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Napoleon's life
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), also known as Napoleon I, was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. Born on the island of Corsica, Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the military during the French Revolution (1789-1799). After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d’état, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. -
Napoleon's early years
Around the time of Napoleon's birth, Corsica's occupation by the French had drawn considerable local resistance. Carlo Buonaparte had at first supported the nationalists siding with their leader, Pasquale Paoli. But after Paoli was forced to flee the island, Carlo switched his allegiance to the French. After doing so he was appointed assessor of the judicial district of Ajaccio in 1771. To enroll his two sons, Joseph and Napoleon, in France's College d'Autun. -
Napoleon's family
The House of Bonaparte (originally Buonaparte) was an imperial and royal European dynasty of Italian origin. It was founded in 1804 by Napoleon I, the son of Italian nobleman Carlo Buonaparte. Napoleon was a French military leader who had risen to power during the French Revolution and who in 1804 transformed the First French Republic into the First French Empire, five years after his coup d'état of November 1799. Napoleon turned the Grande Armée against every major Europe. -
Napoleon's children
When Napoleon married Josephine in 1796, she already had two children: Eugène, born on September 3, 1781; and Hortense, born on April 10, 1783. Their father, Alexandre de Beauharnais, was executed in 1794 during France’s Reign of Terror -
Napoleon's military
The military career of Napoleon Bonaparte spanned over 20 years. As emperor, he led the French Armies in the Napoleonic Wars. He is widely regarded as a military genius and one of the finest commanders in world history. He fought 60 battles, losing only eight, mostly at the end. The great French dominion collapsed rapidly after the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. Napoleon was defeated in 1814. -
Napoleon's achivements
The Concordat of 1801
Ownership of land and property
Re organizing Administration
Reforms in Education
Commerce and Industry
Agricultural Development
Financial Reforms
Tax Reforms -
Napoleon's leadership on France
Even when he mistakenly thought that he had it all, the best he could come up with was to make his family the new royals of Europe. No imagination, no great vision there. Only his ego was unrivalled and this was his undoing; we now call it the Napoleonic Complex.