Napoleon Bonaparte
The revolution is over.
With this brief statement, Napoleon Bonaparte, appointed First Consul of the Republic at just 30 years old, drew a line under ten years during which an event of world-historical significance had taken place: the French Revolution. He himself had been involved in it. Due to his close ties with the protagonists of the Terror, he was briefly imprisoned after Robespierre’s fall, but a few years later, he capitalized on his popularity as a victorious general of the revolutionary army to seize absolute power in France. He cemented many of the Revolution’s achievements: equality before the law, a centralized state structure, and the abolition of feudal privileges. Nevertheless, millions of deaths on the battlefields of the early 19th century bear witness to the military megalomania of this brilliant man, who remains to this day the most famous Frenchman in the world.
JK
1769 - 1821
- August 15, 1769 · Birth in Ajaccio, Corsica.
- 1789 · Participation in a popular uprising in Corsica.
- December 22, 1793 · After the recapture of Toulon, he is appointed brigadier general.
- July 28, 1794 · After Robespierre’s fall, Napoleon is briefly detained.
- October 5, 1795 · Successful suppression of a royalist uprising in Paris, appointed major general.
- March 1796 · Start of the victorious Italian Campaign (until 1797).
- May 1798 · Start of the Egyptian Campaign (until 1799).
- November 9, 1799 · 18 Brumaire, overthrow of the Directory.
- November 10, 1799 · Napoleon puts pressure on the Councils assembled at Saint-Cloud and has himself proclaimed First Consul of the Republic.
- December 15, 1799 · The Consulate declares the Revolution to be over.
- August 2, 1802 · The Senate declares Napoleon First Consul for life.
- May 18, 1804 · The Constitution of Year XII enters into force. End of the Republic, beginning of the Empire.
- December 2, 1804 · Coronation as Emperor of the French.
- April 2, 1814 · Napoleon’s first abdication; he is exiled to Elba.
- March 1, 1815 · Napoleon returns to France, beginning of the Hundred Days.
- June 18, 1815 · Battle of Waterloo, shortly thereafter, Napoleon is exiled to Saint Helena.
- May 5, 1821 · Napoleon dies on Saint Helena.
Quotes
He who saves his country violates no law.
Napoleon
Men are made of flesh and blood, but it is dreams that govern them.
Napoleon
Alexander the Great, Caesar, and I, we founded great empires through force, and after our deaths, we have no friends. Christ founded his kingdom on love, and even today, millions would willingly die for him.
Napoleon
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External links
Le Moniteur
Quintidi, 25 frimaire an 8 de la république française, une et indivisible
(December 16, 1799)
The deputies resist Napoleon, 10 November 1799.
