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Napoléon

Napoléon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader whose career bridged the French Revolution and the early 19th century reshaping of Europe. Born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica, he joined the French army and rose quickly through the ranks during the revolutionary wars.

In 1799 he seized political power in a coup d'état that established the Consulate, and in 1804

Domestically, Napoléon implemented wide-ranging changes. The Napoleonic Code standardized civil law, while administrative centralization, a centralized

Military challenges included the invasion of Russia in 1812 and the Peninsular War, which drained resources

Napoléon’s legacy remains debated. He is celebrated for his administrative and legal reforms and for reshaping

he
crowned
himself
Emperor
of
the
French,
centralizing
authority
and
pursuing
a
program
of
reform.
He
led
a
series
of
military
campaigns—the
Napoleonic
Wars—against
coalitions
of
European
powers
and
expanded
French
influence
across
much
of
the
continent.
education
system,
the
Bank
of
France,
and
the
prefecture
system
reorganized
state
governance.
In
foreign
affairs,
the
Concordat
of
1801
with
the
Catholic
Church
redefined
church–state
relations,
and
the
legal
and
administrative
framework
he
established
influenced
many
European
legal
systems.
and
eroded
support
at
home.
After
a
brief
exile
on
Elba
in
1814,
Napoléon
returned
to
power
for
a
Hundred
Days
in
1815,
but
was
defeated
at
Waterloo
and
exiled
to
Saint
Helena,
where
he
died
in
1821.
Europe,
yet
criticized
for
his
ambition
and
the
autocratic
aspects
of
his
rule
and
the
wars
that
accompanied
it.