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Birth of Napoleon
Napoleon was born Auguest 15, 1769 in Corsica to parents of noble Genoese ancestry and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France -
Napoleon Becomes Officer in French Artillery
He became an officer in the French artillery and a master war tactician. As an adult he was only 5 feet 6. He used the French Revolution as his opportunity to get power. Then Napoleon was promoted because of his victory over the British. -
"a whiff of grape-shot"
Grape-shot is a type of ammunition used in cannons. Instead of a solid round ball, or exploding shell, they put a canister in that is full of small iron balls. When fired, the canister splits apart and all the iron balls fly out, converting the cannon to a giant shotgun. To give them a taste of grapeshot means "shoot the guys coming at us with the cannons" -
Become a General in the French Army
Napoleon becomes commander in chief -
Napoleon becomes head of the French state, establishes the consulate
A new constitution overwhelmingly approved by the French people replced the Directory with a three member Consulate. -
"First Consul For Life"
In 1799, he staged a coup d'état and installed himself as First Consul; five years later the French Senate proclaimed him emperor. -
Campaign of Egypt
Between his European conquests, and before he became Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte conducted a campaign in Egypt so whimsical, so devoid of real military purpose as to be chimerical -
Campaign in Italy
Napoleon leads his army across the Alps in the Second Italian Campaign. -
Concordat
Negotiations for Concordat open with the Papacy. -
Treaty of Luneville
This Treaty was a renewal of the earlier, Treaty of Campo Formio, which secured France's defeat of Austria and right to administer Italian lands independent of Austria's will. This treaty also ends the Second Coalition. -
Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens signed with the British. This treaty was essentially a pact in which British and French forces agreed not to fight, and had no significant territorial provisions. With Austria defeated, a peace signed with the British, and Russia's withdrawal from the Second Coalition, for the first time in 10 years, Europe was at peace. -
The Napoleonic Code
This code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified. It was drafted rapidly by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force on March 21, 1804 -
"Emperor of the French"
in 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of the French -
Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar marks another French naval defeat at the hands of the British under the command of Admiral Nelson. -
Battles of Jena and Auerstadt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt (older name: Auerstädt) were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia. The decisive defeat -
Treaty of Tilsit
Treaty of Tilsit between France, Russia, and Prussia. The Treaty required Russia and Prussia to abide by the Continental System. -
Napoleon's campaign in Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe. -
Napoleon beats the spanish armies
Battle of Salamanca in Spain -
Battle of Nations
The Battle of Nations forces defeat Napoleon's Grande Armee in this town in Saxony. One of the many civilian casualties in this battle was that of Friedrich Wagner, survived by his wife and six-year old son Richard. -
Allies enter Fance
Allies enters France -
Elba
Napoleon abdicates in favor of his son, and, according to the Treaty of Fontainebleau, agrees to go into exile on the island of Elba, where he will receive a stipend of 2 million francs a year (which was never paid) and he could keep the title Emperor. -
First Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814, ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars, following an armistice signed on 23 May between Charles, Count of Artois, and the allies. -
"Congress of Vienna"
Congress of Vienna begins. -
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815. It was the culminating battle of the Waterloo Campaign and Napoleon's last. The defeat at Waterloo put an end to Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile. -
Napoleon Was Sent to Saint Helena
A British ship took Napoleon to the island of Saint Helena, far away in the south Atlantic, where he remained a prisoner until his death1821 -
Second Treaty of Paris
Second Treaty of Paris signed, whose provisions are essentially the same as the first. -
Death of Napoleon
A British ship took Napoleon to the island of Saint Helena, far away in the south Atlantic, where he remained a prisoner until his death in 5 May 1821
