Napoleon I of France.html |
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| Napoleon I | |
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| Emperor of the French; King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine |
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| Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David (1812) | |
| Reign | 20 March 1804–6 April 1814 1 March 1815–22 June 1815 |
| Coronation | 2 December 1804 |
| Predecessor | French Consulate (Executive of the French First Republic, with Napoleon as First Consul); Previous ruling Monarch : Louis XVI as King of the French (died 1793) |
| Successor | Louis XVIII (de facto) Napoleon II (de jure) |
| Joséphine de Beauharnais Marie Louise of Austria |
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| Issue | |
| Napoleon II of France | |
| Full name | |
| Napoleon Bonaparte | |
| Imperial House | Bonaparte |
| Father | Carlo Buonaparte |
| Mother | Letizia Ramolino |
| Born | 15 August 1769 Ajaccio, Corsica, France |
| Died | 5 May 1821 (aged 51) Longwood, Saint Helena |
| Burial | Les Invalides, Paris |
Napoleon Bonaparte, (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) later known as Napoleon I, was a French military and political leader who is considered one of the most influential figures in European history. He served as a general during the latter years of the French Revolution, then seized power in France, ruling as First Consul and then as Emperor.
Born in Corsica and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, he rose to prominence under the First French Republic and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. In 1799, Napoleon staged a coup d'état and installed himself as First Consul; five years later he crowned himself Emperor of the French. In the first decade of the nineteenth century, he turned the armies of the French Empire against every major European power and dominated continental Europe through a series of military victories - epitomised in battles such as Austerlitz and Friedland. He maintained France's sphere of influence by the formation of extensive alliances and the appointment of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French client states.
The French invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point in Napoleon's fortunes. His Grande Armée was wrecked in the campaign and never fully recovered. In 1813, the Sixth Coalition defeated his forces at Leipzig, invaded France and exiled him to the island of Elba. Less than a year later, he returned and was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life under British supervision on the island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. The autopsy concluded he died of stomach cancer, though Sten Forshufvud and other scientists conjectured that he had been poisoned with arsenic.
Napoleon scored major victories with a modernised French army and drew his tactics from different sources. His campaigns are studied at military academies the world over and he is widely regarded as one of history's greatest commanders. While considered a tyrant by his opponents, he is also remembered for the establishment of the Napoleonic code, which laid the administrative and judicial foundations for much of Western Europe.
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Origins and education
Napoleon was born the second of seven children in the town of Ajaccio, Corsica, on 15 August 1769, one year after the island was transferred to France by the Republic of Genoa.1 He was named Napoleone di Buonaparte (in Corsican, Nabolione or Nabulione), though he later adopted the more French-sounding Napoléon Bonaparte.note 1 His heritage earned him popularity among the local populace during his Italian military campaigns.2
The Corsican Buonapartes originated from minor Italian nobility, which came to Corsica in the 16th century when the island was still a possession of Genoa.3 His father Nobile Carlo Buonaparte, an attorney, was named Corsica's representative to the court of Louis XVI in 1777. The dominant influence of Napoleon's childhood was his mother, Maria Letizia Ramolino, whose firm discipline restrained the rambunctious Napoleon.4 Napoleon had an elder brother, Joseph, and younger siblings Lucien, Elisa, Louis, Pauline, Caroline and Jérôme. He was baptised Catholic just before his second birthday, on 21 July 1771 at Ajaccio Cathedral.5
Napoleon's noble, moderately affluent background and family connections afforded him greater opportunities to study than were available to a typical Corsican of the time. In January 1779 Napoleon was enrolled at a religious school in Autun, mainland France, so as to learn French - in May he was admitted to a military academy at Brienne-le-Château.6 He spoke with a marked Italian accent and never learned to spell properly.7 Napoleon was teased by other students for his accent and applied himself to study.8note 2 An examiner observed that he, "has always been distinguished for his application in mathematics. He is fairly well acquainted with history and geography...This boy would make an excellent sailor."9note 3 On completion of his studies at Brienne in 1784, Bonaparte was admitted to the elite École Militaire in Paris ending his naval ambition, which had led him to consider joining the British Royal Navy.10 Instead, he studied artillery and had to quickly complete the two-year course in one year, when his father's death reduced his income.11 He was examined by the famed scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace who Napoleon later raised to the senate.12
Early career
