his childhood hating France, which is ironic because France was the country he would rule one day. His parents were not extremely wealthy, but he was still on a higher social scale than most Europeans. After the French victory, many Corsican rebels fled to the mountains, where they continued to fight on. However, Napoleon's father easily submitted to French rule. Napoleon despised his father for this.

He attended French schools, and at the age of sixteen became a weapons officer in the French army in 178

Now, Napoleon was a brigadier-general and served in the army campaigning in Italy but was thrown in jail for being an associate for the brother of Maximilien Robespierre. After his release from jail, there was no position left for him, so Bonaparte thought about joining the Turkish army and even joining a naval expedition to Australia, however, he instead became involved with a member of the directory, which became France's executive power from 1795-1799, Paul Barras, who used Napoleons passion to put down a royalist mob in 1795.

His first real military opportunity came as a captain of artillery at the siege of Toulon, where he expertly seized crucial forts and was able to bombard the British naval and land forces, eventually forcing them to sail away. During one attack he showed his bravery by forcing his was across a burning bridge. He distinguished himself in the battle of Toulon, and was chosen to be general.

Napoleon was a very popular man by this time and because of this popularity he was voted Consul for life. Setting about much-needed civil reforms he changed the whole system of France and introduced new civil codes. "Although he was popular, Bonaparte was not completely safe, and there were many different attempts on his life, including a bomb that was set off in Paris as his carriage went by". Despite all this, in 1804, he still felt convinced enough to announce himself the Emperor. On December 2, 1804, Bonaparte crowned himself.

After masterminding the Treaty of Campo, Bonaparte returned to Paris where he took command of the army of England. Desperate to be both at Britain and pushing his own reputation, Bonaparte planned an expedition to Egypt to threaten trading routes. He arrived in July of 1798. Everything went according to plan for Bonaparte at the beginning, and he had conquered, however, his fleet was destroyed by the British admiral Horatio Nelson who's army caught up with him and sunk all but four of their seventeen ships, and leaving him stranded. He was however able to reform the Egyptian government and law, abolishing serfdom, and guaranteeing basic rights. Once Bonaparte realized that this new campaign of his was limited, if not impos

Some common words found in the essay are:
Napoleon Jacobeans, Horatio Nelson, Europeans French, Louis Desaix's, Josephine Beauharnais, Army Josephine, Tsar Alexander, Bonaparte Napoleon, Desperate Britain, Corsica Italian, napoleon bonaparte, law codes, bonaparte completely, french army, bonaparte planned, treaty campo, bonaparte army, return france, french revolution,

Approximate Word count = 1479
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People