Key dates in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon 1st at Fontainebleau on March 31, 1814, a few days before his first abdication.

Oil on canvas by Paul Delaroche (1840).

© Musée de l'Armée-Paris / Art Media / Print Collector / Getty

Text by: Nenad Tomic

14 mins

Without doubt one of the most emblematic characters in modern history, Napoleon Bonaparte fascinates with his dazzling destiny and at the same time raises controversies.

Unparalleled military strategist, in a few years, he will bring under his control almost all of Europe, except Russia and England.

Often compared to Alexander the Great for his epic triumphs and defeats, Napoleon reigned as a despot, but also acted as the builder of the French state as we know it today.

The year 2021 will have been rich in commemorations, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his death.

The opportunity to look back on the highlights of an exceptional destiny. 

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August 15, 1769:

 Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is the 2nd son of Carlo Maria Buonoparte and Letizia Ramolino. In 1771, Napoleon's father obtained recognition from France for the nobility of his family from Tuscany, Italy. On January 1, 1778, Napoleon and his brother Joseph entered the college in Autun. On May 15, 1779, Napoleon was admitted to the military college in Brienne, which he left in 1784 for the royal military school in Paris.

1793:

 the Bonaparte family must leave Corsica and take refuge in Toulon because they were engaged against the independence of the island. During the summer of 1793, France, led by the Directory, was threatened by the great European coalition. Napoleon was appointed artillery chief and assigned to the siege of the city of Toulon, then under the influence of the English. He contributed to its conquest on December 17, 1793. As a reward, he was appointed brigadier general by the Committee of Public Safety. When Robespierre fell in 1794 he was put in prison for a few months. But the Directory quickly understood that he was a brilliant soldier whose talents should benefit the homeland.

March 2, 1796:

 The Directory appoints Napoleon commander-in-chief of the army of Italy to support the Italian revolutionaries repressed by Austria. He proves to be a great tactician to put into practice the strategy he imagined during his numerous readings. For lack of superiority in number of men, it is a question of detecting the weak point of the adversary, of moving very quickly and of attacking by surprise successively two foreign armies. On November 15, near Rivoli, Napoleon began the battle which lasted 3 days and won against the enemy forces, however more numerous. The Austrians were forced to surrender and sign the Peace of Campo-Formio on October 17, 1797.

May 19, 1798:

 Napoleon Bonaparte leaves for Egypt in order to put an end to the influence of England, which has developed a flourishing trade.

French troops win the Battle of the Pyramids near Cairo on July 21.

But on August 1, the formidable English admiral Nelson blocked the French fleet in the bay of Aboukir.

Almost all French ships are sunk.

On July 25, 1799, Bonaparte won the battle of Aboukir but realized the English supremacy in the region.

He decides to return to Paris on August 23, 1799. This expedition will complete his popularity.

9-10 November 1799:

the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire of the year VIII. It is the parliamentary coup d'état drawn up by Sieyès and Roger Ducos in particular to overthrow the Directory, the government being, according to them, corrupt and bankrupt. They ask Bonaparte to help them carry out the coup d'état. He escorts the two legislative assemblies (the Council of Elders and the Council of the Five Hundred) to the castle of Saint-Cloud, claiming that an attack is brewing. On November 10, Bonaparte intervenes before the deputies of the Council of Five Hundred. The soldiers then enter the council chamber. A Consulate is established. On December 13, Napoleon was appointed First Consul (Sieyès and Ducros were the second and third Consul) and signed the new constitution of Year VIII. On May 12, 1802, he became Consul for life. During this period,Napoleon brings peace (signing of peace with the United Kingdom), reorganizes the administration, finances, Justice and the Church. He established the Banque de France, the prefectures and the departments, created the work book, the Code of Honor and finally the Civil Code.

May 20, 1802:

in France by decree. The First Consul has a colonial ambition and wants to regain control of the West Indian colonies. Above all, he wants to put an end to the uprising of Toussaint Louverture, the black military leader of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). At the end of 1801, he sent an expedition to Santo Domingo. Toussaint Louverture is arrested and deported. In the entourage of Napoleon Bonaparte, the colonists put pressure to restore slavery. By the law of May 20, 1802, the First Consul opts for the maintenance of slavery where it has not been abolished: in Martinique, returned by the English, as well as in the Indian Ocean, where the colonists refused. the decree of 1794. In Guadeloupe, slavery was reestablished by arms, despite the resistance of West Indian officers Ignace and Delgrès, and by a consular decree of July 16, 1802.This measure will also be applied in Guyana. In Santo Domingo, the former lieutenants of Toussaint overcame the expeditionary force which capitulated in November 1803. On January 1, 1804, the first decolonized black state was created under the name of Haiti. 

May 18, 1804:

 proclamation of the First Empire.

The Consul for life becomes Emperor of the French under the name of Napoleon 1st. 