On graduation in September 1785, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fère artillery regiment.6 Napoleon served on garrison duty in Valence, Drôme and Auxonne until after the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, though he took nearly two years of leave in Corsica and Paris during this period. A fervent Corsican nationalist, Napoleon wrote to Pasquale Paoli, the Corsican leader, in May 1789: "As the nation was perishing I was born. Thirty thousand Frenchmen were vomited on to our shores, drowning the throne of liberty in waves of blood. Such was the odious sight which was the first to strike me."13 He spent the early years of the Revolution in Corsica, amidst a complex three-way struggle between royalists, revolutionaries, and Corsican nationalists. Bonaparte supported the Jacobin faction and gained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of a battalion of volunteers. It is not clear how, after he had exceeded his leave of absence and led a riot against a French army in Corsica, he was able to convince military authorities in Paris to promote him to Captain in July 1792.14 He returned to Corsica but came into conflict with Paoli after the Corsican leader sabotaged an assault, involving Napoleon, against the island of La Maddalena.note 4
Siege of Toulon
Bonaparte and his family had to flee to the French mainland in June 1793 due to the split with Paoli.15 Napoleon published a pro-republican pamphlet, Le Souper de Beaucaire, which gained him the admiration and support of Augustin Robespierre, younger brother of the Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre. With the help of fellow Corsican Antoine Christophe Saliceti, Napoleon was appointed artillery commander of the French forces at the siege of Toulon. The city had risen in revolt against the republican government and was occupied by British troops.16 He spotted an ideal hill placing that allowed French guns to dominate the city's harbour and force the British ships to evacuate. The assault on the position, during which Bonaparte was wounded in the thigh, led to the recapture of the city and his promotion to Brigadier General. His actions brought him to the attention of the Committee of Public Safety and he was given command of the artillery arm of France's Army of Italy.17 During this period he became engaged to Désirée Clary, his future sister-in-law and whose father was a rich Marseille trader.18
Following the fall of the Robespierres in the Thermidorian Reaction, Napoleon was imprisoned in the Château d'Antibes in August 1794 for his association with the brothers. Although he was released after only 10 days, he remained out of favour.19
13 Vendémiaire
In April 1795 he was assigned to the Army of the West which was engaged in the War in the Vendée, a civil war and counter-revolution between royalists and republicans in France's western Vendée region. As this was an infantry command it was a demotion from the rank of artillery general and he pleaded poor health to avoid the posting.20 He was moved to the Bureau of Topography of the Committee of Public Safety and sought unsuccessfully to get transferred to Constantinople. Running out of money, on 15 September he was removed from the list of generals in regular service following his transfer request.21
Three weeks later, royalists in Paris declared a rebellion against the National Convention after they were excluded from a new government, the Directory.22 One of the leaders of the Thermidorian Reaction, Paul Barras knew of Napoleon's military expertise and gave him command of the improvised forces that were defending the Convention in the Tuileries Palace. Napoleon had witnessed the massacre of the Swiss Guards in 1792 and realised artillery would be key to defending the palace.6 He ordered a young cavalry officer, Joachim Murat to seize big guns and used them to repel the attackers on 5 October - 13 Vendémiaire in the French Republican Calendar. 1,400 of the royalists died and the rest fled.22note 5 The defeat of the Royalist insurrection extinguished the threat to the Convention and earned him sudden fame, wealth, and the patronage of the new Directory. Murat would later become his brother-in-law. Napoleon was promoted to Commander of the Interior and then given command of the Army of Italy.15 Within weeks of Vendémiaire he was romantically attached to Barras's former mistress, Joséphine de Beauharnais, whom he married on 9 March 1796; he broke off the engagement to Clary.23
First Italian campaign
Two days after the marriage, Bonaparte left Paris to take command of the Army of Italy and led it on a successful invasion of Italy. At the Battle of Lodi he defeated Austrian forces, then drove them out of Lombardy.15 He was defeated at Caldiero by Austrian reinforcements, led by József Alvinczi, though he regained the initiative at the crucial Battle of the Bridge of Arcole and proceeded to subdue the Papal States.24 Napoleon argued against the wishes of Directory atheists, such as Louis Marie la Révellière-Lepaux, to march on Rome and dethrone the Pope as he reasoned this would create a power vacuum that would be exploited by the Kingdom of Naples. Instead, in March 1797, Bonaparte led his army into Austria and forced it to sue for peace.25 The Treaty of Leoben gave France control of most of northern Italy and the Low Countries; a secret clause promised the Republic of Venice to Austria. Bonaparte then marched on Venice and forced its surrender, ending 1,100 years of independence. Authorised by Napoleon, the French looted treasures such as the Horses of Saint Mark.26
His application of conventional military ideas to real-world situations effected his military triumphs, such as creative use of artillery as a mobile force to support his infantry. He referred to his tactics thus: "I have fought sixty battles and I have learned nothing which I did not know at the beginning. Look at Caesar; he fought the first like the last."27 Contemporary paintings of his headquarters during the Italian campaign depict his use of the Claude Chappe semaphore line, first implemented in 1792. He was adept at both espionage and deception; he often won battles by his use of spies to gather information about enemy forces, concealment of troop deployments and concentration of his forces on the 'hinge' of an enemy's weakened front. If he could not use his favourite enveloping strategy, he would take-up the central position and attack two cooperating forces at their hinge, swinging around to fight one until it fled, then turning to face the other.28 In this campaign, Napoleon's army captured 150,000 prisoners, 540 cannons and 170 standards.29 A year's campaign had seen the French army fight 67 actions and win 18 pitched battles due to superior artillery technology and Napoleon's tactics and strategy.30
