The Rise of Napoleon

 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

 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

 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

 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

 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

 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

 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

 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

 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

 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