Napoleon I, 1769-1821, emperor of the French; b. Ajaccio, Corsica, son of Carlo
and Letizia Bonaparte. Young
Napoleon was sent to military schools in France and received a commission in the
French artillery in 1785. After the start of the French Revolution, he took part
in the Corsican rebellion against Pasquale Paoli and was forced to leave the
island. Returning to France, Bonaparte was associated with the Jacobins and
gained notice by dislodging (1793) the British from Toulon. He was briefly
imprisoned in 1794, but his career was reopened when the Convention was assailed
(Oct. 1795) by a Parisian mob, and Napoleon was called on to disperse it. Made
commander of the army in Italy, Bonaparte conducted the brilliant Italian
campaign (1796-97) against Austria and concluded it with the favorable Treaty of
Campo Formio. Bonaparte then drew up a plan to strike at Britain's colonial
empire by attacking Egypt. His victory over the Mamluks in the battle of the
Pyramids (July 1798) was made useless when the French fleet was destroyed in
Aboukir Bay (Aug. 1-2) by British Adm. Nelson. Leaving a hopeless situation in
Egypt, Bonaparte returned to France and joined a conspiracy already hatched by
Emmanuel Sieyès.
The French Directory was overthrown by the coup of 18 Brumaire (Nov. 9-10, 1799),
and the Consulate was set up with Bonaparte as first consul, or dictator. He
centralized the administration, stabilized the currency, and reformed the tax
system. He also made peace with the Roman Catholic Church by the Concordat of
1801 (see under concordat) and reformed the legal system with the Code Napoléon.
In 1800 Napoleon defeated the Austrians at Marengo, Italy (June 14), and the
treaties of Lunéville (1801) and Amiens (1802) made peace with Austria and
Britain respectively. This phase is generally considered to divide the French
Revolutionary Wars from the Napoleonic Wars. In 1802 Napoleon became first consul
for life, and in 1803 Britain again declared war on France.
Napoleon had himself crowned emperor in 1804 and proclaimed king of Italy in
1805. The Third Coalition was formed (1805) against him by Britain, Austria,
Russia, and Sweden, but Napoleon crushed the Austrians at Ulm, and won (Dec. 2,
1805) his most brilliant victory at Austerlitz, over the Austrians and Russians.
Prussia, which joined the coalition in 1806, was defeated at Jena (Oct. 14).
British sea power, however, grew stronger with Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.
Napoleon then instituted the Continental System to try to halt British trade with
France and her allies. On land, war with Russia continued. The indecisive battle
of Eylau (Feb. 8, 1807) was made good by Napoleon at Friedland (June 14). The
treaties of Tilsit (July 1807) with Russia and Prussia left Napoleon master of
the Continent. The whole map of Europe was rearranged. The Holy Roman Empire was
dissolved (1806), and the kingdoms of Holland and Westphalia were created, with
Napoleon's brothers Louis and Jérôme Bonaparte as kings.
A third brother, Joseph, became (1806) king of Naples and was made (1808) king of
Spain. In 1809 Austria's attempt to reopen warfare was squelched at Wagram (July
6), and Napoleon annexed the Papal States to France despite the objections of
Pope Pius VII. In 1809 Napoleon also had his marriage to the Empress Josephine,
whom he had married in 1796, annulled. He then married (1810) Marie Louise of
Austria, who bore him a son.
Britain remained an opponent, and the Continental System proved difficult to
enforce. Napoleon's first weakness had appeared in the Peninsular War (1808-14),
and his alliance with Russia was tenuous. When Czar Alexander I rejected the
Continental System, Napoleon invaded (1812) Russia with the 500,000-strong Grande
Armée. After the indecisive battle of Borodino (Sept. 7), Napoleon entered
Moscow, but the winter and lack of supplies forced him to begin a disastrous
retreat that became a rout after his troops crossed the Berezina R. in late
November. Napoleon left his army and hastened to Paris to prepare French
defenses. Prussia quickly turned against France and was joined in a coalition by
Britain, Sweden, and Austria. The allies defeated the emperor at Leipzig (Oct.
1813), pursued him into France, and took Paris (Mar. 1814). Napoleon abdicated
(Apr. 11, 1814) and was exiled to the island of Elba, which the allies gave him
as a sovereign principality. His victors were still deliberating at the Congress
of Vienna when Napoleon landed at Cannes and marched on Paris. King Louis XVIII
fled, and Napoleon ruled during the Hundred Days. He was defeated, however, in
the Waterloo campaign (June 12-18, 1815) and abdicated again. Sent as a prisoner
of war to the lonely British island of Saint Helena, he died there of cancer on
May 5, 1821. His remains were returned to Paris in 1840. Estimates of Napoleon's
place in history differ widely. Beyond doubt one of the greatest conquerors of
all time, he also promoted the growth of liberalism through his lasting
administrative and legal reforms.The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia is licensed from Columbia University Press. Copyright © 1995 by Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.