During the campaign, Napoleon became increasingly influential in French politics. He published two newspapers, ostensibly for the troops in his army, but widely circulated in France as well. In May 1797 he founded a third newspaper, published in Paris, Le Journal de Bonaparte et des hommes vertueux.31 Elections in mid-1797 gave the royalist party increased power which alarmed Barras and his Directory allies.32 The royalists attacked Bonaparte for looting Italy and claimed he had overstepped his authority in dealings with the Austrians. Bonaparte sent General Pierre Augereau to Paris to lead a coup d'état and purge the royalists on 4 September - 18 Fructidor. This left Barras and his Republican allies in control again, but dependent on Bonaparte. Napoleon proceeded to peace negotiations with Austria, the Treaty of Campo Formio, then returned to Paris in December as the conquering hero, more popular than the Directors.33 He met with Talleyrand, France's new Foreign Minister, who would later serve in the same capacity for Napoleon, and began to prepare for an invasion of England.15
Egyptian expedition
After two months of planning, Napoleon decided France's naval power was not yet strong enough to confront the Royal Navy in the La Manche and proposed a military expedition to seize Egypt and thereby undermine Britain's access to its trading interests in India.15 The Directory, though troubled by the scope and cost of the enterprise, agreed so the popular general would be absent from the centre of power.34
In May 1798, Bonaparte was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences. His Egyptian expedition included a group of 167 scientists: mathematicians, naturalists, chemists and geodesers among them; their discoveries included the Rosetta Stone and their work was published in the Description of Egypt in 1809.35 Ahmed Youssef writes that this deployment of intellectual resources was an indication of Bonaparte's devotion to Enlightenment principles; Juan Cole sees it as propaganda, which obfuscated imperialism.36
En route to Egypt, Napoleon reached Malta on 9 June 1798. The 200 Knights Hospitaller of French origin did not support the Grand Master, Prussian Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, who had succeded a frenchman and made it clear they would not fight against their compatriots. Hompesch surrendered after token resistance and Napoleon captured a very important naval base with the loss of only 3 men.37
Napoleon and his expedition eluded pursuit by the British Royal Navy and on 1 July landed at Alexandria.15 In a largely unsuccessful effort to gain the support of the Egyptian populace, Bonaparte issued proclamations that cast him as a liberator of the people from Ottoman oppression, Egypt was a province of the Ottoman Empire, and praised the precepts of Islam.note 6 He successfully fought the Battle of Chobrakit against the Mamluks, an old power in the Middle East. This helped the French plan their attack in the Battle of the Pyramids fought over a week later, about 6 km from the pyramids. Bonaparte's forces were greatly outnumbered by the Mamelukes cavalry - 20,000 against 60,000 - he formed hollow squares with supplies kept safely inside. 300 French and approximately 6,000 Egyptians were killed.38
On 1 August the British fleet under Horatio Nelson captured or destroyed all but two French vessels in the Battle of the Nile and Napoleon's goal of a strengthened French position in the Mediterranean Sea was frustrated.39 His army had succeeded in temporarily increasing French power in Egypt, though it faced repeated uprisings.40 In early 1799, he moved the army into the Ottoman province of Damascus (Syria and Galilee). Napoleon led 13,000 French soldiers in the conquest of the coastal towns of Arish, Gaza, Jaffa, and Haifa.41 The storming of Jaffa was particularly brutal: Napoleon, on discovering many of them were former prisoners ostensibly on parole, ordered the garrison and 1,400 prisoners to be executed by bayonet or drowning to save bullets.39 Men, women and children were robbed and murdered for three days.42
With his army weakened by disease - mostly bubonic plague - and poor supplies, Napoleon was unable to reduce the fortress of Acre, and returned to Egypt in May.39 To speed up the retreat, he ordered plague-stricken men to be poisoned.43 Historians have argued this decision was necessary given the continued harassment of stragglers by Ottoman forces and those left behind alive were indeed tortured and beheaded by the Ottomans. Back in Egypt, on 25 July, Bonaparte defeated an Ottoman amphibious invasion at Abukir.44
Ruler of France
While in Egypt, Bonaparte stayed informed of European affairs through irregular delivery of newspapers and dispatches. He learnt France had suffered a series of defeats in the War of the Second Coalition.45 On 24 August 1799 he took advantage of the temporary departure of British ships from French coastal ports and set sail for France, despite the fact he had received no explicit orders from Paris.39 The army was left in the charge of Jean Baptiste Kléber.46 Unknown to Napoleon, the Directory had sent him orders to return to ward off possible invasions of French soil but poor lines of communication meant the messages had failed to reach the French general.45 By the time he reached Paris in October, France's situation had been improved by a series of victories. The Republic was bankrupt however, and the ineffective Directory was unpopular with the public.47 The Directory discussed Napoleon's "desertion" but was too weak to punish him.45
Bonaparte was approached by one of the Directors, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, for his support in a coup to overthrow the constitutional government. The leaders of the plot included Bonaparte's brother Lucien, the speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, Joseph Fouché and Talleyrand. On 9 November - 18 Brumaire - Bonaparte was charged with the safety of the legislative councils, who were persuaded to remove to Château de Saint-Cloud, to the west of Paris, after a rumour of a Jacobin rebellion was spread by the plotters.48 By the following day, the deputies had realised they faced an attempted coup. Faced with their remonstrations, Napoleon led troops to seize control and disperse them, which left a rump legislature to name Bonaparte, Sièyes, and Ducos as provisional Consuls to administer the government.39
