Napoleon

just factually inaccurate, war of fourth coalition started in 1806

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	'''Napoléon Bonaparte''' ({{IPAc-en|n|ə|ˈ|p|oʊ|l|i|ən|,_|-|ˈ|p|oʊ|l|j|ən}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/napoleon "Napoleon"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{IPA-fr|napɔleɔ̃ bɔnapaʁt|lang}}, born '''Napoleone di Buonaparte'''; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the [[French Revolution]] and led [[Napoleon Bonaparte's battle record|several successful campaigns]] during the [[French Revolutionary Wars|Revolutionary Wars]]. As '''Napoleon I''', he was [[Emperor of the French]] from 1804 until 1814, and again in 1815. Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, building a [[First French Empire|large empire]] that ruled over continental Europe before its final collapse in 1815. One of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. He also remains one of the most celebrated and controversial political figures in history.<ref name="Roberts, Andrew 2014">Roberts, Andrew. ''Napoleon: A Life''. Penguin Group, 2014, Introduction.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Charles Messenger, ed. |title=Reader's Guide to Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VT7fAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA391|year=2001|publisher=Routledge|pages=391–427|isbn=978-1-135-95970-8}}</ref> Napoleon had an extensive and powerful impact on the modern world, bringing liberal reforms to the numerous territories that he conquered and controlled, especially the [[Low Countries]], [[Switzerland]], and large parts of modern [[Italy]] and [[Germany]]. He implemented fundamental liberal policies in France and throughout Western Europe.{{#tag:ref|He established a system of public education,{{sfn|Grab|2003|page=56}} abolished the vestiges of [[feudalism]],<ref name="Broers">Broers, M. and Hicks, P.''The Napoleonic Empire and the New European Political Culture''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, p. 230</ref> [[Napoleon and the Jews|emancipated Jews]] and other religious minorities,<ref name="Conner">Conner, S. P. ''The Age of Napoleon''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, pp. 38-40.</ref> abolished the [[Spanish Inquisition]],<ref name="JosephPerez">Perez, Joseph. ''The Spanish Inquisition: A History''. Yale University Press, 2005, p. 98</ref> enacted [[Equality before the law|legal protections]] for an emerging middle class,<ref name="FisherBarnes">Fremont-Barnes, G. and Fisher, T. ''The Napoleonic Wars: The Rise and Fall of an Empire''. Osprey Publishing, 2004, p. 336</ref> and centralized state power at the expense of religious authorities.<ref>Grab, A. ''Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, Conclusion.</ref>|group=note}} His lasting legal achievement, the [[Napoleonic Code]], has been highly influential. Roberts says, "The ideas that underpin our modern world—meritocracy, equality before the law, property rights, religious toleration, modern secular education, sound finances, and so on—were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon. To them he added a rational and efficient local administration, an end to rural banditry, the encouragement of science and the arts, the abolition of feudalism and the greatest codification of laws since the fall of the Roman Empire."<ref> Andrew Roberts, ''Napoleon: A Life'' (2014), p. xxxiii.</ref>		'''Napoléon Bonaparte''' ({{IPAc-en|n|ə|ˈ|p|oʊ|l|i|ən|,_|-|ˈ|p|oʊ|l|j|ən}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/napoleon "Napoleon"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{IPA-fr|napɔleɔ̃ bɔnapaʁt|lang}}, born '''Napoleone di Buonaparte'''; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the [[French Revolution]] and led [[Napoleon Bonaparte's battle record|several successful campaigns]] during the [[French Revolutionary Wars|Revolutionary Wars]]. As '''Napoleon I''', he was [[Emperor of the French]] from 1804 until 1814, and again in 1815. Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, building a [[First French Empire|large empire]] that ruled over continental Europe before its final collapse in 1815. One of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. He also remains one of the most celebrated and controversial political figures in history.<ref name="Roberts, Andrew 2014">Roberts, Andrew. ''Napoleon: A Life''. Penguin Group, 2014, Introduction.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Charles Messenger, ed. |title=Reader's Guide to Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VT7fAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA391|year=2001|publisher=Routledge|pages=391–427|isbn=978-1-135-95970-8}}</ref> Napoleon had an extensive and powerful impact on the modern world, bringing liberal reforms to the numerous territories that he conquered and controlled, especially the [[Low Countries]], [[Switzerland]], and large parts of modern [[Italy]] and [[Germany]]. He implemented fundamental liberal policies in France and throughout Western Europe.{{#tag:ref|He established a system of public education,{{sfn|Grab|2003|page=56}} abolished the vestiges of [[feudalism]],<ref name="Broers">Broers, M. and Hicks, P.''The Napoleonic Empire and the New European Political Culture''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, p. 230</ref> [[Napoleon and the Jews|emancipated Jews]] and other religious minorities,<ref name="Conner">Conner, S. P. ''The Age of Napoleon''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, pp. 38-40.</ref> abolished the [[Spanish Inquisition]],<ref name="JosephPerez">Perez, Joseph. ''The Spanish Inquisition: A History''. Yale University Press, 2005, p. 98</ref> enacted [[Equality before the law|legal protections]] for an emerging middle class,<ref name="FisherBarnes">Fremont-Barnes, G. and Fisher, T. ''The Napoleonic Wars: The Rise and Fall of an Empire''. Osprey Publishing, 2004, p. 336</ref> and centralized state power at the expense of religious authorities.<ref>Grab, A. ''Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, Conclusion.</ref>|group=note}} His lasting legal achievement, the [[Napoleonic Code]], has been highly influential. Roberts says, "The ideas that underpin our modern world—meritocracy, equality before the law, property rights, religious toleration, modern secular education, sound finances, and so on—were championed, consolidated, codified and geographically extended by Napoleon. To them he added a rational and efficient local administration, an end to rural banditry, the encouragement of science and the arts, the abolition of feudalism and the greatest codification of laws since the fall of the Roman Empire."<ref> Andrew Roberts, ''Napoleon: A Life'' (2014), p. xxxiii.</ref>
