Pages from the Life of Napoleon Bonaparte - Research Paper Example

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the renowned commanders of France. He was known especially for his character and undertakings like his being a risk taker in gambling, an impatient short-term kind of planner and more so a workaholic genius. He was a critic and despite this he would always forgive his traitors. In his lifetime he became an emperor of France twice and during his tenure his persona outstood in Europe and beyond which (his tenure), his thought lingered in most for about a century in the same continent. (Wilde, 2011) Napoleon Bonaparte, though a leader in the ancient times has had his name carried on through generations. In other words his name is iconic globally, more so in Europe and most specifically in France. This is a study set out to analyse the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte and to this there will be a study question to be answered. This question will be, “Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?” Napoleon Bonaparte birth date is marked as 15th of August of 1769 and he was born in an island of Corsica known as Ajaccio to his parents Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Bonaparte. This man rose through the military courtesy of his high level efficiency in the military to become France’s Napoleon I. He is fundamentally a French legend and a global historical icon and the line of demarcation between the two is a blur. His works have most specifically triggered numerous film makers, writers and playwrights alike to come up with imaginations that portray him as a true legend. Since Napoleon was a young child, his urge was just to become a militant. (lucidcafe.com, 2011) In year 1783, Napoleon was the recommendation of his masters to be sent to the Royal school of military in Paris from Brienne. This was particularly an outstanding achievement for the 14-year-old proficient boy. In this military school, he gave up his three years of life to concentrate upon his studies. In fact he laboured hard at the school that his achievements are hard to capture in a book as most authors put it. He became an exemplarily performing mathematician as well as developing a profound interest in historical figures in politics. (Lockhart, 2005 p11) In year 1793’s fall, the conflict in the town of France known as Toulon extended for about three weeks. In this battle that involved blasts of cannon and fired muskets was none other than the youthful captain by the name Napoleon Bonaparte of the Republic of France. He was a conspicuous leader who, in spite of his short stature, boldly made directions to his troop. This young soldier assumed his role without any struggle. This conflict formed part of the revolution that happened in France and that saw the then French King ousted from power in the period running from year 1789 and 1799. The involved revolutionaries had launched a republic as well as bringing together a fighting force formed of approximately 800,000 army officers. This formed the biggest army in the continent of Europe then. In this army, Napoleon was just an upcoming young officer. (Landau, 2006 p7) Napoleon would have been condemned a great extent, as he played his role in the army, had the French revolution become disadvantageous to the less wealthy as well as the less influential in the French society. His great skill in this battle while he was only a captain in the army under the then General of the Army Dugommier Jacques, cleared his path to glory, and his rise to power was quite quick. The revolutionary army constituted about 11,000 members and the siege took almost four months. That is, from late August to mid December of year 1793. The end of this battle was seen by the capturing of Fort Mulgrave as well as the L’Eguillette’s promontoty by the French forces under the youthful Napoleon. These two achievements by the French forces mentioned earlier, offered France a vantage position in command over the harbour in the inner parts following the withdrawing by the Allies. Napoleon got a promotion to become Brigadier-General in December of 1793 just subsequent to the Toulon’s siege performance. Afterwards, he was made the inspector of the coast and which left him based in Nice- a place located in the Southern area of France. He was now at the age of 25 and his career was proving quite promising. This would aid his lifting the living standards of his impoverished background. (historyofwar.org, 2006) France was facing a new coalition since Russia and Austria had become allied to Britain. Napoleon came back to Paris at a time when the French government was facing a crisis. Subsequently, following the coup d’état of November of 1799, Napoleon became the first consul. In year 1802, Napoleon was made a life consul and in the following two years Bonaparte became the emperor of France. During his time as an emperor he centralized the government, created the Bank of France, saw the law reform with the Napoleon code and brought back the Roman Catholicism as the state religion of the Republic of France. Therefore, he did numerous changes to the system