Napoléon Bonaparte [1]
Since the execution of Louis XVI, terrible dangers continued to menace the new republic: the England, Holland, Spain, Austria and Prussia formed a coalition and attacked France.
At the beginning, the French armies lost many battles, but the French solders defended the new republic with heroism. Soon the foreign invasion was stopped and the enemy was forced to retreat.
Among the officers who were distinguished themselves, there was one named Napoléon Bonaparte.
This young solder was born in Ajaccio, on the island of Corsica. Before the revolution, Napoléon served in the King’s army. At the age of 24 he commanded the artillery of the republic army which recaptured Toulon from English. He was a military genius. He became a general at the age of 26 and won an important victory in Italy. He forced the Austrians to sign the peace of Campoformio [2], which gave Belgium to France.
After defeating the Austrians, Bonaparte wanted to force the English to sign peace. He made an expedition to Egypt, because he wanted to cut the English route to India. He won the battle of the Pyramids, but he did not conquer the country. The English blocked the French army and did not allow it return to France.
In France, the government was in disorder: the royalists were trying to destroy the republic, and France had a new threat from coalitions.
Bonaparte secretly left Egypt and returned to France. His brilliant campaign on Italy and his audacious campaign on Egypt had made him very popular. He became a national hero.
Due to his popularity and the weakness of the government, Bonaparte was able to make a coup d’État and be appointed First Consul. Five years later, in 1804, he proclaimed himself Empire of the France. He had the pope of Rome came to crown him emperor in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and take the name of Napoléon I.
The army of Napoléon I was the most formidable of all the armies of Europe. It was called the Grand Army. Napoléon himself commanded his army. France then had to fight England, Austria, Prussia and Russia. Napoléon won a great number of victories.
Napoléon had married Joséphine de Beauharnais. He had his marriage annulled to marry Marie-Louse, daughter of the Emperor of Austria.
Europe then seemed stabilized. The French Empire extended from the north of Germany to Pyrenees, and from the Atlantic Ocean to Turkey.
Napoléon then made the mistake to invade Russia. His soldiers occupied Moscow. The Russians set the city on fire and destroyed all the provisions. Without food and protection against the harsh Russian winter, the solders of the Grand Army were forced to retreat.
After the disaster, Napoléon was forced to abdicate. He was exiled to the island of Elba in Mediterranean, not far from Corsica where he was born.
One of the brothers of Louis XVI, the Count of Provence, returned to France and became the king under the name of Louis XVIII. The monarchy was restored. This period was called the Restoration.
Soon, there was again a change in public opinion. Napoléon had not lost his prestige yet. He took the advantage of this to escape from the island of Elba. He landed in France and after addressing a magnificent proclamation to his soldiers, he took the Alpes route with his old soldiers and officers.
Napoléon led his army through France to Belgum where he encountered the English. One hundred days after his return to France, he was defeated at the battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815.
Waterloo marked the fall of Napoléon. He was forced to abdicate a second time. He was exiled permanently to the island of Saint Helena. There he died 6 years late in 1821.
Napoléon is one of the greatest military leaders in all of history, but France was not able to keep the countries which it had conquered.
Napoléon was also a great statesman. He made lots of good for the country. He gave France a new civil code, the Napoléon code, which is still the basis of all laws in France. He created the bank of France and new secondary schools, the lycées. He concluded an arrangement with the pope, which was called the Concordat. He founded the order of the Legion of Honor. These are contributions which have had a profound influence on modern France.
[1]. Translated by me from: p. 109. Napoléon Bonaparte. Easy French Reader. R. de Roussy de Sales. 2nd Ed. McGraw-Hill. New York…Toronto. 2004
[2]. Campoformio. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Campo_Formio
