Napoleon I was an emperor of the French, who gathered and made official many reforms of the French Revolution. One of the greatest military commanders of all time, he conquered the larger part of Europe and did much to improve the nations he ruled. His changes have forever altered the course of French history.
Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica, and was given the name Napoleone. He was the second of eight children of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino Buonaparte. No Buonaparte had ever been a professional soldier. Through his father抯 influence, Napoleon was educated at the expense of King Louis XVI, at Brienne and the 蒫ole Militaire, in Paris. Napoleon graduated in 1785, at the age of 16, and joined the artillery as a second lieutenant.
After the Revolution began, he became a lieutenant colonel in the Corsican National Guard. In 1793, however, Corsica declared independence, and Bonaparte, a French patriot and a Republican, left for France with his family. He was assigned, as a captain, to an army attacking Toulon, a naval base that, aided by a British fleet, was in revolt against the republic. Replacing a wounded artillery general, he seized ground where his guns could drive the British fleet from the harbor, and Toulon fell. As a result Bonaparte was promoted to brigadier general at the age of 24. In 1795 he saved the revolutionary government by attacking a mob in Paris. In 1796 he married Jos閜hine de Beauharnais, the widow of an aristocrat guillotined in the Revolution and the mother of two children.
In all the new kingdoms created by the emperor, the Code Napol閛n was established as law. Feudalism and serfdom were abolished, and freedom of religion was established. Each state was granted a constitution, allowing men to vote and a parliament and containing a bill of rights. French-style administrative and judicial systems were required. Schools were put under centralized administration, and free public schools were created. Higher education was opened to all who qualified, regardless of class or religion. Every state had an academy or institute for the arts and sciences. Incomes were provided for famous scholars, especially scientists. Constitutional government remained only a promise, but progress and increased efficiency were widely realized. Not until after Napoleon抯 fall did the common people of Europe, separated from his governments by war taxes and military draft, fully appreciate the benefits he had given them.
The belief by many that Napoleon was a man of destiny began during his lifetime. In fact, he had begun to plan it during his first Italian campaign by smoothly publicizing his victories. As first consul and emperor, he had engaged the best writers and artists of France and Europe to glorify his deeds and had contributed to the belief himself by the elaborate ceremonies with which he celebrated his rule, calling himself the provider of France抯 greatest glory. He maintained that he had preserved the achievements of the Revolution in France and offered their benefits to Europe. His goal, he said, was to found a European state a federation of free peoples. Through this, he became the hero of the French and a martyr to the world. In 1840 his remains were returned to Paris at the request of King Louis-Philippe and enclosed with great pomp and ceremony in the Invalides, where they still lie.
Napoleon抯 influence is still in France even today. Reminders of him dot Paris, the most obvious being the Arc de Triomphe, the centerpiece of the city, which was built to memorialize his victories. His spirit fills the constitution of the Fifth Republic; the country抯 basic law is still the Code Napol閛n, and the administrative and judicial systems are still Napoleonic. A uniform state-regulated system of education persists. Today, the impact of the Code Napol閛n is apparent in the law of all European countries.
Napoleon was a driven man, never secure, never satisfied. Power is my mistress, he said. His life was work-centered; even his social activities had a purpose. He could bear amusements or vacations only briefly. His tastes were for coarse food, bad wine, cheap snuff. He could be charming, but only for a purpose. He had intense loyalties to his family. Nothing and no one, however, were allowed to interfere with his work.
Napoleon was sometimes a tyrant and always an absolute leader, but one who believed in ruling by mandate of the people, expressed in votes. He was similar to the enlightened monarch. Few deny that he was a military genius. At Saint Helena, he said, Waterloo will erase the memory of all my victories. He was wrong. He is best remembered as a general and leader, and is justly called Napoleon the Great.
Word Count: 786
|
|
