Napoleon+Bonaparte


 * [[image:napoleon bonaparte picture.jpg width="200" height="280" align="left" caption="Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of the French" link="@http://www.nndb.com/people/116/000050963/"]]Introduction **

“A soldier, is only a machine to obey orders” (Bonaparte). Fearless, Napoleon Bonaparte was a kind of man who would have done anything to accomplish his goals. He was famous because he had a great military mind and many people looked upon him. Making decisions that greatly influenced France, he was a very busy man. As he conquered France, he was also known as a very courageous leader.


 * Personal Background **

In 1769, Napoleon was born on an island called Corsica. He was born in a poor but noble family (Attarian). Roberts claims that he was the most gifted of eight children. He was so intelligent that he became a general at the age of 24 (Roberts). He was particularly good at map reading and calculating (Attarian).

When he was nine, he moved to France. Crowley states in his article “Napoleon Bonaparte” that “he first set foot on French soil on Christmas Day in 1778” (Crowley). Because French was not his first language, he had a very thick accent and was often teased by his classmates (Roberts). Napoleon was sent to attend a French military school then he attended the Ecole Millitaire in Paris (Black). He was a little disappointed because he wanted to join the navy. However he graduated the school with high honors in just one year (Crowley).

In 1785 Napoleon was commissioned the best in Europe and a career, second lieutenant of artillery. Napoleon became more popular three years after the French Revolution (Black). After he got a bit famous, he married his first wife, Josephine in 1796 (Attarian). However, because they didn’t have any children, they got divorced in 1809 (Black). He married his second wife, Marie Louise in 1810 (Simms). Napoleon became very famous around 1804 and his downfall began in 1815 which was known as the “hundred days” (Crowley). Later in his downfall, Napoleon was sent to his second exile in St. Helena and he spent his last days there (Kelly). Napoleon died in 1821 of stomach cancer at the ag e of 52 (Crowley). Even in his retirement, he told stories about his victories to people at St. Helena (Roberts).
 * Personality Traits **

Napoleon Bonaparte was a very ambitious man (Attarian). He made sure that his heir would lead and control Europe. In 1809, he divorced his first wife Josephine because they did not have any children (Black). Napoleon’s schedule was always filled with plans because he worked very hard to be an emperor. He only slept for a little and read while taking baths so he does not waste even a minute (Duncun). Napoleon was a shy little boy when he was little. Part of the reason could be because he did not speak a word of French when he moved to France (Roberts).

Many people described him as powerful and unbeatable (Crowley). Napoleon was also known as a military genius because his plans were very precise and it outfought his enemies (Roberts). Napoleon had no mercy when commanding his armies. Andrew Roberts, the author of the article “The Tyrant of Europe”, quotes Napoleon that “a soldier, is only a machine to obey orders.” As a result, Roberts concluded that Napoleon was actually on nobody’s side but his own (Roberts). When Napoleon was exiled to Elba, he was restless to go back because Louis XVIII was not popular. His confidence led him back to France but was defeated again at the battle of Waterloo. No matter what happened, Napoleon never gave up and got back up again (Black).


 * Obstacles**

In his life, Napoleon worked very hard to reach his goals. First, Napoleon was not a native French speaker so he had a very strong accent. When he went to military school, he was bullied because he had a very strong Corsican accent (Roberts). Second, he was too demanding as a leader, which caused hatred. John Attarian, the author of “The rise and fall of an egotist” claims that “[Napoleon’s] impatience made him unable think of the long run”. For another example, Napoleon mercilessly claimed that “a soldier is only a machine to obey orders” (Attarian). Additionally, he became too obsessed with wars when he became powerful (Roberts).

Around 1806, he conquered Austria and Prussia and he built a blockade but was disregarded by Britain. Although most of Europe was already conquered, he was ambitious, so he went to invade Russia. As a result, the Russian winter defeated his army as they were retreating (Black). In 1814 he was defeated at Leipziq and was exiled to Elba. Napoleon built a small army in Elba and he went back to France. However, he was defeated once again at the battle of Waterloo and he was sent to St. Helena for his second exile. Napoleon’s days of last bid for power was known as the “Hundred Days”. Powerless, he passed away of a flu in 1821 (Crowley).


 * Historical Significance**

Napoleon Bonaparte was very significant in history because he did many things that influenced the world. He was described as a military genius and conquered many lands (Crowley). After he was commissioned a second lieutenant of artillery, he seized the vital port of Toulon in 1793 (Black). Napoleon earned respect in 1795 when he fired grapeshot in Paris (Roberts). He made peace by invading Italy and defeating the Austrians in 1796 (Attarian). Becoming a command of the French army, he invaded Egypt in 1798 which made people think of him like a hero.

By outpacing his enemies, he showed how powerful he was (Roberts). Jeremy Black states in his article “Europe” that Napoleon by invading Egypt he was “… challenging the British in India.” Napoleon used mostly cannon and musket fire at the battles of Shubra Khit and Embabeh. In 1799, Napoleon overthrew the government by an event called the coup d’état (Black). Andrew Roberts states in his article “The tyrant of Europe” that “by the end of 1799, he was effectively dictator of France…” (Roberts). In 1801, Napoleon created the concordat which provided a good relationship between the church and the state. He also made fair taxes and open public schools (Attarian). In 1804, he created a Napoleonic code which is still the basis of the world’s law. By doing this, he removed dishonest people. Also in 1804, Napoleon crowned himself the Emperor of France (Black). Napoleon quoted “I am the revolution” as he became emperor (Simms). Austria was defeated once again by Napoleon in 1805 (Crowley).

Napoleon’s good reaction to events saved them from the invasion of Britain in 1805 (Simms). The emperor also evacuated a British army in 1808 (Crowley). Napoleon spent some years building a military force called the “Grand Army” after he became the emperor. The Grand Army was successful and defeated the Prussians in 1806 by a surprise attack (Crowley). The czar made peace as Napoleon defeated Russia in 1807 (Attarian). In 1808, Napoleon By 1812, most of Europe was dominated except for Russia. Napoleon’s ambition for power led him to his defeat at Russia in 1812. From 1812 to 1821, he slowly collapsed to death (Black). Some people claims that France would not be as powerful as today if Napoleon did not conquer France (Attarian).


 * References **

Atarian, John. " The rise and fall of an egotist." // World & I. // 10(2002):233. // eLibrary. // Web. 29 Dec. 2014. **Source evaluation 6**

Black, Jeremy. "Napoleon & Europe." // History Today //. 01 Jan. 1998: 10. // eLibrary //. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. **Source evaluation 3**

Crowley, Robert, and Geoffrey Parker."Napoleon Bonaparte." //The Reader's Companion to Military History//. 1996. eLibrary. Web. 24 Sep. 2014. **Source evaluation 1**

Kelly, Duncan. "Soldier, visionary, emperor." // International New York times. // 15 Nov. 2014: 21. // eLibrary. // Web. 29 Dec. 2014. **Source evaluation 5**

Roberts, Andrew. "The tyrant of Europe; Napoleon was power-crazed, unscrupulous and greedy, but his latest biographer still regards him as a towering geniousBIOGRAPHY Dominic Sandbrook [Eire Region] Series: Features." //Sunday Times of London//. 28 Sep. 2014: 36. //eLibrary.// Web. 12 Oct. 2014. **Source evaluation 2**

Simms, Brendan. "Soldier, emperor, outcast ; books Book of the week Even for those who know Napoleon's story well, this account of how 'le petit caporal' cut a swath through Europe -- and then lost it all -- is rivet." //Times of London//. 28 Dec. 2013: 11. //eLibrary//. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. **Source evaluation 4**