Though Sieyès expected to dominate the new regime, he was outmaneuvered by Bonaparte, who drafted the Constitution of the Year VIII and secured his own election as First Consul.49 This made Bonaparte the most powerful person in France and he moved into the Tuileries Palace.39 His powers were increased by the Constitution of the Year X, which declared him First Consul for life.50
French Consulate
Bonaparte instituted lasting reforms, including centralised administration of the départements, higher education, a tax code, road and sewer systems and the Banque de France - the country's central bank. He negotiated the Concordat of 1801 with the Catholic Church, which sought to reconcile the mostly Catholic population to his regime. It was presented alongside the Organic Articles, which regulated public worship in France. In May 1802 he instituted the Légion d'Honneur, an ostensibly meritocratic honours system, to encourage civilian and military achievements and offset the inequality of wealth amongst the populace. The order is still the highest decoration in France.51
Napoleon's set of civil laws, the Code Civil - now known as the Napoleonic code was prepared by committees of legal experts under the supervision of Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, the Second Consul. Bonaparte participated actively in the sessions of the Council of State that revised the drafts. The code still has importance today in modern continental Europe, Latin America and the US, specifically Louisiana.52 Other codes were commissioned by Napoleon to codify criminal and commerce law and in 1808, a Code of Criminal Instruction was published, which enacted rules of due process.53
Second Italian campaign
In 1800, Bonaparte returned to Italy, which the Austrians had reconquered during his absence in Egypt. With his troops he crossed the Alps on a mule, as depicted in Bonaparte Crossing the Alps by Hippolyte Delaroche.54note 7
Though the campaign began badly, Napoleon's forces routed the Austrians in June at the Battle of Marengo, which resulted in an armistice. Napoleon's brother Joseph, led the peace negotiations in Lunéville and reported that Austria, emboldened by British backing, would not recognise France's newly gained territory. As negotiations became increasingly fractious, Bonaparte gave orders to his general Moreau to strike Austria once more. Moreau led France to victory at Hohenlinden. As a result, the Treaty of Luneville was signed in February 1801: the French gains of the Treaty of Campo Formio were reaffirmed and increased. Later that year, Bonaparte became President of the French Academy of Sciences and appointed Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre its Permanent Secretary.35 He re-established slavery in France which had been banned following the revolution.55
Temporary peace in Europe, the Haitian Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase
Napoleon set-up a camp at Boulogne to prepare for an invasion of Britain but both countries had become tired of war and signed the Treaty of Amiens in October 1801 and March 1802; this included the withdrawal of British troops from most colonial territories recently occupied.56 The peace was uneasy and short-lived; Britain failed to evacuate Malta as promised, and protested against Napoleon's annexation of Piedmont, and his Act of Mediation which established a new Swiss Confederation, though neither of these territories were covered by the Treaty.57 The dispute culminated in a declaration of war by Britain in May 1803 and Napoleon reassembled the invasion camp at Boulogne.39
Concurrently, Bonaparte faced a major setback and eventual defeat in the Haitian Revolution. Following a slave revolt, he sent an army to reconquer Saint-Domingue and establish a base. The force was, however, destroyed by yellow fever and fierce resistance led by Haitian generals Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines.note 8 Faced by imminent war against Britain and bankruptcy, he recognised French possessions on the mainland of North America would be indefensible and sold them to the United States - the Louisiana Purchase - for less than three cents per acre ($7.40 per km²).58
French Empire
In January 1804, Napoleon's police uncovered an assassination plot against him involving Moreau, ostensibly sponsored by the Bourbon former rulers of France.note 9 On the advice of Talleyrand, Napoleon ordered the kidnapping of the Duke of Enghien, in violation of neighbouring Baden's sovereignty. After a secret trial the Duke was executed, even though he had not been involved in the plot.59
Napoleon used the plot to justify the re-creation of a hereditary monarchy in France, with himself as Emperor, as a Bourbon restoration would be more difficult if the Bonapartist succession was entrenched in the constitution.60 Napoleon crowned himself Emperor on 2 December 1804 at Notre Dame de Paris and then crowned Joséphine Empress.note 10 Napoleon created eighteen Marshals of the Empire from amongst his top generals, to secure the allegiance of the army. Ludwig van Beethoven, a long-time admirer and disappointed at this turn towards imperialism, scratched his dedication to Napoleon from his 3rd Symphony.60
War of the Third Coalition
In 1805 Britain convinced Austria and Russia to join a Third Coalition against France. Napoleon knew the French fleet could not defeat the Royal Navy and had a plan to lure it away from the English Channel. The French navy would escape from the British blockades of Toulon and Brest and threaten to attack the West Indies, thus drawing-off the British defence of the Western Approaches, in the hope a Franco-Spanish fleet could take control of the Channel long enough for French armies to cross and invade England.61 However, after defeat at the naval battle of Cape Finisterre and because Austria and Russia had prepared an invasion of France, Napoleon had to change his plans.