December 2, 1804:

 at Notre-Dame de Paris, in front of 12,000 people, Napoleon 1st is crowned Emperor of the French by Pope Pius VII, who came specially from Rome for the event.

The ceremony lasts more than four hours.

The scene is represented by the famous painting "The coronation" by the painter Jacques Louis David.

21 October 1805:

the Battle of Trafalgar. The new imperial regime goes to war very quickly. During the summer of 1805, England formed a coalition with Austria, Russia, Sweden and the Kingdom of Naples to drive Napoleon out of Italy. Napoleon is crowned King of Italy in Milan on May 26. The English break the peace of Amiens and Napoleon decides to invade England. But, the invasion is only possible if the English fleet is far from the English Channel. Napoleon intends to attract the formidable Admiral Nelson to the Mediterranean to give him free rein and instruct Admiral Villeneuve, who commands the fleet in Toulon, to create a diversion. He engages in a game of cat and mouse with Nelson between Europe and the West Indies, then he anchors the fleet at Ferrol in northern Spain. But Villeneuve and Napoleon misunderstand each other.Villeneuve leaves for Cadiz and does not know that Napoleon abandons the plan to invade England, because he must go to Austria. Villeneuve goes up the Mediterranean coast, but before the Cape of Trafalgar in the south-east of Spain Nelson catches up with the Franco-Spanish fleet. During the battle of almost 6 hours, the French lost more than 5000 men, and almost the entire naval fleet. The English count only 450 dead soldiers, but Admiral Nelson loses his life and becomes a national hero. From now on, Napoleon no longer has a fleet to invade England. The Battle of Trafalgar is considered the greatest naval battle in history.but before Cape Trafalgar in the south-east of Spain Nelson catches up with the Franco-Spanish fleet. During the battle of almost 6 hours, the French lost more than 5000 men, and almost the entire naval fleet. The English count only 450 dead soldiers, but Admiral Nelson loses his life and becomes a national hero. From now on, Napoleon no longer has a fleet to invade England. The Battle of Trafalgar is considered the greatest naval battle in history.but before Cape Trafalgar in the south-east of Spain Nelson catches up with the Franco-Spanish fleet. During the battle of almost 6 hours, the French lost more than 5,000 men, and almost the entire naval fleet. The English count only 450 dead soldiers, but Admiral Nelson loses his life and becomes a national hero. From now on, Napoleon no longer has a fleet to invade England. The Battle of Trafalgar is considered the greatest naval battle in history.The Battle of Trafalgar is considered the greatest naval battle in history.The Battle of Trafalgar is considered the greatest naval battle in history.

December 2, 1805:

 Napoleon crushes the Russian and Austrian troops at Austerlitz. The thick morning fog of December 2 on the site of the battle of the Pratzen plateau constitutes an auspice for Napoleon. Austrian and Russian forces are on the heights, while part of the French troops are hidden. Napoleon shows all his talent as a strategist: his stroke of

led the enemies to place themselves in the desired position. Despite the numerical inferiority, the Emperor wins his most prestigious victory. The Austrians sign the Peace of Pressburg (Bratislava today) on December 26.

November 21, 1806: 

continental blockade.

England, which remains undefeated, is still Napoleon's great rival.

It has a dominant maritime force and controls world trade.

Very powerful economically thanks to the import of raw materials from its colonies (especially India) the industrial development of England has been dazzling.

The Emperor is obliged to change his plans, because since the defeat of Trafalgar he no longer has a fleet necessary to attack England by sea. He then decides to weaken his enemy economically and to block his trade.

Napoleon forced all the ports of the Empire and those of allied countries, such as Spain and Holland, to close their access to English ships.

1808:

 the Spanish countryside. A traditional ally of France, Spain is also a country which plays an important role in the continental blockade against England. The King of Spain, Charles IV accuses his son Ferdinand of having wanted to dethrone and assassinate him. Napoleon places the prince under his protection, the conflict between the father and the son giving him a reason to go to war. French troops under the command of Lieutenant-General Murat entered Spain on February 20. On March 18, a riot broke out in Aranjuez and the next day Charles IV abdicated in favor of his son who became Ferdinand VII. A few days later, Murat entered Madrid. But Charles IV disputes his abdication and asks Napoleon for arbitration. This summons the entire Spanish royal family to Bayonne. It is a trap because they then leave Spanish territory.He places his brother Joseph at the head of the kingdom of Spain. The inhabitants of Madrid rise up on May 2. The French repression on May 3 ignites the country, supported in its resistance by the English. General Bessières opened the road to Madrid to Joseph by victory on July 14, 1808 at Medina del Rio Secco. The next day, General Dupont capitulated in Baylen to the Spanish insurgents. Panicked and barely arrived, Joseph left Madrid on July 30. Faced with the uprising in Spain, Napoleon prepared to intervene personally, but Austria prepared its troops to attack the Empire from the east. The Emperor asks the Russian Tsar Alexander for help. But during the interview in Erfurt on September 27, Napoleon was betrayed by his minister Talleyrand who asked the tsar not to help him. Troubled by Alexander's reaction,Napoleon rushed towards Madrid, which capitulated on December 4.

