A severely under appreciated portion of Napoleon Bonapartes 's rise to power is his manipulation of propaganda. Napoleon was a master of using propaganda to manipulate the general opinion of the people, and excelled in keeping his reputation untarnished even when under the full weight of the British propagandists (the exception to this being the claim of his lack of stature, which combatted the idea of Napoleon as a giant of combat, which flourished after his demise). Napoleon succeeded in not only bolstering his one image in the eye of the public, but tarnishing the legacy of those he ripped power from. Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica on the 15th of August, 1769. His family, as minor Corsican nobles, were large and supported 8 children,