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294 Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte) Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte) (1769–1821) French emperor and military leader Napoleon Bonaparte is regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in history, changing the map of Europe and developing new laws, civil codes, and educational systems that continue to the present day He is recognized as one of the most famous men in history, being the subject of countless biographies, with one writer suggesting that only Jesus and Adolf Hitler have had more biographical studies written about them Napoleone Buonaparte, as his name was known in Italian, was born on August 15, 1769, at Ajaccio, Corsica, shortly after the island was ceded to France by Genoa He was the fourth child, and the second surviving one, of Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer, and his wife, Letizia (née Ramolino) The Buonapartes were descended from Tuscan nobility who had moved to Corsica in the 16th century, with Carlo Buonaparte marrying his wife when she was 14 In an interesting twist, Carlo Buonaparte disliked the idea of French rule over Corsica and joined the nationalist resistance movement of Pasquale Paoli When Paoli fled after his defeat at the Battle of Ponte Novo on May 8, 1769, ending Corsica’s brief experience of independence, the Buonapartes made an accommodation with the French, and Carlo became the assessor for the judicial district of Ajaccio in 1771 Seven years later, he managed to get his eldest two sons, Joseph and Napoleon, into the Collège d’Autun Napoleon was nine years old EDUCATION AND EARLY CAREER Although Napoleon Bonaparte was a Corsican by birth and ancestry, in later life he never felt a huge affinity for the island; indeed he only visited it once after his rise to power After the Collège d’Autun, Bonaparte spent five years at the Brienne Military College and then a year at the military academy in Paris While he was at the military academy his father died, on February 24, 1785, leaving the family in difficult financial straits Bonaparte graduated in September ranked 42nd in a class of 58, having assumed the position as head of the family, although he was not the oldest son Bonaparte had become interested in mathematics and science His first military posting was as a second lieutenant in the artillery, being sent to Valence There he became extremely interested in military strategy, writing his first book, Lettres sur la Corse, which expressed some of his early feelings for the island of his birth He returned to Corsica soon afterward and in June 1788 rejoined his regiment By this time he had also become fascinated by many of the ideas of the Enlightenment, especially those of Rousseau and Voltaire With the calling of the National Assembly in Paris in 1789, Pasquale Paoli had been allowed to return to Corsica, and Bonaparte wanted to go and join him The Corsican nationalist, however, was upset that Bonaparte’s father had deserted his cause, and Bonaparte returned to France, where, in April 1791, he was appointed first lieutenant of the 4th Regiment of Artillery at Valence He also became active in politics, joining the Jacobin Club However, his emotional attachment was still with Corsica, and he returned there but had a falling out with Paoli, returning to metropolitan France, where he had been briefly listed as a deserter In April 1792 war with Austria broke out, and Bonaparte’s skills were needed by the artillery Although he was promoted to captain, Bonaparte went back to Corsica yet again There he sided with the Corsican Jacobins who were trying to prevent Paoli from getting Corsica to break away and become independent Condemned by Paoli, the entire Buonaparte family fled to the French mainland, adopting the spelling “Bonaparte.” Bonaparte went to Nice, where the Jacobins had gradually come to dominate the republican movement The monarchy had been abolished, and Bonaparte went to Marseille with his soldiers from the National Convention To get to Marseille, he took them to Toulon, where he was appointed commander of the National Convention’s artillery with the support of Antoine Saliceti, who was also from Corsica and a longtime family friend In September Bonaparte was promoted to major and in October became adjutant general He was involved in fighting at Toulon in December and forced the British troops there to evacuate the city On December 22, 1793, at age 24, Bonaparte became a brigadiergeneral, one of the youngest generals in modern history, a feat subsequently bettered only by Francisco Franco AFTER THE FRENCH REVOLUTION When Maximilien Robespierre fell from power in Paris in July 1794, Bonaparte was arrested on a charge of conspiracy and treason As a Jacobin, Bonaparte had been seen as a follower of Robespierre, and even though he managed to get his freedom, he was not restored to his command but, instead, in March 1795, he was sent to La Vendée, where he was placed in command of the artillery of the Army of the West Bonaparte was unhappy at the demotion and sought military preferment and even considered, albeit briefly, leaving France
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