Napoleon III Bonaparte

Napoleon III Bonaparte (Paris, April 20, 1808-London, January 9, 1873) was the only president of the Second French Republic (1848-1852) and, later, Emperor of the French between 1852 and 1870, being the last monarch of France.

The son of Louis Bonaparte (one of the brothers of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte) and Hortensia de Beauharnais (daughter of Empress Josephine), he was born into the House of Bonaparte. Due to his relationship to his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte, he became the rightful heir to dynastic rights upon the successive deaths of his and Napoleon II's older brother.

His political philosophy was a mixture of romanticism, authoritarian liberalism and utopian socialism, although in recent years he was a distinguished defender of traditionalism and Catholic civilization. He wanted to signify a reparation against the anticlericalism and atheism of the French Revolution. He had a policy of expansion of classical civilization that, in his opinion, France represented, in the face of the rise of Germany and the United States, emerging powers of the Protestant type.

Early Years

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Paris. His father was Luis Bonaparte, King of Holland, younger brother of Napoleon I, and his mother Hortensia de Beauharnais; therefore, his political career was built on the fact that he was a relative (nephew) of Napoleon I.

After the final defeat of Napoleon I and his deposition in 1815, and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France, by law of January 1, 1816, all Bonapartes were banished from French territory. Queen Hortensia went into exile in Switzerland with her children and bought, in 1817, the castle of Arenenberg (Switzerland), which dominates Lake Constance.

The future emperor attended the Augsburg Lyceum and acquired his first martial skills from a former officer of Napoleon I. In 1830 he volunteered in the Swiss army, where he was awarded the rank of artillery captain in 1834.

The young Louis-Napoleon lived, in addition to Switzerland, in Germany and Italy. As a young man in Italy, he and his brother Napoleon Louis became involved in protests by the Carbonari, an Italian resistance organization, related to Freemasonry, fighting against Austrian rule in northern Italy.

Succession of Bonapartism

All four Napoleons.

According to the succession law that Napoleon I had established during the First Empire, the order of priority for the imperial throne was: his direct legitimate descendants and then his brothers and their descendants. The first in the order of succession was his son, the king of Rome. He was followed by Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples and of Spain, and then Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland, and his children. Luciano Bonaparte, Prince of Canino, and his descendants were excluded from the imperial succession.

As Joseph had no male children, and his brother Napoleon Louis Bonaparte (1804-1831) and his cousin Napoleon II in 1832 preceded him, Louis-Napoleon became Bonaparte's heir in the next generation.

Struggle for power

Already the heir to Bonapartism and resident in the United Kingdom, he secretly returned to France in October 1836, for the first time since his childhood, to attempt a coup in Strasbourg. The blow missed, but he was able to escape. Again, he attempted another coup in August 1840, crossing the English Channel in a small ship with some soldiers at Boulogne-sur-Mer. Captured, this time he was imprisoned under a regime of relative comfort in the fortress of the city of Ham. During the years of his imprisonment he wrote essays denoting his romantic ideology, his authoritarian liberalism, and even his utopian socialism. He managed to escape from prison to Southport, UK, in May 1846, changing clothes with a carpenter who worked at Ham's fortress.

President of the Second Republic

Rise to power: democratic election

Louis Napoleon lived in Great Britain until the February Revolution of 1848, which deposed King Louis-Philippe I and established the Second French Republic. Free to return to France, on June 4, 1848 he was elected deputy (in four departments) and took a seat in the Assembly in September.

Elections in France, 1848.

On November 4, 1848, the constitution of the Second Republic was promulgated, and he presented himself as a candidate for the presidency, in the first with universal male suffrage in France. Louis-Napoleon won by a landslide in the elections held on December 10, 1848, with 5.5 million votes out of 7.4 million registered (about 75% of votes) against Louis-Eugène's 1,900,000 votes Cavaignac, his closest rival.

His lopsided victory was due to the help of the rural masses, to whom the name of Bonaparte meant something, contrary to the names of the other contenders for the presidency who were unknown to them; Very helpful was his electoral slogan: "No more taxes, down with the rich, down with the Republic, long live the Emperor." At that time, he also represented the idea of rescuing the traditional order and the cause of the Catholic religion.

Louis Napoleon's platform meant for the voters the restoration of order after the months of political turmoil, strong government, social consolidation and national greatness, to which he appealed with all the credit of his name, especially with the memory of his uncle Napoleon I, already a national hero of France.