The newly formed Grande Armée secretly marched to Germany in a turning movement, Napoleon's Ulm Campaign, that encircled the Austrian forces and severed their lines of communication. On 20 October 1805, the French captured 30,000 prisoners at Ulm, though the next day Britain's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar meant the Royal Navy gained control of the seas. Six weeks later, on the first anniversary of his coronation, Napoleon defeated Austria and Russia at Austerlitz ending the Third Coalition; he commissioned the Arc de Triomphe to commemorate the victory. Frank Mclynn suggests Napoleon was so successful at Austerlitz he lost touch with reality, and what used to be French foreign policy became a "personal Napoleonic one".62 Vincent Cronin, however, disagrees with this view, stating that Napoleon was not overly ambitious for himself and that "he embodied the ambitions of thirty million Frenchmen".63 Again Austria had to sue for peace: the Peace of Pressburg led to the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine with Napoleon named as its Protector.64 On 30 December, the Tribunate, voted the Emperor be known as Napoleon the Great.65
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition was assembled the following year, and Napoleon defeated Prussia at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in October.66 He marched against advancing Russian armies through Poland, and was involved in the bloody stalemate of the Battle of Eylau on 6 February 1807. After a decisive victory at Friedland, he signed the Treaties of Tilsit with Tsar Alexander I of Russia which divided the continent between the two powers. He placed puppet rulers on the thrones of German states, including his brother Jerome as king of the new Kingdom of Westphalia. In the French-controlled part of Poland, he established the Duchy of Warsaw with King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony as ruler.67
With his Milan and Berlin Decrees, Napoleon attempted to enforce a Europe-wide commercial boycott of Britain called the Continental System. This act of economic warfare did not succeed, as it encouraged British merchants to smuggle into continental Europe and Napoleon's exclusively land-based customs enforcers could not stop them.68
Peninsular War
Portugal did not comply with the Continental System so, in 1807, Napoleon invaded with the support of Spain.69 Under the pretext of a reinforcement of the Franco-Spanish army occupying Portugal, Napoleon invaded Spain as well, replaced Charles IV with his brother Joseph and placed his brother-in-law Joachim Murat in Joseph's stead at Naples. This led to resistance from the Spanish army and civilians in the Dos de Mayo Uprising.70 Following a French retreat from much of the country, Napoleon took command and defeated the Spanish army, retook Madrid and then outmanoeuvred a British army sent to support the Spanish, driving it to the coast.71 Before the Spanish population had been fully subdued, Austria again threatened war and Napoleon returned to France.
The costly and often brutal Peninsular War continued, and Napoleon left 300,000 of his finest troops to battle Spanish guerrillas as well as British and Portuguese forces commanded by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.73 French control over the Iberian Peninsula deteriorated and collapsed in 1813; the war went on through allied victories and concluded after Napoleon's abdication in 1814.74
War of the Fifth Coalition
In April 1809, Austria abruptly broke the alliance with France and Napoleon was forced to assume command of forces on the Danube and German fronts. After early successes, the French faced difficulties in crossing the Danube and then suffered a defeat in May at the Battle of Aspern-Essling near Vienna. The Austrians failed to capitalise on the situation and allowed Napoleon's forces to regroup. He defeated the Austrians again at Wagram and a new peace, Treaty of Schönbrunn, was signed between Austria and France.75
Britain was the other member of the coalition. In addition to the Iberian Peninsula, the British planned to open another front in mainland Europe. However, Napoleon was able to rush reinforcements to Antwerp, due to Britain's inadequately organised Walcheren Campaign.76 Concurrently, Napoleon annexed the Papal States because of the Church's refusal to support the Continental System. Pius VII responded by excommunicating the emperor and the Pope was then abducted by Napoleon's officers. Though Napoleon did not order his abduction, he did not order Pius' release either. The Pope was moved throughout Napoleon's territories, sometimes while ill, and Napoleon sent delegations to pressure him into issues including giving-up power and a new concordat with France. In 1810 Napoleon married the Austrian Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, following his divorce of Joséphine; this further strained his relations with the Church and thirteen cardinals were imprisoned for non-attendance at the marriage ceremony.77 The Pope remained confined for 5 years, and did not return to Rome until May 1814.78
Napoleon consented to one of his marshals - and long-term rival - Bernadotte, ascending to the Swedish throne in November 1810. Napoleon had indulged Bernadotte's indiscretions because he was married to Désirée Clary, but came to regret sparing his life when Bernadotte later sided Sweden with France's enemies.79
Invasion of Russia
The Congress of Erfurt sought to preserve the Russo-French alliance and the leaders had a friendly personal relationship after their first meeting at Tilsit in 1807.note 11 By 1811, however, tensions were building between the two nations and Alexander was under pressure from the Russian nobility to break off the alliance. The first clear sign the alliance was deteriorating was the relaxation of the Continental System in Russia, which angered Napoleon.80 By 1812, advisers to Alexander suggested the possibility of an invasion of the French Empire and the recapture of Poland. On receipt of intelligence reports on Russia's war preparations, Napoleon expanded his Grande Armée to more than 450,000 men, in addition to at least 300,000 men already deployed in Iberia. Napoleon ignored repeated advice against an invasion of the vast Russian heartland, and prepared for an offensive campaign.81
On 23 June 1812, Napoleon's invasion of Russia commenced.82 In an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists and patriots, Napoleon termed the war the "Second Polish War."note 12 Napoleon rejected requests to free the Russian serfs, due to concerns this might provoke a reaction in his army's rear.
