Napoleon
Great PeopleA Corsican outsider
Napoleon was born in 1769 in Ajaccio, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, which France had annexed only the year before. He grew up speaking Italian and was mocked for his accent at his French military school. The boy who would rule France began his life as an outsider to it.
Rise through the Revolution
The French Revolution shattered the old order and opened a path for talented, ambitious men. A young artillery officer, Napoleon made his name at the siege of Toulon in 1793, then dazzled Europe with victories in Italy. In 1799 he seized power in a coup to become First Consul, and in 1804 he made himself Emperor of the French.
The Napoleonic Code
His most enduring achievement was not a battle but a book of laws. Promulgated in 1804, the Napoleonic Code swept away feudal privileges and unified France's civil law, and its influence still shapes legal systems across Europe and Latin America today. Yet the same Code rolled back rights women had gained in the Revolution, placing wives under their husbands' legal authority.
Conquest and its cost
At his height Napoleon dominated most of continental Europe, toppling old dynasties and redrawing borders. But the Napoleonic Wars are estimated to have killed millions of soldiers and civilians across the continent. The glory of the marches and the reality of ruined towns and mass graves are two sides of the same story.
A dark reversal on slavery
In 1802 Napoleon reversed one of the Revolution's proudest acts, passing the Law of 20 May 1802 that reinstated slavery in France's colonies after it had been abolished in 1794. The decision triggered fierce armed uprisings in Guadeloupe and the wider Caribbean. It remains one of the darkest chapters of his rule.
Russia, exile, and the fall
In 1812 Napoleon led a vast army into Russia. Disease, hunger and desertion had already destroyed much of it before he reached Moscow, and the slaughter at Borodino cost tens of thousands more. The Russians burned their own land as they fell back, refused to surrender, and hounded his retreat; the winter finished off an army that was already broken. Beaten, he abdicated in 1814 and was exiled to Elba, then escaped in 1815 for the dramatic 'Hundred Days' before his final defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. Exiled again to remote St Helena in the South Atlantic, he died there in 1821.
Key Dates to Remember
- 1769 — Born in Ajaccio, Corsica
- 1793 — Rises to fame at Toulon
- 1799 — Seizes power as First Consul
- 1804 — Crowns himself Emperor
- 1812 — Invades Russia; army destroyed
- 1815 — Final defeat at Waterloo
- 1821 — Dies in exile on St Helena