Research Paper
Napoleon Bonaparte is a man that will be remembered forever. He revolutionized France with all of his reforms and changes. Although known for being strictly military based, he has a plan to change France for the better. Napoleon was one of France's most influential people ever who would build up his status to eventually becoming the first French emperor to crown himself. He is a prime example of one who reached for the impossible, and achieved his dreams, if only for a short time.
Born on August 15th, 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica, Napoleon was in a family of great nobility. His father, Carlo Maria Buonaparte, decided that his first son, Giusseppe, later Joseph, would be an ecclesiastic, and he would make his second son, Napoleon, a soldier. His father was a lawyer who became wealthy due to his success. In 1779, Napoleon had began to go to a military academy. Between the ages of 9 and 10, Napoleon attended two military academies: the Collège d’Autun, and the military academy at Brienne. He was so tormented by the boys for being a foreigner and for his accent that he changed his name to the French spelling, Napoleon Bonaparte. From there, he went to Parisian Ecole Royale Militaire in 1784 where he would graduate in just one year to become second lieutenant in the artillery. He had finished a military course that would usually take three years, but it only took him one. While in Corsica, Napoleon was becoming very active in political and military matters. He agreed with most of what the Corsican republic believed in but shifted views after a civil war broke out. From there, Napoleon and his family fled to France in 1793. It was then that Napoleon began his distinguished military career. He went on leave to visit his family in Corsica frequently until he was called back to service in 1791. In 1793, his big break came. He was instrumental in capturing Toulon from the British. He was promoted to brigadier general at the age of twenty-four. After the...