Napoleon was born on 15th August 1769, on an island called Corsica. On the map, you can see that it's a huge island between Italy and France. It's the same island where Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone's comedy film, Matargashti, was shot. During the 1700s, Corsica was ruled by a country that doesn't exist today. The Republic of Genoa. The flag of this country looked something like this, and many of the territories that are now part of Italy and Greece, were under the control of this country. One of these territories was Corsica, but the people living in Corsica were tired of it. The Corsican people had a sense of nationalism.
That they wanted to become a free country. And this person was leading the struggle for freedom. Pasquale Paoli. Napoleon was a Corsican nationalist in his childhood, and he saw Paoli as his idol. By the 1760s, the battle in Corsica had increased. And this small country of the Republic of Genoa, was already in debt. It was in trouble. So in 1768, they decided to sell the island of Corsica. Literally, they sold the island to France. The freedom fighters of Corsica were very unhappy with this, but they couldn't do much. It wasn't easy for France to fight the great imperial power. Next year, in 1769, there was a battle between the French army and them. It was called the Battle of Ponte-Nouveau. France won the battle very easily.
And Corsica became French territory. A few months later, Napoleon was born. Napoleon's father, Carlo, was a lawyer who fought with the freedom fighters for Corsica's freedom. But as soon as the French army won the battle, Pauli had to leave the country. And Napoleon's father, Carlo, changed his side. Napoleon's father became a French royalist to such an extent that he used connections to rise up in his career. He got the status of a nobility for himself. And by 1777, he became the representative of Corsica to the court of the new French king, Louis XVI. Seeing all this, Napoleon was very upset. He didn't like his father at all. In his opinion, his father was a coward and a coward. But because of his father's connections, Napoleon and his brother Joseph were able to get scholarships.
And with this help, Napoleon was able to get admission in the French Military College. While studying, Napoleon was surrounded by the children of French aristocrats. The other children would make fun of him at school, because his accent was a bit different. But he didn't try to get along with them either. Because in his opinion, the French were the colonisers. And his dream was to free his country, Corsica, one day. That's why Napoleon was very lonely in school, and he only got the support of books. The Enlightenment-age philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, liked Napoleon. There was a big reason behind this. Rousseau talked about Corsica's freedom. He made the people of Corsica brave. But apart from philosophy, Napoleon was also interested in Maths, History, and Geography.
And in all these subjects, Napoleon He excelled a lot. His favourite book was Plutarch's Parallel Lives. 48 ancient people's biographies were written in this book. Biographies of people like Alexander and Julius Caesar were written in this book. And Napoleon slowly began to compare himself to Caesar. After graduating from school, Napoleon joined the military academy in Paris, and did his specialisation in artillery. After graduating from here, he was made the 2nd Lieutenant of the Royal Artillery in the French Army. But during this time, they would often go back to Corsica and still idolize Pasquale Paoli. But then came the year 1789, when the French Revolution took place in France.
When this happened, Corsica's island entered the French National Assembly. And Pasquale Paoli was forgiven. they returned from their 20-year exile. And Napoleon was one of the people who welcomed them back home. The elections were called in Corsica again. And Pauline became the President after winning the elections. By this time, Napoleon's traitorous father had died. And Napoleon himself idolised Pauline. But Pauline still didn't forgive Napoleon's family. Pauline said that he couldn't allow such a traitorous family to live in Corsica. So Napoleon and his family, they had to leave Corsica and shift to France in June 1793. After this, Paoli broke ties with the French Revolutionary Assembly. And his enemies took British aid. This is why in 1794, an Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was established. France was completely removed from Corsica.
And Corsica became a puppet state under the British. But this lasted only for 2 years. In 1796, France attacked the British. And once again, Corsica fell under French rule. At that time, France was going through its own civil war. There were many different factions of French revolutionaries. There were some counter-revolutionaries. There were different groups fighting each other. In 1793, a political group called the Jacobins, came to power and formed a government in France. This group was led by Maximilian Robespierre. In such times, Napoleon wrote a political pamphlet in which he expressed his support for Jacobin's government. Jacobin's leader, Maximilian Robespierre's brother, read this pamphlet and was quite impressed. This helped Napoleon to advance in his career. Then in September 1793, something happened that made Napoleon's popularity even higher.
