Napoleon was born in Corsica in 1769 to a family of minor Italian nobility. He attended military school in France and graduated at a young age, joining the army. During the French Revolution, Napoleon defended the Tuileries Palace from royalist rebels, becoming a hero. He married Josephine, though they had affairs. Napoleon led the French Army of Italy successfully against Austria and Sardinia between 1796-1797, gaining fame and influence. He led an expedition to seize Egypt in 1798 but was defeated by the British at the Battle of the Nile. Despite this, Napoleon maintained his popularity and fame in France.

1. Ch. 7.3 Napoleon Forges
an Empire Part I

2. Early Life
• He was born
Napoleone di
Buonaparte in the
town of Ajaccio on
Corsica, France, on
August 15,1769.
He later changed
his name to the
more French
sounding Napoleon
Bonaparte.
• He came from a
family of minor
Italian nobility
who moved to
Corsica in the 16th
century when the
island was under
the control of the
Republic of
Genoa.

3. • He attended a
military school
near Troyes,
France when he
was 9 years old.
• 1784, Bonaparte
was admitted to
the elite École
Royale Militaire
in Paris, where
he completed
the two-year
course of study
in only one year.
• Upon graduation
in September
1785, he was
commissioned as
a second
lieutenant of
artillery and took
up his new duties
in January 1786 at
the age of 16.

4. • Having joined
the army of the
new government
when the
Revolution
broke out,
Napoleon was
given a chance
for glory in
October 1795.

5. • Royalist rebels marched on the
National Convention on October
3, 1795.
The Tuileries Palace photographed in 1860, before it was torched
in 1871 and eventually demolished in 1883.
Napoleon is
ordered to
defend the
Tuileries where
the delegates
were.

6. October 5, 1795
13 Vendémiaire Year 4
• Napoleon seized artillery and
used the cannonade to repel the
attackers.
• Napoleon boasts that he cleared
the streets with a “whiff of
grapeshot.”
• Napoleon becomes a hero and
savior of the French Republic.

7. Napoleon and Josephine
a love story
• Josephine was a Reign of Terror widow
who was “connected” to many of the
influential policy makers of the French
government (most notably Paul Barras).
• Napoleon may have initially began an
affair with Josephine to take advantage
of her connections.
• Love letters sent from the both however
tell a different reason for their affair.
• Napoleon and Josephine married on
March 9, 1796… two days later,
Napoleon left to lead the Army of Italy.
• Affairs on both sides will cool passions
and Josephine’s inability to give
Napoleon a child, and the need for a
political alliance with Austria, will
prompt his divorce from Josephine in
1810.

8. Italian Campaign
• 1796- the Directory
(led by Paul Barras)
appointed Napoleon
to lead a French
army against Austria
and the Kingdom of
Sardinia.

9. • Bonaparte took command
of the French "Army of
Italy" on 27 March 1796,
leading it on a successful
invasion of Italy.
• He gained the nickname of
"The Little Corporal" (le
petit caporal), a term
reflecting his camaraderie
with his soldiers, many of
whom he knew by name.

10. • While campaigning in Italy,
General Bonaparte became
increasingly influential in
French politics. He
published two newspapers
(for the troops in his army)
which were widely
circulated within France
as. In May 1797 he founded
a third newspaper,
published in Paris, entitled
Le Journal de Bonaparte et
des hommes vertueux.

11. Egypt 1798-
1799
• In March 1798, Bonaparte
proposed a military expedition
to seize Egypt, then a province
of the Ottoman Empire, seeking
to protect French trade
interests and undermine
Britain's access to India.

12. • Napoleon’s army was
unsuccessful and was
pinned down in Egypt.
• His naval forces were
soundly beaten by the
British naval officer
Admiral Horatio Nelson
August 1-3, 1798 in the
Battle of the Nile.

13. • Despite his defeat, Napoleon
was influential enough to keep
his failures out of the French
newspapers.
• His fame continued to grow and
the words “the general” became
synonymous with Napoleon.