Biography napoleon bonaparte wikipedia french

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The victory helped cement Napoleon’s power as First Consul. In October of 1795, a royalist mob threatened to overthrow the government, and General Menou attempted to negotiate the disarmament of the mob and failed. The British had reinforced Acre and after two months of unsuccessfully attempting to take the city, Napoleon realized that it would not fall with the forces and supplies available to him.

With this artillery Napoleon fired a "whiff of grapeshot" into the mob and dispersed it, earning the gratitude of the government. Some attempted a failed coup while Napoleon led his charge against Russia and as the British began to advance through French territories. He marched back into Paris with an army, and the Bourbon king Louis XVIII was forced to flee France.

Under his direction, the reinvigorated army won numerous crucial victories against the Austrians, greatly expanded the French empire, and squashed an internal threat by the royalists, who wished to return France to a monarchy. While the colony was still nominally a part of France, it had been somewhat isolated due to British control of the seas and the successive French governments being preoccupied with survival throughout the tumultuous years of the French Revolution.

Always quick to seize the initiative, Napoleon waited until the next day when the ultimatum expired and then quickly maneuvered the Grande Armée into Prussia and crushed the Prussians at the twin battles of Jena-Auerstädt. Trans. A former slave, Toussaint Louverture, had risen to power and now controlled the island.

Instead, he set his sights on Austria and Russia, beating back both militaries in the Battle of Austerlitz.

In 1779, Napoleon began his education at a military college in Brienne, France, where he proved to be an exceptional student. He met Josephine de Beauharnais, the widow of General Alexandre de Beauharnais (guillotined during the Reign of Terror) and a mother of two children, at a party in 1795.

The political executions had been stopped but corruption ran rampant. Enticed by British money, the leaders of Austria and Russia declared war on France and the Third Coalition was born. His father’s death in 1785 forced him to take on family responsibilities, further catalyzing his determination to rise in ranks and make a significant impact in military and political arenas.

By this time he had astounded both Austria and France by managing to lead his army to victory despite the odds against them.

Expedition to Egypt

Great Britain still threatened France though, and next General Bonaparte was appointed to command the Army of England. Initially aligned with nationalist sentiments, his father later switched allegiance to the French, which opened the door for Napoleon and his brother Joseph to attend military school in France.

Napoleon decided to escape from Elba to France where he could regain control of his destiny instead of being subject to the whims of the coalition powers. Napoleon, upon arriving that day and learning of his friend's death, wept by his side for most of the day. The widow of General Alexandre Beauharnais who was guillotined during the Terror, Josephine was six years older than Napoleon and had two children from her previous marriage.

The most interesting evidence of this theory is a strong correlation between dates of his sickness and high levels of arsenic in his hair.