Napoleon was born in Ajaccio Corsica, on August 15, 1769, the son of Charles Bonaparte, an advocate, and of Letizia Ramollno. He was one of the most illuminating figures in modern history, a figure whose story displays, the great conflict of vanity and personality with the claims of the common good.

In his tenth year he was sent to the military school of Brienne, from his mother he must have inherited his force of character. A strong, managing woman, she had even birched him at the age of sixteen! After a short time spent at Paris he received, in 1785, his commission as lieutenant of artillery. During the development of the revolution Napoleon took the popular side, but in a quiet and undemonstrative way.

In 1792 he became captain of artillery, and in 1793 he was sent, with the commission of lieutenant-colonel of artillery, to assist in the reduction of Toulon, then in the hands of the British.

The place was captured (19th December) entirely through his strategic genius; and in the following February he was made a brigadier-general of artillery. In 1795, when the mob of Paris rose against the Convention, Napoleon was made commander of the 5000 troops provided for its defence. He had only a night to make arrangements, and next morning he cleared the streets with grape, disbanded the national guard, disarmed the populace, and ended the outbreak. On the 9th March, 1796, he married Joséphine Beauharnais, Soon after he had to depart to assume the command of the army of Italy against the forces of Austria and Sardinia. After a series of victories, culminating in that of Lodi (10th May), Naples, Modena, and Parma hastened to conclude a peace; the pope was compelled to sign an armistice; and the whole of Northern Italy was in the hands of the French.

At the age of twenty-seven he was given command of the Army of Italy, for the French navy was not yet ready, and their offensive was directed on land against Austria. Defeating army after army, he forced his way to within sixty miles of Vienna and compelled the Austrians to sue for peace. With an inferior and ill-supplied army he struck down the last enemy of France on land in an incredibly short time. This, the first, was in many ways the most brilliant of his campaigns. Profiting by the mistakes of his enemies, who continually divided their forces, he depended on his own rapid movements to defeat them always by striking at their weakest point. Army after army sent by Austria was defeated (at Roveredo, Bassano, Arcole, Rivoli, &c.);

No time could have been more propitious for the advent of a man of military and administrative genius than the years which followed the downfall of Robespierre. France was at war with Austria and Great Britain, the interior vexed with civil strife and brigandage. The State was well-nigh bankrupt, foreign and home trade at a. standstill. Throughout the country there was no sense of security. Such was the anarchy created by six years of revolution. And in Napoleon Bonaparte, the Corsican adventurer, France had found a man to save her from herself.

Napoleon carried the war into the enemy's country; Napoleon without reference to the Directory dictated the Peace of Campo Formio (Oct. 17, 1797), Austria ceded the Netherlands and Lombardy, and received the province of Venetia. The pope had previously been forced to cede part of his dominions. Napoleons provinces, in Italy with part of Vanetia, were to be formed into a Cisalpine Republic.

In December, 1797, Napoleon returned to Paris, the Directory dared not quarrel with their general, much as they resented his independent action. To him, indeed, at this time, they owed their continued existence, they gladly assented to his plan of invading Egypt as a means of striking at British power in the East and restoring to France her lost colonies. Napoleon was put in command of the expedition, and on the 1st July, 1798, he landed at Alexandria. This city fell on the 4th July, and Cairo was taken on the 24th, after the sanguinary battle of the Pyramids.

But the destruction of the French fleet on Aug. 4th by Nelson at the Bay of Aboukir in the Battle of the Nile (1798), perhaps the only great naval encounter fought at night, dissipated his hopes. All means of return to Europe for the French were thus cut off; but Napoleon having suppressed with rigour a riot in Cairo, advanced to attack the Turkish forces assembling in Syria. He took El Arish and Gaza, and stormed Jaffa. But after sixty days siege he was compelled to abandon the attempt to capture Acre, which was defended by a Turkish garrison under Djezzar Pasha, assisted by Sir Sydney Smith and a small body of English sailors and marines. He re-entered Cairo on the 14th June, 1799, and on the 25th July attacked and almost annihilated a Turkish force which had landed at Aboukir. On the 22d August he abandoned the command of the army to Kléber, and embarking in a frigate landed at Fréjus, 9th October, having eluded the English cruisers. He hastened to Paris, secured the co-operation of Moreau and the other generals then in the capital, he overthrew the government a coap d'etat (1799) and abolished the Directory on the 18th and 19th Brumaire (9th - 10th November). A new constitution was then drawn up chiefly by the Abbé Siéyès, under which Napoleon was made first consul, with Cambacérès and Lebrun as second and third consuls.

The Consulate, which ruled for five years, was carefully designed to disguise the fact that the First Consul was invested with autocratic powers. From this time Napoleon was virtually ruler of France.

Napoleon's government was marked by active vigour in the administration of civil affairs, the centralization which the Revolutionaries had to destroy was re-established. Finances were restored the credit of the country being largely renewed by the creation of the Bank of Franco in 1800. In all these reforms he employed men of talent regardless of their past political record.

