Napoleone Buonaparte
Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and was given
the name Napoleone Buonaparte. He was the second of eight children of Carlo and
Letizia Buonaperte, both of the Corsican-Italian gentry. Before Napoleone, no
Buonaparte had ever been a professional soldier. His father Carlo, was a lawyer
who had fought for Corsican independence, but after the French occupied the
island in 1768, he served as a prosecutor and a judge and entered the French
aristocracy as a count. Through his father's influence, Napoleone was educated
at the expense of King Louis XVI, at Brienne and the Ecole Militaire, in Paris.
Napoleone graduated in 1785, at the age of 16, and joined the artillery as a
second lieutenant. After the revolution began in France, he became a
lieutenant colonel (1791) in the Corsican National Guard. However, when
Corsica declared independence in 1793, Buonaperte, a Republican, and a French
patriot, fled to France with his family. He was assigned, as captain, to an
army besieging Toulon, a naval base that was aided by a British fleet, while in
revolt against the republic. It was here that Napoleone Buonaperte officially
changed his name to Napoleon Bonaparte, feeling that it looked "more French".
It was here too that Napoleon replaced a wounded artillery general, and seized
ground where his guns could drive the British fleet from the harbor, and Toulon
fell. As a result of his accomplishments, Bonapatre was promoted to brigadier
general at the age of 24. In 1795, he saved the revolutionary government by
dispersing an insurgent mob in Paris. Then in 1796 he married Josephine de
Beauharnais, the mother of two children and the widow of an aristocrat
guillotined in the Revolution. Early in his life Napoleon was showing signs of
militaristic geniuses and knowledge for formidable strategy. It was through
the application of his skills, and a revolutionary style of spontaneous
fighting styles than gave Napoleon the opportunities, which he jumped at, making
his the great military leader he is known as today.
Latter in1796, Napoleon became commander of the French army in Italy.
He defeated four Austrian generals in succession, each at impossible odds, and
forced Austria and it's allies to make peace. The Treaty of Campo Formio
provided that France keep most of its conquests. In northern Italy he f...
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...ropean countries. Napoleon was a driven man,
never secure, never satisfied. "Power is my mistress" (VI pg. 176), he said.
His life was work-centered; even his social activities had a purpose. He could
bear amusements or vacations only briefly. His tastes were for coarse food,
bad wine, and for cheap tobacco. He could be hypnotically charming for a
needed purpose of course. He had intense loyalties to his family and old
associates. Even so, nothing or nobody, were allowed to interfere with his work.
Napoleon was sometimes a tyrant and always an authorian. But one who believed,
however in ruling by mandate of the people, expressed on plebiscites. He was
also a great enlightened monarch-a civil executive of enormous capacity who
changed French institutions and tried to reform the intuitions of Europe and
give the Continent a common law. Few historians deny that he was a military
genius. At St. Helena, he said "Waterloo will erase the memory of all my
victories." (VII pg.345) he was wrong; for better or worse, he is best
remembered as a general, not for his enlightened government, but surely the
latter must be counted if he is justly to be called "Napoleon the Great".
One of the most notable of which would be his decision to completely reconstruct a new palace at Versailles. Such a great expenditure is blatantly criticized in Doc 7 where the Duc de Saint-Simon states, “the foundations and groves have buried more money than could ever appear”. Such expenditures, undoubtedly funded by taxpayer dollars expose Louis’ extremely self-serving distribution of funds when it came to matters of his own comfort. However, it is important to realize that Doc 7, written by a noble, must also be read with a watchful eye. The Duc de Saint-Simon’s assertions could possibly, though construction of a new palace would likely cost a tremendous amount of capital, be riddled by bias as a result of the absolutist King’s extreme suppression of nobility perks and privileges. The idea that Louis acted in his own interest in terms of capital distribution may be explained away by such bias had it not been for the evidence presented in Doc 4. Though on the surface it seems to show the public’s appreciation for the King, one must acknowledge the fact that an ‘inscription on a ceremonial arch of great architectural importance in Tournai’ was most likely commissioned by the King, and again funded by taxpayer dollars. Such a commission would expose the fact that the words stated in the inscription is not the point of view of the French people, but rather the desired
Louis XIV of France used his grand and gaudy Palace of Versailles as a “pleasure prison” for the nobles while Peter the Great sent all of his nobles to St. Petersburg – both of these actions made it difficult for nobles to rebel. In France, Louis XIV ridiculed the nobility by sending them to the Palace of Versailles and busying them with silly little jobs and knit-picky rituals. He gave them these useless jobs to prevent them from ban...
On July 21, the English navy began shooting long-range heavy guns at a seven-mile-long line of Spanish ships. The Spanish Armada continued to advance during the next few days, but England’s assault had diminished Spain’s navy. On July 27, the Armada anchored in Calais, France. But it was not a safe area. and the Spanish army prepared to embark from Flanders. Without control of the Channel, however, their passage to England would be impossible. Just after midnight on July 29,
The book Napoleon by Paul Johnson is a monograph on the life of Napoleon. Napoleon was born on August 15,1769 on an island called Corsica which was a French island south of the mainland. Ironically his future enemy Duke of Wellington was also born in 1769. Napoleon was born in the lower nobility class, and gifted with mathematics. He admired the Royal Navy and wanted to join as a midshipman. At the age of ten, Napoleon left Corsica for a military school in Brienne, France. On completion of his studies at Brienne in 1784, Napoleon was admitted to the elite military school in Paris. He trained to become an artillery officer. His full height was five feet and five inches tall and Napoleon was promoted to first lieutenant by 1791. Napoleon knew that war meant war promotion, and he was eager to move up in command. He controlled the entire army of France by age of 26. He was a genius in artillery and believed that making his opponents fearful on the battlefield means the battle is already half won. A lot of military genius comes from his chief of staff Louis Berthier, who translated his ...
