Napo

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

a river of South America, a tributary of the upper Amazon, rising on the slope of Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador and flows S. E., emptying into the Amazon river, about 50 miles below Iquitos. Its total length is about 750 @ NAPOLEON AS A YOUNG OFFICER miles. It is navigable for nearly 400 miles and flows through a region rich in gold, rubber, and other products, which has been little exploited. NAPOLEON I. (NAPOLEON BONA- PARTE), called THE GREAT, EMPEROR of the French; born in Ajaccio, Corsica, Aug. 15, 1769. He was the son of Charles Bonaparte, a noble Corsican of little fortune and his wife, Letizia Ramolino, a woman of great beauty, courage, and ability. Having early evinced a decided taste for military life, he was, at the age of 11, sent to the military school of Brienne, in Champagne, France, and in 1784, to the military school of Paris. In 1785 he was nominated sub-lieutenant of artillery, and sent on duty in his native country. In 1792 he was driven out of the island by Paoli, the ally of the English, and retired to Marseilles, where he lived in poverty with his mother and sisters. He was made a captain in 1793, and soon after he was employed to subdue Marseilles, a mission in which he was successful. The same year he was sent to join the besieging army before Toulon, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. For his services at Toulon, Napoleon was appointed Brigadier-General of artillery, with the chief artillery command in the S. of France; but having been suspected on acount of a mission to Genoa, his name was erased from the active-service list. He was ere long, however, called to active and important duties in his own country. When the directors were reduced to extremities by the insurrection of the sections, in October, 1795, they gave him the command of their forces, which were only 5,000, shut up in the quarters of the Carousel and Louvre. Napoleon immediately adopted his plan of action, and planted cannon in all the streets round the assembly; and when the National Guard, to the number of 30,000, approached to drive out and arrest the Convention, he played on their ranks with grape-shot with such effect that, after a vain struggle of many hours, the National Guards broke and fled, and were ultimately during the night surrounded in their different retreats, attacked, disarmed, and sent to their homes. For this important service, the Convention appointed him second in command of the army of the interior, and subsequently, by the retirement of Barras, to the post of General of the Interior. Soon after Napoleon married Josephine Beauharnais he was, in February, 1796, given the command of the army of Italy, which for the last four years had lain inoperative at the base of the Alps between Savoy and the sea. A few NAPOLEON AS FIRST CONSUL days after his marriage he set out for his command. He found the troops in a most miserable condition. Descending like a torrent from the summit of the Publishers Photo Service Enc. Vol. 6-p. 373 THE TOMB OF NAPOLEON, SHOWING ALSO THE ALTAR IN THE BACKGROUND THE CITY AND BAY OF NAPLES, WITH VESUVIUS IN THE DISTANCE International Film Service THE NATIONAL CEMETERY AT ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, SHOWING THE MEMORIAL AMPHITHEATER CKAWANNA & WESTERN RR. Photo, Ewing Galloway WEST STREET, CITY OF NEW YORK, SAID TO BE THE BUSIEST WATER- FRONT STREET IN THE WORLD G Ewing Galloway CANAL STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA. boorr Underwood & Underwood NIAGARA FALLS AND THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE OVER NIAGARA RIVER Photo, British and Colonial Press DRILLING TO BREAK DOWN NICKEL ORE IN A CANADIAN MINE Publishers' Photo Service THE SLUICES OF THE ASSOUAN DAM ON THE UPPER NILE Alps, he soon carried everything before him. In a year and a half, the "Little Corporal," as he came to be called by Man NAPOLEON I. AS EMPEROR his admiring soldiery, had either routed or destroyed five armies, each stronger than his own that of the Piedmontese, at Mondovi, that of Beaulieu, at Cairo, Montenotte, Millesimo, Dego, and the bridge of Lodi, that of Würmser, at Castiglione, Roverdo, and Bassano; that of Alvinzi, at Arcole, Rivoli, and Mantua; and that of Prince Charles, whom he pursued into Germany as far as Leoben, on the road to Vienna. The result of this unexampled career_ of victory was the treaty of Campo-Formio, which secured to France a vast accession of territory. The young general was now the most popular man in France, and the Directory, eager to get rid of their dangerous rival, accepted a proposal made by him for the invasion of Egypt, and appointed him commander-in-chief of a finely equipped expedition which sailed for the East in 1798. He took Alexandria, gained over Mourad Bey the battle of the Pyramids, and, though the fleet had been destroyed by Nelson at Aboukir, the French were soon masters of Egypt. Wishing then to join Syria to his conquests Napoleon crossed the desert which separates Asia and Africa, stormed Jaffa, and laid siege to Acre; but after a siege of 57 days, the murmurings of his army, decimated with hunger and pestilence compelled him to raise the siege. He retreated to Egypt after having, with 2,000 men, defeated 20,000 Ottomans with great slaughter, at Mount Tabor. Napoleon next engaged 20,000 Janissaries, whom the