The prince-president

Prince-President, photographed in 1852 by Gustave Le Gray.

The constitution of the Second Republic established rigid rules for the exercise of the presidential magistracy, limiting it to a term of only four years, with no possibility of re-election, in order to prevent a president from abusing his power to transform the Republic into a dictatorship or obtain a lifetime presidency.

In May 1849, elections were held for the National Assembly, which were won by the legitimist monarchists. Louis-Napoleon's presidency was thus marked by his opposition to the conservative policy of this National Assembly: sending troops to Rome to put down a rebellion against the pope; vote of the Falloux law, favorable to religious education, etc.

On May 31, 1850, the Assembly voted an electoral law that eliminated universal male suffrage and returned to census voting, which eliminated three million people from the electorate, including artisans and seasonal workers. On the other hand, Luis Napoleón pressed to increase the duration of the mandate of him, while the National Assembly was against all project of constitutional reform. And it was also that in the early 1850s, August 15 became the national holiday in France. This celebration allowed the prince-president to begin the transition towards the second Empire, and successfully imposed a national holiday model that was also welcomed in the Republic. Thus, by decree of February 15, 1852, August 15 became the feast day of Saint Napoleon.

Finally, on December 2, 1851, Louis Napoleon carried out a coup d'état, presenting himself to the French as a defender of democracy —universal suffrage— in front of the Assembly —censitary—. The crisis was overcome by holding a popular plebiscite that was favorable to him and increased his authoritarianism, which he exercised against the extremist republicans and the legitimist and Orleanist monarchists.

On January 14, 1852, a new constitution was promulgated that reinforced the powers of the executive —presidency duration of ten years, reelected— and decreased that of the legislature, which was divided into three chambers: Assembly, Senate, and Council of State. Finally, by means of a plebiscite held in November, France created an Empire, which was solemnly proclaimed on December 2, 1852.

The Second Empire

The Palace of the Tuileries during the Second Empire.

The Second Empire was a political regime that over the years evolved from authoritarianism to democracy:

The Authoritarian Empire (1852-1863)

Until 1860 Napoleon III governed without opposition, partly due to police control and press censorship, and partly due to the economic improvement of France. Likewise, foreign policy triumphs reinforce the emperor's policy.

The foreign policy of the Second Empire

Three guidelines mark the emperor's foreign policy: the promotion of colonialism, support for Italian unity and interventionism.

• Colonialism:

Napoleon III promoted French imperialism, not only for economic purposes —seeking raw materials and markets—, but politically, in imitation of the United Kingdom. More than in Africa —where the penetration begun in the reign of Louis Philippe I continued in Algeria and Senegal—, the emperor fixed his attention on Asia. Through the Treaty of Tien Tsin, in 1860, China is forced to open its ports to French trade. But it is in Indochina where the Second Empire launched a true colonizing company, under the pretext of the Franco-Spanish expedition to Cochinchina —Vietnam and Laos—, the Empire proceeded to annex it between 1862 and 1867 and to occupy Cambodia in 1863.

• Unity of Italy:

Napoleon III in the battle of Solferino. Work of Adolphe Yvon.

The Emperor is a strong supporter of Italian unity. To win the support of France, Cavour, Prime Minister of Piedmont, had not hesitated to participate alongside France and the United Kingdom in the Crimean War (1854-56). In 1858, at the Interview of Plombières (Plombiéres-les-Bains), Cavour promised the delivery of Savoy and Nice to France, which took place in 1860. The joint troops of France and Piedmont achieved great success against Austria in the battles of Magenta and Solferino, but the fear that the conflict would spread led Napoleon III to sign the peace of Villafranca separately in 1859. Italian nationalists feel betrayed by Napoleon III, being the "Roman question" the one that tense relations of the imperial government with the Catholics.

• Interventionism:

If Louis-Philippe had worked hard to keep the peace to the point that many Frenchmen considered him a pusillanimous person, Napoleon III had to calm Europe down and convince it that another Napoleon did not mean plunging the continent into war again. All he had to do was find a small war that would satisfy the glory-seekers at home, but worry no one abroad. Thus he joined Great Britain in a minor war against Russia in 1854, and in 1859 he engaged in another against Austria. In 1860 it seemed that he had conducted affairs well and was at the height of popularity and prestige.

