Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the later stages of the French Revolution. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815. His legal reform, the Napoleonic Code, has been a major influence on many civil law jurisdictions worldwide, though he was best remembered for his role in the wars led against France by a series of coalitions, the Napoleonic Wars. He established hegemony over most of continental Europe and sought to spread the ideals of the French Revolution, while consolidating an imperial monarchy which restored aspects of the deposed ancient regime. Due to his success in these wars, often against numerically superior enemies, he is regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time. Napoleon was born in Corsica to parents of noble ancestry, and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France. He rose to power under the French First Republic and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. In 1799, he staged a coup d'etat and installed himself as First Consul then five years later the French Senate proclaimed him emperor. In the first decade of the 19th century, the French Empire under Napoleon engaged in a series of conflicts involving every major European power. After the streak of victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe, and Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through the formation of extensive alliances and the appointment of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French client states. Napoleon's campaigns are studied at military academies throughout much of the world. The Peninsular War and invasion of Russia marked turning points in Napoleon's fortunes. His Grande Armee was badly damaged in the campaign and never fully recovered. In 1813, the Sixth Coalition defeated his forces at Leipzig and the following year the Coalition invaded France, forced Napoleon to abdicate and exiled him to the island of Elba. Less than a year later, he escaped Elba and returned to power, however he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life in confinement by the British on the island of Saint Helena. An autopsy concluded he had died of stomach cancer, though this claim has sparked significant controversy, as some scholars have held that he was a victim of arsenic poisoning.