FREE ESSAY ON NAPOLEON

NAPOLEON

The book, Napoleon by Felix Markham, is a biography about Napoleon
Bonaparte, one of the greatest 
historical figures and legends of all time. He was born on August 15, 1769 at Ajaccio in
Corsica, which 
is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1779, when Napoleon was nine years old, he
began his schooling 
in France. He went to a church school at Brienne-le-Chataeu because his father, Carlo,
wanted him to go 
there. It had been noted that Napoleon had excelled at math during his time at school. 
He remained 
there for eight years and during those years his father died of stomach cancer. 
Napoleon joined the French Army in 1785 and in 1791 was promoted to first lieutenant
and then to captain 
in 1792. In December 1793, Napoleon was sent to Toulon, where rebels in France
were being aided by the 
British naval fleet. Napoleon took the place of a wounded commander. The British
withdrew and France 
took control of Toulon. Napoleon's victory was responsible for his being honored
brigadier general at 
the age of 24. In 1797, Napoleon won the war for France with the Austrians. After
defeating them at the 
French-Italian border, he marched over the Alps and threatened Vienna. Finally, in
October of 1797, 
France and Austria signed the Treaty of Campoformio, which enlarged France's
territory. He was hailed a 
hero in France. In 1798, Napoleon set sail for Egypt to stop British trade with the
Middle East. The 
French fleet, however, was destroyed by Britain, leaving Napoleon's army stranded in
Egypt. In the mean 
time, Turkey formed an alliance with Britain and Russia,! 
then declared war on France. In 1799, Napoleon learned that a Turkish Army was
planning to invade 
Egypt. Napoleon defeated the Turks and then returned to France. He was very well
respected when he 
returned. 
Napoleon created political alliances and seized control of the French government and he
made changes, 
such as, a new constitution and a three member Consulate. Napoleon made himself first
consul and the 
other two members were merely advisors. After ten years of revolution, the French
wanted one strong 
leader so Napoleon ruled France as a dictator. In June 1800, Napoleon led the French
to defeat the 
Austrians at the Battle of Marengo and in 1801, Austria signed the Treaty of Luneville,
which reaffirmed 
the Treaty of Campoformio. After this, in 1802, Britain agreed to peace by signing the
Treaty of Amiens. 
Russia had gotten out of the alliance against France in 1799 and for the first time in
ten
years, because 
of Napoleon, Europe was at peace. Napoleon was still not satisfied. In 1802, the
French people approved 
a constitutional amendment that made Napoleon first consul for life. By 1803, Napoleon
had become 
president of the Italian Republic, but he wanted to stop Britai! 
n's trade with the rest of Europe. He had anticipated war with Britain, so he sold the
Louisiana 
Territory to the United States and war with Britain began later that year. 
Due to the French Senate's vote, on December 2, 1804, Napoleon crowned himself
emperor. He dominated 
Europe with this glorious title. A new alliance had started against France in 1805 with
Austria, Russia, 
and Sweden but later that year Napoleon demolished the Austrian and Russian armies at
Austerlitz in 
Austria. In 1806, Prussia joined Russia in a new coalition, but again, Napoleon's forces
crushed the 
Prussian army at Jena and Auerstedt and in June 1807, Napoleon overwhelmed Russian
armies at Friedland. 
Also, in 1809, he defeated the Austrians again at Wagram. Napoleon was unstoppable. 
After each win, the 
Napoleonic Empire enlarged. In 1806, he made his brother, Joseph, king of Naples, his
brother, Louis, 
king of Holland in 1807, his brother, Jerome, king of Westphalia, also in 1807. Finally
in
1809, he gave 
his sister, Elisa, the title of Grand Duchy of Tuscany. His empire was brought to its
height in 1810 
when he added Holland and most of Northern Germany. 
Between 1806 and 1807, Napoleon set up something known as the Continental
System. The purpose of this 
was to prevent British trade with the rest of Europe, hoping to destroy its economy.
This
system was 
established by two decrees, The Berlin Decree and the Milan Decree. The Berlin Decree
forbade British 
ships from ports under French control and all goods belonging to or coming from Britain
were seized. 
