Armenian Genocide Essay, Research Paper

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. He had 7 brothers and sisters, and his father was a lawyer whose family stemmed from the Florentine nobility. His original nationality was Cursican-Italian. In 1779 Napoleon went to school at Brienne in France. There he took a great interest in history, especially in the lives of great ancient generals. He studied very hard. Napoleon attended the Ecole Military School in Paris in 1784 after receiving a scholarship. This is where he received his military training. He studied to be an artillery man and an officer. Napoleon finished his training and joined the French army when he was 16 years old.

Napoleon was a supporter of the French Revolution. In 1793, Corsica revolted against the Republic, and Napoleon’s family had to Flee to France. At the age of 25, only one year after becoming captain, Napoleon was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. In August of 1794 Napoleon was arrested. He was accused of treason. Although he was released his career seemed to be over. Then in October of 1795, the government was threatened with a revolt in Paris. Paul Barras appointed Napoleon to defend the capital. Napoleon saved the nation and one year later at the age of 26 was rewarded with the position of commander in chief of the interior French army in Italy.

Once Napoleon gathered up followers and he took over it didn’t take long for him to turn a group of ill-disciplined soldiers into an effective fighting force. Throughout his Italian fights, Napoleon won the confidence of his men by his energy, charm, and ability to comprehend complex issues quickly and make decisions rapidly. These qualities, combined with his keen intelligence, ease with words, and supreme confidence in himself, enabled him throughout the rest of his life to influence peoples and win their firm support. On March 9, 1796, Napoleon married Josephine and two days later left to command the army that was fighting the Austrians in Italy. Napoleon then very cunningly defeated the Austrians.

In May 1798, Napoleon sailed to Egypt, but England was stronger. Napoleon could no longer keep up his attack or keep in touch with France. He then found out that Austria took Italy, and he returned to Paris. Napoleon then participated in the coup d’etat that ultimately led to his virtual dictatorship of France.

In May 1800 Napoleon invaded Italy. In 1802 Napoleon was made First Council for life. Two years later, Napoleon not content with being First Council crowned him self-Emperor of France. At this time France was no longer a republic. Napoleon invited the Pope Pius VII to crown him Emperor, but when it came time to be crowned Napoleon took the crown from the Pope and placed it upon is own head. Napoleon wanted to take over England but his plans were spoiled. This forever ended Napoleon’s hopes of invading England.

Napoleon’s armies kept fighting, capturing Vienna, the Austrian capital, Naples and Holland. Napoleon made himself king of Italy, his brother Joseph, king of Naples, and another brother Louis king of Holland. The Bonaparte s made many improvements to the laws of the countries the governed.

Napoleon wanted a son. Not having produced one, Napoleon divorced Josephine. On March 11, 1810, Napoleon married Marie Louise, daughter of the emperor of Austria. Napoleon then attempted to attack Russia. Napoleon was successful until Alexander out smarted him and laid a trap, which left Napoleon and his huge 500,000 man army in ruins.

On June 18, 1815 Napoleon once again attacked the English, led by the Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo. This battle was short lived and Napoleon was quickly defeated, and he was once again abdicated. But this time they sent him to live on the Island of St. Helena, where he died in may 1821.

As you can see Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military masterminds of all times, but as is with all good things, they must come to an end. For all his intelligence and skill he was a terrible man. He killed almost half a million of his men, not to mention the men he killed that were not his enemies. However, Napoleon’s influence is evident in France even today. Reminders of him dot Paris the most obvious being the Arc de Triomphe, the centerpiece of the city, which was built to commemorate his victories. His spirit pervades the constitution of the Fifth Republic; the country’s basic law is still the Code Napoleon, and the administrative and judicial systems are essentially Napoleonic. A uniform state-regulated system of education persists. Napoleon’s radical reforms in all parts of Europe cultivated the ground for the revolutions of the 19th century. Today, the impact of the Code Napoleon is apparent in the law of all European countries. If there had been no Napoleon then history would be drastically different. The government would be different. Also who knows, their might not have been the revolutions of the 19th century. And the educational system would be much worse.

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