Napoleon Bonaparte was born August 15, 1769 in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica to Carlo Maria di Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Buonaparte. His father, Carlo, was an attorney and Corsica's representative to the court of Louis XVI of France. Around the time Napoleon was born, France had occupied Corsica which was not widely accepted by Corsicans. Considerable resistance was noted during this time. Carlo, Napoleon's father, had been a very strong supporter of the nationalists and the resistance and had supported the nationalist leader, Pasquale Paoli. The area became too dangerous for the resistance leader so he fled the island for his own safety. Once Paoli fled, Carlo switched his allegiance to the side of the French. Once he switched his allegiance he was made assessor of the judicial district of Ajaccio in 1771, and very nice job that afforded him some extra money to put toward his son's, Joseph and Napoleon, tuition at College d'Autun. Napoleon had 3 brothers named Joseph Lucien and Jerome. He also had 4 sisters named Eliza, Louise, Pauline and Caroline. He was christened Napoleone di Buonaparte but later changed his name to Napoleon Bonaparte to make it more french sounding. As a child, Napoleon was labeled a trouble-maker. Sources state that he was always getting into trouble on a regular basis. As a small child he was regularly punished for hitting and biting other students in his class and his brothers and sisters. His mother Maria decided that she had to do something to stop his troubling behavior so she decided to send him to a girls school. Maria later determined that sending him to a girls school was not having the effect that she thought it would. Napoleon was later removed from the girls school and enrolled into a Jesuit school along with his eldest brother Joseph. Napoleon was noted as being an excellent student during his time at the Jesuit school. Since Napoleon was Corsican and Corsica was annexed by France shortly after his birth, he had to learn to read and write french while he was at school. He learned to speak french but his spelling of french was not that great. At the age of fifteen he was accepted to the military academy at Brienne-le-Chateau. Napoleon had a rough time as a cadet at the military school. Since Napoleon was born in Corsican he had a heavy Corsican accent. The other students mocked him and picked on him because of it. They also made fun of him because his family wasn't wealthy. To escape the ridicule Napoleon mainly kept to himself and would read a lot to pass the time and help him forget about being picked on. His teachers noted that he did very well in mathematics as well as history and geometry. They said he would make a very fine sailor. After he completed his studies at Brienne-le-Chateau in 1784, he was accepted to Ecole Militaire in Paris. This was a very elite military school. Napoleon excelled in his school work and was noted for his intelligence and fierce willpower. His teachers said he would everything that he was told. At the age of fifteen, Napoleon was already showing promise as a military leader. Napoleon was training as an artillery officer, school work that would take him two years to complete. On February 24, 1785 Carlo Buonaparte, Napoleon's father, died of cancer. With the death of his father coming so suddenly Napoleon was forced to complete his two years of schooling in only one year because his father's death reduced the income he was receiving and he could not afford two years of school. Napoleon graduated from Ecole Militaire with a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant artillery officer. He was the first Corsican to graduate from Ecole Militaire. After graduation from Ecole Militaire, Napoleon joined the French Army at the age of 16. Once again Napoleon was picked on and not very well liked due to his accent and the fact that his family was poor. They also made fun of him for being short. Once again, Napoleon escaped the ridicule of others by reading and studying the campaigns and tactics of great military leaders before him. Napoleon knew full well that with his modest background his prospects of rising through the ranks was not that appealing. But with the beginning of the French Revolution, Napoleon saw his chance of advancement since it opened the possibility of advancement due to the showing of his military intelligence. After the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, Napoleon took a 2 year leave of absence and spent most of his time either in France, or in the city of his birth and capital of Corsica, Ajaccio. Being a strong supporter for Corsica he led the Corsican militia in several battles, even one against the french army. Napoleon had become friends and was a supporter of the leader of Corsica, Pasquale Paoli. Napoleon was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Corsican militia.. He was promoted to the rank of Captain of the regular Army in 1792 even though he had exceeded his leave of absence. After his promot