Napoleon Biography

Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor of the French and King of Italy, was a French Revolutionary War general who ruled France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799, to May 18, 1804; then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français) and King of Italy from May 18, 1804, to April 6, 1814; and briefly restored as emperor from March 20 to June 6, 1814.

Until his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, followed by defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, which led to his abdication several months later, the armies of France under his command fought almost every European power (often simultaneously) and acquired control of most of the western and central mainland of Europe by conquest or alliance. He attempted a Hundred Days (Les Cent Jours) comeback but was beaten decisively at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, in present-day Belgium, followed by his surrender to the British and exiled to the island of Saint Martin.

With the exception of the divisional squares used in Egypt and the placement of artillery into batteries, Napoleon used the best tactics from a number of sources, and the modernised French army, as reformed under the successive revolutionary regimes, to score numerous major triumphs.

Napoleon is also renowned for the establishment of the Napoleonic Code, in addition to his military successes. Some people regard him to be one of the "enlightened despots." In his own time, his vision of a united Europe would not materialise, and tensions between Europe's contending powers and governments, such as Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, would result in two world wars.

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Information About Napoleon Bonaparte

• Where Was Napoleon Born?

Ajaccio, Corsica, Kingdom of France

• What is Napoleon’s Birth Date?

August 15, 1769

• What is Napoleon’s Death Date?

May 5, 1821

• Who Was Napoleon’s Spouse?

Joséphine de Beauharnais (m. 1796; div. 1810)​

Marie Louise of Austria ​(m. 1810)

• Who Was Napoleon Bonaparte’s Father?

Carlo Buonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte History, Early Life and Military Career

Napoleone di Buonaparte (in Corsican, Nabolione or Nabulione) was born on August 15, 1769, in the town of Ajaccio, Corsica, just one year after the island was given to France by the Republic of Genoa. Later, he changed his name to Napoléon Bonaparte, which sounded more French.

His ancestors were modest Italian nobles from Corsica. In 1778, his father, Carlo Buonaparte, an attorney, was appointed as Corsica's representative to Louis XVI of France's court, where he resided for several years. Napoleon's mother, Maria Letizia Ramolino, had a strong impact on him throughout his youth. Her tight control over Napoleon, dubbed Rabullione, was important in keeping him in check (the "meddler" or "disrupter"). 

Napoleon's noble, moderately affluent background and family connections afforded him greater opportunities to study than were available to a typical Corsican of the time. At age nine, Napoleon was admitted to a French military school at Brienne-le-Château, a small town near Troyes, on May 15, 1779. He had to learn French before entering school, but he spoke with a marked Italian accent throughout his life and never learned to spell properly. 

Upon graduation from Brienne in 1784, Bonaparte was admitted to the elite École Royale Militaire in Paris, where he completed the two-year course of study in only one year. Despite his desire for a naval posting, he went to the École Militaire to study artillery. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant of artillery after graduating in September 1785, and began his new duties in January 1786, at the age of 16.

Until the advent of the Revolution in 1789, Napoleon served as a garrison officer at Valence and Auxonne (although he took nearly two years of leave in Corsica and Paris during this period). He spent the following few years on Corsica, where a complicated three-way fight between royalists, revolutionaries, and Corsican patriots was raging. Bonaparte backed the Jacobins and rose through the ranks to become lieutenant colonel of a volunteer unit. Bonaparte and his family were forced to leave for France in June 1793 after clashing with Pasquale Paoli, an increasingly rigid nationalist leader.

He was selected as an artillery commander in the French forces besieging Toulon, which had risen in revolt against the Reign of Terror and was taken by British troops, thanks to the support of fellow Corsican Antoine Christophe Saliceti. The city was recaptured and Bonaparte was promoted to brigadier-general after a successful attack on the position, during which he was wounded in the thigh. His acts drew the attention of the Committee of Public Safety, and he got close to Augustin Robespierre, the younger brother of the Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre. As a result, he was briefly imprisoned following the fall of the elder Robespierre in 1794 but was released within two weeks.