There was a French naval base called Toulon. There was an uprising going on, by some group. Later, the British forces also attacked here. Napoleon was sent by the French army to take over the command here. Napoleon's position at the time was Senior Gunner and Artillery Commander. He made a plan to win this battle, which he shared with his commanders. He said that first, he would take over the fort, then he would reach the mountain from there, and he would be able to dominate the guns there. He could attack the British ships from there. When this plan was put into action, Napoleon fought very bravely. He also suffered a serious injury. But after 3 months, the French army won. The French army's General Dugomir said about Napoleon, I have no words to describe Bonaparte's merit.
He had a lot of technical skills, intelligence, and bravery. Napoleon was an amazing man. After this battle, Napoleon was given the rank of Brigadier General. And what's amazing is that Napoleon was only 24 years old at the time. The situation in France was still very bad. Civil war was going on. Maximilian Robespierre tried his best to bring some reforms. Like universal male suffrage. All men were given voting rights at the age of 18. Women were not given political rights, but many reforms were brought for women. Like the right to divorce for women. Before this, a woman could never ask for divorce. Then the right to education and work was extended for women as well. Robespierre not only abolished slavery in France, but also banned slavery in French colonies.
This is why even today, if you go to France, you'll see how many roads and metro stations have been named after Robespierre. But Robespierre was actually a controversial person. Because during his time, we saw the reign of terror. Whenever his government thought that anyone who was against the French Revolution, would be killed. People were killed just because of a slight suspicion. During this period, at least 20,000 French people were killed. Along with this, he also started the work of eliminating Catholic Christianity from France. The government confiscated all the properties of the Church. His government said that from now on, only one supreme God would be considered. And this God would be at the service when he would do his duty to help the helpless.
In July 1794, amidst so much turmoil and instability, there was a coup against the Jakevinsky government. This government was completely overthrown. And Robespierre was also killed. August 1794. Because Napoleon was in favour of this government, Napoleon was sent to jail. But he tried his best to defend himself, and only a few weeks later, he was released from jail. Paul Barras was a famous person who did this coup. He had known Napoleon since the time of the Siege of Toulon, and gradually, he started to like him. In October 1795, Napoleon was given the responsibility of suppressing a revolution. The French army's forces were outnumbered by 1 to 6. But using 40 cannons and a little infantry, Napoleon suppressed the revolution within 2 hours. Paul Baras was so happy that Napoleon was given the rank of General.
Napoleon became a national hero. Napoleon was only 27 years old at the time, and he was now the General of the French army. After a few months, he was given command of the Army of Italy. It didn't mean the Italian army, it meant the French army that was conducting its operations in Italy. It was called the Army of Italy. The people of this army had no motivation, no discipline, and no supplies. Napoleon motivated his people by giving amazing speeches. He said that no one wins without discipline. But after winning, looting and stealing from the conquered territories was not a thing of bravery. In fact, only cowards do this. Napoleon's armies never stole anything. But Napoleon did steal art. You heard it right. Napoleon was fond of art.
Because he wanted to build a universal museum in Paris. With a large collection of world-wide artworks. After many years, Napoleon even changed the name of the Louvre Museum. He changed the name of the museum to his own name. But when we come back to the Army of Italy, Napoleon fought a famous battle against the Austrians. called the Battle of Arcole. This battle is also depicted in this famous painting. Napoleon's tactics were to move the troops from one place to another, in different formations, and surprise attack the enemies. Because of this, Napoleon won the Battle of Arcole. In 1798, France was planning to invade the British Isles. But when Napoleon was called back to Paris, Napoleon refused to fight the battle. Napoleon said that the British Navy was too strong, and that there was no point in invading.
Instead, Napoleon suggested a campaign in the Mediterranean. He suggested that he would go south and capture the country of Egypt, and stop the British from reaching India. After that, Napoleon planned to help the Mesur's Tipu Sultan fight the British. So Napoleon started his Mediterranean campaign with 40,000 soldiers. He would sit on many ships, The soldiers left the city of Toulon. Napoleon not only had soldiers with him, but also more than 160 scientists, scholars, and artists. It was their job to collect and record the new things they learnt in these new countries. Napoleon's army advanced towards the south. First, the island of Malta was captured. After that, they land on the Egyptian coast, in Alexandria. This is where the Battle of Alexandria and the Battle of Pyramids take place.
