Napoleon Bonaparte was seemingly made for military service. Having been born into a family of former Corsican rebels of minor noble heritage, Napoleon’s father Carlo used his influence as a lawyer in the Corsican assembly serving the French to procure an early military education for Napoleon. At the age of 9, Napoléon began his military education in Northern France, moving on to the Royal military academy in Paris at the age of 15, by the age of 16 he was training as a second lieutenant with a highly esteemed artillery unit of France’s army.[1] Roughly a decade later during the siege of Toulon, Napoléon’s training and talent lead to a great victory there and he was quickly promoted from Captain to Brigadier General. Not long after, Napoleon was tasked with leading a 37,000 man army in many decisive battles during the revolutionary wars. That command quickly bore fruit as it effectively ended the Austrian threat to France’s borders while also acquiring territory (and notoriety on a national level) in the process. Napoleon’s rapid rise in both fame and leadership in addition to his seemingly bottomless ambition caused France’s Directory government to perceive Napoleon as a potential threat to their power.[2]
The chaos of the revolution years and anti-elitist ideals of the revolution created opportunities for people of lowly birth or common status to advance by virtue of merit rather than nobility. France was fighting both within and without its borders, and with class distinctions fallen to the wayside it was the perfect atmosphere for a person of Napoleon’s ambitions and military prowess to flourish.