The Victorious General Napoleon’s Biography

When royalists and counter-revolutionaries staged an armed demonstration against the National Convention on October 3, 1795, Bonaparte was serving in Paris. In the Tuileries Palace, Bonaparte was given charge of the improvised forces guarding the Convention. With the help of a young cavalry lieutenant named Joachim Murat, who eventually became his brother-in-law, he seized artillery pieces. The following day, he used artillery to repel the invaders. This victory brought him instant renown, fortune, and the favour of the new French Directory, particularly Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras, its head. He became intimately involved with Barras's previous mistress, Josephine de Beauharnais, within weeks and married her on March 9, 1796.

The Italian Campaign of 1796–97

Bonaparte gained command of the French "Army of Italy" just days after his marriage, and led it on a successful invasion of Italy. He earned the nickname "The Little Corporal" (le petit caporal) during his time at the Lodi, a term that reflected his closeness with his soldiers, many of whom he knew by name. He expelled the Austrians from Lombardy and defeated the Papal States' army.

Early in 1797, Bonaparte led his army into Austria, forcing the country's rulers to seek peace. The Treaty of Campo Formio that followed handed France control of most of northern Italy, as well as the Low Countries and Rhineland, but a hidden clause promised Austria control of the Republic of Venice.

After that, Bonaparte marched on Venice and forced the city's capitulation, putting an end to nearly a thousand years of independence. In 1797, Bonaparte established the Cisalpine Republic, which included several of the French-controlled regions in Italy.

His amazing string of military victories stemmed from his ability to apply his encyclopaedic grasp of conventional military theory to real-world situations, as seen by his innovative employment of artillery tactics as a mobile force to support his infantry.

His usage of the world's first telecommunications system, the Claude Chappe semaphore line, initially installed in 1792, is depicted in contemporary paintings of his headquarters during the Italian campaign. He was also a master of cunning and intellect, with an amazing intuition of when to strike. He frequently won wars by focusing his forces on an unsuspecting foe, utilising spies to obtain intelligence on opposing forces, and disguising his own army deployments. Napoleon's army seized 160,000 captives, two thousand artillery, and 170 standards during this campaign, which is widely regarded as his most successful. After a year of agitation, considerable departures from eighteenth-century norms had occurred and marked a new era in military history.

While campaigning in Italy, General Bonaparte gained considerable political clout in France. He established two publications, nominally for his army's troops but extensively distributed throughout France. In May 1797, Napoleon created a third journal, Le Journal de Bonaparte et des Hommes vertueux, which was published in Paris. Elections in mid-1797 gave the royalist party more influence, which alarmed Barras and his Directory supporters. The royalists retaliated by accusing Bonaparte of plundering Italy and abusing his power in talks with the Austrians. On September 4, Bonaparte dispatched General Pierre François Charles Augereau to Paris to stage a coup d'état and exterminate the royalists (18 Fructidor). Barras and his Republican allies regained full authority, but they were reliant on Bonaparte's military command to maintain it. Bonaparte went to Austria for peace talks, then returned to Paris in December as the conquering hero and the most powerful figure in government, considerably more popular than any of the Directors.

The Egyptian Expedition of 1798–99

Bonaparte suggested a military expedition to conquer Egypt, then an Ottoman province, in March 1798, in order to preserve French economic interests and impede Britain's access to India, however the true motivation for the invasion is still debated. Despite being concerned about the magnitude and cost of the project, the Directory readily consented to the proposal in order to remove the popular general from power.

On June 9, Bonaparte's expedition conquered Malta from the Knights of Saint John, then landed successfully at Alexandria on July 1, eluding (temporarily) British Royal Navy pursuit.

After arriving on the Egyptian coast, the first combat was against the Mamluks, an ancient Middle Eastern power, some four miles from the pyramids. Bonaparte's forces were vastly outmanned by the advanced cavalry, ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 men, yet he triumphed thanks to his plan. Only 300 French were slain in total, but over 6,000 Egyptians were slaughtered.

