Napoleón I Bonaparte was a French military man and statesman, republican general during the Revolution and the Directory, architect of the coup of 18 of Brumaire that turned him into the first consul (Premier Consul) of the Republic on November 11, 1799; consul for life from August 2, 1802 until his proclamation as emperor of the French (Empereur des Français) on May 18, 1804, and was crowned on December 2; He was proclaimed King of Italy on March 18, 1805 and crowned on May 26. He held both titles until April 11, 1814 and, from March 20 to June 22, 1815.
For a little more than a decade, it took control of almost all of Western and Central Europe through a series of conquests and alliances. Only after his defeat at the Battle of Nations, near Leipzig, in October 1813, was he forced to abdicate months later. He returned to France and power during the period called the Hundred Days and was defeated forever at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium on June 18, 1815, when he was banished by the British on the island of Santa Elena, where he died.
Napoleon is considered one of the greatest military geniuses in history, since he commanded very successful war campaigns, although with certain defeats equally as resounding. His aggressive wars of conquest became the largest military operations known until then in Europe, involving a number of soldiers never seen in the armies of the time. In addition to these military feats, he is known by the Napoleonic Code; He is considered by some an "enlightened despot" because of his extraordinary talent and ability to work. Others, however, esteem it a tyrannical dictator whose wars caused the death of millions of people. He is judged as the key character that marked the beginning of the nineteenth century and the subsequent evolution of contemporary Europe.
