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Napoleon's father, Carlo, was a tall, charismatic, handsome young lawyer. He had fought wth the famous Paoli to gain Corsica's independence, before accepting French rule and attaining modest success in island politics. But regrettably for the Buonapartes, the intensely sociable Carlo was free with his money at the best of times and trips away on family business ate away at his finances. Carlo's health grew weak, and died at the age of 37, leaving his wife with eight children to care for alone.
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Born on the island of Corsica to a noble family, Napoleon's mother, Letizia, was a natural beauty of Italian descent. A strong woman indeed, she possessed native wit, and an unusually perceptive mind, Napoleon always said that it was to her, and her upbringing, a careful mix of strictness and tenderness, whom he owed everything that he became. Although well-born, like other Corsican girls, she had received no formal education, and her modesty endured until the last day of her long life...
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Charming, kind-hearted and graceful, Josephine, the love of Napoleon's life, was born on the exotic Caribbean island of Martinique, then a French possession, to a noble family of sugar plantation owners. After a young and unhappy marriage to a French nobleman, which brought two children, Josephine was imprisoned during the Terror for her noble birth, and awaiting the guillotine, before she met and married young Napoleon, and her place in history was assured.
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Napoleon shared a great emotional connection with his mild oldest brother, Joseph, who was his close confidant. Though lacking in vigour, he was a skilled lawyer, poltician and diplomat, and during his brother's reign, was made king of Naples, and then king of Spain. After Napoleon's defeat, Joseph moved to the United States, where he entertained many of the leading intellectuals and politicians of his day at his house. He returned to spend his final years in Europe, and died in Italy in 1844.
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The Republic of Genoa cedes Corsica to King Louis XV of France, meaning the Napoleon is born a French subject.
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Napoleon Bonaparte is born in the seaport of Ajaccio, Corsica, on a small island nestled in the Meditarranean between France and Italy. His family was of noble Italian ancestry, but France owned the island, so Napoleon was a French citizen by birth.
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Napoleon and Lucien, both strong characters, had a notoriously rocky relationship. A diehard Jacobin, talented Lucien was said to have been an even better public speaker than Napoleon, who he was a great help to, but they had many political/personal disagreements. Spurning imperial honors, he became estranged from his brother and went into self-imposed exile, but offered Napoleon his help during the Hundred Days, was among the last to stand by his side. He spent the rest of his life in Italy.
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Elisa was Napoleon's eldest sister, and it is fair to say that they didn't quite see eye to eye, because, he said, of her sharp tongue. Not as beautiful as her sisters, she was, however, an intelligent and cultured woman, and when Napoleon, confident of her ability to rule, gave her Piombino and Lucca, he was so impressed that he later made her grand duchess of Tuscany. Patroness of the arts, she did much to develop the resources of the country. After Napoleon's fall, she was exiled.
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Louis was Napoleon's favourite brother, but he suffered from emotional problems that limited his accomplishments. He received a military education, and followed his brother into the army, joining him in Egypt. The arranged marriage between him and Josephine's daughter, Hortense, led to dreadful results. Napoleon made him King of Holland, but really intending that he would serve as no more than the Dutch governor. But Louis rebelled, Napoleon removed him from the post, and he settled in Rome.
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Beautiful and capricious Pauline, was Napoleon's favourite sister, and developed a reputation independent of him. Playful and charming, she early attracted a legion of admirers, and soon married General Leclerc, whom she joined in Haiti before he died, and she remarried Prince Borghese, one of - if not the - richest man in Italy, eight months later. She had a string of lovers, was know for her broader love of sensual and material pursuits, but wasn't power-hungry, and remained loyal to Napoleon.
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Caroline was Napoleon's youngest sister, beautiful, extravagant, and ambitious. She secured for herself and her husband, Murat, many benefits, including the Kingdom of Naples, as a result of her intriguing nature. Her relations with Napoleon became strained as she associated herself with the shifting allegiances of her husband, and supported his decision to abandon Napoleon to save the throne for themselves. Her husband was executed by the Allies, and she died in exile in Florence.
