This is the perfect historic figure to start with, being in France and all.
Napoleon Bonaparte 15 August 1769 - 5 May 1821
We have all heard his name before, whether as part of a high school lesson, or cartoon character's name or mentioned in many movies and thousands of books. Or those of you who know Napoleon's story.
Napoleon was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European Politics in the early 19th century.
He lead many successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. And in 1799 staged a coup and made himself First Consul, 5 years later he became Emperor of the French.
In the first ten years of the new century he led his army, under The French Empire, into a series of conflicts - the Napoleonic Wars - and got every European power involved.
He had a great streak of victories which secured a dominant position for France in central Europe. He had great influence due to alliances and the fact that he put friends and family members in charge of other European countries as French client states.
Napoleon married widow Josephine de Beauharnias in 1796, she was 7 years his senior. Before Napoleon she was known as 'Rose'. He didn't like it and changed it to Josephine. The famous love letters of Napoleon was sent to her. He adopted her son and cousin and arranged dynastic marriages for them. But Josephine couldn't give Napoleon a heir. Which saddened him, and he divorced her. Only to remarry Marie Louise in March 1810. He married into the German royal family. And she gave him a son.
Everything was going smoothly until the over confident Napoleon decided to invade Russia in 1812. His Grande Armee suffered greatly, and never fully recovered.
After being beaten by the Sixth Coalition at Leipzig, the Coalition invaded France and Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba.
He escaped less than a year later and returned to power.
But after losing the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, he was captured and held captive by the British on the island of Saint Helena.
Leaving his second wife and son in Austria. Sadly his son died of tuberculoses at the age of 21.
An autopsy concluded he died of stomach cancer, but it was later suspected that he was poisoned with arsenic. They're still not sure.
Although Napoleon was considered a tyrant by his opponents, he is remembered for the establishment of the Napoleonic code, which laid the administrative and judicial foundations of much of Western Europe.
Navy: French Empire
Dark Blue: Conquered "Rebellious" states
Light Blue: Conquered "Allied" states
References: Wikipedia
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