The Russians avoided Napoleon's objective of a decisive engagement and instead retreated ever deeper into Russia. A brief attempt at resistance was made at Smolensk in the middle of August; the Russians were defeated in a series of battles in the area and Napoleon resumed his advance. The Russians then repeatedly avoided battle, although in a few cases this was only achieved because Napoleon uncharacteristically hesitated to attack when the opportunity arose. Due to the Russian army's scorched earth tactics, the French found it increasingly difficult to forage food for themselves and their horses.83 The French also suffered from the harsh Russian winter.
The Russians eventually offered battle outside Moscow on 7 September: the Battle of Borodino resulted in approximately 44,000 Russian and 35,000 French, dead, wounded or captured, and may have been the bloodiest day of battle in history.note 13 Although Napoleon had won, the Russian army had accepted, and withstood, the major battle the French had hoped would be decisive. Napoleon's own account was: "Of the fifty battles I have fought, the most terrible was that before Moscow. The French showed themselves to be worthy victors, and the Russians can rightly call themselves invincible."84
The Russian army withdrew and retreated past Moscow. Napoleon entered the city, assuming its fall would end the war and Alexander would negotiate peace. However, on orders of the city's military governor and commander-in-chief, Fyodor Rostopchin, rather than capitulating, Moscow was ordered burned.85 Within the month, concerned about loss of control back in France, Napoleon and his army left.
The French suffered greatly in the course of a ruinous retreat; the Armée had begun as over 450,000 frontline troops, but in the end fewer than 40,000 crossed the Berezina River in November 1812, to escape.86 The strategy employed by the Russians had worn down the invaders: French losses in the campaign were about 570,000 in total.87 The Russians lost 150,000 in battle and hundreds of thousands of civilians.88
War of the Sixth Coalition
There was a lull in fighting over the winter of 1812–13 while both the Russians and the French recovered from their massive losses. Napoleon was then able to field 350,000 troops.89
Heartened by Napoleon's losses in Russia, Prussia rejoined the Coalition that now included Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal. Napoleon assumed command in Germany and inflicted a series of defeats on the Allies which culminated in the Battle of Dresden on 26–27 August 1813 - the battle resulted in 38,000 casualties to the Coalition forces and the French sustained around 10,000.90
Despite these initial successes, the numbers continued to mount against Napoleon as Sweden and Austria joined the Coalition. Eventually the French army was pinned down by a force twice its size at the Battle of Leipzig from 16–19 October. Some German states switched sides in the midst of the battle to fight against France. This was by far the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars and cost more than 90,000 casualties in total.91
Napoleon withdrew back into France; his army was reduced to 70,000 men still in formed units and 40,000 stragglers, against more than three times as many Allied troops.92 The French were surrounded and vastly outnumbered: British armies pressed from the south, and other Coalition forces positioned to attack from the German states. Napoleon won a series of victories in the Six Days Campaign, though this was not significant enough to change the overall position and Paris was captured by the Coalition in March 1814.
