Napoleon

=Napoleon Bonaparte //Power tends to corrupt, and Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely //= media type="youtube" key="AyFbSyNKVOo" height="296" width="365" align="left"

Early Life: Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 on the island of Corsica. He had decided to have a military career by the time he was six and enrolled in a millitary school. There he was made fun of due to his short stature and thick accent. In 1785, he became a Lutenant in the army. When the Revolution broke out, Napoleon joined the new government's army. (Beck et al. 229). Rise To Power: He bacame a military hero when he defended the National Convention from royalist rebels. He was immideately hailed as the sacior of the Republic. Then he was appointed to General and led an army through Italy, winning an amazing set of victories there. Next, he decided to lead an army into Egypt but were defeated by the British there. He kept down news of his defeat and headed back to Paris there, he and his troops surrounded the national legislature and "drove out most of it's members" (Beck et al. 235). Then he forced the lawmakers to dissolve the Directory and make three consuls to take their place. Napoleon, being one of the counsuls, took the title of first counsul and assumed the powers of military dictator. He helped restore order in France by creating the Napoleonic code. Then he signed a concodat with the Pope which ment that the French government recognized the Church's influence but didn't want the Church in National affairs. When Napoleon mad reforms to the government, he opened public schools for all male students and dissmissed many corrupt officials. Unfortunitely, Napoleon began his downfall shortly after all these reforms. Downfall: The military events that lead to his defeat were the Peninsular War, the Russian invasion, and the Battle of Waterloo. In the Peninsular War, Napoleon was defeated by the combined Portugese and British forces and lost 300,000 soldiers. When the alliance between Russia and France was broken, the Russian invasion began. When Napoleon began invading Russia, the Russians used the scorched earth policy and fled so no supplies were left for the French army. The French army didn't fight Napoleon and Alexander I did not plan any tricks or traps for each other, they just went at it in combat. The battle lasted for about eight and a half hours. At the end of the day Russia withdrew and Napoleon was “victorious”. Napoleon now owned Moscow, but the Russians were not silenced. They burned Moscow down at night, leaving Napoleon with nothing. Because winter was on the way and Napoleon had no supplies or food, he ordered abandonment of his invasion of Russia. On their way home, Napoleon’s army had to fight starvation, freezing temperatures, and sickness. Even thought Napoleon won the Battle of Bordino, he lost so many men that his invasion Russia could have been seen as a loss. Napoleon’s final battle that he commanded was the Battle of Waterloo. While captured in Elba, Napoleon heard that the king of France had become very unpopular among his people. Seizing this opportunity to regain power, Napoleon escaped the island of Elba and returned to France. Impressed with his escape, France reinstated him as their leader. Once Napoleon was king again he organized a volunteer army of thousands to join him in battle against the British. Napoleon attacked but Britain did not give into the French. Later that day, the British army returned accompanied by Prussia. Instead of backing out of conflict, Napoleon pushed on leading his people into vast defeat. After this final defeat, Napoleon was finally permanently removed from his seat of power. This battle along with the Russian Invasion and the Peninsular War show how Napoleon’s eagerness in battle lead to his final defeat. regain his country's support ||< Went into the Peninsular War ||
 * < Napoleon's Pros ||< Napoleon's Cons ||
 * < Created public schools ||< Attempted to invade Russia ||
 * < Wrote the Napoleonic Code ||< Controlled all newspapers in the French Empire ||
 * < Helped unite France ||< Overconfident in abilities ||
 * < He escaped from an island to

Works Cited: Napoleon Black and White Picture: [|www.historyofwar.org/ Pictures/napoleon.jpg] Video: [|www.youtube.com] "Claypoleon" by Sydney Smith