Where to defeat the Ottoman army and the local kings. The French flag was waved at the Citadel of Kaidbe. The fortress that you'll find in Egypt today. Napoleon established an Institute of Egypt, whose aim was to study the history, culture and resources of Egypt in a systematic manner. And to spread the idea of Enlightenment to Egypt. But Napoleon's plan wasn't going to last long. Just a few weeks later, in August 1798, a large British Navy fleet attacked the French. Many French ships were destroyed. A French Admiral was also killed. This battle is known as the Battle of Nile. In this historic painting, you can see how many French ships were destroyed. About a year later, in August 1799, after the constant defeat of the French army, Napoleon left his army and secretly fled from Egypt.
Napoleon's military campaign was a major failure. Not only did they help Tipu Sultan reach India, but Egypt was also taken by Napoleon. And the first capture of Malta, was also recaptured by the British. You might ask, what is the reason for mentioning this failure? There are two reasons for this, friends. The first reason is that even though this campaign failed militarily, it remained scientifically successful. The biggest discovery in this campaign is the famous Rosetta Stone. A stone on which the same message is written in three different languages. With its help, we can understand the language of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Other than this, French scientists have made many discoveries on what kind of trees and plants are found in Egypt. What is the topography of Egypt? What is the design of the buildings? how Egyptian jars are used for food preservation. The second reason why this failed campaign is important is that when Napoleon returns to France, he doesn't return like a loser. Instead, he is welcomed with applause like a hero. You might wonder how this happened. Napoleon losing everything to his army, He ran away, but was still seen as a hero. The reason behind this, friends, was the propaganda pro-Max that had been in Napoleon's favour for many years. From newspapers to paintings and sketches, from official bulletins to songs and poems, Napoleon was praised everywhere in France.
There were six newspapers in France at that time. Napoleon had established a few of them himself. And Napoleon took control of some of the newspapers. The newspapers would publish news of various battles. And the stories in these newspapers, Napoleon himself would tell them. Napoleon would show himself to be a very knowledgeable person. Many positive paintings and sketches were used to show his heroic battles. When he chose a scientist for his Mediterranean campaign, the newspaper had seven pages, writing every minute-by-minute detail of the meeting. He would give speeches to the soldiers. He would publish them in all the newspapers. Apart from this, the stories of Napoleon's childhood were also published in the newspapers, which actually didn't even happen. Imaginary stories were made, that Napoleon was like this when he was a child, that Napoleon did this great thing when he was a child.
There's another interesting story here, about Napoleon's love for Josephine. This romantic relationship has been shown in the film with great depth. Director Ridley Scott says that Napoleon conquered the entire world to win over Josephine's love. But when he couldn't win over her, he conquered the entire world to destroy her. And in the same process, he destroyed himself. I won't go into too much detail about this story in the artical. You can understand that after watching the movie. But to return to the issue of propaganda, look at these propaganda paintings. This is a painting commissioned by Napoleon himself. It shows that Napoleon is on his Mediterranean campaign. How when they reach Jaffa, they are helping some sick people. In this painting, they are almost depicted as Jesus Christ.
Another example is this painting. It depicts the Battle of Marengo. The battle the French army fought against the Austrians in 1800. In this painting, Napoleon is shown riding a horse, crossing the Alps. It's worth noting that this painting is so inspired by Alexander's sculptures. And why is this a propaganda painting? Because Napoleon didn't cross the mountain like this. Look at this painting made in 1850. This is how he crossed the mountain. He was sitting on a rock and a farmer was showing him the way. But what is shown in the propaganda painting? Wow! Like a hero, he's sitting on a horse and jumping off the mountain. This propaganda was being done to fulfil Napoleon's real purpose. Napoleon's final ambition. To gain power. When Napoleon returned from Egypt to France, there was a lot of conflict in France.
And many reports of corruption were coming out. In November 1799, they had a coup. They expelled the government of that time and formed a new consulate government. In which Napoleon himself became the first consul of the government. Two more people were given aiding counsels, and a new constitution was introduced in France. Most people in France did not find anything wrong with it, because they were so impressed with the propaganda. Napoleon was seen as a person who was above politics. Whatever he was doing was in the French national interest. And was being done to spread the ideas of Enlightenment. To get the approval of the people on this new constitution, a referendum was held in France. Napoleon's brother Lucien was the Minister of Interior in France.