When Napoleon proposed the army march on the capital, his marshals decided to mutiny.93 On 4 April, led by Ney, they confronted Napoleon. Napoleon asserted the army would follow him and Ney replied the army would follow its generals. On 6 April, Napoleon abdicated in favour of his son, the Allies refused to accept this and demanded unconditional surrender. Napoleon abdicated unconditionally 5 days later. In the Treaty of Fontainebleau the victors exiled him to Elba, an island of 12,000 inhabitants in the Mediterranean Sea 20 km off the coast of Italy. They gave him sovereignty over the island and allowed him to retain his title of Emperor. Napoleon attempted suicide with a pill he had carried since a near capture by Russians on the retreat from Moscow. Its potency had weakened with age and he survived to be exiled, while his wife and son took refuge in Vienna.94 In the first few months on Elba he created a small navy and army, developed the iron mines, and issued decrees modernising agricultural methods.95
Hundred Days
Separated from his wife and son (who had come under Austrian control), cut off from the allowance guaranteed to him by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and aware of rumours he was about to be banished to a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean, Napoleon escaped from Elba on 26 February 1815. He landed at Golfe-Juan on the French mainland, two days later.96 The 5th Regiment was sent to intercept him and made contact just south of Grenoble on 7 March 1815. Napoleon approached the regiment alone, dismounted his horse and, when he was within gunshot range shouted, "Here I am. Kill your Emperor, if you wish."97 The soldiers responded with, "Vive L'Empereur!" and marched with Napoleon to Paris; Louis XVIII fled. On 13 March, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared Napoleon an outlaw and four days later the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Russia, Austria and Prussia bound themselves to put 150,000 men into the field to end his rule.98 Napoleon arrived in Paris on 20 March and governed for a period called the Hundred Days. By the start of June the armed forces available to Napoleon had reached 200,000. Napoleon decided to go onto the offensive to attempt to drive a wedge between the oncoming British and Prussian armies: the French Army of the North crossed the frontier into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, in modern-day Belgium.99
Napoleon's forces fought the allies, led by Wellington and Von Blücher, at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.100 Wellington's army withstood repeated attacks by the French and drove them from the field while the Prussians arrived in force and broke through Napoleon's right flank. The French army left the battlefield in disorder, which allowed Coalition forces to enter France and restore Louis XVIII to the French throne. Off the port of Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, after quickly considering an escape to the United States, Napoleon formally demanded political asylum from the British Captain Frederick Maitland on HMS Bellerophon on 15 July 1815.101
Exile on Saint Helena
Napoleon was imprisoned and then exiled to the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, 2,000 km from any major landmass. In his first 2 months there, he lived in a pavilion on the Briars estate, which belonged to a William Balcombe. Napoleon became friendly with his family, especially his younger daughter Lucia Elizabeth who later wrote Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon.102 This friendship ended in 1818 when British authorities became suspicious that Balcombe had acted as an intermediary between Napoleon and Paris, and dismissed him from the island.103
Napoleon moved to Longwood House in December 1815. It had fallen into disrepair, and the location was damp, windswept and considered unhealthy even by the British.104 With a small cadre of followers, Napoleon dictated his memoirs and criticised his captors - particularly Hudson Lowe, the British governor of the island and Napoleon's custodian. Lowe's treatment of Napoleon is regarded as poor by historians such as Frank McLynn.105 Lowe exacerbated a difficult situation through measures including a reduction in Napoleon's expenditure, a rule that no gifts could be delivered to him if they mentioned his imperial status, and a document that his supporters had to sign that guaranteed they would stay with the prisoner indefinitely.105 Napoleon and his entourage did not accept the legality or justice of his captivity. In the early years of exile Napoleon received visitors but, as the restrictions placed on him were increased, his life became that of a recluse.
In 1818 The Times reported a false rumour of Napoleon's escape and said the news had been greeted by spontaneous illuminations in London – a custom in which householders place candles in street-facing windows to herald good news.106 There was sympathy for him in the British Parliament. Lord Holland made a speech to the House of Lords demanding the prisoner be treated with no unnecessary harshness.107 Napoleon kept himself informed of the events through The Times and hoped for release in the event that Holland became Prime Minister. He also enjoyed the support of Lord Cochrane, who was closely involved in Chile and Brazil's struggle for independence. It was Cochrane's aim to rescue and then help him set up a new empire in South America, a scheme frustrated by Napoleon's death in 1821.108 There were other plots to rescue Napoleon from captivity, including one from Brazil and another from Texas, where 400 exiled soldiers from the Grande Armée dreamed of a resurrection of the Napoleonic Empire in America. There was even a plan to rescue him with a submarine.109 For Lord Byron, among others, Napoleon was the epitome of the Romantic hero, the persecuted, lonely and flawed genius. The news that Napoleon had taken up gardening at Longwood appealed to more domestic British sensibilities.110
Death
- Further information: Napoleon's Death Mask
In February 1821, his health began to fail rapidly and on 3 May, two British physicians who had recently arrived, attended him and could only recommend palliatives.111 He died two days later, having confessed his sins and received Extreme Unction and Viaticum at the hands of Father Ange Vignali.111 His last words were, "France, armée, tete d'armée, Joséphine."111 He had asked in his will to be buried on the banks of the Seine, but the British governor said he should be buried on St. Helena, in the "valley of the willows", in an unmarked tomb.note 14
In 1840, Louis-Philippe of France obtained permission from the British to return Napoleon's remains to France. The remains were transported aboard the frigate Belle-Poule, which had been painted black for the occasion and on 29 November she arrived in Cherbourg. The remains were transferred to the steamship Normandie, which transported them to Le Havre, up the Seine to Rouen and on to Paris. On 15 December a state funeral was held. The hearse proceeded from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Elysees, across the Place de la Concorde to the Esplanade and then to the cupola in St Jerome's Chapel, where it stayed until the tomb designed by Louis Visconti was completed. In 1861 Napoleon's remains were entombed in a porphyry sarcophagus in the crypt under the dome at Les Invalides.112note 15 Hundreds of millions have since visited his tomb.
