Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. His father was Carlo Buonaparte, an important attorney who represented Corsica at the court of the French King. He had four brothers and three sisters including an older brother named Joseph.

Coming from a fairly wealthy family, Napoleon was able to attend school and get a good education. He went to a military academy in France and trained to become an officer in the army. When his father died in 1785, Napoleon returned to Corsica to help handle the family's affairs.

While in Corsica, Napoleon became involved with a local revolutionary named Pasquale Paoli. For a while he helped Paoli in fighting against the French occupation of Corsica. However, he later changed sides and returned to France after the French Revolution occurred in Paris. The people revolted against the King of France Louis XVI and took control of the country. The royal family and many aristocrats were eventually killed.

Upon Napoleon's return, he had allied himself with a radical group of the revolutionaries called the Jacobins who ere responsible for these executions. He received a position as the artillery commander at the Siege of Toulon in 1793. The city of Toulon was occupied by British troops and the British navy had control over the port. Napoleon came up with a strategy that helped to defeat the British and forced them out of the port. His military leadership in the battle was recognized by the leaders of France and, at the young age of 24, he was promoted to the position of brigadier general.

In 1796, Napoleon was given command of the French army in Italy. When he arrived in Italy, he found the army to be poorly organized and losing to the Austrians. Napoleon, however, was an ambitious man and a brilliant general. He used superior organization in order to move troops rapidly around the battlefield so they would always outnumber the enemy. He soon drove the Austrians out of Italy and became a national hero.

After next leading a largely unsuccessful but still well publicised military expedition in Egypt, Napoleon then returned to Paris in 1799. The political climate in France was changing. The current government called the Directory were losing power. Together with his allies, including his brother Lucien, Napoleon formed a new government called the Consulate. Initially, there were to be three consuls at the head of the government, but Napoleon soon gave himself the title of First Consul. His powers as First Consul essentially made him dictator of France.

As the dictator of France, Napoleon was able to institute a number of government reforms. One of these reforms was the famous Napoleonic Code. This code said that government positions would not be appointed based on a person's birth or religion, but on their qualifications and ability. This was a big change in the French government. Before the Napoleonic Code, high positions were given to aristocrats by the king in return for favors. This had often led to incompetent people in important positions.

Napoleon also helped to improve the French economy by building new roads and encouraging business. He reestablished the Catholic Church as the official state religion, but at the same time allowed for freedom of religion to those who weren't Catholic. Napoleon also set up non-religious schools, so anyone could get an education.

Napoleon's power and control continued to grow with his reforms. In 1804, he was crowned the first Emperor France. At the coronation, he did not allow the Pope to place the crown on his head, but instead crowned himself.