Download Napoleon Bonaparte

The Rise of Napoleon
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Napoleon Bonaparte was
born on the Island of
Corsica (in the
Mediterranean Sea, of the
coast of Italy) in 1769
He was the son of Lower
Nobility
This meant that he had
some of the advantages of
Nobility but not all
For example, his family was
not very wealthy and he
could never hold a
prominent position because
he was not part of the elite
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At 10 years old, his father sent
him to France to train as an
officer in the French Military
Napoleon immediately rose to
the top of his class and excelled
in all subjects
He was also well liked by his
classmates and a born leader
Napoleon chose to become an
artillery officer
Artillery was a new field and not
considered as honourable as
Cavalry or Infantry
Napoleon understood that he
had a greater chance of
promotion in Artillery because
he would not to compete with
the sons of high nobility
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As with most educated
people of his day,
Napoleon read the
works of the
Enlightened
philosophes
He was attracted to
their ideas because he
had supreme
confidence in his own
abilities
He hated the fact that
his potential was
limited by his birth
status
He loved the concept
that power and status
should be based on
talent and that
everyone should have
equal opportunities
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Napoleon was 20 when the
revolution started
He was a young officer in the
French Military who supported
the National Assembly
When war broke out, Napoleon
led one of the few French units
to win victories
Napoleon star began to rise
when the Jacobins took power
The Jacobins loved Napoleon
for his victories and his loyalty
Napoleon loved the Jacobins for
their commitment to
enlightened principles
The Jacobins gave Napoleon
command of an entire French
army group
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Napoleon was a military genius
and was able to help push foreign
armies out of France
He used his knowledge of
Artillery to devastate his
opponents
He did not follow the traditional
strategy of the day, he was very
aggressive and sought to simply
destroy the enemy
Tactically, Napoleon would
“divide and conquer” If he faced
an inferior opponent, he divided
his forces; if he faced a superior
opponent, he forced them to
divide
He was also a fantastic motivator
and his troops were able to march
more quickly than any other force
in Europe, this allowed him to
choose which battles he wanted to
fight
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When the Jacobins fell from
power, Napoleon realized he
could be viewed as an enemy
of the new government
He travelled back to France
and offered his services to the
Directory
The Directory was not strong
and faced internal enemies
and protests
Napoleon proved his loyalty
to the directory by firing
canons into a Paris mob
To reward him, the directory
gave him and even larger
section of the French army
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In a surprising and bold
manoeuvre, Napoleon
invaded Austrian
controlled Italy
He caught the Austrian
Army completely by
surprise and won an
incredible victory
He then negotiated his
own peace treaty with
Austria and took parts of
Italy and Holland for
France
He instantly became a
National hero and was the
most popular person
France
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The Directory realized the
potential of Napoleon’s
popularity
The commissioned painting of
him and did everything possible
to boost his public image
They attempted to link
themselves to Napoleon’s fame in
order to secure the loyalty of the
people
They exploited his image for their
own political gain
Napoleon, meanwhile was sent to
Egypt to combat British forces
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Napoleon was internationally humiliated after a letter to his
brother was intercepted by the British – he talked of his
wife’s affair
Then the British defeated the French Navy and Napoleon
was cut off from fresh supplies
Napoleon left his army behind and traveled back to France
When he came back, his brother convinced him to take
control
Napoleon then asked for control of the Paris Guards
He soon gained their loyalty and attacked the Directory
Ironically, the Directory was defeated by the soldiers who
were supposed to protect them
The Directory surrendered without a shot being fired, their
plan to exploit Napoleon had tragically backfired
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Napoleon claimed to be a “Son of the Revolution” and
his seizure of power was saving the Revolution from
ultimate defeat
Napoleon turned his attention on the war. Now that
he was in complete command, France was able to end
the war victoriously
Napoleon wished to legitimize his new position and
wished to become a King.
The Pope came to Rome to crown him.
However, in another stunning move, Napoleon took
the crown from the Pope’s hands and crowned himself
This is why Napoleon became the Emperor of France
and not the King – he was 35 years old