Napoleon Bonaparte was a famous emperor of France and a great military leader who took advantage of the French revolution to rise through the military ranks by conquering Europe during the 19th century, and this was the beginning of his rising and fame. He led France into war, and conquered nations such as Germany and Italy, which boosted the army’s confidence as they loved and admired him, and through his confidence, ambitions, and hunger for power, he was able to expand his territory and as his powers grew he allocated different tasks to his loyal friends and family members. He also led a successful non-violent coup d’etat where no blood was shed that saw him overthrow the French directory, and he became the 1st consul, which made him the prominent political leader and later on he later crowned himself the emperor of France at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. He conquered countries such as Belgium, Italy, Egypt, and Austria, which marked some of the significant and most famous wars during his regime.

He engaged in a battle with the Russians as he tried to stop them from teaming up with Britain, where his plan failed terribly due to starvation and winter, which forced him to retreat. He, together with his troop, deserted the area. This was a significant blow to him as it marked the beginning of his downfall. He abdicated power and was sent to exile in Elba Island. He, later on, returned to France and led them to war against Belgium, where he won but lost to Britain, and he was taking to exile again in St Helena, where his health deteriorated, and he died. His iconic napoleon code, also known as the civil code, played a significant role in breaking down the laws into commercial law and criminal law, allowed freedom of worship, gave men authority over their families and stated that only the most qualified individuals would be allocated government jobs.

Bibliography of Napoleon Bonaparte

York (2010) states that Napoleon Bonaparte was born during the French revolution in Ajaccio, on the island of Corsica in Italy, on 15 august 1759 as the fourth and second surviving child to Italian nobles Carlo and Letitia Bonaparte. Later on, he dropped the letter “e” in his name to make it sound more French and joined the military school in Brienne, where they were taught in French, and Napoleon did not understand the language well. This challenge made students mock and laugh Napoleon. He had also come from a low-income family as compared to some of them. After joining the military school in Paris, France, where he studied to be an officer and an artillery person, this is evident that he knew what he wanted from a tender age, and thus he gave his all. In 1789, the French revolution began, and when the revolutionaries overthrew the monarchy, the French has declared a republic. When he was on leave from school, he associated with the Jacobins, who were dictators. When there was a conflict with Pasquale Paoli, who was the governor of Corsica, the Bonaparte family fled for safety, and napoleon later resumed his military duties once again with a determination to succeed. Napoleon associated himself with a Jacobin dictator who supported the reign of terror, where many people lost their lives. Maximilien de Robespierreobespierre lost his power, and he was executed.

Napoleon’s first opportunity in the military was experienced when he was promoted to captain through his efforts in 1792, and in 1793, he was selected to artillery against the siege in Toulon. He was made the commander of the French army in Italy, and he was given all the responsibilities. This raised his confidence in the fields of battle. He ordered his soldiers to kill all the men, women, and children of Jaffa. Still, unfortunately, bubonic plague attacked the soldiers, and they had to withdraw, while the prisoners and soldiers who had become ill were to be poison by opium. In 1995, the French directorate decided to help napoleon attack England, but he decided that the French army was to yet ripe to strike; thus, he came up with a proposal to attack Egypt. His aim here was that he could get the chance to stop the British and Indian trades where it took place through the Mediterranean Sea route. The French army was able to conquer the mamluks of Egypt at the war of the pyramids. With the domination of France in Austria in 1797 led by Napoleon, the French army won the Battle of Tarvis under his command and tactics, which led them to pursue the Austrian territory, where he also won the battle. He, later on, invaded the Ottoman Empire in Syria. Still, the attempt failed, and due to the political unrest in France, which was so unpredictable, he decided to leave his army in Egypt, went back to France, and took advantage of the situation (Sultana, 2021). 

Scott (2010) states that he organized a plot known as a coup of 18 Brumaire after returning. It was a non-violent coup d’état with neither bloodshed nor fights experienced to dismantle the committee in charge of France. This committee was known as the directory and formed a 3-member consul, where he was the first consul, and in 1802 when the amendment of the constitution was made, Napoleon became the first consul for life. This made him the most powerful political leader in France at the time, and in 1804 at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, he declared himself as the emperor of France. Between the years 1803 to 1815, France involved itself in Napoleonic fights, which involved significant wars with various European countries in which France conquered most of them under napoleon. This made napoleon sell part of France’s Louisiana territory to raise some capital needed in the future, which was known as the Louisiana Purchase.

Napoleon Bonaparte married Josephine de Beauharnais, a widow with two children and six years older. Due to the inability to sire a child, he dissolved the union to find someone else to marry and sire him an offspring. He got married to Marie Louise, who was the daughter of the emperor of Austria. In the following year, she gave birth to a son known as napoleon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, later on known as napoleon 11 with the title king of Rome, and napoleon had several illegitimate children. Napoleon introduced the Napoleonic Code in 1804, which was referred to as the civil code. It systematized several aspects of the law, such as criminal and commercial law. Furthermore, it broke down civil law into property and family, it gave men authority over their families, and women were depleted of any individual rights. Lastly, it ensured that all the community members were under the same social justice system, and the government jobs were assigned to individuals who had the skills (Scott, 2010).

The fall of Napoleon began when he plotted to attack Russia to prevent them from coming together as partners with Britain. Still, unfortunately, the plan turned out to be a total failure when many of his armies were killed and others wounded, and thus he was defeated. On 6 April 1814, he was forced to give up the power, and King Louis XVIII took power as he went to exile in Elba Island. He managed to escape the island and led the French army into war with Belgium, where he won but later lost to the British in the battle of waterloo. This was a setback for him as it showed that he was completely overpowered. He gave up the power and went into exile again on the island of St Helena. While there, he lived a lonely life, his wealth worsened, and he died on the island on 5 May 1821 at the age of 51 years (Forrest, 2015)

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that Napoleon Bonaparte truly merited the word a great leader who was a significant figure in the history of France as most of his years were used in fighting battles for France. Napoleon’s ambitions and visions took him to greater height in the hierarchy of power. A small boy who was mocked in school rose to be a famous emperor. He was a focused leader who was goal-oriented and a skilled leader who later became France’s emperor by successfully fulfilling his desire for victory. His achievements made him a world icon whereby he is still remembered for the changes that he implemented as an agent of revolution. He made sure that the changes brought by the revolution were firm, hence ending the revolution. He aimed to restore stability in France, and one way he did this was by allocating government jobs to people who had the skills regardless of their birth status and making sure that all the people were under the same system of justice.

References

Forrest, A. (2015). Waterloo. Oxford University Press.

Scott, W. (2010). The life of Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of the French. Cambridge University Press.

sultana, z. (2021). Vol 2 No 7 (2017): EJMS September December 2017 Nr. 2 | European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies. Journals.euser.org. Retrieved 30 April 2021, from http://journals.euser.org/index.php/ejms/issue/view/145.

York, A. (2010). Napoleon: The Path to Power, 1769–1799. By Philip Dwyer. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2008. Pp.651. $35.00.). The Historian, 72(3), 684-685. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6563.2010.00273_44.x