Born Napoleone Buonaparte in 1769, the future Emperor of France was a member of a poor Corsican noble family of Italian origin. Corsica only became part of France in 1768, and it wasn’t until Napoleon was 9 that he started learning French at school, in preparation for his attendance of the military school at Briennce-le-Chateau in France. Throughout his life, he always spoke with a strong Italian accent, and, despite his family’s noble status, they were poor enough for him to have his school fees paid by the state.
Early Signs of Promise
It was apparent from an early stage in his military training that Napoleon was full of promise. He graduated from the military school in 1784, aged 15, and went on to the Royal Military School in Paris, where he completed in just 12 months a course that should have taken two years. His strengths were maths, geography and science. He received his first commission as a sub-lieutenant of artillery at the age of just 16.
Profiting from the French Revolution
Having being elected as head of his family after his father’s death in 1785, Napoleon’s focus in life remained in Corsica, but in 1793, when the family left the island, Napoleon’s ambitions turned towards France. He was an opportunist, and seized the chance for rapid advancement that the French Revolution had opened up. He was appointed to the position of brigadier-general by the Jacobins, a political party at the forefront of the Revolution, and managed to maintain his position of power even after the Jacobins fell from power.
At the age of 24, Napoleon re-launched his career by offering artillery in defence of the Directorate, who succeeded the Jacobins, when there was an uprising in October 1795. By March 1796, Napoleon had been made head of the Army of Italy, and there was no stopping him. In the period 1793-1815, France fought all the major European powers, and Napoleon had a spectacular series of victories which turned him rapidly into a French hero.
Napoleon Takes Control
It soon became apparent that Napoleon wanted to be more than just an excellent military general. He wanted more – he wanted supreme political power in order to satisfy his ambitions of creating an empire. He was brought in as military muscle to back a conspiracy against the Directorate in 1799, and he used his skill and the opportunity to move himself into the leading role in government as First Consul. By 1804, he had absolute imperial power.
Napoleon’s rise to power was swift, and for the man himself his position of Emperor was his destiny. He carefully nurtured a public image as the saviour of France – and as successor to the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne.
Napoleon at War
Even though Napoleon would have settled peace with Europe on his own terms, he spent most of his years in power at war. He was a military genius, which he demonstrated with regularity as he engaged in decisive battles with maximum force. His style of warfare mean there were heavy casualties in the pursuit of victory, but despite this Napoleon was popular with his soldiers, and he decorated them well for their service.
The Downfall of Emperor Napoleon
Despite his popularity and his military prowess, Napoleon was not without faults. He had a tendency to be dishonest, and lied in dispatched to exaggerate his own role in battle. By the time it came to invading Russia in 1812, his grasp on the realities of power had actually begun to falter.
Napoleon’s downfall ultimately came from exceeding his own limits. He was defeated at Waterloo in 1815 and was consequently imprisoned on St Helena, an Atlantic island. In death, he left a legend, but it is unlikely that that alone would have satisfied a man who hoped to found an imperial dynasty to leave as his legacy.
Sources:
Hart-Davies, A (2007), History, Dorling Kindersley
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