English landed in the bay of Aboukir, and nearly annihilated them. The political condition in France impelled him to return there. After narrowly missing capture by the English cruisers he appeared unexpectedly at Paris at the end of the year 1799. Bonaparte at once became the head of a very powerful party, and, aided by Sieyès, his brother Lucien and General Leclerc, he overthrew the Directory on the famous 18th Brumaire, year 8, of the Republic (Nov. 9, 1799), caused himself to be named First Consul, having for his colleagues Cambacérès, and Lebrun, each also dignified by the title of consul, but mere tools to his ambition. In 1800 he placed himself at the head of the army of Italy, crossed the Alps, and gained the battle of Marengo. General Moreau having about the same time beaten the Austrians at Hohenlinden, the peace of Luneville was signed with Austria in 1801, and in the following year the treaty of Amiens with England concluded the second war of the French NAPOLEON I. IN 1813 Revolution. In the same year he was proclaimed consul for life. The peace, however, proved only an armed truce. Both parties were only gaining breath for a renewal of the fight. Napoleon did great things during its continuance. He reformed the whole civil administration of the country, pacified Vendée, recalled the émigrés, reopened the churches, concluded a new Concordat with the Pope, created the Order of the "Legion of Honor," instituted the Bank of France, and urged the Code Napoleon to an end. In 1804 he became Emperor of the French. Six months later he erected the NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA Cis-Alpine Republic into a kingdom, and crowned himself King of Italy at Milan. In the meantime, England, after having refused to execute the treaty of Amiens, had again commenced hostilities in 1803, as also did Austria, Russia, and the Two Sicilies in 1807. Napoleon, who was meditating an invasion of England, had the mortification of seeing the combined fleets of France and Spain destroyed by Nelson at Trafalgar; but on the continent of Europe he compensated this loss by a succession of triumphs. Russia had joined Austria, and the army of the latter, 80,000 strong, had advanced to Ulm, in Württemberg. Crossing France and the S. of Germany with incredible rapidity, Napoleon defeated the Austrians in several actions, and at length shut up 30,000 in Ulm, where they were forced to capitulate the very day before the battle of Trafalgar. Advancing then at the head of 180,000 men down the valley of the Danube, he captured Vienna and totally defeated the combined Austrian and Russian armies, under the Emperor Alexander in person, on Dec. 2. This catastrophe drove Austria to a separate peace. In the next year Napoleon defeated the Prussians at Jena and Auerstädt. Prussia was speedily overrun, Berlin taken, and the remnant of their armies driven back to the Vistula, where they were supported by the Russians, who now came up in great strength. The victories of Eylau (Feb. 8, 1807), and Friedland (July 14) led to the treaty of Tilsit, which, virtually destroying all lesser powers, in effect NAPOLEON 1. divided the whole continent of Europe between Napoleon and Alexander. Napoleon now seized on Portugal without a good pretext, and decoyed the king, queen and heir-apparent of Spain to Bayonne where he succeeded in extracting from them all a renunciation to the throne of Spain, on which he immediately placed his brother Joseph, and at the same time gave the throne of Naples to his brother-in-law, Murat. But Spain resisted the French invaders, and the defeat and capitulation of Dupont at Baylen, and Junot at Cintra, were the commencement of the declining fortunes of the emperor. Meanwhile, Josephine, having given no heir to the empire, was divorced by of Austria, became Empress of the French. The fruit of this union was a son, who, at his birth, was styled King wing drained France of Rome. Having her treasure, Napoleon next conceived a formidable invasion of Russia. In 1812 he assembled the largest army that was ever led by a European general, and, at the head of 500,000 men passed into Russia, whose army he defeated in several engagements. In September he entered Moscow, which had been previously evacuated, and almost totally consumed. After spending a month there, in expectation of overtures of peace from St. Petersburg, the frost and snow of a Russian winter compelled him precipitate retreat. to commence a Harassed by innumerable foes, the French army, deprived of everything, perished in the snow, or found a grave in the icy waters of the Beresina. Hastily returning to France, the emperor succeeded in creating another army, and opened the campaign in Germany with the victories of Lützen, Bautzen, and Dresden; but Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden were now in arms against him; and at Leipsic, where, in three days, the French lost upward of 50,000 men, his power received a death-stroke. The allies entered France, and Napoleon, finding his army disorganized and most of his ministers and generals disaffected toward him, abdicated the throne of France, at Fontainebleau, April 4, 1814. The Bourbons were re-established in France, Napoleon acce accepting the island of Elba for his retreat. In less than a year he again appeared in France, and, by the time he had reached the capital, the whole army had declared for him. Immediately the