But war was his element, and in 1800 he resolved to strike a blow at Austria. Having executed a daring march into Italy across the Great St. Bernard, he defeated the Austrians at Marengo, and after the decisive battle of Hohenlinden Austria obtained peace by the Treaty of Lunéville, 1801. He set himself to heal the quarrel with the Church, recognizing that civil war in France had been caused by the persecution of the old religion and clergy, and by the wild attempts of revolutionaries to abolish all forms of Worship. He saw the necessity of religion and he restored it not merely for its own sake but as an invaluable factor towards his own aggrandizement. The Concordat (1801) with the Pope recognized the Roman faith in France. But the State was to nominate the bishops and pay the clergy, and the confiscated Church lands were not to be restored.

Treaties were subsequently concluded with Spain, Naples, the pope, Bavaria, Portugal, Russia, Turkey, and finally, on the 27th March, 1802, the treaty known as that of Amiens was signed by Britain. Napoleon then turned his mind to the resettlement of France. His first measure was to ensure that his power would be felt throughout all the land by his direct appointment of all local officials. Napoleon was proclaimed by a decree of the senate consul for life.

In 1803 war had again broken out with Britain, and Napoleon collected an army and flotilla which were to invade England.In the midst of his invasion scheme Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French (1804). "I found the crown of France lying on the ground," he said, "and I picked it up with my sword." For eleven years he never ceased to wield that sword.Upwards of 3,000,000 votes of the people being giver in favour of this measure. To this period belongs the famous body of civil laws known as the Code Napoleon. By this the complex and often obsolete laws and customs were reduced to a single system representative of the new society born of the Revolution. The work was done by a committee of experts over which Napoleon often presided. This code remains the basis of modern French law, and has had a wide influence on the Continent and America. In public works and in education Napoleon showed equal energy and foresight.

But the Peace of Amiens did not last, for Napoleon had not fulfilled his promise to withdraw from the Netherlands, and Britain refused to evacuate Malta. In 1805 Britain, Russia, Austria, and Sweden united against Napoleon, who marched at once across Bavaria at the head of 180,000 men, and compelled the Austrian General Mack to capitulate at Ulm with 23,000 men (20th October). For the third time Napoleon set himself to overthrow the sea-power of Britain. An elaborate campaign was arranged including plans for an invasion of England on a vast scale. The Battle of Trafalgar (1805) destroyed in one blow all his hopes, but for ten more years war ravaged the plains of central Europe. On the 13th November he entered Vienna, and on December 2, having crossed the Danube, he completely routed the allied Russian and Austrian armies at Austerlitz. The Austrian emperor instantly sued for peace, giving up to France all his Italian and Adriatic territories.

One by one the enemies of France fell before the genius who had raised the country from the edge of the abyss of ruin. In February, 1806, a French army occupied the continental part of the Neapolitan states, of which Joseph Bonaparte was declared king on the deposition of their former sovereign. Another brother of the emperor, Louis, became King of Holland. Various districts in Germany and Italy were erected by the conqueror into dukedoms and bestowed upon his most successful generals.This brought him into collision with Prussia, and war was declared on 8th October. On the 14th Napoleon defeated the enemy at Jena, while his general, Davoust, on the same day gained the victory of Auerstädt. On the 25th Napoleon entered Berlin and issued the celebrated Berlin Decrees, directed against British commerce.

"Roll up that map," exclaimed the dying Pitt when he heard the news, "it will not be wanted these ten years."

He then marched northwards against the Russians, who were advancing to assist the Prussians. At Pultusk (28th December) and at Eylau (8th February, 1807) he met with severe checks; but on the 14th June was fought the battle of Friedland, which was so disastrous to the Russian arms that Alexander was compelled to sue for an armistice. On the 7th July the Peace of Tilsit was concluded, by which the King of Prussia received back half of his dominions, and Russia undertook to close her ports against British vessels. The Duchy of Warsaw was erected into a kingdom and given to the King of Saxony; the Kingdom of Westphalia was formed and bestowed upon Jérome, Napoleon's youngest brother; and Russia obtained a part of Prussian Poland, and by secret articles was allowed to take Finland from Sweden. As Portugal had refused to respect the Berlin Decrees, Napoleon sent Junot to occupy Lisbon (30th November, 1807). The administrative affairs of Spain having fallen into confusion, Napoleon sent an army under Murat into that kingdom, which took possession of the capital, and by the Treaty of Bayonne Charles IV. resigned the Spanish crown, which was given to Joseph Bonaparte, Murat receiving the vacant sovereignty of Naples. The great body of the Spanish people rose against this summary disposal of the national crown, and Britain aided them in their resistance. Thus was commenced the Peninsular war, which lasted seven years. A French squadron was captured by the British at Cadiz (June 14,1808); General Dupont surrendered at Baylen with 18,000 men (22nd July); Junot was defeated by Sir Arthur Wellesley (Wellington) at Vimeira (21st August). But Napoleon rushed to the scene of action in October at the head of 180,000 men, and entered Madrid in spite of all resistance by the Spaniards on the 4th December. The British troops, now under Sir John Moore, were driven back upon Corunna, where they made a successful stand, but lost their general (16th January, 1809). In the meantime Austria again declared war and got together an army in splendid condition under the Archduke Charles. Napoleon hurried into Bavaria, encountered the archduke at Eckmuhl (22nd April), and completely defeated him; on the 13th May he again entered Vienna. On May 21st and 22nd he was himself defeated at Aspern and Esslingen; but on the 6th July the Austrians were crushed at Wagram, which enabled Napoleon to dictate his own terms of peace; these were agreed to on the 14th October at Schönbrunn.

