Napoleon Bonaparte

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Napoleon Bonaparte
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Napoleon

• Napoleon is one of the worlds best known
  generals.
• He gave France prestige and honor they had been
  longing for following their bloody revolution.
• Throughout his life Napoleon always did the best
  he could but was never quite satisfied with his
  achievements.
• This could possibly have been major factor in his
  downfall.
• His impact on history will make his name
  remembered through generations in the years to
  come.

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Napoleons Childhood

• Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 on the
  Island of Corsica.
• He was the second child of eight in his family.
• His father was a very prominent lawyer and a
  fighter for French independence.
• For this reason Napoleon was allowed into
  military school in Paris at the age of 9.
• Napoleon was very smart and quickly gained
  respect both in school and in the government.
• He graduated at age 16 and joined the artillery
  as a lieutenant.

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The Revolution

• Napoleon was made commander of French army in
  1796 due to his role in saving Frances Directory
  from an angry mob.
• He used artillery tactics to stop the mob.
• By this time the Directory was in a downward
  spin.
• By 1798 the Directory was over thrown.

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A New Dictator

• After taking control of the government in a coup
  de etat the French held an election known as the
  plebiscite.
• In this election Napoleon Bonaparte was given
  total power and became the dictator of France.
• He immediately passed a series of laws called the
  Napoleonic Codes.
• These laws limited personal freedom and the
  rights of women.

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A New Empire

• Napoleon quickly began to spread his new French
  empire.
• Many people put him in the same category as
  Alexander the Great in terms of being a great
  conqueror.
• His studies as a boy helped him a great deal as
  he won battles across Europe and even into Africa.

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A Fallen General

• Countries around France were afraid of Napoleon's
  growing power.
• His greatest mistake was an invasion of Russia in
  1812.
• European powers rose up against Napoleon
  following this invasion and he was exiled to the
  island of Elba.
• In his absence King Louis XVIII was given the
  crown of France.
• He did almost nothing to move France forward.
• Napoleon was broken hearted for his people. So
  he escaped from Elba and reclaimed the throne for
  100 days.
• After a defeat at Waterloo, Belgium he was once
  more exiled.
• This time to the island of St. Helena where he
  lived until his death in 1821.

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The End
Special thanks to McDougal Littell, World
History- Patterns of Interaction.