Napoléon Bonaparte was a French Emperor and General. He was born in Corsica on August 15, 1769 and he died on May 5, 1821. Napoleon went to military school is France, where he has some friends but was bullied for his Corsican accent. He was extremely good in math, history and geography. He preferred to keep to himself and read about the world greatest historic figures. His idols were: Alexander the Great, Julius Cesar and even George Washington. He is best known for his grab for power, victories over most of the European monarchies, and final defeat in the town of Waterloo. As a young man he observed the French Revolution (1789-1792) that overthrew the French royalty and aristocracy, he observed the reign of terror started by the fanatical Maximilian Robespierre and his followers (1792-1793) and the establishment of the DIRECTOIRE (1794) a board of moderates who were elected by the people to rule France. By 1795, everything had calmed down and Napoleon was sent by his father to Marseilles to the military academy there. He completed his schooling in strategy and military tactics. Then he went to Paris where he studied law and politics. Napoleon was then elected as consul in the French government. By 1798, he had become sole consul.
By 1804, Napoleon had consolidated all political and financial power in France and he now declared himself emperor of France. The people loved him. He soon went on to conquer Egypt and Italy where he set his brother as king. He invaded Spain and conquered them. He besieged Vienna and waged war on Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia. Upon the victory in the fourth coalition, he visited Frederick the great’s grave and said, “Hats off, gentlemen. If this man was still alive, I would not be here right now.” By 1812, he had vanquished the Austrians and repelled the Prussians. However he could not achieve naval supremacy. He then launched an invasion in Russia. But his campaign failed because the Russian winter came earlier than it was supposed to. His army weakened and his popularity slumped. In 1815, he was forced to abdicate. He was replaced by King Louis XVII, the brother of the former King Louis XVI (1774-1789) and exiled to Elba. However within the month, the new king had become so unpopular that Napoleon was allowed to return and retake power as emperor. Napoleon's return alarmed the British, Prussians and Russians and they gathered their armies at the town of Waterloo to fight him. The French lost, Napoleon was captured and exiled to St. Helena where he then died in 1821.