Life of Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte, also known as Napoleon I of France, was a French General who became the Emperor of France in 1804. Portrayed as a power-hungry conquerer, Napoleon believed in 'rule for the people' but not in 'rule by the people'. He was an advocate of centralization of power.

Napoleon was born on 15th August, 1769 in the city of Ajaccio on the Corsica Island in the Mediterranean Sea. He was one of the seven children born to Carlo Bonaparte; a lawyer, and his wife Marie Letizia. In 1795, Napoleon married Josephine de Beauharnais, and on 11th March, 1810 he married, Marie-Louise, his second wife and mother of Napoleon II, Napoleon's only legitimate son who was born on 20th March, 1811.

Napoleon had decided about his military career at a very early age. He joined the military academy at Brienne in 1779. In 1784, he earned a scholarship to enter Parisian Ecole Royale Militaire, and graduated as second lieutenant in the artillery.

During the French Revolution, Napoleon witnessed good as well as bad days. He was arrested for treason but his political flexibility came to his rescue. He went on to defend the state from counter revolutionary forces, which earned him promotion to the higher order. He made the most of this opportunity, and made a niche for himself in the hearts of the people of France.

In 1796, the Army of Italy or Armée d'Italie, under the able leadership of Napoleon, defeated the much more stronger Austrian forces. He proved to be an inspirational force for the young, disgruntled soldiers who went on to claim victories one after the other. He returned home in 1979, but his hunger for power and desire for more victories made him embark on a campaign to the Middle eastern countries of Egypt and Syria, the very next year. Change of government back at home, forced Napoleon to leave his army and return, but the Egyptian campaign had a great cultural impact on the French culture. In the same year, he took part in the Brumaire coup and went on to become a member of the Consulate - the new ruling triumvirate.

Napoleon's political skills helped him to become the First Consul by early 1800, following which he set out to vanquish the fellow nations in Europe who were at war with France. Within a year he succeeded in this campaign and began working on the socio-economic conditions of France. His reforms in different fields such as education, law, economy, governance and military made sure that the Consuls popularity remained intact.

Finally all his efforts paid off, when he was elected the 'Consulate for Life' by the people of France in 1802 and the 'Emperor of France' in 1804. However, it was not possible for Europe to remain unagitated for a long time, with a military commander as the emperor of one of its nations. Napoleon spent the next 8 years of his life fighting wars and defeating alliances. These achievements included the victory at Austerlitz in 1805 which is regarded as one of the greatest military achievement.

Although an able leader, Napoleon also committed some mistakes while taking his military endeavors forward; an attack on Spain had the French army trapped in the vicious guerrilla warfare at one point of time. On the other hand, the British forces were making their presence felt in other parts of Europe such as Portugal. The biggest setback was when Napoleon tried to conquer Russia with his massive army in 1811-12. The Russians, realized that it was not easy to defeat the huge French army, and started destroying the local resources that the French soldiers would possibly use leaving them in a dire situation of starvation and apathy. This was the most humiliating retreat for the French emperor, but soon enough he was ready with a new army. With too many enemies to defend the state from, Napoleon had to face tough times ahead.

Russia, Austria and other neighboring nations would retreat when Napoleon attacked them, and would attack as soon as he tried to tackle the other threat. With all the nations approaching Paris at a great speed the pressure on Napoleon was building with time. And finally on 30th March, 1814, the French army surrendered to the allied forces without any resistance. Napoleon was exiled to the Island of Elba after his abdication.

Napoleon was a person with sheer guts, and he displayed it by reclaiming power within a year. He re-organized the government and his army after returning to France secretly in 1815. Although this was a great setback for his enemies, they were eventually successful in defeating Napoleon again, this time in a close-fought encounter in one of the greatest battle ever witnessed by the world - The Battle of Waterloo, in June 1815. He was again abdicated and sent to exile to St. Helena, a small rocky island far off the European coast. Owing to frequent health fluctuations, Napoleon died on 5th May, 1821 at the age of 51.

Some believed that he was a hero, while others thought he was a tyrant. Napoleon proved himself to be one of the most dominant figures of 19th century Europe. His contributions like the Napoleonic Code, his hunger for power, his dream of world conquest; all made him an immortal figure in the world history - someone we can either love or hate but can't ignore.