This Day in History: 5 May 2020
5 May 1821
199 years ago, today, Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile, as a British prisoner, on the remote island of Saint Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean. He was one of the greatest military strategists in history, who rapidly rose in the French Revolutionary Army's ranks during the late 1790s. By 1799, France encountered war with most of Europe, and Napoleon returned home from his campaign in Egypt to take control of the French government, saving his nation from collapsing. He began to reorganise armies, and defeated Austria, before establishing the Napoleonic Code in 1802, which was a new system of French law. 2 years later, he was crowned emperor of France in Notre Dame cathedral, and soon after, he controlled an empire stretching from the River Elbe to Italy.
However, Napoleon started to face significant defeats after 1812. He suffered through a disastrous invasion of Russia, lost Spain to the Duke of Wellington, and endured total defeat against an allied force. In early 1815, he was exiled to the island of Elba, but managed to escape to France, where he raised a new Grand Army, that saw temporary success before its breaking defeat at Waterloo against Wellington's forces. As a result, Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena, where he died 6 years later. His death was most likely a result of stomach cancer, and in 1840, his body was given to Paris.
Want to find out more about the life and death of Napoleon Bonaparte? Click here for more information on his death, and here for more details about his life.
No comments:
Post a Comment