He announced the results of the referendum. He said that about 30,13,000 people voted. And 99.9% of them said that they were in favour of the new constitution. Wow! So 99.9% of the people in France were in favour of Napoleon? Is this true? Not at all. In reality, only about 1.5 million people voted in favour of Napoleon. French historian Claude Langlois presented evidence in 1972, after many centuries, that the referendum results were fraud. More than 50% of the voters voted in favour of Napoleon. Two years later, in 1802, another referendum was held. This time, Napoleon asked the people, should Napoleon become the Council for Life? Once again, the people got the results. 99.7% of the French people are in favour of Napoleon always sitting in power for life.
Even after two fraud referendums, Napoleon wasn't satisfied. In 1804, a third referendum was held. To ask the people whether Napoleon should become the King of France. The result of the referendum was that 99.9% of the people said that Napoleon should become the King of France. Napoleon said that he wasn't that hungry for power, but that he wanted to become a king. He was joking. Actually, that didn't happen. Napoleon wasn't one of those who kept the hunger for power hidden. Napoleon openly said that he loved power. Power is my mistress. These are his famous lines. I have worked so hard to get it. And I won't let it go away from me under any circumstances. Actually, in those times, the hunger for power was considered an acceptable quality among the kings and nobles.
Napoleon loved power so much that for the next 10 years, he fought one after the other in Europe. He would sign peace treaties in between. Like in 1802, he signed a peace treaty with Britain. But the war would resume soon. Because even the British were hungry for power. The rest of the European countries at that time did not only fight Napoleon for power, but also for their survival. Many of the European kings and emperors were afraid of the French Revolution. They considered Napoleon to be a threat to their kingdom. In the French Revolution artical, I told you that the idea of nationalism was first given by the thinkers of Enlightenment. Like Rousseau and Voltaire. It was the ideology of the left-wing revolutionaries. On the other hand, the right-wing people, their ideology was to support monarchy and social hierarchy.
The system that was going on, kept going on. The left-wing people said that they were all equal. That they were free. And that they wanted the freedom of the country. Later, this nationalism became the basis of republicanism. And this idea was spreading rapidly in the rest of the European countries at that time. The revolutionaries were rising up, challenging the power of the kings and emperors. So the kings and emperors began to form their collations. Between 1792 and 1815, collation wars were fought. In which monarchies went to war against France. In a way, Napoleon's work was a liberator. He brought freedom and revolution to every corner of Europe. When Napoleon's army went to Italy, he said that the people of Italy, the French army, had come to break your chains.
There is no difference between us ordinary people. We have come to destroy the kings and emperors who have imprisoned you. This is why the people of Milan, in Italy, saw Napoleon as a hero. Napoleon gave them freedom from the Austrian king Francis II. Italian revolutionary and poet, Ugo Foscolo, famously said in 1802, I will name you therefore, Bonaparte, the unheard of title of Liberator of Peoples and Founder of Republics. In 1803, one of the most famous music composers, Beethoven, named his song, Napoleon. As a form of tribute, he named his Symphony No. 3, Bonaparte. He believed that Napoleon was a hero, because he had the idea of democracy and anti-monarchy, all over Europe. But how can a person be a hero who puts a crown on his head, declares himself king, and makes false referendums?
As soon as Beethoven found out that Napoleon had declared himself king, he shouted in anger and said, that Napoleon was just a man, not a god. Now he too would come to power and torture the people. He changed the name of his symphony to Bonaparte. It's true that Napoleon took many decisions that went against the ideas of the French Revolution. In 1802, he signed two laws that introduced slavery again. His opinion on women was very aggressive. He believed that the most important woman was the one who gave birth to the most children. He snatched many women's rights that were given to women during the French Revolution. People were given priority in the Divorce Laws. Freedom of expression, the freedom of speech, was another great value that the French Revolution had.
But Napoleon also began to impose restrictions on it. Those who spoke against Napoleon, were sent to exile. And all the independent newspapers were shut down. After Napoleon's arrival, France did gain stability. But France remained a dictatorship. If Napoleon was truly interested in spreading the ideas of the French Revolution, they could at least bring democracy back to France. I had started this artical with the story of Corsica. How Napoleon used to dream of Corsican independence as a child. But after becoming a king, he never thought of liberating Corsica. In fact, let alone bringing democracy to France, Napoleon made his brothers the king of the countries he would conquer. In May 1808, France waged a war against Spain. The king of Spain, Carlos IV, He had to step down from the throne.
