The Rise and Fall of the Napoleonic Empire.
Napoleon was born on an island that, for most of recorded time, has been in a fight for independence with one ruling power or another, weather it be Genoa or France, no matter. Corsica, in 1769, was the birth place of Napoleon Bonaparte. Not born of noble blood, Napoleon could did not have the privilege of one day being able to attain a leadership role in the French army. This did not deter him though; he received training in French military schools, being described as arrogant and ambitious. In 1795, poor, and unknown, he arrived in Paris, and began mixing with high society, yearning to join their privileged class. At this stage in his life, the world would be changed forever. During the French revolution, Napoleon's, along with many others", life change forever, along with it, world history. The French Revolution opened up a military career path for him, while at the same time, leadership positions needed to be filled, due to the fact generals had defected throughout the military to the opposite side. He did not pass up the opportunity. In 1795, the Directory, the ruling body in Paris, asked him to put down a rebellion within the city. He did so with stunning success, and impressed many in power. This was just the beginning.
Napoleon's political career began with a simple word, publicity. During his Italian campaign of 1796, and Egyptian campaign of 1798, the goal of both being to further the wealth and influence of France while wreaking havoc for other imperialist powers of the day, he did a very smart thing, he encouraged journalists to come and write about him. The writers accepted the invitation, and publicized him throughout Paris and all of France as a hero. This was a large boost to his popularity with the public, and a huge success politically. Napoleon's name was common place in discussions of everyone, most importantly, the masses.