He led the army into the Ottoman province of Syria, which is now modern Israel, in early 1799, and defeated numerically superior Ottoman forces in many battles, but his army was weakened by disease and a lack of supplies. In May, he was compelled to return to Egypt after failing to reduce the citadel of Acre. Bonaparte took the controversial step of executing prisoners and plague-stricken men along the way to speed up the retreat. Given Ottoman forces' continued persecution of stragglers, his supporters say that this action was justified.

In Egypt, Bonaparte repelled an Ottoman amphibious invasion at the Battle of Abukir on July 25. This helped to repair his reputation after a naval setback there a year before. With the Egyptian campaign stagnating, and political instability developing back home, Bonaparte abandoned Egypt for Paris in august 1799, leaving his troops behind under Marshal Jean Baptiste Kléber.

Ruler of France

The Coup of 18 Brumaire 

Bonaparte sought to keep a close eye on European affairs while in Egypt, depending primarily on publications and dispatches that arrived infrequently. He unexpectedly set off for France on August 23, 1799, taking advantage of the temporary withdrawal of British ships that had been blockading French coastal ports.

Although political opponents later accused him of deserting his men, his departure was really ordered by the Directory, which had suffered a series of military losses at the hands of the Second Coalition and anticipated an invasion.

The military situation had improved by the time he arrived in Paris in October, thanks to several French victories. The Republic, on the other hand, was bankrupt, and the corrupt and ineffective Directory was more hated than ever among the French people.

One of the Directors, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, approached Bonaparte, seeking his backing for a coup to topple the French Constitution of 1795. Bonaparte's brother Lucien, who was then the speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand were all involved in the conspiracy. On November 9 and 10, Bonaparte's army seized control and scattered the legislative councils, leaving just a rump to appoint Bonaparte, Sieyès, and Ducos as provisional Consuls to rule the government.

Although Sieyès planned to rule the new regime, Bonaparte outmanoeuvred him, drafting the Year VIII Constitution and securing his own election as the first consul. This elevated him to the position of most powerful person in France, a position bolstered by the Year X Constitution, which declared him first consul for life.

The First Consul

The Napoleonic Code

Bonaparte established centralised management of the départements, higher education, a tax system, a central bank, legal codes, and road and sewer infrastructure, among other things. The Napoleonic Code, sometimes known as the Civil Code, is still used in many countries today. The Code was drafted by legal expert committees under the supervision of Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, who served as the second consul from 1799 to 1804; Bonaparte, on the other hand, actively engaged in the revision sessions of the Conseil d'État (Council of State). Bonaparte also commissioned several codes to codify criminal and commercial law.

The Concordat of 1801

Napoleon signed the Concordat of 1801 with the papacy in order to appease the predominantly Catholic people. The French Revolution established a secular government, abolished the Gregorian calendar, and began a de-Christianization campaign. Fifty anti-government bishops were exiled in England, and what remained of the French church was alienated or hostile — yet the majority of the population was religious. Napoleon believed that religion was essential for social order, and he attempted to reach an agreement with the Vatican that would bring the bishops into line. 

He saw church restoration as politically expedient, claiming to be a Muslim when in power in Egypt and declaring himself a Catholic in France. The Concordat authorised the sale of religious property, reorganised dioceses, compelled the resignation of the whole French episcopate, and mandated the acceptance of new clergy nominated by Napoleon, installed by the Pope, and paid by the state. The Concordat granted the state considerable control over the Church, but Napoleon miscalculated its impact. Cardinal Conslavi secured a more favourable Concordat for Italy in 1803 after religious authorities consistently refused his wishes.

