Napoleon Bonaparte (lahir di pulau Korsika, 15 Agustus 1769 – meninggal 5 Mei 1821 pada umur 51 tahun) berasal dari sebuah keluarga bangsawan lokal dengan nama Napoleone di Buonaparte (dalam bahasa Korsika, Nabolione atau Nabulione). Di kemudian hari ia mengadaptasi nama Napoléon Bonaparte yang lebih berbau Perancis. Napoleon Bonaparte adalah anak kedua dari tujuh bersaudara. Ia lahir di Casa Bounaparte, di kota Ajaccio, Korsika, pada tanggal 15 Agustus 1769, satu tahun setelah kepulauan tersebut diserahterimakan Republik Genova kepada Perancis. Ia lahir dengan nama Napoleone di Bounaparte, namun ia mengubah namanya menjadi Napoléon Bonaparte yang lebih berbau Perancis.Keluarga Bounaparte adalah keluarga bangsawan yang berasal dari Italia, yang pindah ke Korsika di abad ke-16/ Ayahnya, Nobile Carlo Bounaparte, seorang pengacara, pernah menjadi perwakilan korsika saat Louis XVI berkuasa pada tahun 1777. Ibunya bernama Maria Letizia Ramolino. Ia memiliki seorang kakak, Joseph; dan 5 adik, yaitu Lucien, Elisa, Louis, Pauline, Caroline, dan Jérôme. Napoleon di baptis sebagai katolik beberapa hari sebelum ulang tahunnya yang kedua, tepatnya tanggal 21 Juli 1771 di Katerdal Ajaccio. Kebangsawanan, kekayaan, serta koneksi keluarganya yang luas memberikan Napoleon kesempatan yang luas untuk belajar hingga ke jenjang yang tinggi. Pada bulan Januari 1779, Napoleon didaftarkan pada sebuah sekolah agama di Autun, Perancis, untuk belajar bahasa Perancis, dan pada bulan Mei ia mendaftar di sebuah akademi militer di Brienne-le-Château. Di sekolah, ia berbicara dengan logat Korsika yang kental sehingga ia sering dicemooh teman-temannya; memaksanya untuk belajar.
Napoleon pintar matematika, dan cukup memahami pelajaran sejarah dan geografi. Setelah menyelesaikan pendidikannya di Brienne pada 1784, Napoleon mendaftar di sekolah elit École Militaire di Paris. Di sana ia dilatih menjadi seorang perwira artileri. Ketika bersekolah di sana, ayahnya meninggal. Ia pun dipaksa menyelesaikan sekolah yang normalnya memakan waktu dua tahun itu menjadi satu tahun. Ia diuji oleh ilmuwan terkenal Pierre-Simon Laplace, yang di kemudian hari ditunjuk oleh Napoleon untuk menjadi anggota senat. Ia menjadi siswa di Akademi Militer Brienne tahun 1779 pada usia 10 tahun, kecerdasannya membuat Napoleon lulus akademi di usia 15 tahun. Karier militernya menanjak pesat setelah dia berhasil menumpas kerusuhan yang dimotori kaum pendukung royalis dengan cara yang sangat mengejutkan: menembakkan meriam di kota Paris dari atas menara. Peristiwa itu terjadi tahun 1795 saat Napoleon berusia 26 tahun. Berbagai perang yang dimenangkannya diantaranya melawan Austria dan Prusia.
Masa kejayaan
Napoléon Bonaparte (/nəˈpoʊliən, -ˈpoʊljən/; French: [napɔleɔ̃ bɔnapaʁt], born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution and its associated wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814 and again in 1815. Napoleon dominated European affairs for almost two decades while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won the large majority of his battles and seized control of most of continental Europe before his ultimate defeat in 1815. One of the greatest commanders in history, his campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide and he remains simultaneously one of the most celebrated and controversial political figures in European history.
Napoleon was born in Corsica in a relatively modest family of noble Italian ancestry that had settled in Corsica in the 16th century. Well-educated and an avid reader, he spoke French with a heavy Corsican accent. A supporter of the radical Jacobin faction, his military skills led to very rapid promotions under the French First Republic. His fame came especially in his Italian and Egyptian campaign, against coalitions of enemies of the French Revolution. Napoleon took power in 1799 and installed himself as First Consul with few restrictions on his control of France. In 1804 he was crowned emperor of the French people. He made peace with the pope and the Catholic Church, much to the relief of the religious element. He launched a new aristocracy for France while allowing the return of most of the aristocrats who had been forced into exile by the Revolution. He fought a series of wars—the Napoleonic Wars—that involved complex ever-changing coalitions against the French Empire.
With his victories at Ulm and Austerlitz (1805), he put an end to the Third Coalition, then he dissolved the old Holy Roman Empire and created the Confederation of the Rhine. However, his navy was destroyed at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and Britain imposed a naval blockade of the French coasts. In retaliation, he established the Continental System to cut off all European trade with Britain. A Fourth Coalition was set up against France, but was defeated at the battles of Jena-Auerstedt (1806), Eylau and Friedland (1807). It resulted in the dismemberment of Prussia and the resurgence of a Polish State. At Wagram (1809), Napoleon dissolved a Fifth Coalition and secured a dominant position in continental Europe.
Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through the formation of fluctuating alliances and the elevation of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French vassal states. Napoleon was himself President (1802–1805), then king of Italy (1805–1814), Mediator of the Swiss Confederation (1803–1813) and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine (1806–1813). When Napoleon placed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the throne of Spain and tried to compel Portugal to follow his Continental System, it led to opposition in both countries and, with assistance of the British army, to the Peninsular War which drained French resources. To enforce the Continental blockade, his large-scale invasion of Russia (1812) proved to be a major military failure with his Grande Armée virtually destroyed. Most European countries then turned against him.
The Sixth Coalition defeated him at the Battle of Leipzig (1813) and invaded France. Napoleon was forced to abdicate and go in exile to the island of Elba, most French territorial gains since 1792 were reversed and the king of France was restored. In 1815, he escaped and returned to power for hundred days, but was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. He spent the last 6 years of his life in confinement by the British on the remote island of Saint Helena. He was the great hero of the French people throughout the 19th century, and his nephew Napoleon III built on that fame to become ruler of France, 1848–1870.
