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Napoleon I, or French in full:
Napoléon Bonaparte, lived 1769 – 1821. He was a highly ambitious
career soldier with remarkable intellectual capacity and charisma.
He became one of the greatest military leaders in history, Emperor
of France, and eventually a legend.
Inspired by his successful expansion of French territory and
influence, Napoleon grew increasingly megalomaniacal.
Corsica was annexed by France just three months before Napoleon’s
birth on the island. Although educated on the continent, Napoleon
later made several trips back to Corsica and became involved in
local politics.
He achieved his early military victories at Toulon, France, and
later in Paris against revolting royalists. After launching a
brilliant military campaign against Sardinia, Italy, and Austria, he
went on to undertake the less successful Egyptian Campaign. A coup
installed Napoleon officially as First Consul of France or, in
effect, dictator.
NAPOLEON I
NAPOLEON'S FAMILY, SIBLINGS, AND WIVES
Napoleon's parents were Charles and Letizia Bonaparte. His
parents were from Corsica; their original names were Carlo Maria and
Maria Letizia Buonaparte. They had eight surviving children.
1. Joseph, born in 1768
2. Napoleon, born in 1769
3. Lucien, born in 1775
4. Élisa, born in 1777
5. Louis, born in 1778
6. Pauline, born in 1780
7. Caroline, born in 1782
8. Jérôme, born in 1784
Napoleon broke his engagement to Désirée Clary in favor of
the widowed Joséphine de Beauharnais. Joséphine successfully
managed to break his heart and he divorced her to marry
Marie-Louise, daughter of the Austrian emperor Francis I.
Napoleon had one legitimate child,
Napoleon II, by Marie-Louise.
Joséphine de Beauharnais
EMPEROR
An assassination attempt prompted Napoleon to proclaim himself
Emperor of the French. He insisted on a coronation by the Pope and,
at the ceremony, took the crown out of the pope’s hands and put it
on his own head.
After the defeat at the naval battle off Cape Trafalgar, which
established Britain as dominating sea power, Napoleon won his
greatest victory at the Battle of Austerlitz against Austrian and
Russian forces.
He set up his relatives as rulers
over conquered European nations and made treaties with the rest.
Against the British, Napoleon declared a Continental Blockade to
prevent commerce with the entire continent.
Portugal did not comply, thus starting the Peninsular War. Neither
did Russia, which lead to the disastrous Russian Campaign.
Napoleon’s enemies, heartened by the French defeat at the Battle of
the Nations at Leipzig, eventually closed in on Paris and forced
Napoleon to abdicate.
Louis XVIII, brother of the executed Louis XVI, was declared king.
EXILE AND
THE
HUNDRED DAYS
Napoleon was exiled to Elba and escaped while his enemies at the
Congress of Vienna were still discussing how to balance power in
Europe.
Using his charisma, he won over the soldiers dispatched to arrest
him. Napoleon reassumed power over France for a short period of
time, known as the Hundred Days.
Losing the battle at Waterloo, Napoleon was finally exiled to Saint
Helena where he died at 51 years of age, probably of stomach cancer.
NAPOLEON'S BRIEF
BIOGRAPHY
1769 August 15 - Birth at Ajaccio, Corsica
1779 Collège d’Autun, later Military School Brienne
1784 Royal Military School in Paris
1785 Graduation; Napoleon finishes 42nd out of the 58 graduates;
Joins army
1793 Leaves Corsica with his family for good
1793 Brigadier General
1795 Commander of the Army of the Interior
1796 Head of the Army of Italy
1798 Egyptian Campaign
1799 First Consul of France
1804 Emperor of the French
1805 King of Italy
1805 Trafalgar (Spain), Austerlitz (Czechia)
1808 Peninsular War (until 1814)
1812 Russian Campaign
1813 Battle of the Nations at Leipzig, Germany
1814 Abdication, Elba
1815 Waterloo (Belgium), St. Helena
1821 May 5 - Death on St. Helena Island
Napoleon I
Bonaparte timeline.
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