Napolon Bonaparte (/npolin, -poljn/;[2] French: [naple bnapat], born Napoleone di

Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to
prominence during the French Revolutionand its associated wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor
of the French from 1804 until 1814, and again in 1815. Napoleon dominated European affairs for
over a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in theRevolutionary Wars and
the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, rapidly gaining
control of continental Europe before his ultimate defeat in 1815. One of the greatest commanders in
history, his campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide and he remains one of the most
celebrated and controversial political figures in Western history.[3][4] In civil affairs, Napoleon
implemented foundational liberal reforms in France and across Europe. He established a system of
public education,[5] abolished the vestiges of feudalism,[6] emancipated Jews and other religious
minorities,[7] enacted legal protections for an emerging middle class,[8] and centralized state power at
the expense of religious authorities.[5] His lasting legal achievement, the Napoleonic Code, has been
adopted in various forms by a quarter of the world's legal systems, from Japan in Asia to Quebec in
North America.[9][10][11]
Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica to a relatively modest family of noble Italian ancestry.
Serving in the French army as an artillery officer, Napoleon supported the Revolution from the outset
in 1789 and tried to spread its ideals to Corsica, but was banished from the island in 1793. Two
years later, he saved the French government from collapse by firing on the Parisian mobs with
cannons, an event known as the 13 Vendmiaire. The Directory then appointed him as General of
the Army of Italy at age 26. After marrying Josphine de Beauharnais in 1796, he began his first
military campaign against the Austrians and their Italian allies, scoring a series of decisive victories
that made him famous all across Europe. In 1798 he commanded a military expedition to Egypt,
conquering the Ottoman province after defeating the Mamelukes and launching
modern Egyptology through the discoveries made by his army.
The Directory collapsed when Napoleon and his supporters engineered a coup in November 1799.
He was installed asFirst Consul of the Consulate and gradually extended his political control over
France. With the Concordat of 1801, Napoleon restored the religious powers of the Catholic Church
but retained its landed wealth in the hands of the French state. He also signed the short-lived Treaty
of Amiens with the British in 1802, ending the Revolutionary Wars. The Senate eventually declared
him the Emperor of the French in 1804, setting the stage for the French Empire. Intractable
differences with the British meant the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805. Napoleon
shattered this coalition with decisive victories in the Ulm Campaign and a historic triumph at
the Battle of Austerlitz, which led to the elimination of the Holy Roman Empire after the Peace of
Pressburg. In October 1805, however, a Franco-Spanish fleet was destroyed at the Battle of
Trafalgar, allowing Britain to impose a naval blockade of the French coasts. In retaliation, Napoleon

established the Continental System in 1806 to cut off European trade with Britain. The Fourth
Coalition took up arms against him the same year because Prussia became worried about growing
French influence on the continent. After quickly knocking out Prussia at the battles of Jena and
Auerstedt, Napoleon turned his attention towards the Russians and annihilated them in 1807 at
the Battle of Friedland. Friedland forced the Russians to accept the Treaties of Tilsit, the high water
mark of the French Empire.
Hoping to extend the Continental System, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph
Bonaparte the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support.
The Peninsular War, noted for its brutal guerrilla warfare, lasted six years and culminated in an Allied
victory over the French. Fighting also erupted in Central Europe as the Austrians launched another
attack against the French in 1809. Napoleon defeated them at theBattle of Wagram, dissolving
the Fifth Coalition formed against France. After the Treaty of Schnbrunn in the fall of 1809, he
divorced Josephine and married Austrian princess Marie Louise in 1810. By 1811, Napoleon ruled
over 70 million people across an empire that had domination in Europe, which had not witnessed
this level of political consolidation since the days of the Roman Empire.[9] He maintained his strategic
status through a series of alliances and family appointments. He created a new aristocracy in France
while allowing for the return of nobles who had been forced into exile by the Revolution.
Escalating tensions over rising Polish nationalism and the economic effects of the Continental
System led to renewed confrontation with Russia. To enforce his blockade, Napoleon launched
an invasion of Russia in 1812 that ended in catastrophic failure for the French. In early 1813, Prussia
and Russia joined forces to fight against France, with the Austrians also joining this Sixth
Coalition later in the year. In October 1813, a large Allied army defeated Napoleon at the Battle of
Leipzig. The next year, the Allies launched an invasion of France and captured Paris, forcing
Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. He was exiled to the island of Elba. The Bourbons were restored
to power and the French lost most territories they had conquered since the Revolution. However,
Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and returned to lead the French government, only to
find himself at war against another coalition. This new coalition decisively defeated him at the Battle
of Waterloo in June. He surrendered to the British who imprisoned him on the remote island of Saint
Helena. His death in 1821, at the age of 51, was received by shock and grief throughout Europe. In
1840, a million people witnessed his remains returning to Paris, where they still reside at Les
Invalides.[12]