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Napoleon is Born
Napoleon was born in 1769. He was born on the Mediterranean island called Corsica, which was originally Italian but became French. His family was of the second estate, or low nobility. -
Sent to Military School
When Napoleon was nine years old, he was sent to military school. He graduated 7 years later at age 16, where he became a lieutenant in the artillery. He later joined the army of the new government after the French Revolution started -
Defending the National Convention
Napoleon was given the responsibility of defending the National Convention in October of 1795. He set up a cannonade and the crowd was dispersed within minutes. He became a hero and was hailed for saving the French Republic. -
Appointed in the Army
Napoleon was appointed to lead the French army against Austria and Sardinia in 1796, where he had a series of incredible victories. Afterwards, he went to Egypt to try and stop trade with the English, but he failed. This failure was not public knowledge, so he was still regarded as a hero back home due to his previous victories. -
Coup D'etat
In 1799 the Directory had lost its power in France. Napoleon was urged to seize power, so he became First Consul and established two more. He had become dictator of France, through the coup. -
Plebiscite
In 1800 a plebiscite was held to approve a new Constitution. The public voted strongly for it, given they were desperate for new leadership. This officially gave all the power to Napoleon as First Consul. -
Finally at Peace
In 1802 Britain, Austria, and Russia signed peace agreements with France. They had previously joined forces against France, but due to war and diplomacy they had to step down. Europe was finally at peace for the first time in 10 years. -
Failure in America
In 1803 Napoleon sold all his Louisiana territory to the United States. He was making up for his losses in the Americas, which he failed to conquer. He would use this money to conquer Europe. -
Battle of Trafalgar
In 1805 Napoleon faced his only loss in the Battle of Trafalgar. It was a Naval battle against Britain off the coast of Spain, going against general Horatio Nelson. This battle was disruptive for Napoleon’s plans; it assured Britain’s naval domination for 100 years and it lead to the eventual downfall of Napoleon. -
Battle of Austerlitz
In 1805, after the Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon had forced Austria, Prussia, and Russia to sign a peace treaty. Napoleon had finally achieved the massive European empire he and his troops dreamed of. The only enemy left was Britain. -
Continental System
In November 1806 Napoleon developed the Continental System. It was a system that Napoleon created to prevent all the trading between Great Britain and other European nations. Napoleon intended to destroy Great Britain’s commercial and industrial economy. -
Peninsular War
In 1808, Napoleon sent an invasion force to Spain. He was attempting to get Portugal to accept the “Continental System”. The Spanish were not happy with this so in response, guerrillas attacked his army and he lost over 300,000 men. -
Massive Empire
By 1812, Napoleon controlled most of Europe, he had built and expanded the French empire the entire decade. The only areas not under his control were Britain, Portugal, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire. However, thanks to its size, it was incredibly unstable, so it didn’t last very long. -
Never Invade Russia in the Winter
In June of 1812, Napoleon and his 420,000 man army rushed into Russia since the czar refused to stop trade with Britain. The Russian army kept retreating until they finally met in the Battle of Borodino, where the Russians lost once more. However, Alexander destroyed Moscow before Napoleon got there, and his army died from hunger, cold, and exhaustion, with only 10,000 men left. -
A New Army
In only a few months, Napoleon managed to raise another army to prepare against Britain, Russia, Sweden, and Austria. However, most of his troops were untrained and ill prepared for battle. He faced the allied armies of the European powers outside the German city of Leipzig in October 1813. -
First Defeat
Napoleon wanted to fight on, but his generals refused. In April 1814, he accepted the terms of surrender and gave up his throne. The victors gave Napoleon a small pension and exiled, or banished, him to Elba, a tiny island off the Italian coast. -
Escape from Elba
Louis was having trouble back in France, which was incentive enough for Napoleon to try and regain power quickly. He escaped from Elba and, on March 1, 1815, landed in France. Joyous crowds welcomed him on the march to Paris. -
Napoleon Strikes Back
On June 18, 1815, Napoleon attacked. The British army defended its ground all day. Late in the afternoon, the Prussian army arrived. Together, the British and the Prussian forces attacked the French. -
Defeat at Waterloo
Two days later,on June 20, 1815 Napoleon’s exhausted troops gave way, and the British and Prussian forces chased them from the field. He’d lost the Battle of Waterloo. That’s when Napoleon was captured and led to the Hundred days. -
Death in Saint Helena
Napoleon had lost his last chance, and the British took over. He was exiled to a remote island in the South Atlantic called Saint Helena. There, Napoleon died in 1821 of a stomach ailment, perhaps cancer, after living alone for 6 years.
