NAPOLEON: Emperor of France

NAPOLEON: Emperor of France ( and almost of all of Europe!)

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Focus Questions for: Napoleon!

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What was Napoleon Bonaparte’s real last name?

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Why was Napoleon made fun of at military school?

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What did Britain have that Napoleon could never really challenge?

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What was Napoleons first ‘title’ when he was leader of France?

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The ‘Continental System’ was designed to destroy the economy of.....?

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What country had a major problem with the “Continental System”?

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What was it called when you burn everything when you retreat, so that the enemy can not use it?

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How many troops did Napoleon take into Russia? How many came back with him?

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Where did Napoleon spend his first, ‘100 Days’ exile?

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What does it mean when you have suffered your “Waterloo”?

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Where did Napoleon die?

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Who crowned Napoleon as Emperor of France?

• Napoleon Bonaparte was the son (born in 1769) of an Italian, from the Island of Corsica. The Island had been Italian, then lost to France in a war. Thus the Italian family de Bounaparte became Bonaparte. He was of minor nobility ( the last name means "of good name") and his father actually worked for Louis XVI for a little while. • As many good families do, Carlo Bonaparte sent his son Napoleon to military in school, as a career as an officer was very respectable.

• Young Napoleon Bonaparte ( from here on lets just say Napoleon) was a very gifted student, excelling in the most intellectual of he military branches, Artillery (required superb math and organization skills). He was not very popular at first as the other students made fun of his heavy Italian accent. Never one to accept teasing, he was often in fights and usually won them, earning his classmates respect. • After graduation Napoleon was stationed back in his home island of Corsica, where he supported the French Revolution against Louis XVI.

"I have fought sixty battles and I have learned nothing which I did not know at the beginning. Look at Caesar; he fought the first like the last."

• The young officer impressed the new leaders of Republican France, and he was appointed General, and head of all Artillery forces of the FrenchArmy in Italy. He took it upon himself to invasion Austria, and defeated a very large Austrian Army. He was becoming well known as a great military thinker.

• Napoleon returned to Paris the young conquering hero. He was loved by the new leaders of France, but they also feared how popular he was becoming. He was ordered to go and fight the British forces then in Egypt.

• While fighting in Egypt, Napoleon scored major victories. However, the British Royal Navy controlled the sea. Napoleon would never really be able to challenge the British Navy. • After Egypt, Napoleon was called back to Paris....but he was getting tired of taking orders from others...

• After returning to Paris in order to save the new French rulers from the people of Paris ( who were tired of waiting for their lives to get better!), Napoleon insisted he be appointed, along with two others, as a "Directory" to rule France. It did not take long for the other two leaders to lose power as Consuls, and Napoleon becoming "First Consul"; Dictator of France.

• The rest of Europe was eager to reverse this silly "French Revolution" and put a new King of France on the throne from the rightful Bourbon family. Napoleon was right when he said that all of Europe was his enemy. One by one he defeated Austria, Prussia, British Army in Europe, etc.

• He was even able to force other countries to take orders from him, otherwise he would invade them. He could not invade his biggest enemy though, Britain remained safe across the water. • Red- Greater France • Gold- Countries under Napoleons direct control • Yellow-Countries that took orders from him, but were not happy about it. • Grey- Countries not yet under his rule or influence

• In order to break the British, Napoleon came up with the "Continental System" ; this plan simply said that no nations in Europe would be allowed to trade with Great Britain. Napoleon hoped to destroy the British economy! • There were many in Europe who did not like this system as they made a lot of money from trade with Britain. Russia, under the rule of Tsar Alex I, felt they should not have to suffer to help France and Napoleon. Alex told Napoleon he would not follow the "Continental System"!

• Napoleon decided to punish Russia and take it over directly. He assembled the "Grand Armee" of 700,000 troops to invade the Russian Empire. Things went well at first, and Napoleon was able to move over a lot of territory. However, he was not winning major battles, and the further he got into Russia the more difficult it became. He was able to conquer Moscow, but it had been burned by the Russians ( 'scorched Earth' ; destroy whatever the enemy can use!). It was a hollow victory!

• Napoleon was now faced with the horrible idea that he would have to retreat from Russia. His 'Grande Armee' started the long march back to France. Out of the 700,000 who went in, only 40,000 made it back to France. • Napoleon was defeated, knew it, and went into British captivity without much more of a fight.

• The British treated Napoleon well, and basically gave him an island off of France, close to where he grew up. He was allowed to take a few loyal followers with him to this island, called Elba, and basically left alone. • Back in Paris, the allied forces placed Louis XVIII onto the thrown of France and figured the had ended the "French Revolution" once and for all. • However, Napoleon grew restless, and knew that he was still a hero in France...he and his followers got into a ship, and sailed, determined to regain the throne!

• Louis XVIII sent a large army down to southern France to meet Napoleon and crush him.

• Napoleon knew he was very out gunned and could not win a battle...so, instead of fighting the French army sent to destroy him, he simply walked out in front of them and dared any to shoot "their Emperor". The entire French Army cheered him, and joined his forces to march on Paris. • Louis XVIII heard of this and quickly left France!

• The Allied Forces said that the would not permit this ( even though Napoleon stated that when he took power again he did not want any more war) and launched an attack. Napoleons new army met the allied army in a little town in what is today Belgium (it was France then): Waterloo.

• Waterloo was a defeat for Napoleon, and again he was captured by the British.

• This time the British exiled Napoleon to the island of St.Helena, a cold and rainy rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was there in 1821, 6 years after his capture in 1815, that Napoleon died. He probably died of stomach cancer, though rumors persist that the British poisoned him to make sure he never gained power again.

• His body was brought back to Paris, where it lies today.

• Some odd facts about Napoleon: • When Napoleon was crowned "Emperor of France" he refused to let the Pope place the crown on his head; he stated that the almighty did not make him leader, he did it himself. So he placed the crown on his own head, and his wifes. • He took a 2 hour bath each day ( when not in the battlefield) • He was not short; he was 5' 7", not short at all for the time.

• Napoleon, the great military genius, was horrible at the ultimate military game, Chess; he often cheated.