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Napoleon Bonaparte |
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Napoleon Bonaparte, born 1769 in Ajaccio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, died 1821. Through his military exploits and his ruthless efficiency, Napoleon rose from obscurity to become Napoleon I, Empereur des Francais (Emperor of the French). He is both a historical figure and a legend and it is sometimes difficult to separate the two. Over the course of little more than a decade, the armies of France under his command fought almost every European power, often simultaneously, and acquired control of most of continental Europe by conquest or alliance. The disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point. Following the Russian campaign and the defeat at Leipzig in October 1813, Napoleon abdicated in April 1814 after the Allies invaded France. He was exiled to the island of Elba. He staged a comeback known as the Hundred Days (les Cent Jours), but was defeated at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. He spent the remaining six years of his life on the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean under British supervision. Napoleon was one of the greatest military commanders in history. He has also been portrayed as a power hungry conqueror. Napoleon denied being such a conqueror. He argued that he was building a federation of free peoples in a Europe united under a liberal government. But if this was his goal, he intended to achieve it by taking power in his own hands. However, in the states he created, Napoleon granted constitutions, introduced law codes, abolished feudalism, created efficient governments and fostered education, science, literature and the arts. |