Napoleon was born on an island that, for most of recorded time, has been in a fight for independence with one ruling power or another, weather it be Genoa or France, no matter. Corsica, in 1769, was the birth place of Napoleon Bonaparte. Not born of noble blood, Napoleon could did not have the privilege of one day being able to attain a leadership role in the French army. This did not deter him though; he received training in French military schools, being described as arrogant and ambitious. In 1795, poor, and unknown, he arrived in Paris, and began mixing with high society, yearning to join their privileged class. At this stage in his life, the world would be changed forever. During the French revolution, Napoleon’s, along with many others’, life change forever, along with it, world history. The French Revolution opened up a military career path for him, while at the same time, leadership positions needed to be filled, due to the fact generals had defected throughout the military to the opposite side. He did not pass up the opportunity. In 1795, the Directory, the ruling body in Paris, asked him to put down a rebellion within the city. He did so with stunning success,

Napoleon’s political career began with a simple word, publicity. During his Italian campaign of 1796, and Egyptian campaign of 1798, the goal of both being to further the wealth and influence of France while wreaking havoc for other imperialist powers of the day, he did a very smart thing, he encouraged journalists to come and write about him. The writers accepted the invitation, and publicized him throughout Paris and all of France as a hero. This was a large boost to his popularity with the public, and a huge success politically. Napoleon’s name was common place in discussions of everyone, most importantly, the masses. Throughout his campaigns abroad, he maintained a network of informants in Paris, these informants kept Napoleon abreast of the political scene of the Directory. Upon receiving word that the Directory was floundering politically, Napoleon took flight from his armies in Egypt, and returned to Paris in 1799. He promptly joined a conspiracy to topple the same institution that he had defended only four years earlier.

In the year of 1804 Napoleon named himself Emperor. In a grand ceremony, at Notre Dame, Napoleon did not receive, but took the crown and title from Pope Pius VII. It was said that the ceremony was so great and elaborate that it was equal to that of a king. Napoleon showed great respect for him, and himself only, by breaking with tradition. Instead of allowing Pope Pius to place the crown on his head, he took possession of the crown, and placed it on his own head. The powers of an Emperor allowed Napoleon do away with the vial of a constitution and rule as he saw best. It was not that Napoleon did not believe in constitutions, he believed they should be “vague and brief.” With these powers in hand, he was able to do so much in such a short amount of time on both foreign and domestic fronts.

All of these policies were popular with the public, and helped to improve Napoleon’s already large public persona. After his term was up as First Consul in 1802, Napoleon decided he was not ready to give up power; he called for a plebiscite, to be elected First Consul for life. By an overwhelming majority, he achieved his intended office. He wasted no time in celebrating, immediately setting out to

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