Napoleon was a great soldier that graduated from military school at the age of sixteen and quickly worked his way through the ranks. Napoleon was a brilliant leader in battle and consistently defeated armies larger than his own; including when he forced the Austrians to make peace after defeating four of their generals. In 1799 Napoleon and his colleagues overtook the French government and established power. He revised the constitution in 1802 to make himself consul for life, and then again in 1804 to make himself Emperor of France. Soon after Napoleon came to power he restructured the administration, simplified the court system, and began monitoring the schooling system; French law was also put in the Napoleon Code which guaranteed the rights and liberties that were gained through the revolution. Napoleons violent behavior caused war with Britain to break out, who allied with Russia and Austria. Prussia later allied themselves with Russia; creating a huge alliances against France and Napoleon. Napoleon successfully extended his reign over large parts of Europe and put each state under the Napoleon Code, which gave citizens new rights and privileges. In 1812 all of Europe turned against Napoleon, which lead to his exile in 1814. He regained power in 1815 just to loose it later that year. He died in exile in Saint Helena in 1821.
Napoleon maintained the Revolutionary system of conscription and encouraged promotion based on ability.... ... middle of paper ... ... Broers, Michael.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica on August 15th, 1769 (Kishlansky, Geary, and O'Brien). Napoleon was a complex man who served in the revolutionary war working his way up in rank and ultimately using his military successes to gain political popularity and power (Kishlansky, Geary, and O'Brien). In 1799, Napoleon became the First Consul by overthrowing the directory and he would control France, eventually, making himself Emperor (Kishlansky, Geary, and O'Brien). This essay is going to expand on domestic and military accomplishments of Napoleon, as well as his greatest success and failure.
Before you can get into how he became a military genius you have breakdown how is life really was before his military career began. Napoleon was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on August 15th 1769 to Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer and political opportunist, and his wife, Marie-Letizia Buonaparte. The Buonaparte's were a wealthy family from the Corsican nobility, although when compared to the great aristocracies of France Napoleon's kin were poor and pretentious. Due to his parents connections he was able to enter the Military academy in Brienne in 1779. He moved to the Parisian Ecole Royale Militaire in 1784 and graduated a year later as a second lieutenant in the Artillery. When the civil war broke out the Buonaparte’s fled to France and adopted the French version of their name Bonaparte. When the political situation in France flipped around, Napoleon was tried for treason, but if not for his roots in politics, he would have been executed but his families connections saved him from death. In 1795 Napoleon became a hero again and helped fight the revolutionary forces off. As a result of that, he grew to be one of the most respected military leaders in France.
Napoleon Bonaparte is considered to be one of the greatest conquers and captains of modern times. In history perhaps no one person has ever aroused so many intense opposite emotions. Perhaps no one had ever claimed as much of the admiration, fear, and hatred of all men as did Napoleon. Napoleon was a man with many sides. He started many of his challenging voyages and defeats as a young child and they continued throughout his life. He had many accomplishments and many defeats that affect the world in which we live. Napoleon plays a very big part in history.
Bonaparte was born in Corsica and trained as a military officer in. He became a commander
Enlightened despotism is when there is an absolute ruler, in some cases a tyrant, who follows the principles of the Enlightenment through reforms. Permitting religious toleration, allowing freedom of the press and speech, and expanding education are a few main guidelines to being and enlightened despot. Napoleon I is often referred to as one of the greatest enlightened despots. Although, he did not follow the ideas of the enlightenment entirely, he managed his country in a way that he maintained complete authority as well as many of the gains of the French Revolution. Yes, Napoleon did want to do a few things for himself, but he also ruled for the majority in most cases, promote government-funded education, and supported many other enlightened ideas. But, most importantly, Napoleon did what he thought would make his country stronger.
Napoleon’s military career is what eventually led to his prominence. Napoleon began his military career above most of the other men his age. He rapidly made his way through the ranks eventually gaining a great support system. As the directory leaned more and more heavily upon the military, a coup d’état developed. Because of his military expertise, he immediately became first consul of France. The empire of France was soon to grow once Napoleon was in reign. In the 1790s the French army was near one million men, an advantage in the Austrian wars as well as future ventures. Wars raged with other European countries in the early 1800s. Napoleon was able to beat the continental coalition, thus gaining territory for France. France annexed some of Italy but also controlled states such as Spain, Holland ...
When we think of Napoleon, we think of massive military conquest comparable to the Roman Empire. However, there are also the numerous reforms he made to domestic policy during his reign of 1799 to 1815. There are three main viewpoints relating to his domestic policy. The first is by Godechot who believed Napoleon "changed the history of France and the world". He thought that Napoleon's policies truly benefited France. However, a contrary viewpoint is made by Seward who thought Napoleon was a demagogue who had an "obsession with power". A third median of the two extremes was proposed by Soboul. Soboul thought that Napoleon advantaged France in some ways but hindered in others.
...the galleys for life. She was flogged and branded with a “V” to show that she was a thief and imprisoned for life in the Bastille, from where she later escaped (Affair).