4AN: Okay here we are again, I deiced I should post this, Napoleon Bonaparte is a personal hero of mine, and when my teacher told us to make an informal essay on something we know a lot about I picked Napoleon, my facts were from memory but, I am almost 100 sure it is all correct. If it seems rushed it is due to the fact that the bulk of my information had to be done in 3 paragraphs, mine is in four but, hey no one noticed. Anyway here it is (an extremley condensed version but nonetheless a version) and I hope that you enjoy it, if that is anyone reads it.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte: a man, a general, an emperor. It could be said that the greatest man to come out of France was Napoleon Bonaparte. As a ruler he was sharp, intelligent, abrupt, but most of all a man that was strategic and goal oriented, taking the world by storm after the French Revolution, when France needed a leader the most. He was not a monarch by any means he was a soldier, one with a quick mind ready to do what was to be done. And he was exactly the kind of ruler needed to prove that France was and shall always be a powerful country.
Born on August 15th, 1769 in a city of Corsica, which was still under French rule, was it not for that, Napoleon may never have served under the rein of Louis XV. The Bonaparte family was not a small one, he was the second child of eight. Little is known about the early life of Napoleon, we do know that the bonds in the family were unbreakable and were held in high regard. Napoleon Bonaparte did not live a poor life, nor did he live a rich one, his father being a lawyer was able to create ties in the country of France therefore permitting his children to attend a French military school. It was this, that started a young Napoleon Bonaparte on a path to greatness.
Napoleon was a serious man, he was ambitious and extremely structured. Because of this he created many laws, the Napoleonic code is one that parts of it are still in use today. The Napoleonic code ensured many freedoms such as, no person was to be prosecuted due their religion, or work choice. Under his instruction roads were built, much like in the cases of Rome so that his armies could move quickly. He created schools and institutions for the gifted and scholarships were put into place. If it not for Napoleon and his laws, on exports and imports, the French economy would have collapsed entirely long before the Industrial Revolution. Accomplishments were many and without the keen eye of Napoleon Bonaparte- France and the rest of the world would not be the thriving place as it is now.
Before Napoleon was able to create such a system he first had to come into power. After military school Napoleon was a part of the French army, being as tactful and determined as he was he quickly rose through the ranks. By 1795 Napoleon was commanding his own army. Once Napoleon had an army, all he needed was a country, and after leading successful conquests into several countries Napoleon did what he had always dreamed- he crowned himself Emperor of France with a goal to one day be emperor of all of Europe.
It seemed as though he would succeeded until unfortunately in 1812, he marched on the largest country- Russia herself. Being as Russia had a poor economy, and due to it's vast size, few people spoke the same language. Were it not for it's size I firmly believe that Napoleon would have succeeded in conquring Russia. The Grand Armeé traveled deep into the heart of the bitter cold country, the Tsar had other plans ordering a mass burning of all the resources, he planned to starve the largest army in all of Europe out. Much to the dismay of the French people, the emporer and the army returned empty handed and in short, thousands of men returned to Paris. It was the Russian campaign that in many peoples opinion began the end of the rule of the greatest Frenchmen to ever be born under it's flag. France was unable to recover it's loss of men and when the French attacked the British at Waterloo a massacre that will never be forgotten by both the French and English. Waterloo was a desperate last hope to regain some of the status and control that was lost in the Russian campaign. The abbreviate, The Duke of Wellington beat the French army, but not without a fight, the battle was in that only in the last few moments did anyone know who the victor was. Napoleon was forced to retreat but, was caught by the British guards and was forced into exile at the Island of Saint Helena, were it not for the fear of his army rising up again he may have been able to live out the end of his days in a safer country, his vision of living his exile in England were proved to be of false hope and the British forced him to remain in Saint Helena until his death in 1821.
Napoleon Bonaparte was a man that created and helped modernize France. He left a legacy that will never be forgotten. Many people including myself regard Napoleon as not only a hero of war but truly a hero of France. Napoleon was able to rise rapidly through the ladder of society, he captured most of Europe despite only being a minor nobility, and he proved to the world that France was something that should be respected and looked upon with esteem.