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The years of and came to be known as the Reign of Terror , in which as many as 40, people were killed. Eventually, the Jacobins fell from power, and Robespierre was executed. In , the French revolutionary government known as the Directory took control of the country. Napoleon, who had previously fallen out of favor with Robespierre, came into the good graces of the Directory that same year after he saved the government from counter-revolutionary forces.
For his efforts, Napoleon was soon named commander of the Army of the Interior. In addition, he was a trusted advisor to the Directory on military matters. The army—just 30, strong, disgruntled, and underfed—was soon turned around by the young military commander. Under his direction, the reinvigorated army won numerous crucial victories against the Austrians, greatly expanded the French empire, and squashed an internal threat by the royalists, who wished to return France to a monarchy.
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In the spring of , French armies were defeated in Italy, forcing France to give up much of the peninsula. That October, Napoleon returned to France as his troops continued fighting. Shortly after his return to France, Napoleon participated in an event known as the Coup of 18 Brumaire. Under the new guidelines, the first consul was permitted to appoint ministers, generals, civil servants, magistrates, and even members of the legislative assemblies.
In February , the new constitution was easily accepted. He also negotiated a European peace, partially through the Treaty of Amiens that struck a short-lived truce with the war-weary British. His reforms proved popular: In , he was elected consul for life, and two years later, he was proclaimed emperor of France on May 18, As Napoleon was rising in the ranks, his personal life was also taking shape.
He met Josephine de Beauharnais, the widow of General Alexandre de Beauharnais guillotined during the Reign of Terror and a mother of two children, at a party in Although he often complimented Josephine in letters from the battlefield, both of them engaged in extramarital affairs. Josephine was known for holding lavish parties and spending money on clothing and property, including the Malmaison estate near Paris in Despite their arguments, the two stayed together as Josephine maintained a positive perception among the public.
When Napoleon crowned himself emperor in , he insisted upon placing a crown upon Empress Josephine as well. Despite his new title, not all was going to plan for Napoleon. He faced mounting pressure from his family to separate from Josephine, who was in her 40s by this point, because she was unable to give him a legitimate son and, thus, an heir.
So in December , Napoleon arranged for the annulment of their marriage. Following the annulment, Napoleon searched in haste for a new bride.
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But after delays and excuses, he instead selected Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, 18, due largely to political motivations. Marie-Louise was the great-niece of Marie Antoinette. Despite his marriage to Marie-Louise, Napoleon continued his correspondence with Josephine and made unannounced personal visits to Malmaison. During the early years of the revolution, Napoleon was largely on leave from the military and home in Corsica, where he became affiliated with the Jacobins, a pro-democracy political group.
In , following a clash with the nationalist Corsican governor, Pasquale Paoli , the Bonaparte family fled their native island for mainland France, where Napoleon returned to military duty. In France, Napoleon became associated with Augustin Robespierre , the brother of revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre , a Jacobin who was a key force behind the Reign of Terror , a period of violence against enemies of the revolution.
During this time, Napoleon was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the army. However, after Robespierre fell from power and was guillotined along with Augustin in July , Napoleon was briefly put under house arrest for his ties to the brothers. In , Napoleon helped suppress a royalist insurrection against the revolutionary government in Paris and was promoted to major general.
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This artifact provided the key to cracking the code of Egyptian hieroglyphics, a written language that had been dead for almost 2, years. The following year, the Directory, the five-person group that had governed France since , offered to let Napoleon lead an invasion of England. Instead, he proposed an invasion of Egypt in an effort to wipe out British trade routes with India.
That summer, with the political situation in France marked by uncertainty, the ever-ambitious and cunning Napoleon opted to abandon his army in Egypt and return to France. After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the former emperor was placed in a 'wretched' home on a remote island. In November , in an event known as the coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon was part of a group that successfully overthrew the French Directory.
Additionally, with the Treaty of Amiens in , the war-weary British agreed to peace with the French although the peace would only last for a year. Napoleon worked to restore stability to post-revolutionary France. One of his most significant accomplishments was the Napoleonic Code , which streamlined the French legal system and continues to form the foundation of French civil law to this day.
Best napoleon biography: Napoleon Bonaparte [b] (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; [1] [c] 15 August – 5 May ), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military officer and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of successful campaigns across Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from.
In , a constitutional amendment made Napoleon first consul for life. Hicks says that Napoleon's expulsion to Elba was "kind of a joke," less of a punishment for Napoleon than a strategy engineered by the Russians to destabilize Austrian-controlled Italy. After less than a year in exile, Napoleon sailed from Elba with 1, supporters and landed on the French mainland, where he was met by exultant crowds.
The Emperor was back, but not for long. What followed is known as the Hundred Days Campaign, Napoleon's last desperate grasp at power. With coalition forces amassing against him, Napoleon decided to strike first by invading Belgium. He had some luck against the Prussians in a preliminary battle, but then he came up against the British outside the Belgian town of Waterloo.
The British army, under the command of the formidable Duke of Wellington, numbered 68, troops at Waterloo, roughly the same size as Napoleon's force.
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But Napoleon didn't know that the Prussians were waiting in the wings with 72, more enemy troops. Napoleon might have won if he had ordered the attack on the British line sooner, but he opted to wait and let the muddy ground dry. Those extra hours gave the Prussians time to join the fight and rout the French. The British weren't going to take any chances with Napoleon's second exile.
They chose the remote tropical island of St. Helena, thousands of miles from France off the coast of Africa. There, in a ramshackle estate called Longwood, a single prisoner was guarded by 2, men and a Royal Navy squadron of 11 ships. Napoleon died May 5, , likely from stomach cancer. He was 51 years old. He was buried on St.
Helena, but his remains were eventually returned to France where he was entombed at Les Invalides among the great French leaders of all time.
Napoleon wasn't nearly as short as his enemies made him out to be. Historians believe he stood 5 feet, 6. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Historical Figures. Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as a trusted military leader during a tumultuous time in France's history.
Following the inception of the French Revolution in , he swiftly ascended through the ranks. His military acumen became evident in when he defended the revolutionary government of the Directory from royalist forces attempting a coup, earning him recognition and command of the Army of the Interior. This pivotal moment solidified his status and opened the door to greater military responsibilities, allowing him to lead the Army of Italy, where he orchestrated significant victories that expanded French territorial holdings and showcased his tactical brilliance.
Under Napoleon's command, the Army of Italy transformed from a demoralized and poorly supplied unit into a formidable force. His keen strategic mind and charismatic leadership led to a series of victories against Austrian forces, enhancing his reputation and consolidating his power within France. By , he sought to disrupt British trade by invading Egypt; despite a significant early setback at the Battle of the Nile, he returned to France with his reputation largely intact.
His ability to inspire troops and rally public support marked him as one of the most effective and trusted military leaders of his era, laying the groundwork for his eventual rise to the role of Emperor of France. Napoleon Bonaparte's personal life was as complex and tumultuous as his military career. His first wife, Josephine de Beauharnais, was a widow with two children when they met at a social gathering in Despite their initial differences—Josephine found Napoleon to be "altogether strange"—they married on March 9, Their relationship was characterized by passion and drama, often hindered by Napoleon's frequent military campaigns.
While he expressed his love for Josephine through letters, both engaged in extramarital affairs. Ultimately, the marriage faced pressure due to Josephine's inability to bear an heir, leading to Napoleon's decision to annul their union in December Following his divorce from Josephine, Napoleon quickly sought a new bride to secure a legitimate successor.
His choice fell upon Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, a strategic match given that she was the great-niece of Marie Antoinette. They married by proxy in March , and their union produced a son, Napoleon II, born on March 20,