of France while in power. In the year 1800, Napoleon came out victorious against the Austrians at the place called Marengo. Afterwards, he negotiated for a general tranquil in Europe and this escalated the position in terms of power that France held on this continent. In year 1803, Britain went back to their clash with France and they were later on joined by Austria and Russia against France. The French Navy was defeated by Britain in year 1805 at Trafalgar and therefore, the urge that Napoleon had to raid England died and he decided to turn to the forces of Russia and Austria with the inclusion of annexing Prussian lands. This in a way gave Napoleon power over the continent of Europe. This saw the dissolution of the Empire of Rome, the creation of Westphalia and Holland and over the following half a decade the relatives of Napoleon as well as loyalists were made leaders of Italy, Naples, Sweden, Spain, Holland and Westphalia. (bbc.co.uk, 2011) While he made the Emperor of France, Napoleon’s coronation was as planned carefully as was his character in his undertakings in the army. This task of organizing the coronation was given to L. Ph. De Segur, who was the Grand Ceremonies’ master as well as A. L. De Remusat, who was the then First Chamberlain. The temporary decorations were done by the Architects Fontaine and Percier. The pomp of this day of Coronation started after several deputations from the French cities were done as well as the Navy and Army, the judiciary, the legislative assemblies, and Legion of Honor among others. The papal procession started at Tuileries and Pope Pius VII, besides the grand officers and cardinals of the Curia came to this coronation riding in highly decorated horse-pulled coaches. This Papal procession was headed by a bishop who rode on a mule and carrying the crucifix of the Pope. The next to these were the cavalcade of the emperor and the governor of Paris by the name Marshal Murat led this procession. The next to these came the distinguished Army regiments which were specially distinguished in that case followed by the leading officers of the government riding in carriages which were drawn by six horses. The other carriage was that of Napoleon’s siblings and the very last was the royal coach of Napoleon which richly ornamented with gold besides the emblazoning with a capital N. The emperor was dressed in purple-coloured velvet which was also embroidered with gold and other gems and besides him was his very decorated wife. Bonaparte imposed upon the Republicans with a lot of skill his preferences the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris and at the same time obtained their consent with the Pope’s presence. The damaged Notre-Dame cathedral during the French Revolution was saved from being demolished and it was instead decorated for the coronation of Napoleon in 1804 and afterwards it was wholly restored in the period running from 1845 to 1864. The ceremony went on as planned. This is despite the fact that there were malicious stories about Napoleon grabbing the crown of the Pope. (georgianindex.net, 2011) In conclusion, the demise of Napoleon Bonaparte was rather controversial. There have been rumours that it was poisoning. More particularly it had been said to be an arsenic poisoning, which has not been established as to whether it was an accident case or murder. His death is in fact rated as one of the most controversial. This is no surprise since for many years now arsenic has been said to blame for numerous deaths of celebrities and politicians in particular. (Henke, 2009 p288) It is quite evident from the study that Napoleon Bonaparte’s life was outstanding both while in the Army and while he was the French Emperor. In fact his works cannot be contained in a single book. This conclusion is in pursuit of answering the study question, “Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?” Work Cited: bbc.co.uk . Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821). (2011). Retrieved 20th October 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bonaparte_napoleon.shtml georgianindex.net. Napoleon's Coronation as Emperor of the French. (2011). Retrieved 20th October 2011 http://www.georgianindex.net/Napoleon/coronation/coronation.html Henke, Kevin R. Arsenic: environmental chemistry, health threats and waste treatment. Edition illustrated. John Wiley and Sons. (2009). p288. historyofwar.org. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). (2006). Retrieved 20th October 2011 http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_napoleon.html Landau, Elaine. Napoleon Bonaparte. Edition illustrated. Twenty-First Century Books. (2006). p7. Lockhart, John Gibson. Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France. Edition reprint. Cosimo, Inc. (2005). p11. lucidcafe.com. Napoleon Bonaparte. Emperor of the French, 1769 – 1821. (2011). Retrieved 20th October 2011 http://lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/napoleon.html Wilde, Robert. Napoleon Bonaparte. (2011). Retrieved 20th October 2011 http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/bonapartenapoleon/a/bionapoleon.htm   Read More