UNIVERSIDAD DE ORIENTE

ACADEMIC WRITING I

HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

“Never interrupt your enemy, when he is making a mistake.”

Do you know who Napoleon Bonaparte is? If you don’t know anything about his life, in the following biography you will find many interesting things that happened in his life, for example how he became an important person not only in French but in Europe, and some information about how successful his military life was.

Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, France. His parents were Carlo Maria di Bonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino. He was the four of eleven children. Napoleon began his education at a boys´ school in Ajaccio. When he was ten years old, he was allowed to enter French Military School for aristocrats. And he was sent, with his older brother Joseph, to the college of Autun in Burgundy, France, in 1779. Then, Napoleon was transferred to another college that was a French Military School but in this school Napoleon has some problems, when he arrived there because he was made fun of by the other students for his lower social standing and because he spoke Spanish and he didn’t know French well. Furthermore he was very small size, and he got the nickname of the “little corporal.” After that Napoleon received an excellent education, but when his father died, Napoleon led his household. Napoléon had two wives. Firstly he was married with Josephine on March 9th, 1796 in Paris, France. Then, he married Mary Louise on April 2, 1810 in Paris, France.

Napoleon is one of the most famous military and political leaders in history. His political achievements are many and they alone have filled whole books. His military achievements which are no less remarkable changed the perspective of Europe forever and brought a new era of warfare, of the nation at arms. Napoleon was a complex man, who at the start of his career was constructive and took France to new heights of power, but by the end brought years of war and destruction. Worshipped by his followers and seen as an ogre by his enemies, his boundless enthusiasm and limitless ambition are hard to resist. His glory as a military commander is paramount. But hundreds of thousands died for his ambition which had an appetite that could not be satisfied even when he conquered most of Europe and beyond, and proclaimed himself Emperor of a country which had started out as a revolutionary republic. By this situation Napoleon built his defeat as emperor. His first defeat was at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, bringing an end to the Napoleonic era of European history. After napoleon was literally defeated, he returned to Paris and abdicated on June 22, in favor of his son. He decided to leave France before counterrevolutionary forces could rally against him. And on July 15, he surrendered to British protection at the Rochefort port. He hoped to be sent to the United States, but the British instead of sending him there, they sent him to Saint Helena, a remote island in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. Napoleon protested but he had no other choice than accepting the exile. With a group of followers, he lived quietly on St. Helena for six years. In May 1821, he died, most likely of stomach cancer. He was only 51 years old.

Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the most important personalities around the word because in his earlier years he became in an important military in France. Nobody could think that his main perspectives would change at the end, but he was the person who changed the military life of France. He was the first emperor of that country because of his proper ambition to dominate all Europe. That was the principal reason because Napoleon began to pull down his empire. He was not only one of the most important personalities, but also the best military strategist around the world. And this is the reason why I chose this person to write a biography. Besides his spirit of a fighter, inspires to fight for everything important to us in life.

By José Salvador Salazar Escobar.