This is a heroic picture of Napoleon.  Although a great military master, Napoleon was very short.  He is noted for keeping his hand in his shirt.

           Napoleon was born in 1769, on an island called Corsica.  Just prior to his birth, the island had been taken over by France.  This made Napoleon very resentful of France all throughout his childhood.  It is ironic that one day he will grow up to rule France as one of the most powerful and important rulers in all of world history.  So, how did that happen?  Napoleon's father submitted to French rule when France took over the island of Corsica.  Many other people from Corsica insisted on fighting the French as rebels, but Napoleon's father knew that the only way to make a life for his family of 8 children was to accept that France was powerful enough to maintain control over Corsica.  He then became very involved in politics.  Napoleon did not like that his father took this view, and he never forgave him.

         As part of his father's role in politics, Napoleon had the opportunity to travel to France for the first time when he was 9 years old.  Napoleon became enrolled in a military academy where he was quickly promoted to the Royal Military Academy in Paris.  At age 16, Napoleon became a 2nd Lieutenant and trained with the best artillery unit in the French army.  Even though he had a bright future in front of him in the military, it would never get Napoleon what he really wanted  -- to be a powerful and influential person in society. 

         Then the French Revolution took place.  This would change everything in Napoleon's life.  He returned to Corsica and got involved in a war over who would govern Corsica, now that the French Republic had given the Corsicans the right to run the island themselves (even though France still maintained control of Corsica).   Napoleon and his family were eventually called traitors and enemies of Corsica.  At age 24, Napoleon and his family were forced to leave their native island of Corsica forever, or face death.  It is at this time Napoleon becomes seen as a Frenchman himself and his career will soar once he returns to Paris. 

          The French Revolution began in 1789.  By 1795, there was great discontent in the streets as many people were upset with the new government.  To control the chaos that was beginning to spin our of control, the government called on Napoleon to gain control as mobs of angry citizens and national guardsmen tried to topple the government.  Napoleon became a national figure as he led his troops to defeat the revolt.

   In regards to using force and killing the people revolting, Napoleon said that you do not wait to get permission to use force from the people that you are fighting against, and that he was given and job to do -- and it was his responsibility to accomplish that job however he saw fit. 

          In a letter to his brother he said that his men had "killed a great many people ... and I could not be happier" with the result of putting the revolt down.   3 weeks later he was made a full-general.  He was only 26 years old.   

         Napoleon married a girl named Rose.  He did not like that name, so he had her name changed to Josephina.  She was hesitant about marrying him, because he was awkward around women, but she had 2 children and needed some one to provide for them.  When they got married, Napoleon gave her a gold medallion that said "to destiny" on the back.  They did not have a joyful marriage though.  Their life together was like a soap opera.  She began to eventually cheat on Napoleon.  He denied that rumors of this were true.  Eventually it could not be hidden anymore.  For a short time, Napoleon took Josephine back and then he had many, many affairs with women to get back at her.  Eventually he divorced her and married a very young empress from Austria.  The girl, Marie Louise, was only 19 and her great aunt had been Marie Antoinette.  Before their marriage, she said of Napoleon that it would be the worst form of torture "just to see the man." 

          Napoleon would go on to become Emperor of France -- twice.  He was kicked out of the position twice.  During his time he would hold the imagination and (at times) loyalty of the French people based on his amazing military campaigns and quests.  His empire was very far reaching, and the other European leaders feared Napoleon and his power.  Napoleon conquered Egypt, Italy, Austria and finally meets one of his military matches when he tries to invade Russia.   When in power, Napoleon held the conviction that a person's ability an talent should be the thing that determines whether they get good jobs, or not.  Without the French Revolution, Napoleon never would have been more than an officer in the French army.  But because of the new Enlightenment ideas of the revolution, he was able to move up the ranks because of his abilities, even though he was not part of the French aristocracy (remember, his family was from Corsica).

