Then it
was that the national hero--self-crowned Napoleon I, emperor of the
French,--by means of war, conquest, annexation, or alliance, spread the
ideas of his country far and wide throughout Europe. Before we review
the main activities of the constructive consulate or of the proselyting
empire, we should have some notion of the character of the leading
actor.
THE FRENCH REPUBLIC UNDER THE CONSULATE, 1799-1804
[Sidenote: Napoleon Bonaparte]
When General Bonaparte executed the _coup d'etat_ of 1799 and
seized personal power in France, he was thirty years of age, short, of
medium build, quiet and determined, with cold gray eyes and rather
awkward manners. His early life had been peculiarly interesting. He was
born at Ajaccio in Corsica on 15 August, 1769, just after the island
had been purchased by France from Genoa but before the French had fully
succeeded in quelling a stubborn insurrection of the Corsicans.
Belonging to a prominent and numerous Italian family,--at the outset
his name was written Napoleone di Buonaparte,--he was selected along
with sons of other conspicuous Corsican families to be educated at
public expense in France.
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