Crimean War

Battle of the Cornaya River in the Crimean War. Work of William Simpson.

Russia wanted control of the remains of the Turkish Empire —called “the ill of Europe”—: the Balkans and control of the Dardanelles Strait to reach an exit to the Mediterranean without depending on the government of Constantinople. The United Kingdom, for commercial interests, opposes and supports Turkey against the Russians. France allies with the United Kingdom and intervenes in the Crimean War, which ends at the Congress of Paris in 1856, establishing Napoleon III as "the arbiter of Europe."

Project for a Protectorate in Ecuador

In 1859, the president of Ecuador, Gabriel García Moreno, developed a protectorate project that he sent, by means of three letters, to Emilie Trinité, French business manager based in Guayaquil, in which he requested an association with the empire led by Napoleon III, similar to the one Canada had with the United Kingdom at the time. The Ecuadorian president had witnessed the political restoration imposed in France after the 1848 revolution, with the consequent economic heyday and prestige that the European nation gained, and for this reason he was convinced that his homeland could follow the same path. The letters never reached Paris, as Trinité died in the Ecuadorian port before forwarding them to her government, although the Ecuadorian president did not immediately know. At the beginning of June 1861, Aimé Fabre, the new charge d'affaires of France, arrived in Guayaquil. When presenting his credentials before President García Moreno, in mid-June 1861 in the city of Quito, the issue of the protectorate was addressed again; García Moreno communicated to Fabre his concern that all of Latin America, and perhaps all of America (taking into account the US Civil War), was in danger. Only a strong European power could stop this trend, establishing a political stability and that France had to make Ecuador its base to extend its influence from there.

Vehemently, Fabre immediately conveyed García Moreno's request to French Foreign Minister Antoine Edouard Thouvenel. In confidential letters , he gave a detailed description of Ecuador's population, climate, and resources; he outlined the steps required to establish a French protectorate through a plebiscite, as well as the route that French troops would have to take to get from Guayaquil to Quito. Two thousand French soldiers, some ships and guns, would secure the vote, free from disorder or outside interference. Of course, he warned that Great Britain could be a serious obstacle. In September 1861, Chancellor Thouvenel ("confronted with the voluminous information sent by Fabre") delivered Napoleon III his famous Report to the Emperor. There he pointed out that if the proposal were accepted, the Ecuadorian president would convene a National Convention that, according to him, would enthusiastically vote for the union pact with France. Thouvenel stressed that Puná Island, at the entrance of the Guayas River, would be an excellent stopover and supply point for French war and commercial ships in the Pacific. He warned, however, that Peruvian President Ramón Castilla would have no scruples in supplying arms and money to anyone who wanted to fight García Moreno's project.

Initially Napoleon III, although not totally averse to the plan, hesitated in adopting the commitment proposed by García Moreno since his squadron in the Pacific was not strong enough to face an adversary like Great Britain, for example. In February 1862, a much more powerful reason weighed on his mind: France had begun its armed intervention in Mexico, an enterprise that absorbed all his interest and culminated in the installation of the French empire in that country for a brief period. Before Fabre could collect all the additional information that Chancellor Thouvenel had requested, an order came from the French Emperor to decline the offer on evasive and diplomatic terms.

Mexican War

The shooting of Maximilian I, by Edouard Manet.

Since its independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico had suffered a simmering civil war between conservatives and liberals. After years of war between both sides, Mexico's finances were in crisis, so Benito Juárez made the decision to suspend payment of the external debt to France, Spain and the United Kingdom. After the convention in London in 1861, these three countries sent warships to Mexico. Manuel Doblado carried out excellent lobbying with the representatives of Spain and the United Kingdom, who accepted the reasons for not making the payments, for which they withdrew from Mexico; but France did not accept them, thus initiating the invasion plans of the North American country.

The conservatives requested foreign intervention and offered the newly created crown of Mexico to Maximilian of Habsburg, Archduke of Austria and then viceroy of Venice and northeastern Italy; This with the aim of the new emperor giving French companies preferential treatment, and for the conservatives to protect their rights and privileges in addition to stabilizing the country, establishing a zone of influence for France in Mexico. The overseas empire in America was highly desired by Napoleon III to curb the important influence that the United States already had, which at that time was immersed in a Civil War.