Introduction to Napoleon -- Crowing himself Emperor

Napoleon's Egypt Campaign

              Remember that during the French Revolution, France's neighbors were very scared about what was taking place in France.  The other Kings of Prussia, Austria, England and the Czar of Russia were scared that the same changes happening in France may bleed over to their countries.  If this happened, these leaders would lose their power.  Power and money are the root causes of almost all wars throughout world history.

              Therefore, the neighbors of France wanted to beat invade France and put King Louis the 16th and Marie Antoinette back into power.  Once they were killed in the Reign of Terror, it was evident to the neighbors that they must deal with France quickly (so that the Kings of the other countries did not get their heads cut off also by revolutionaries!!!  France was then plagued with foreign invasions. 

               Napoleon Bonaparte would rise to power out of these disastrous events -- unsettled government after the Revolution and revolts, plus foreign invasions from outside enemies.  His triumph on the battle field, as protector of France would boost him up as the only man strong enough to take charge of the French government, and he quickly became their emperor.  It is ironic that France allowed an Emperor after just getting rid of a King!!!  As emperor, Napoleon showed all of Europe and even Egypt the massive strength that he had gained with one of the largest land armies ever amassed until that time.  Read below from the Students' Friend web-site:
          "Napoleon was a popular leader. After military victories in Italy, he proclaimed himself emperor and began his conquest of Europe. Napoleon's army was unique: French soldiers believed in their cause of spreading the Revolution, and the army chose its officers based on ability, not on noble birth. Leading a capable, dedicated, and battle-hardened army, Napoleon easily defeated all forces sent against him.    

              In the lands he conquered Napoleon eliminated feudalism and serfdom, improved education, and promoted the arts and sciences. He established a uniform legal system, the Napoleonic Code, that guaranteed freedom of religion and granted equal rights to all men. The Code, however, reduced gains made by women during the revolution. Women would have to wait another century for their equality" (www.studentsfriend.com).

Austerlitz Campaign Part 1

Austerlitz Campaign Part 2

Part 1 of 6 - "Napoleon, THE END!!!"

Click Here for Parts 2-5

Napoleon's invasion of Russia
         "Napoleon's downfall began with his biggest military mistake, an attempt to invade and conquer the vast empire of Russia. The Russians had no hope of defeating Napoleon's huge and powerful Grand Army of more than 600,000 soldiers, the largest army ever assembled in Europe. So, the Russians burned everything in Napoleon's path to deny his army food and shelter. After a bloody but indecisive battle at Borodino, Napoleon captured the Russian capital of Moscow, but it was nearly empty. Knowing that his army could not survive the coming winter in Russia, Napoleon had to retreat. As the Grand Army made its way back to France, temperatures dropped to 30 degrees below zero during the bitter cold Russian winter of 1812. Between the cold, starvation, Russian attacks, and desertion, only 30,000 of Napoleon's original soldiers returned to France. It was one of the worst disasters in military history.
          Disgraced by the ruin of his Grand Army, then defeated in battles by an alliance of European nations, Napoleon was captured and forced into exile on the small island of Elba off the coast of Italy. It wasn't long before Napoleon escaped and returned to France where he raised another army. Napoleon met his final defeat at the hands of a British-led allied army near the town of Waterloo, Belgium in 1815. Again Napoleon was exiled, this time to St. Helena, a remote British island in the South Atlantic, where he died of stomach cancer or possibly arsenic poisoning in 1821" (www.studentsfriend.com).

         The beautiful Arc de Triomphe (Arc de Triumph) stands proudly in the center of Paris, France to this day.  It was constructed to celebrate the victories of Napoleon and stands as a testament to a time in history when France stood more powerful than all other countries in Europe.  Along with the pyramids in Egypt and ruins of Athens, and the Coliseum in Rome, this is a majestic example of human ingenuity in a time before real machines, cranes, computer aided drafting, etc.

          Napoleon once said that there "is just one step between the sublime and the ridiculous."  Sublime comes from the Latin word for "uplifted."  Consider what Napoleon may have meant by this phrase.  Think about his career, coming from nothing to being the most powerful man in the world, and then isolated and left to die on a small remote island.