January 1, 1809:

 Napoleon is in Asturga and he faces the English troops of Jon Moore from Portugal.

But he learns the intrigue of Talleyrand and his Minister of Police Fouché to replace him with Murat in the event of his death on the battlefield.

He left the battle against the English to General Soult and returned to Paris.

On January 28, he disgraced Talleyrand but left him free.

In Spain, the battles continue as Napoleon prepares to face Austria.

Spring 1809:

The Austrians plan to attack the French Empire from three directions: Bavaria, the Kingdom of Italy and Poland. For his part, Napoleon formed a new army, because most of his troops were engaged in Spain. On April 8, the Austrian Archduke attacked Bavaria and called on Germany to rise up against France. Napoleon has already been in Germany since April 17. He won the battles of Absensberg on the 20th, Landshut on the 21st, Eckmühl on the 22nd, Regensburg on the 23rd May 13th it was the turn of the capital Vienna to capitulate. Reinforced by part of the troops disengaged from Italy after having defeated Archduke John in Raab, Napoleon went on the offensive and crossed the Danube in order to fight Archduke Charles. On July 6, 1809, at Wagram, Napoleon crushed the Austrian troops.Peace was signed in Vienna on October 14, 1809.

December 15, 1809:

 Napoleon I divorced Joséphine de Beauharnais for reasons of state, his wife not being able to give him an heir after 13 years of union.

Napoleon needed a legitimate male heir to consolidate his imperial regime and create a new reigning dynasty, that of the Bonaparte.

He married on April 2, 1810 the Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, eldest daughter of his last enemy François 1st.

She will give him a son on March 20, 1811, who is made King of Rome from his birth.

April 8, 1812:

Franco-Russian disagreements are deep and the peace of Tilsitt, signed in 1807, shatters.

Czar Alexander declares war on Napoleon. 

June 24, 1812: 

Napoleon invades Russia with 480,000 soldiers. But the Russians procrastinated and refused to fight by trying to scatter the French forces. September 7 begins the great battle of the Moskva at the gates of the Russian capital. A week later, Napoleon's troops entered Moscow, which the Russians burned so as not to see their capital fall into the hands of the enemy. But the very harsh Russian winter contributed to the rout of Napoleon's army. He initiated the retreat of his troops on October 18. In great difficulty, the army crossed the Bérézina river in flood on November 28 and 29. Warned of a coup d'état in Paris, Napoleon hurriedly returned and entrusted the rest of the army to Marshals Ney and Murat. Only 20,000 soldiers returned to France.

October 16-19, 1813:

 the Great Army, exhausted and decimated, returns from the Russian campaign. But, the Russians and the Prussians ally again against France. Napoleon is finally defeated in Leipzig. On the news of this defeat, Belgium and Holland rise up while the Austrians, with the support of king and queen of Naples Joachim and Caroline Murat (brother-in-law and sister of Napoleon), take again the throne in Italy. Spain is also lost. Napoleon saw his Empire decline.

April 2, 1814:

 the forfeiture of the Emperor Napoleon. The English invade the south of France, while the Prussians, Austrians and Russians threaten Paris. On January 24, 1814, Napoleon set out on a campaign with an army of 60,000 soldiers. The Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube, March 20-21, marks the beginning of Napoleon's end. On March 31, 1814, the Allies entered Paris, the Emperor took refuge in the castle of Fontainebleau. At the same time, on April 2, the Senate votes for the deposition of the Emperor. Napoleon abdicates. He was exiled to Elba, an island off the coast of Italy, while Louis XVIII regained the throne of the Bourbons.

February 1815:

 The "Hundred Days". Napoleon embarked for France and arrived on March 1 in the Gulf of Juan. On March 20, he arrived in Paris acclaimed by the population and moved to the Tuileries Palace, Louis XVIII having taken refuge in Belgium the day before. To catch everyone by surprise, he invaded Belgium with the army of more than 130,000 men. On June 16, Napoleon prepares for the decisive battle at Waterloo, south of Brussels. On June 18, 1815, the British army led by General Wellington, helped at the end of the day by the Prussian army commanded by Marshal Blücher, finally won the Battle of Waterloo against the Napoleonic army. Defeated, Napoleon abdicated a second time, and surrendered to the English who exiled him to Saint Helena, a small isolated island in the South Atlantic.  

October 17, 1815:

after a trip of two and a half months, Napoleon arrives at the island of Saint Helena.

He devotes himself to writing his memoirs.

He suffers from the climate, confinement and depression.

May 5, 1821: 

death of Napoleon. 

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