coalition that had dethroned him was renewed, but Napoleon at the head of his brave and enthusiastic troops, took the initiative, and de feated the Prussians at Ligny, June 16; but. betrayed by Bourmont, and deprived by a fatal misunderstanding, of the division and artillery under Grouchy. was beaten by Wellington and he Blücher at Waterloo, June 18. This defeat was decisive. Napoleon returned to Paris, and abdicated in favor of his son, June 22, 1815, 100 days after his landing from Elba. Napoleon went then to Rochefort, and embarked voluntarily on the English vessel the "Bellerophon." He was declared a prisoner by the British and was taken to St. Helena, where he remained until his death, on May 5, 1821. NAPOLEON II. (NAPOLEON FRAN- COIS BONAPARTE), titular Emperor Napoleon in 1809, and Maria Louisa, of France, son of the Emperor Napoleon daughter of his old enemy the Emperor and Maria Louisa of Austria; born in Paris, France, March 20, 1811. From "King of Rome." After his father's first abdication in 1814 his birth he was styled he went with his mother to Vienna, where he was brought up at the court of his grandfather, the Emperor Francis, who created him Duke of Reichstadt. He died, July 22, 1832, in the palace of Schönbrunn. NAPOLEON III. (CHARLES LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE), Emperor of the French; born in Paris, France, April 20, 1808. He was the youngest son of Louis Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon I. and King of Holland, and of Hortense de Beauharnais. His early life was spent chiefly in Switzerland and Germany. By the death of his cousin the Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon II., see above) he became the recognized head of the Bonaparte family. In 1836 an attempt was made to secure the garrison of Strassburg, but the affair turned out a ludicrous failure. The prince was taken prisoner and conveyed to Paris, and the government of Louis Philippe shipped him off to the United States. The death of his mother brought him back to Europe, and for some years he was a resident of England. In 1840 he made a foolish and theatrical descent on Boulogne; was captured, tried and sentenced to perpetual confinement in the fortress of Ham. After remaining six years in prison he escaped and returned to England. On the outbreak of the revolution of 1848 he hastened to Paris, and securing a seat in the National Assembly, he at once commenced his candidature for the presidency. On the day of the election, it was found that out of 7,500,000 votes Louis Napoleon had obtained 5,434,- 226; On Dec. 20, the prince-president, as he was now called, took the oath of allegiance to the republic. On the evening of Dec. 2, 1851, the president declared Paris in a state of siege, a decree was issued dissolving the assembly, 180 of the members were placed under arrest, and the people who exhibited any disposition to take their part were shot down in the streets by the soldiers. Another decree was published at the same time ordering the re-establishment of universal suffrage, and the election of a president for 10 years. Napoleon was elected by an overwhelming majority. As soon as Louis Napoleon found himself firmly seated he began to prepare for the restoration of the empire. In January, 1852, the National Guard was revived, a new constitution adopted, and new orders of nobility issued; and at last, on Dec. 1, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed emperor under the title of Napoleon III. On Jan. 29, 1853, the new sovereign married Eugénie Marie de Montijo, Countess de Teba. In March, 1854, Napoleon III., in conjunction with England, declared war in the interest of Turkey against Russia (see CRIMEAN WAR). In April, 1859, war was declared between took up arms in favor of his Italian ally, the Austrians at Montebello, Magenta, Marignano, and Solferino. In 1861 France, England, and Spain agreed to dispatch a joint expedition to Mexico for the purpose of exacting redress of injuries, but the English and Spaniards soon withdrew. The French continued the quarrel, and an imperial form of government was initiated, Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, being placed at its head with the title of emperor. Napoleon, however, withdrew his army in 1867, and the unfortunate Maximilian, left to himself, was captured and shot. On the conclusion of the Austro-Prussian war of 1866, Napoleon, jealous of the growing power of Prussia, demanded a reconstruction of frontier, which was peremptorily refused. The ill-feeling between the two nations was increased by various causes, and in 1870, on the Spanish crown being offered to Leopold of Hohenzollern, Napoleon demanded that the King of Prussia should compel that prince to refuse it. Notwithstanding the subsequent renunciation of the crown by Leopold, war was declared by France, July 19. The war was a decisive one, and on July 28 Napoleon set out to take the chief command, and on Sept. 2, the army with which he was present was compelled to surrender at Sedan. One of the immediate consequences of this disaster was a revolution in Paris. The empress and her son secretly quitted the French capital and repaired to Eng. land, where they took up their residence at Camden House, Chislehurst. Here they were rejoined by the emperor (who had been kept a prisoner of war for a short time) in March, 1871, and here he remained till his death, Jan. 9, 1873.