The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded by Napoleon I of France in 1804 , a Corsican military leader who rose to power and transformed the French Republic into the French Empire . The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded by Napoleon I of France in 1804 , a French military leader who rose to notability out of the French Revolution and transformed the French Republic into the First French Empire within five years of his coup d' Ã tat .