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'''Napoleon Bonaparte'''{{efn|English: {{IPAc-en|n|ə|ˈ|p|oʊ|l|i|ə|n|_|ˈ|b|oʊ|n|ə|p|ɑːr|t}} {{respell|nə|POH|lee|ən|_|BOH|nə|part}}; {{
Born on the island of [[Corsica]] to a family of Italian origin, Napoleon moved to mainland France in 1779 and was commissioned as an officer in the [[French Royal Army]] in 1785. He supported the French Revolution in 1789, and promoted its cause in Corsica. He rose rapidly through the ranks after winning the [[Siege of Toulon (1793)|siege of Toulon]] in 1793 and defeating royalist insurgents in Paris on [[13 Vendémiaire]] in 1795. In 1796, Napoleon commanded [[Italian
The breakdown of the [[Treaty of Amiens]] led to the [[War of the Third Coalition]] by 1805. Napoleon shattered the coalition with a decisive victory at the [[Battle of Austerlitz]], which led to the [[dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire]]. In the [[War of the Fourth Coalition]], Napoleon defeated [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] at the [[Battle of Jena–Auerstedt]] in 1806, marched his {{lang|fr|[[Grande Armée]]}} into Eastern Europe, and defeated the [[Russian Empire|Russians]] in 1807 at the [[Battle of Friedland]]. Seeking to extend his [[Continental System|trade embargo against Britain]], Napoleon invaded the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and installed his brother [[Joseph Bonaparte|Joseph]] as [[King of Spain]] in 1808, provoking the [[Peninsular War]]. In 1809, the Austrians again challenged France in the [[War of the Fifth Coalition]], in which Napoleon solidified his grip over Europe after winning the [[Battle of Wagram]]. In summer 1812, he launched [[French invasion of Russia|an invasion of Russia]], which ended in the catastrophic retreat of his army that winter. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russia in the [[War of the Sixth Coalition]], in which Napoleon was decisively defeated at the [[Battle of Leipzig]]. The coalition [[1814 campaign in France|invaded France]] and captured Paris, [[Abdication of Napoleon, 1814|forcing Napoleon to abdicate]] in April 1814. They exiled him to the Mediterranean island of [[Elba]] and restored the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbons to power]].
Napoleon is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and [[Napoleonic tactics]] are still studied at military schools worldwide. His [[Legacy of Napoleon|legacy]] endures through the modernizing legal and administrative reforms he enacted in France and Western Europe, embodied in the [[Napoleonic Code]]. He established a system of public education,{{sfnp|Grab|2003|page=56}} abolished the vestiges of [[feudalism]],<ref name="Broers">{{Cite book |last1=Broers |first1=M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMgIBFA5AcUC&pg=PA230 |title=The Napoleonic Empire and the New European Political Culture |last2=Hicks |first2=P. |last3=Guimera |first3=A. |date=10 October 2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-27139-6 |pages=230 |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202040241/https://books.google.com/books?id=MMgIBFA5AcUC&pg=PA230 |archive-date=2 December 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Napoleon and the Jews|emancipated Jews]] and other religious minorities,{{sfnp|Conner|2004|pp=38–40}} abolished the [[Spanish Inquisition]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pérez |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Pérez |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9oL0js9g5kkC&pg=PA98 |title=The Spanish Inquisition: A History |date=2005 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-11982-4 |pages=98 |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202040241/https://books.google.com/books?id=9oL0js9g5kkC&pg=PA98 |archive-date=2 December 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> enacted the principle of [[equality before the law]] for an emerging middle class,{{sfnp|Fremont-Barnes|Fisher|2004|p=336}} and centralized state power at the expense of religious authorities.{{sfnp|Grab|2017|pp=204-211}} His conquests acted as a catalyst for political change and the development of [[nation state]]s. However, he is controversial due to his role in wars which devastated Europe, his [[Napoleonic looting of art|looting]] of conquered territories, and his mixed record on civil rights. He abolished the free press, ended directly elected representative government, exiled and jailed critics of his regime, reinstated slavery in France's colonies except for [[Haitian Revolution|Haiti]], banned the entry of blacks and mulattos into France, reduced the civil rights of women and children in France, reintroduced a hereditary monarchy and nobility,{{sfnp|Dwyer|2015a|pp=574-76, 582-84}}{{sfnp|Conner|2004|pp=32-34, 50-51}}{{sfnp|Bell|2015|p=52}} and violently repressed popular uprisings against his rule.<ref name="Repa222">{{cite news |last=Repa |first=Jan |date=2 December 2005 |title=Furore over Austerlitz ceremony |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4491668.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420234710/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4491668.stm |archive-date=20 April 2010 |access-date=5 April 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
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In the next few months, Napoleon marched against the advancing Russian armies through Poland and fought a bloody stalemate at the [[Battle of Eylau]] in February 1807.<ref>{{harvp|McLynn|1997|p=370}}</ref> After a period of rest and consolidation on both sides, the war restarted in June with an initial struggle at [[Battle of Heilsberg|Heilsberg]] that proved indecisive.{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|p=243}}
On 14 June Napoleon obtained an overwhelming victory over the Russians at the [[Battle of Friedland]],
Napoleon offered Alexander relatively lenient terms—demanding that Russia join the Continental System, withdraw its forces from [[Wallachia]] and [[Moldavia]], and hand over the [[Ionian Islands]] to France. In contrast, Prussia was treated harshly. It lost half its territory and population and underwent a two-year occupation costing it about 1.4 billion francs. From former Prussian territory, Napoleon created the [[Kingdom of Westphalia]], ruled by his young brother Jérôme, and the [[Duchy of Warsaw]].{{sfnp|Roberts|2014|pp=458–461}}{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|pp=247-50}}
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[[File:Napoleon i Poniatowski Lipsk.jpg|thumb|Napoleon and Prince [[Józef Poniatowski|Poniatowski]] at [[Battle of Leipzig|Leipzig]], painting by [[January Suchodolski]]]]
The French, pursued by the Russians, withdrew from most of Poland and Prussia over the winter of 1812–13 while both sides rebuilt their forces.<ref>{{Harvp|Broers|2022|pp=280-84}}</ref> Sweden and Prussia declared war on France in March 1813. In April, Napoleon assumed command of an army of 200,000 troops,<ref>{{Harvp|McLynn|1997|p=550}}</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Dwyer|2013|p=445}}</ref> and defeated the coalition at [[Battle of Lützen (1813)|Lützen]] and [[Battle of Bautzen (1813)|
The coalition, however, had a growing advantage in infantry, cavalry, reserves and armaments. In the largest battle of the Napoleonic wars, the coalition was victorious at [[Battle of Leipzig|Leipzig]] in October. Although coalition casualties were 54,000 men, the French lost 38,000 killed or wounded and 15,000 taken prisoner. Up to 50,000 more were lost to death, illness and desertion during the French retreat to the Rhine.<ref>{{Harvp|Dwyer|2013|pp=453, 458-63}}</ref>{{sfnp|Chandler|1995|p=1020}}
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