The life of Josephine, first Empress of the French, was certainly full of ups and downs. She was born in Martinique and had already had two children and been widowed before becoming the wife of General Bonaparte. At the time, she was called Rose, and she was the eldest daughter of a noble French family. When she was 10 years old, she was sent to the Dames-de-la-providence convent in Fort-de-France, where she received an education that made her a suitable match for the son of a rich family.
When she was 16 she went to France with her father so that she could marry Alexandre de Beauharnais, also born in Martinique and 19 years old at the time of their marriage. The ceremony took place in Noisy-le-Grand outside Paris on 13 December However, the relationship between Alexandre and Rose did not run smoothly. They separated on 5 March but did not divorce. Rose met with financial hardship and had to sell some of her jewellery to pay living expenses.
Financial pressure became so acute that she and her daughter had to return to Martinique, where they stayed for two years.
The early promise of the Revolution that vanished with the coming of the Terror… In , the French Revolution broke out in Paris. This turbulence quickly spread to Martinique, in , and at this point Rose decided to return to Paris with her daughter.
In the November of that year she met up with her husband again. He was in the midst of a dazzling political career, which led to him becoming president of the constituent assembly the French government in Rose approached him in order to benefit from his influence and to cultivate some political connections.