These actions were more of a boycott than a blockade. The Milan Decree prevented
ships from neutral 
nations to carry British goods to Europe. Portugal, ally of Britain, refused to follow
the
Berlin 
Decree, but in 1807, the French gained control of Portugal and took over certain parts
of Spain. French 
forces took control over Madrid in 1808 and Napoleon removed King Ferdinand VII
from the throne and made 
his brother, Joseph, king of Spain. Spanish and Portuguese forces rebelled against
French rule. Soon 
after this war began, British troops joined in the fight against Fran! 
ce. By 1814, tens of thousands of French troops had died and the remaining French
forces driven off the 
peninsula. This war was known as the Peninsula War. 
In 1810, Russia had been withdrawn from the Continental System by Alexander I.
Napoleon felt France was 
threatened by this action. Napoleon set up an army of 600,000 men and in 1812, he
went into Russia, but 
the Russians denied battle. Napoleon pushed on to Moscow only to find the city nearly
empty. Soon, 
large parts of the city were destroyed by fires set by retreating Russians. Napoleon
still
waited for 
Alexander in Moscow, with the bitter cold coming, in order to offer peace, but he never
came. Due to 
starvation and exposure, 500,000 of Napoleon's men died. When he returned to
France, the people still 
supported Napoleon, but his failure gave encouragement to his enemies. 
As far as his personal life, it is known that in 1796, he married Josephine de
Beauharnais, a 
beautiful French widow with two children. By 1809, however, Napoleon still had one
problem on his hands, 
what would happen to his empire after his death considering he had no heirs and his wife
was now 46. 
After much thought and heartache, Napoleon decided to divorce Josephine and in April
of 1810, he married 
an 18-year-old girl named Marie Louise. In 1811, as hoped, the couple had a son they
called Napoleon, 
who was given the title, king of Rome. 
He now faced an even bigger problem. Napoleon was threatened with the alliance of
Austria, Britain, 
Russia, Prussia, and Sweden. This was the cause of the collapse of the Napoleonic
Empire. In 1813, 
Napoleon arrived in Germany with a new army and fought against the allies. His forces
were outnumbered. 
The two sides fought at Leipzig in October, but Napoleon was defeated and he retreated
to France. The 
enemy alliance still pursued him and in March 1814, they captured Paris. 
Napoleon still wanted to march on, but this was in disagreement with the French
government so Napoleon 
wrote an abdication on April 4, 1814. It was signed on April 6 and on that same day,
the Senate voted to 
recall Louis XVIII. 
Napoleon was exiled from France, but was guaranteed the title of Emperor, on the small
island of Elba off 
the northwest coast of Italy. His wife and son went to live with her family and Napoleon
never saw them 
again. At Elba, Napoleon planned his return to France. In February 1815, Napoleon
sailed to France and 
then marched to Paris, gathering supporters along the way. The men sent to arrest him,
joined him. 
Louis fled when he approached and on March 20, Napoleon entered Paris where he
was cheered by the crowds 
again. He claimed that this was the happiest moment of his life. 
Napoleon proclaimed a new constitution that limited his powers. He was ready for a
quick and resounding 
victory due to a divided and apprehensive nation at his hands. Once again, a battle was
going to 
commence. Napoleon marched into Belgium and hoped to defeat Britain's separate
armies of the Duke of 
Wellington and Blucher of Prussia. Napoleon defeated Blucher and on June 18,
Napoleon attacked 
Wellington at Waterloo in one of history's most remembered battles. There were
amazing charges by the 
French cavalry and it seemed as if the British would collapse. Unexpectedly, Blucher
showed up and 
reinforced the British. The French were overpowered and suffered the defeat. 
Napoleon fled to Paris and 
on June 22, he abdicated again. Napoleon's return from Elba until the day of his second
abdication is 
known as the Hundred Days. There was no alternative for Napoleon but to be put on
the British 
battleship, Bellerophon. Since it was decided that Napoleon was their prisoner, he! 
was sent to the barren British island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Napoleon
lived
on St. Helena 
for the rest of his life. At around 2 am on May 5, 1821 Napoleon uttered his last words,
France, armee, 
tete d'armee, Josephine. At 5:51 pm that day, he was pronounced dead. Napoleon
was buried, as he 
wished in his will, in Geranium Valley, in full military attire. 
This book shows us the great road Napoleon paved for France, through good times and
bad, and finally the 
downfall of the majestic empire. Napoleon was a great war hero, but he always was on
a quest for peace. 
The book showed in great detail the life and accomplishments and also his emotions and
troubles 
throughout it all. Napoleon will be remembered forever as a great war hero and more
importantly, as a 
legend