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Napoleon's Birth
Napoleon is born on August 15, 1769 in Corsica. It is an island in the Mediterranean. He had 10 brothers and his parents were Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. He was their fourth child. -
Revolutionary Ideas Reach Saint Domingue
Revolutionary ideas reached the people in Saint Domingue, which was his property in the Americas. This made people demand for the same freedoms and privileges the French had, which eventually led for African Americans to want their freedom too. A civil war was created and African Americans seized control of the colony. -
Napoleon's First Success
Royalist rebels marched to the National Convention and Napoleon was told to defend the delegates. Napoleon and his gunners attacked the royalists with cannons, which panicked them and caused them to flee. Napoleon became a hero and was hailed for saving the French republic. -
Napoleon Leads an Army
Napoleon was instructed by the Director to command a French army. This army was set to fight against Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The army went across the alps and into Italy winning the battle. Next, Napoleon led an expedition into Egypt, but he did not succeed just like in Europe. Horatio Nelson, the British admiral, defeated the naval forces. -
Coup d’État
Napoleon took action for his people and led his troops to surround the national legislature. Due to this the directory was dissolved as a vote from remaining lawmakers. Now instead of a directory 3 consuls were chosen, one of which included Napoleon. Napoleon became First Consul and assumed dictatorial powers, which caused a sudden seizure of power. -
Napoleon Named Consul
A plebiscite, which means a vote of the people, was held in France to vote for a new Constitution. Since the people were desperate for new power and a strong leadership, they voted for a strong leadership. Napoleon was first consul and he had more power due to the Constitution. He had many changes done to the nation, such as installing the Napoleonic Code. -
Napoleon Separates from America
Napoleon makes the decision of taking back the colony in Saint Domingue and to restore the productive sugar industry. However, the rebels were strong fighters and the French army forces were affected by disease. Due to the failed expedition, Napoleon cut losses in America -
Napoleon Crowned Emperor
Napoleon made the decision to become an emperor with the support of the French people. Napoleon walked down the aisle of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, where a crown was placed on his head by himself. With this action, Napoleon was now more powerful that the church. -
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was lost by Napoleon, it was a naval defeat against Horatio Nelson. It occured in the southwest coast of Spain. One of the outcomes of this was the major power of the British navy for about 100 years. Another outcome was that Napoleon’s plans for invading British were canceled and he had to look for other ways for taking over the British. -
Continental System
Napoleon closed the ports to prevent any trade and communication with many European nations, specially Great Britain. This was called the Continental System, which had the purpose of making continental Europe more self-sufficient. But Napoleon also wanted to destroy Great Britain’s economy. -
Napoleon's Empire
Napoleon's empire was huge but was unstable and its greatest extent only lasted about 5 years. The only nations that weren’t under Napoleon’s control Britain, Portugal, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire. Also many countries known as independent were in control of Napoleon’s empire; including Spain, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and a number of German kingdoms in Central Europe. -
Peninsular War
Napoleon sent his army through Spain in order to make Portugal sign the Continental system, which caused the Spanish to protest. The Spanish sent guerrillas in order to ambush the French armies and the British joined them and Napoleon lost about 300,000 men,which weakened his empire. Nationalism became popular amongst countries in Napoleon’s conquer and these turned against the French. -
Invading Russia
Alexander I and Napoleon were allies but the Russians didn’t want to follow Napoleon’s Continental System against the British. This caused the alliance to break and for Napoleon to decide to conquer Russia. Napoleon’s army marched to Russia and the Russian army retreated because it was an unequal battle. The Russian army practiced scorched-earth policy which consisted of killing and destroying and livestock that would help the French in the battle. -
Battle of Borodino
Both the French and Russian army fought in the Battle of Borodino.The Russians fell back and allowed the French to pass to Moscow, but when he arrived, the city was in flames. Instead of surrendering their city, the Alexander the Czar preferred destroying it. -
Napoleon Raises a Army
Napoleon raises another army, but since it was not really the army he wanted. Many of the troops had untrained soldiers and some were ill prepared for battle. The army faced the European powers near Leipzig, Germany. The French quickly lost. -
Napoleon Gives Up His Throne
Napoleon accepts the terms of the surrender. He gives up his throne and is exiled to an island called Elba, near the Italian coast. Napoleon’s enemies thought they were done with him, the were mistaken. -
Napoleon is Defeated
Napoleon attacked the British Army and the coalition, but lost. He was sent by the British to St. Helena, an island in the South Atlantic. He lived there for six years but died in 1821 due to a stomach cancer. -
Napoleon's Ideas Spread
Napoleon dies, but not his ideas. Napoleonic ideas were spread throughout Europe and the world. Ideas, rules, and ways of living, such as the Napoleonic Code, were adopted by people everywhere.