And Napoleon gave the throne of Spain to his brother Joseph. Before this, Joseph was the king of Naples and Sicily. Napoleon's younger brother Jerome was made the king of Westphalia. This is a region in today's Germany. In 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was captured by Napoleon, the king of that region was also made by Napoleon's brother Louis. But behind the hunger for power, Napoleon had a positive legacy which is important to tell. Some of the decisions that Napoleon took were very good for France and Europe in the future. First, the Napoleonic Code of 1804. For the first time, France got a proper legal framework, where the law was written in the right way. Second, the equality of the males. Where Napoleon snatched the rights of women, and reintroduced slavery.
Whereas the equal rights given to the male citizens under the law, were not changed. After this, feudalism ended forever in France. The territories that Napoleon occupied, were also under these laws. Third, secularism. Under Napoleon, the French government was secular. There was religious freedom in France. Anyone who wanted to practice a religion, had the freedom to do so. In 1801, Christianity returned to France. When Napoleon signed an agreement with the Pope. But the relationship between the government and the Church, could never return as before. The balance was more tilted in favour of the government. The traditional positions of the Catholic clergy in the Churches, did return. But Napoleon did the job of selecting the bishops himself. It was under the control of the government.
The Church's finances were now supervised by the government. So the Church's power was very low. And since then, it was forever in Europe. Fourth, establishing a banking system. Napoleon established the Bank of France in 1800. The hyperinflation that was seen earlier came under control and their currency stabilized. Fifth, Napoleon introduced a modern and efficient tax system. Before this, the nobility and kings didn't have to pay taxes. But in Napoleon's system, no one could avoid paying taxes. Sixth, the education system. Napoleon set up primary, secondary, and high schools. A University of France was established. Uniformity was brought into the education system. Teachers were trained and teachers were sent to a centralized recruitment. Technical schools, civil service schools, and military schools were all regulated by the government.
The level of education increased rapidly. Seventh, water distribution. In 1808, they modernised the old water pumps in Paris. They built a new canal. So that water could directly reach Paris. They constructed 15 water fountains. It ensured that the people living in Paris never starved to death. The storerooms and granaries were also modernised. Eight new markets were built. A wine market, a wheat market, everything was organised. So as a conclusion, it can be seen that Napoleon was hungry for power. But he wasn't the fourth king. Napoleon was an intelligent man who turned out to be a good administrator, who took many good steps for the French people. Some people compare Napoleon to Hitler, which in my opinion, is not the right comparison. Because Napoleon never spread hatred against a religion or a community.
Nor did Napoleon ever adopt a strategy of divide and rule. It's true that he did kill millions of people. But he did it in the greed of war and power. And finally, let's talk about how Napoleon ended. Napoleon won many battles. But he also lost many. Like the Egyptian campaign that I talked about. Napoleon had installed a continental system which was an economic blockade on Britain by all the French allied countries. When Russia breached this continental system in 1812, Napoleon attacked Russia. The Russian forces refused to fight. The Russian forces would retreat and set the ground on fire. So that when Napoleon's forces reached there, they wouldn't get anything to eat. Napoleon's army reached Moscow. But there was nothing in Moscow. For a month, he waited for a surrender from the other side, but nothing came.
There was no food in the empty city, so Napoleon had to return his hungry army. In 1813, the United Kingdom, Russia, Prussia, Austria, Sweden, and many other countries, attacked Napoleon together. This was called the Battle of Leipzig. This defeat was a huge defeat for France. After that, Napoleon was sent to exile on the island of Elba in 1814. In the next year, 1815, Napoleon had a dramatic comeback. When he gathered his soldiers again, and marched towards Paris. The crowd gathered with him, and he became king again. But this story goes on for only 3 months. The United Kingdom and its allies once again wage a war against Napoleon. This becomes Napoleon's final battle. The Battle of Waterloo. This time, Napoleon is deported to a very distant island.
St Helena. Where he takes his last breath after 6 years. In 1821. And this is the end of Napoleon's great story. What do you think about Napoleon? Write in the comments below after listening to the entire story. I hope you have now gained a basic understanding of Napoleon through this artical. You will now enjoy watching the movie. Because you will now know which characters are being portrayed in the movie. Go and watch this movie in cinemas.