Napoleon's original death mask was created around 6 May, though it is not clear which doctor created it.113 During this period, it was customary to cast a death mask or mold of a leader. A mixture of wax or plaster was placed over his face and removed after the form hardened. From this impression, copies were cast.note 16
Cause of death
Napoleon's physician, Francesco Antommarchi, led the autopsy which found the cause of death to be stomach cancer, though he did not sign the official report, stating, "What had I to do with...English reports?"114 Napoleon's father had died of stomach cancer though this was seemingly unknown at the time of the autopsy.115 Antommarchi found evidence of a stomach ulcer and it was the most convenient explanation for the British who wanted to avoid criticism over their care of the Emperor.111
In 1955 the diaries of Napoleon's valet, Louis Marchand, appeared in print. His description of Napoleon in the months before his death led Sten Forshufvud to put forward other causes for his death, including deliberate arsenic poisoning, in a 1961 paper in Nature.116note 17 Arsenic was used as a poison during the era because it was undetectable when administered over a long period. Forshufvud, in a 1978 book with Ben Weider, noted the emperor's body was found to be remarkably well-preserved when moved in 1840. This supported the hypothesis of unusually high levels of arsenic, a strong preservative, and therefore the poisoning theory.note 18 Forshufvud and Weider observed that Napoleon had attempted to quench abnormal thirst by drinking high levels of orgeat syrup that contained cyanide compounds in the almonds used for flavouring. Forshufvud and Weider maintained that the potassium tartrate used in his treatment prevented his stomach from expelling these compounds. They claimed the thirst was a symptom of arsenic poisoning, and the calomel given to Napoleon became an overdose, which caused stomach bleeding that killed him and left behind extensive tissue damage. Forshufvud and Weider suggested the autopsy doctors could have mistaken this damage for cancer aftereffects.note 19
A 2007 article stated that the type of arsenic found in Napoleon's hair shafts was mineral type, the most toxic, and according to toxicologist Dr Patrick Kintz, this supported the conclusion that his death was murder.117 Researchers, in a 2008 study, analysed samples of Napoleon's hair from throughout his life, and from his family and other contemporaries. All samples had high levels of arsenic, approximately 100 times higher than the current average. According to researchers, Napoleon's body was already heavily contaminated with arsenic as a boy, and the high arsenic concentration in his hair was not due to intentional poisoning; people were constantly exposed to arsenic from glues and dyes, throughout their lives.note 20
The wallpaper used in Longwood contained a high level of arsenic compound used for colouring by British manufacturers. The adhesive, which in the cooler British environment was innocuous, may have grown mold in the more humid climate and emitted the poisonous gas arsine. The wallpaper theory has been ruled out as it does not explain the arsenic absorption patterns found in other analyses and the original proponent of the wallpaper theory did not claim the concentration levels of arsine actually lead to Napoleon's death.118
There have been modern studies which have supported the original autopsy finding. In May 2005, a team of Swiss physicians suggested there was more evidence for stomach cancer after studies of his trouser waist sizes indicated he had lost weight just before his death. In October 2005 a document was unearthed in Scotland that presented an account of the autopsy which seemed to confirm its conclusion.119 A 2007 study found no evidence of arsenic poisoning in the relevant organs and concluded stomach cancer was the cause of death.120
Marriages and children
Napoleon married Joséphine in 1796, when he was 26; she was a 32-year old widow whose first husband had been executed during the revolution. Until she met Bonaparte, she had always been Rose, a name which he disliked. He called her 'Joséphine,' which she took up, and sent her love letters while on his campaigns.121 He formally adopted her son Eugène and cousin Stéphanie, and arranged dynastic marriages for them. Joséphine had her daughter Hortense marry Napoleon's brother, Louis.122
Joséphine had lovers, including a Hussar lieutenant Hippolyte Charles during Napoleon's Italian campaign.123 Napoleon learnt the full extent of the Charles' affair when in Egypt and a letter he wrote to Joseph confiding in him regarding the subject, was intercepted by the British. The letter appeared in the London and Paris press, much to Napoleon's embarassment. Napoleon had his own affairs too: during the Egyptian campaign he took Pauline Bellisle Foures, the wife of a junior officer, as his mistress. She became known as "Cleopatra" after the Pharaoh ruler.124
While Napoleon's mistresses had children by him, Joséphine did not produce an heir, an impossibility due to the stresses of her imprisonment during the Terror or because she may have had an abortion in her twenties.125 Napoleon ultimately decided to divorce so he could remarry in search of an heir. In March 1810, he married Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria by proxy; he had married into the