Napoleon’s Rise to Power
by After revising the constitution in 1802 he made himself consul for life and then two years later in 1804 made himself emperor. He went on to rule over more people since the days of the Romans but his empire like all great empires would fall.
Napoleon was Born in Ajaccio, Corsica on august 15th1769. Corsica, previously under Genoese control was made a part of France in 1768 and as a French citizen he was eligiblefor a scholarship for the sons of underprivileged nobles. In1779 he entered the Brienne military academyand a few years later in 1784 entered the Parisian militaire and completed his education only a year later in a coarse that usually took three. When Napoleon graduated in 1785 he was commissioned a second lieutenant and due to his mathematical skills he was put into the artillery division of the army.
His opportunity to enhance his military career came in 1789 when the French revolution broke out and he advanced quickly through the ranks. At the siege of Toulon, Napoleon played a huge role in reclaiming the port from the Royalists. In October of 1795 only two years later he took on the role of Commander of the Interior as brigadier general, an extraordinary accomplishment. When he fired off the famous “whiff of grapeshot” an artillery volley that suppressed the uprising royalists in Paris Napoleon obtained command of the Italian army as a reward for actions in Paris and in his first field command he started building his reputation with his many victories over the Austrians.
By 1797 he controlled Italy as well as Austria and was by now considered a hero to the French. He didn’t stop there though, instead he kept displaying his ambition that remained typical of his whole career. Because he knew his army wasn’t strong enough to cross the English channel and invade Britain he instead took 40,000 men to Egypt where he spoiled the British trade with India. Even though he won several victories over the Turks that were occupying Egypt, Horatio Nelson had defeated the French fleet at Alexandria.
Napoleon returned to France rather than fight a battle that could not be won. On his return to France he participated in an uprising against the empowered directory. On November 9, 1799 after a successful coup he became the first consul as well as the de facto leader of France. After revising the constitution in 1802 he made himself consul for life and then two years later in 1804 made himself emperor. His empire like all great empires would fall but that is another story.
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