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Napoleon completes his studies at Ecole Militaire in Paris, one of the best military schools in Europe. He was interested in a naval career, but as there was no intake for the navy, his flair for mathematics was such that he was assigned to the artillery upon graduation.
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Jerome was the wild brother of the Bonapartes, and closely resembled in looks and nature, his father. His family were indulgent to the little charmer, and he joined the navy, where he met his first wife in America. But Napoleon did not approve, and Jerome rejected her in order to partake of the advantages of empire. Napoleon made him King of Wurttemberg, but they had a fair few to-do's on account of his extravagance, He showed his military talent at Waterloo, and later re-entered politics.
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At sixteen, he graduates as a humble second lieutenant.
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Napoleon first made his name here as a young Captain of Artillery, by spotting an ideal place for the cannons to be set up in such a way that they dominated the city's harbour.
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The English forces which had invaded the city were repelled, and Napoleon was promoted to Brigadier-General, a few days later.
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Bonaparte was serving in Paris when royalists and counter-revolutionaries organized an armed rebellion against the National Convention. Bonaparte was given command of the improvised forces defending the Convention in the Tuileries Palace. Using the "whiff of grapeshot" he was able to drive the mob away from the National Convention, and was called the saviour of the Revolution.
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Within weeks of driving the royalists from the National Convention, Napoleon is romantically linked to Josphine de Beauharnais.
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Two days after the marriage, Napoleon left Paris to take command of the Army of Italy leading it on a successful attempt to drive the Austrians away from France, and out of Italy.
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In March 1798, Bonaparte proposed a military expedition to Egypt, then a province of the Ottoman Empire, seeking to protect French trade interests and undermine Britain's access to India. The Directory readily agreed so the popular young general would be away from the center of power.
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The land battles were a success, but the British Navy continued to control the seas.
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Upon returning from Egypt, Napoleon was able to overthrow the Directory in a bloodless coup d'etat. He created a new consitution and became First Consul of France.
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Napoleon set out to reform the French legal system in accordance with the principles of the French Revolution. Before the Code, France did not have a single set of laws. Napoleon set out to create a set of laws that were easily accessible, just, and easy to understand. The Napoleonic Code forms the basis of many legal systems in Europe today.
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One of Napoleon's greatest victories, the Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, effectively brought to an end on Third Coalition against France.
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The Continental System was the foreign policy of Napoleon, to prevent the British from trading on the European continent, in an attempt to force Britain, who had been almost continuously at war
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The Battle of Friedland saw the French Army's defeat of Russian forces, effectively bringing to an end the Fourth Coalition against France.
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Despite his love for her, Napoleon needed an heir to cement his relatively young empire; but Josephine was now too old to have children. Napoleon told her that they must divorce for the good of France. , despite his love for her,
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Archduchess of Austria
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15th Jun, 1812 Napoleon Invades Russia Napoleon's attempts invasion of Russia, when the Tsar fails to keep his promises from a previous treaty. Eventually the Russians "scorched earth policy" and the Russian winter took its toll on the Grand Armee. When Napoleon left Russia, of the 600,000 troops he had at the beginning of the invasion, 500,000 were either killed, captured or deserted along the way.
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Borodino The Battle of Borodino was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 total casualties. Still Napoleon was unable to destroy the Russian forces completely.
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The Battle of the Nations (or Battle of Leipzig) was one of the most decisive defeats suffered by Napoleon Bonaparte.
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Napoleon abdicates in favour of his son, but the Allies of the Sixth Coalition refuse.
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Napoleon abdicates unconditionally on April 11, and is sent into exile on the island of Elba. The Allies allow him to have the title of "Emperor of the isle of Elba", and 1,000 loyal men follow him into exile.
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He lands in France on March 1, 1815. Marching along the Alps, Napoleon gains support along the way, even turning the troops that Louis XVIII sent out to destroy him , to his side.
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Napoleon arrives in Paris and is welcomed with open arms. He has re-conquered France without firing a single shot.
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Napoleon's forces are defeated near the village of Waterloo in Belgium. The French army, 69,000 strong, which at 7pm. had all but won against an army of 120,000 men, saw victory snatched from it by the untimely arrival of General Blucher with 30,000 fresh Prussian troops.
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