Napoleon

Napoleon I
Emperor Napoleon in his study at the Tuileries, by Jacques-Louis David, 1812
Emperor of the French
Reign	18 May 1804 – 11 April 1814 20 March 1815 – 22 June 1815
Coronation	2 December 1804
Predecessor	French Consulate Himself as First Consul of the French First Republic. Previous ruling monarch was Louis XVI as King of the French (1791–1792)
Successor	Louis XVIII (de jure in 1814; as legitimate monarch in 1815) Napoleon II (according to his father's will of 1815)
King of Italy
Reign	17 March 1805 – 11 April 1814
Coronation	26 May 1805
Predecessor	Himself as President of the Italian Republic Previous ruling monarch was Emperor Charles V, crowned in Bologna in 1530
Successor	Kingdom disbanded Next monarch crowned in Milan was Emperor Ferdinand I, next king of Italy was Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy
Born	(1769-08-15)15 August 1769 Ajaccio, Corsica
Died	5 May 1821(1821-05-05) (aged 51) Longwood, Saint Helena, British Empire
Burial	Les Invalides, Paris
Spouse	Joséphine de Beauharnais Marie Louise of Austria
Issue	Napoleon II of France
Full name Napoléon Bonaparte
House	House of Bonaparte
Father	Carlo Buonaparte
Mother	Letizia Ramolino

Napoleon Bonaparte (French: Napoléon Bonaparte)^[1] was a French politician and army leader who ruled France from 1799 to 1814 and for a short period (the "Hundred Days") in 1815. He became Emperor of the French and King of Italy as Napoleon I. He had power over most of Europe at the height of his power, and his actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.

Bonaparte was born in Corsica into a noble family in 15th of August, 1769. He learned the Corsican language first before learning French. He moved to mainland France and trained to become an army officer. He became an important army leader during the First French Republic, helping to stop the countries that wanted to end the French Revolution. In 1799, he overthrew the government and took control of France for himself (a coup d'état). At first his title was Consul. Five years later, he was made Emperor of France. In the first ten years of the nineteenth century, the French Empire under Napoleon waged the Napoleonic Wars. Every European great power joined in these wars. After a number of victories, France became very important in continental Europe. He increased his power by making many alliances. He also made other European countries into French client states by letting his friends and family members rule them.

The French invasion of Russia in 1812 became Napoleon's first big defeat. His army was badly damaged and never fully recovered. In 1813, another Coalition defeated his forces at Leipzig. The year after that, they attacked France and won. The Coalition exiled Napoleon to the island of Elba. Less than a year later, he escaped Elba and briefly returned to be the Emperor of France. However, he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life exiled to the island of Saint Helena, which was controlled by the British, and died at the age of 51. A doctor said he died of stomach cancer. Some scientists think he was poisoned, though others disagree.

Napoleon is remembered as a brilliant army leader, and his campaigns are studied at military schools all over the world. People have many different views on whether he was a good or bad ruler. He brought many ideas of liberalism and the French Revolution to the countries he conquered, such as the Napoleonic code, freedom of religion and making education and government more modern. His enemies remembered him as a tyrant and some historians criticise him for causing many wars.

1. ↑ McLynn, Frank (1998). Napoleon. Pimlico. p. 6. ISBN 0712662472.