THE NAPOLEONIC EXPERIENCE

JAKE SHELTROWN

BASIC TIMELINE OF NAPOLEON’S LIFE

• Born in 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica

• Emperor of France in 1804

• Exiled to the island of Elba around 1814

• Escaped Elba and fought in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815

• Lost the Battle of Waterloo

• Exiled to the island of Saint Helena and died in 1821

NAPOLEON SHOWS PROMISE

• After commanding forces in Italy Napoleon shows promise that he will make a great general in the future.

• After invading Egypt and losing his army due to the British, Napoleon was able to escape Egypt and the British army and return to France.

• Lastly, after making peace with Britain, Spain, and the Dutch Republic, Napoleon was declared Consul for Life in 1802, at a prime age of 33!

NAPOLEON EYES WORLD DOMINATION

• Once Napoleon was Emperor he started to focus on a possible world-wide empire.

• Napoleon claimed the Louisiana Territory in the New World but then later sold it because for the need of money to fund his military.

• Napoleon sent men to India, Australia, Persia, North Africa looking to lay claim on any land, but his hopes were dashed by British victories.

NAPOLEONS DOMINATION OVER EUROPE

• Napoleon was King of Italy in 1805.

• Napoleon appointed his brother Joseph as King of Naples in 1806 and later appointed him as King of Spain in 1808.

• Napoleon’s brother Louis was King of the Netherlands in 1806.

• Napoleon’s brother Jerome was King of Westphalia in 1807.

• The one country Napoleon couldn’t defeat or even invade was Britain, Britain had a powerful navy, and Napoleon knew he would lose most of his troops if he did invade.

HIS DOWNFALLTHE INVASION OF RUSSIA

• In June 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with 500,000 troops.

• Napoleon was doing well until he marched to Moscow, the Russians burnt all of their cities to make sure Napoleon and his army couldn’t find any food or shelter to protect themselves from the cold winter.

• Napoleon suffered tremendous losses in Russia and returned home with only 40,000 troops and finding the city of Paris being apprehended by enemy forces.

NAPOLEON IS EXILED…

• Napoleon is banished to the island of Elba.

• Louis XVIII becomes the new king of France but he is disliked by the people of France because of the many changes he imposed.

• Napoleon escaped the island of Elba with 1,100 men and returned to France to fight one last time in the Battle of Waterloo.

THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO

• Napoleon’s army was outnumbered 2 to 1. His men were tired and had little fight left in them to be victors over a strong allied army.

• Napoleon was defeated by the forces of the Allies and was sent to Saint Helena, this time far enough from Europe and civilization where there could be no possible escape.

DEATH AND BURIAL

• Napoleon was exiled to the island of Saint Helens and died 6 years later.

• Today his tomb can be found at the Les Invalides in Paris, France.