Which island is the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte?

Corsica is the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on 15 August 1769, one year after France acquired the island from the Republic of Genoa. His family belonged to the Corsican minor nobility. He later attended military schools in mainland France and rose through the French army during the revolutionary period.

Corsica lies in the Mediterranean Sea southeast of mainland France and north of Sardinia. It is a territorial collectivity of France, but it has a strong distinct cultural identity, including its own Corsican language and traditions. Ajaccio remains the island’s capital and is closely associated with Napoleon’s family history.

Corsica is often confused with Elba, the island to which Napoleon was first exiled in 1814. He later escaped Elba and returned to power before his final exile on Saint Helena. Thus, Corsica was his birthplace, Elba his first exile, and Saint Helena the place of his death.