On his return to Paris Napoleon was divorced from Joséphine, who had borne him no children, and on the 2nd April, 1810, he was married to the Archduchess Maria Louisa of Austria. The fruit of this union was a son, Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte.

The years 1810 and 1811 were the period of Napoleon's greatest power. On the north he had annexed all the coast-line as far as Hamburg, and on the south Rome and the southern Papal provinces. Napoleon would have the States of Europe revolve like planets round the glorious sun of France, dependent for their light and life upon her rays.

But the ambitious dream of world conquest did not endure, aided by unhampered power at sea and by the national spirit of the Portuguese and Spaniards, Wellington drove the French from Spain. It was a long and evenly-matched campaign, but the French marshals learnt to value the quality of the British troops. The "Spanish Ulcer" was a steady drain on the resources of Napoleon, and for once he was tested and found wanting. Unwilling to go to Spain himself, he refused to hand over the direction of the war to another. From Paris he issued his orders. Dispatches took three weeks to reach Madrid; small wonder that his plans went constantly astray.

Russia found it impossible to carry out the continental blockade and give due effect to the Berlin decrees; so in May 1812 Napoleon declared war against that country, and soon invaded it with an army of about 500,000 men. The Russians retired step by step, wasting the country, carrying off all supplies, and avoiding as far as possible general engagements. The French pushed rapidly forward, defeated the Russians at Borodino and elsewhere, and entered Moscow only to find the city on fire. It was impossible to pursue the Russians farther, and nothing remained but retreat. The winter was uncommonly severe, and swarms of mounted Cossacks incessantly harassed the French, now sadly demoralized by cold, famine, disease, and fatigue. Of the invaders only about 25,000 left Russia.The Moscow expedition (1812) hastened his downfall. Considered as a single campaign it was the most colossal disaster in modern history. In the retreat men fell by the wayside in their thousands. It was the beginning of the end, Napoleon immediately ordered a fresh conscription, but the spirit of Europe was now fairly roused.

Another coalition, consisting of Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, Sweden, and Spain, was formed, which early in 1813 sent its forces towards the Elbe. Napoleon had still an army of 350,000 in Germany. He defeated the allies at Lützen, at Bautzen, and at Dresden; but the last was a dearly-bought victory for the French, who were now so outnumbered that their chief was compelled to fall back on Leipzig. There he was completely hemmed in, and in the great 'Battle of Nations,' which was fought on the 16th, 18th, and 19th October, he was completely defeated. He succeeded in raising a new army, and from January to March, 1814, he confronted the combined hosts of the allies. But numbers were against him; and Wellington, having driven the French out of the Peninsula, was advancing from the south. On 30th March the allies captured the fortifications of Paris, and next day they entered the city.

The war of liberation had begun and, hemmed in by a united Europe, Napoleon was forced to surrender at Waterloo (1815).

On 4th April Napoleon abdicated at Fontainebleau. He was allowed the sovereignty of the island of Elba, with the title of emperor and a revenue of 6,000,000 francs, and Louis XVIII. was restored.

On the abdication of the emperor his son (Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte) accompanied his mother, Maria Louisa of Austria, to Vienna. His title there was Duke of Reichstadt. He never assumed the title of Napoleon II.; but on the accession of his cousin Louis Napoleon in 1852, some title being necessary, the late emperor took that of Napoleon III., which being recognized by the governments of Europe, implied the recognition of the former title.

After a residence of ten months Napoleon made his escape from the island, and landed at Fréjus on the 1st March, 1815. Ney and a large part of the army joined him, and he made a triumphal march upon Paris; but it was mainly the army and the rabble that he now had on his side. The allied armies once more marched towards the French frontier, and Napoleon advanced into Belgium to meet them. On the 16th June be defeated Blucher at Ligny, while Ney held the British in check at Quatre-Bras. Wellington fell back upon Waterloo, where be was attacked by Napoleon on the 18th, the result being the total defeat of the French. The allies marched without opposition upon Paris. Napoleon abdicated in favour of his son, and tried to escape from France, but failing he surrendered to the captain of a British man-of-war. With the approval of the allies he was conveyed to the island of St. Helena, where he was confined for the rest of his life. In every department of civil and military administration his intellectual power was unsurpassed. No man, perhaps, ever had so great a belief in himself. The dazzling successes which he gained early in life partially account for his final failure, for they led to supreme self-confidence, lack of scruple, over-ambition and the running of unjustifiable risks. It is hard to believe Napoleon's statements, made in exile at St. Helena, that he professed liberal doctrines of government, the rights of small nations and love of peace!

He died in May 1821, and was buried in the island, but in 1840 his remains were transferred to the Hôtel des Invalides at Paris.