Napoleon Bonaparte Quiz

The Life and Career of Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was a Corsican-born French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution.
He was the de facto leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again in 1815.
Napoleon's political and cultural legacy endures to this day, as a highly celebrated and controversial leader.
He initiated many liberal reforms that have persisted in society and is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history.
Between three and six million civilians and soldiers died in what became known as the Napoleonic Wars.
Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica, not long after its annexation by France, to a native family descending from minor Italian nobility.
He supported the French Revolution in 1789 while serving in the French army, and tried to spread its ideals to his native Corsica.
He rose rapidly in the Army after he saved the governing French Directory by firing on royalist insurgents.
Napoleon engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic.
Differences with the United Kingdom meant France faced the War of the Third Coalition by 1805, which Napoleon shattered with victories in the Ulm campaign and at the Battle of Austerlitz.
Napoleon had an extensive impact on the modern world, bringing liberal reforms to the lands he conquered, especially the regions of the Low Countries, Switzerland, and parts of modern Italy and Germany.
Napoleon was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic, where he died in 1821 at the age of 51.Napoleon Bonaparte's Rise to Power and Military Triumphs
Napoleon Bonaparte married Joséphine de Beauharnais two days before leaving for the Italian campaign as commander of the Army of Italy.
Bonaparte's Italian campaign saw rapid victories against the Kingdom of Sardinia and a protracted struggle for Mantua against the Austrians.
The French triumph at Rivoli led to the collapse of the Austrian position in Italy and the Treaty of Campo Formio, which gave France control of most of northern Italy and the Low Countries.
Bonaparte's military strategy combined conventional military ideas with his own tactics, including the creative use of artillery as a mobile force to support his infantry.
In the Italian campaign, Bonaparte's army captured 150,000 prisoners, 540 cannons, and 170 standards, while extracting an estimated $45 million in funds from Italy.
Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition aimed to establish a French presence in the Middle East, but his forces faced repeated uprisings and failed to reduce the fortress of Acre.
Back in France, Bonaparte took advantage of the ineffective Directory and overthrew it by a coup d'état, becoming the first consul for ten years.
Bonaparte established a political system of "dictatorship by plebiscite," securing his own election as First Consul and drafting the Constitution of the Year VIII.
The Battle of Marengo in 1800 secured Napoleon's political authority and boosted his popularity, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801.
The Treaty of Amiens in 1802 brought the Revolutionary Wars to an end and increased Napoleon's popularity, leading to a new plebiscite that made the Consulate permanent and elevated him to dictator for life.
Napoleon's broad powers were spelled out in the new constitution, preserving the appearance of a republic but establishing a dictatorship.
Napoleon's military triumphs and rise to power were due to his strategic and tactical innovations, as well as his political maneuvering and manipulation of public opinion through plebiscites.Napoleon's Reign and Military Campaigns
Napoleon was proclaimed First Consul for Life in the new French constitution in 1802.
Napoleon tried to reestablish control over French colonies abroad, including Saint-Domingue, by reinstating slavery.
Napoleon sent an expedition to Saint-Domingue, which failed due to high rates of disease and the success of the Haitian slave revolt led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803, doubling its size.
Napoleon was elected as Emperor of the French in a referendum with heavy participation, justifying the creation of an imperial system based on the Roman model.
Napoleon's coronation, at which Pope Pius VII officiated, took place at Notre Dame de Paris in 1804.
Napoleon created eighteen Marshals of the Empire from among his top generals to secure the allegiance of the army in 1804.
The Third Coalition, consisting of Great Britain, Russia, and Austria, was formed against Napoleon in 1805.
Napoleon's Grande Armée, consisting of 350,000 well-equipped and well-trained men, captured Vienna and defeated the Allies at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805.
The creation of the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806 marked the end of the Holy Roman Empire and alarmed the Prussians.
The Fourth Coalition, consisting of Prussia, Russia, Saxony, and Sweden, was formed against Napoleon in 1806.
Napoleon defeated the Prussians at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt and signed the Treaty of Tilsit with Russia, which established a Franco-Russian alliance in 1807.Napoleon's Military Campaigns and Conquests
Napoleon's bataillon-carré system involved the various corps of the Grande Armée marching uniformly together in close supporting distance.
In 1806, Napoleon invaded Prussia with 180,000 troops and defeated them at the twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt, capturing 140,000 soldiers and hundreds of ammunition wagons.
Following his triumph, Napoleon imposed the Continental System through the Berlin Decree issued in November 1806, which prohibited European nations from trading with Britain.
The Peninsular War was a six-year struggle that significantly sapped French strength, with brutal guerrilla warfare that disrupted the French lines of supply and communication.
After the invasion of Russia in 1812, the number of French troops in Spain vastly declined as Napoleon needed reinforcements to conserve his strategic position in Europe.
The Napoleonic invasion of Spain and ousting of the Spanish Bourbon monarchy in favor of his brother Joseph had an enormous impact on the Spanish empire, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence.
In 1809, Austria sought another war with France and attacked Bavaria, leading to the Battle of Aspern-Essling, which was the first defeat Napoleon suffered in a major set-piece battle.
Napoleon eventually caught up with the Austrians at Znaim and the latter signed an armistice on 12 July, leading to the Treaty of Schönbrunn in October 1809, which was the harshest that France had imposed on Austria in recent memory.
Napoleon divorced Empress Joséphine on 10 January 1810 and married the 18-year-old Archduchess Marie Louise, daughter of Emperor Francis II, hoping to cement the recent alliance with Austria through a family connection.
In 1811, Marie Louise gave birth to a baby boy, whom Napoleon made heir apparent and bestowed the title of King of Rome.
Tensions between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander increased by 1811, leading to the invasion of Russia in 1812.
The French army entered Moscow on 14 September 1812, but the city was largely abandoned and set on fire by the Russians, leading to the disastrous Retreat from Moscow.
Napoleon's empire was ultimately defeated in 1814, leading to his exile on the island of Elba.