Napoleon Bonaparte free essay sample

Napoleon Bonaparte was a military and political leader of France who made significant mistakes leading him to his downfall. Napoleon was a man obsessed with power and wealth. He was well known for his genius abilities of leading a full army, and winning impossible battles. Napoleon felt confident and believed he was more powerful than ever. But every single one of his accomplishments led him to wanting more, which is when everything began to go wrong. He made choices that were no good to France and it’s citizens. Napoleon’s three main errors will be explained in the following essay. Bonaparte’s first great mistake was indeed the Continental System. The continental system was a foreign policy. It was basically a strict restriction against British trade. Napoleon’s reason to such bizarreness was to attempt an invasion on the UK, and to defeat the Royal Navy at sea. He did not accomplish these attempts. We will write a custom essay sample on Napoleon Bonaparte or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Napoleon then had the European nation under his full control, this only led to a very large debt. Eventually, Napoleon’s embargo failed miserably. The effect of this was very bad. Food imports in Britain dropped, and mainly the price of foods increased. This forced the Britain’s to begin smuggling with Continental Europe. But, even so, the continental system was not only affecting Europe and Britain, it was affecting many other nations, and France was on the list. Many industries that relied oversea markets began to decline, as well as buildings, and rope making. Profits were lost and no good was being done anywhere around. Napoleon caused much damaged to many, giving him the bad reputation that he began to gain, and mainly, his way on toward his downfall. Another well known mistake led to no good for the French as well. Napoleon did not learn from his first error, so he decided to take over and invade Russia. This was his most well known mistake. On 1812, the Russian defeated the French army that marked a hard hit to Napoleon’s ambition of invasion. The loss of the French was mainly because of an unintelligent move by Bonaparte. Bonaparte decided to move with his troops at a very wrong time, and the weather basically got the best of them. Napoleon realized that the weather was not good for them too late. Once they backed down, winter became their great major effect. He lost about 30,000 of his troops, and all because of the extremely low temperatures that led to diseases, and abandonment. Bad luck was what this basically was for Napoleon. This all influenced their great loss. The Russians managed to defeat the undefeated and invincible military genius that Napoleon was, and all for the smallest wrong move. Napoleon was replaced by Louis the 18th after this incident. He was banished to Elba, an island in the Mediterranean sea. Napoleon did not give up so easily. He managed to escape Elba, and yet make the last mistake he needed to literally complete his fall. Napoleon was so captivated by his failures that he decided to prove others wrong, that he can be that military genius everyone knew about. But, all did not go so well. Napoleon governed what was known as the Hundred Days War. This war led them to a place called Waterloo, where the definite battle of the campaign took place. After three days in Waterloo, Napoleon decided he couldn’t go any longer. He had never given up before, but he realized he had nothing. He was an outlaw, and many were against him. His troops were growing smaller and smaller, as attacks kept on coming in, and there was no sense in victory for him. This is when Napoleon Bonaparte finally decided to surrender himself to the British Captain Frederick Maitland. Napoleon was then exiled to the island of Saint Helena where he later died on May of 1821. His mistake was, the fact that he still went back to fight, when he could have just surrendered in the first place. Bonaparte was indeed a great man, and he still had the reputation of the great Military genius, but his force did not let him be the good man he once was. Bonaparte committed many mistakes that simply shouldn’t have happened. These three major mistakes are just three in a variety of small others. Ambition and obsession never leads to any good. Napoleon had to learn that the hard way. Napoleon Bonaparte free essay sample A Military Genius Carlos Sahagun Cordova High School Franklin Per. 3 January 31, 2013 Sahagun 2 Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte I chose Napoleon Bonaparte because he is one of the greatest military leaders that has ever lived. As a child, Napoleon excelled in military school and was always ahead of the game. At an early age of 10, Napoleon was accepted into the French Military School of Aristocrats. From there on he came to be one of the most successful and brilliant military leaders of all time. Sahagun 3 Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte: A Military Genius Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 14 of 1769 in the Corsican city of Ajaccio. He was the fourth child out of eleven. Napoleon’s father was a member of a well known, noble family. Napoleon began his military education at a young age of ten in 1779. He started his educational career at the French Military School of Aristocrats. He then transferred to the College of Brienne. We will write a custom essay sample on Napoleon Bonaparte or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A more difficult, sophisticated school. While studying at the College of Brienne, he was made fun of for his lower social class and the disability of not being able to speak French very well and his small body. They called him â€Å"little corporal†. Although he had to live with unsupporting peers every day, he was always above everyone. When French officials saw his talent, he was promoted and turned into a Second Lieutenant for the French army in 1785. In 1792, he was in a power struggle between the opposing forces of Pasquale Paoli. This was a struggle for the independence of Corsica. When Paoli was successful, he forced Napoleon and his family to go back to France. As a result of defeat, Napoleon started his new military career in France. He unknowingly started the French Revolution when he defeated the British at the battle of Toulan and regained control of Corsica again. He then moved into Paris and overthrew King Louis the 16th. Soon after, Napoleon was winning battle after battle Sahagun 4 Napoleon Bonaparte against Prussian, Russian, English, Austrian, and Swiss armies. Napoleon was later named first consul, or leader of the government. Soon after he was named Emperor of France. As emperor, Napoleon improved living conditions in France significantly. He established a Bank of France, redesigned education, and created a new legal system known as the Code Napoleon. By 1802, Napoleon was given the political position of First Consul for life. In 1805, the British destroyed the French in a naval battle known as â€Å"The Battle of Trafalgar†. That was the beginning of Napoleon’s fall from power. When the British destroyed the French they lost many battleships to England. As an act to regain control, Napoleon introduced the Continental System. A blockade that was set around the borders of what he controlled. His intentions were to stop all trade with England and weaken England financially. It was a terrible failure. Almost every trading post ignored their orders and kept trade going. In Spain in 1808, the Peninsular War broke out when Spain denied Napoleon’s brother Joseph as king. At the same time, Russia broke peace with Napoleon after breaking the Continental System’s rules. As a result Napoleon decided to invade Russia and attempt to  take control of it. This was Napoleon’s worst mistake. Lack of supplies, disease, and cold weather killed 500,000 of Napoleon’s men. When he returned to Paris, Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden formed a coalition against him and defeated him. He got exiled to the island of Elba. Meanwhile in France, King Louis the 16th’s brother, King Louis the 17th, was called to the Sahagun 5 Napoleon Bonaparte throne. When Napoleon found out what was happening in France he escaped from the island of Elba and landed in southern France. With an army of 1,500 soldiers he marched to Paris gaining more men as he went along. As word flew across France, Britain and Prussia found out and they formed another coalition against Napoleon. At the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was defeated once again and forced to step down a second time. He was then exiled to the small island of St. Helena in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. There he spent the rest of his life until he died of cancer on May 5th of 1821. Napoleon Bonaparte is classified as the best military leader of all time by many historians. No matter what the circumstances were every time, he never gave up. He was always ready for battle and never afraid of anything. Napoleon was a great military leader, politician, and last but most definitely not least, a great person. He lived in the hearts of the French who believed in him, and he now lives in all the hearts of the French who adore all his efforts that brought France their independence. Sahagun 6 Napoleon Bonaparte References Napoleon Bonaparte Biography. (2013). Advameg, Inc. 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