Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 on the island of Corsica, located off the coasts of Italy and France. It was under French authority at the time (recently given as a debt payment by the Republic of Genoa) though there were many who wanted independence. Napoleon’s father, Carlo, had been opposed to French rule and was a supporter of one of Corsica’s biggest patriots, Pasquale di Paoli. It is interesting to know that if Napoleon’s family had fled with Paoli to exile in England, Napoleon would have been British. However, his father was offered high ranking positions by the French, thus leading him to quiet his initial opposition.