Napoleon
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Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was Emperor of the French from 18 May 1804 until his first abdication in 1814, with a brief restoration during the Hundred Days in 1815.
Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, fought for Corsican independence under Pasquale Paoli. After their defeat, he eventually became the island's representative to Louis XVI's court.
Bonaparte, aged 23, as lieutenant-colonel of a battalion of Corsican Republican volunteers. Portrait made in 1835 by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux.
Bonaparte at the Siege of Toulon, 1793, by Édouard Detaille
First French Empire
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The French Empire, known retroactively as the First French Empire, and colloquially as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of conti
The Battle of Austerlitz, 2nd December 1805, by François Gérard
Napoleon reviewing the Imperial Guard before the Battle of Jena, 1806
Aftermath of the Battle of Eylau, 1807
Napoleon demanded that Alexander I of Russia and Frederick William III of Prussia meet him at Tilsit in July 1807.