−	Napoleon was born in [[Corsica]] to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. He supported the [[French Revolution]] in 1789 while serving in the French army, and tried to spread its ideals to his native Corsica. He rose rapidly in the Army after he saved the governing [[French Directory]] by [[13 Vendémiaire|firing on royalist insurgents]]. In April 1796, he began his [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|first military campaign]] against the Austrians and their Italian allies, scoring a series of decisive victories and becoming a national hero. Two years later, he led a [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|military expedition to Egypt]] that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a [[Coup of 18 Brumaire|coup in November 1799]] and became ''[[French Consulate|First Consul]] of the Republic''. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a [[War of the Third Coalition|Third Coalition]] by 1805. Napoleon shattered this coalition with decisive victories in the [[Ulm Campaign]] and a historic triumph at the [[Battle of Austerlitz]], which led to the elimination of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. In 1805 [[War of the Fourth Coalition|Fourth Coalition]] took up arms against him the same year because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon knocked out Prussia at the [[Battle of Jena–Auerstedt|battles of Jena and Auerstedt]], then turned his attention towards the Russians and annihilated them in June 1807 at [[Battle of Friedland|Friedland]], which forced the Russians to accept the [[Treaties of Tilsit]]. Two years later, the Austrians challenged the French again during the [[War of the Fifth Coalition]], but Napoleon solidified his grip over Europe after triumphing at the [[Battle of Wagram]].	+	Napoleon was born in [[Corsica]] to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. He supported the [[French Revolution]] in 1789 while serving in the French army, and tried to spread its ideals to his native Corsica. He rose rapidly in the Army after he saved the governing [[French Directory]] by [[13 Vendémiaire|firing on royalist insurgents]]. In April 1796, he began his [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|first military campaign]] against the Austrians and their Italian allies, scoring a series of decisive victories and becoming a national hero. Two years later, he led a [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|military expedition to Egypt]] that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a [[Coup of 18 Brumaire|coup in November 1799]] and became ''[[French Consulate|First Consul]] of the Republic''. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a [[War of the Third Coalition|Third Coalition]] by 1805. Napoleon shattered this coalition with decisive victories in the [[Ulm Campaign]] and a historic triumph at the [[Battle of Austerlitz]], which led to the elimination of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. In 1806, the [[War of the Fourth Coalition|Fourth Coalition]] took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon knocked out Prussia at the [[Battle of Jena–Auerstedt|battles of Jena and Auerstedt]], then turned his attention towards the Russians and annihilated them in June 1807 at [[Battle of Friedland|Friedland]], which forced the Russians to accept the [[Treaties of Tilsit]]. Two years later, the Austrians challenged the French again during the [[War of the Fifth Coalition]], but Napoleon solidified his grip over Europe after triumphing at the [[Battle of Wagram]].
	Hoping to extend the Continental System, Napoleon invaded [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]] and declared his brother [[Joseph Bonaparte|Joseph]] the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The [[Peninsular War]] lasted six years, featured brutal [[guerrilla warfare]], and culminated in an Allied victory. Napoleon launched an [[French invasion of Russia|invasion of Russia]] in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the catastrophic retreat of the [[Grande Armée|Grand Army]], and encouraged his enemies. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a [[Sixth Coalition]] against France. A chaotic military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the [[Battle of Leipzig]] in October 1813. The Allies [[1814 campaign in France|invaded France]] and captured Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. He was exiled to the island of [[Elba]] near Rome. The [[Bourbon dynasty|Bourbons]] were [[Bourbon restoration|restored to power]]. However, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France. The Allies responded by forming a [[War of the Seventh Coalition|Seventh Coalition]], which ultimately defeated Napoleon at the [[Battle of Waterloo]] in June. The British exiled him to the remote island of [[Saint Helena]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean|South Atlantic]]. His death in 1821 at the age of 51 was received with shock and grief throughout Europe.		Hoping to extend the Continental System, Napoleon invaded [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]] and declared his brother [[Joseph Bonaparte|Joseph]] the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The [[Peninsular War]] lasted six years, featured brutal [[guerrilla warfare]], and culminated in an Allied victory. Napoleon launched an [[French invasion of Russia|invasion of Russia]] in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the catastrophic retreat of the [[Grande Armée|Grand Army]], and encouraged his enemies. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a [[Sixth Coalition]] against France. A chaotic military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the [[Battle of Leipzig]] in October 1813. The Allies [[1814 campaign in France|invaded France]] and captured Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. He was exiled to the island of [[Elba]] near Rome. The [[Bourbon dynasty|Bourbons]] were [[Bourbon restoration|restored to power]]. However, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France. The Allies responded by forming a [[War of the Seventh Coalition|Seventh Coalition]], which ultimately defeated Napoleon at the [[Battle of Waterloo]] in June. The British exiled him to the remote island of [[Saint Helena]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean|South Atlantic]]. His death in 1821 at the age of 51 was received with shock and grief throughout Europe.