An Interlude of Peace

Bonaparte returned to Italy in 1800, after the Austrians had retaken the country during his stay in Egypt. In the spring, he and his troops crossed the Alps (although he actually rode a mule, not the white charger on which Jacques-Louis David famously depicted him). Despite a shaky start, the Austrians were eventually crushed at Marengo in June, resulting in an armistice. Due to British support for Austria, Napoleon's brother Joseph, who was conducting the peace negotiations at Lunéville, declared that Austria would not acknowledge France's newly obtained territory. As the discussions deteriorated, Bonaparte directed his general, Jean Victor Marie Moreau, to attack Austria once more.

At Hohenlinden, Moreau led France to victory. As a result, in February 1801, the Treaty of Lunéville was signed, reaffirming and expanding the French gains of the Treaty of Campo Formio; in March 1802, the British signed the Treaty of Amiens, which established terms for peace, including the split of various colonial possessions.

Emperor of France

Bonaparte's police discovered an assassination plot against him in January 1804, which was apparently backed by the House of Bourbon. Bonaparte retaliated by ordering the arrest of Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Condé, Duc d'Enghien, for violating Baden's sovereignty. On March 21, the Duke was executed after a quick covert trial. On the idea that a House of Bourbon restoration would be impossible once the Bonapartist succession was cemented in the constitution, Bonaparte used this occurrence to justify the re-creation of a hereditary monarchy in France, with himself as emperor.

Bonaparte crowned himself emperor on December 2, 1804, at Notre Dame de Paris. Napoleon crowned himself after the Pope consecrated the Imperial regalia before crowning his wife Joséphine as Empress (as represented in David's renowned picture, shown at right). The Pope had anticipated Italy to return the favour, and he was disappointed when Napoleon insisted on being crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy on May 26, 1805, in Milan's cathedral.

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Invasion of Russia

Despite the efforts of the Congress of Erfurt to preserve the Russo-French alliance, tensions between the two countries were rising again by 1811. Despite the fact that Alexander and Napoleon had a warm personal connection since their first meeting in 1807, the Russian aristocracy had been pressuring Alexander to sever the alliance with France. If Russia had withdrawn without France doing anything, the whole of Europe would have revolted against Napoleon. It was therefore vital to demonstrate that France would respond.

The softening of the application of the Continental System in Russia, which enraged Napoleon, was the first hint that the alliance was failing. By 1812, Alexander's advisers were speculating about an attack on the French Empire (and the recapture of Poland).

Thousands of troops have been sent to the Polish border (reaching over 300,000 out of the total Russian army strength of 410,000). Napoleon began growing his Grande Armée to a large army of over 450,000-600,000 men after receiving initial indications of Russian war preparations (despite already having over 300,000 men deployed in Iberia). Napoleon ignored repeated advice against an invasion of the vast Russian heartland and prepared his forces for an offensive campaign.

On June 22, 1812, Napoleon's invasion of Russia commenced. Napoleon was able to enter Moscow after the Russians fled, expecting that the fall of Moscow would end the war and that Alexander I would negotiate a settlement. Rather of capitulating, Moscow was ordered to be torched on the orders of the city's military governor and commander-in-chief, Fyodor Rostopchin. Napoleon departed Moscow within a month, fearful of losing authority in France.

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Napoleon campaigning in Northern France in 1814, by E. Meissonier

Exile in Saint Helena and Death

From October 15, 1815, Napoleon was imprisoned and eventually banished by the British to Saint Helena (2,800 kilometres off the coast of Guinea in the South Atlantic Ocean). He dictated his memoirs and denounced his captors while there, with the help of a small group of supporters. Napoleon died on May 5, 1821, after spending much of his time on Saint Helena sick. "France, the Army, the Chief of the Army, Josephine," he said as he died. His heirs included close friends like General Marbot, whom he entrusted with continuing his writings on the "Grandeur de la France."

Napoleon had requested to be buried on the banks of the Seine in his will, but he was instead interred on Saint Helena. In 1840, his remains were transported to France aboard the ship Belle-Poule and buried in Paris's Invalides. Since then, hundreds of millions of people have visited his tomb.

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The Tomb at the Invalides