Napoleon Bonaparte Biography

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Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15th, 1769 to Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. He was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, France. Napoleon had eleven siblings, but only eight survived through their whole life. Around the time Napoleon was born, his birthplace, Ajaccio, was occupied by the French, and the amount of local resistance was growing steadily. After Napoleon’s father showed his support towards the French, he was promoted to assessor of the judicial district of Ajaccio. This was a large accomplishment that allowed him to enroll his sons, Napoleon and Joseph, in France's College d'Autun.
Napoleon soon found himself at the military college of Brienne. He studied there for a total of five years, and then transferred to the military academy located in Paris. Napoleon’s father died of stomach cancer in 1785. After this tragic event, Napoleon felt the need to step up as the head of his family. He graduated early from the academy as the second lieutenant of artillery, and went home to Corsica. Soon after returning, Napoleon sided with the French, and moved his family to France. This is where they assumed the French version of their last name, which was Bonaparte.
With the return to France, came the return to the French military service for Napoleon. He soon became a big fan of the Jacobins, a very well-known political group involved in the French Revolution. Within these eventful years, France has been declared a republic, and King Louis XVI was executed. This lead to the reign Robespierre, his rule was called the “Reign of Terror.” It was a dark period in French history. Many innocent citizens were killed, until the Jacobins were ripped from power, and Robespierre was executed for good. This time period made many good opportun...

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...trength to keep him going. He fits with this time period, because he was motivated by war and violence. In present time, we try to work things out with less violence, but back then they solved everything with violence. Napoleon fit in, because that was how his mind was geared.
I believe that Napoleon was somewhat successful, but not extremely. He was a brilliant military commander who had many victories, but he also had an equal amount of losses. He was not as great as Caesar, or Alexander the Great, but he did accomplish a good amount. He influenced the government of France, their military, and the view from other countries on France. He put a more militaristic view in the government’s eye, and he also taught the citizens to never trust another Bonaparte.

Works Cited

Heuston, Kimberley. Napoleon Emperor and Conqueror. Canada: Franklin Watts,
2010. Print.

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