But his imperialist illusions would be frustrated when he suffered his first military defeat in fifty years, since on May 5, 1862, in the battle of Puebla, the Mexican army, commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza, dealt a defeat to the French army commanded by General Charles Ferdinand Latrille, Count of Lorencez. This victory of the Mexican army not only surprised the world, but also revitalized the nationalist spirit of the Mexican people. The foreign threat was still alive, as Napoleon III's troops entered the country with the support of the conservatives. The Mexican liberals resisted through guerrilla warfare, a war of attrition that ultimately ended with the French intervention. In Paris, the protests of intellectuals, politicians opposed to the Napoleonic regime and the relatives of the soldiers, who were frequently massacred and their bodies never returned, were greater.

Faced with the defeats inflicted by the Mexican guerrillas, Napoleon III's troops withdrew from Mexico, and Maximilian I would be shot on the Cerro de las Campanas, in Querétaro in 1867, along with generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía, before the protest of kings and heads of state. The repercussion of this defeat would be significant for the Second Empire.

The internal politics of the Second Empire

The forces on which the government of Napoleon III rested were the army, the bourgeoisie and the Church.

The Liberal Empire (1863-1868)

Napoleon III coin. On the back appears the imperial shield.

After a period of transition, when the traditional supports failed —Church and bourgeoisie—, the government turned to the left in search of new supports.

Within this liberal policy is the right of initiative of the Parliament (1860) and the control of the budgets by the Chambers (1861). In 1864 the right of association and strike was granted.

Starting in 1867, unrest over foreign policy —the failure in Mexico— and domestic policy —economic crisis— forced the regime to make concessions. In 1867 the Legislative Body was granted the right of interpellation and ministerial responsibility before the Chambers. Likewise, the laws on the press — suppression of prior censorship — and assembly — annulment of prior authorization — are softened.

The Parliamentary Empire (1868-1870)

In the last elections of 1869 the advance of the opposition is evident, accentuating the reforms from power. The Constitution is modified, strengthening parliamentarism and the constitutional powers of the imperial couple are cut. All these reforms were corroborated by the people in a plebiscite held in May 1870.

Legacy of the Second Empire

Little known today, the Second Empire nevertheless corresponds to one of the most formidable periods of development and prosperity that France had known.^{[citation needed]}

Economy

Economically, the country equipped itself with modern infrastructures, a new financial, banking and commercial system and in 1870 recovered its industrial backwardness over the United Kingdom, partly thanks to the voluntarist policy of the emperor and thanks to his election of free trade. (see dirigisme)

• Urbanism and railway:

The needs of the capital were so evident they could hardly be overlooked. The medieval street system of a city of thousands of pedestrians was no longer adequate for the carriages and wagons of a city of a million inhabitants. The execution of these heavy tasks depended on the prefect of the department of the Seine; and without a prefect who was both sympathetic and bold, the emperor's plans would have come to naught. This is why Napoleon III promoted the works of Baron Haussmann in Paris, which made this city one of the most beautiful capitals in the world. Large sections of the city were demolished and the layout of old and complicated streets was replaced by wide avenues, under the direction of the Baron (1809-1891), Prefect of the Seine (1853-1870), with an effective financial system that advanced the idea of that the capital gains generated by the changes should benefit the council and not only the owners of the affected land. The prefect's personal influence on Napoleon's plans is evident not only in detailed changes, but also in numerous additions. He added new streets, parks, and public buildings, and made two original contributions of prime importance: the supply of Paris with abundant spring water and the sewage system to ensure the drainage of even the lower arrondissements and to prevent contamination of the Seine. Inside the city.

The Second Empire saw the construction of the French railway network, although its radial design was not very successful.

Arts

This period was very productive on a literary level, ranging from Flaubert to Sand or the Goncourt brothers (Edmond and Jules). The Opéra Garnier illustrates the importance attached to show business, the element of the "imperial party."

Personally passionate about history (we owe him a Monumental History of Julius Caesar), the Emperor also played a key role in launching modern archeology in France, creating the museum of the National Antiquities of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Society

Social progress was undeniable, but it was due mainly to the organized struggle of the new French proletariat: recognition of the right to strike and to organize employees (preceding unions) granted in 1864, raising the standard of living of the workers and peasants, the soup kitchens organized for the poor, the first retirement and insurance systems for the workers, the development of mass education, etc.

Science and technology

Under the personal impulse of Empress Eugenia, the work of Louis Pasteur and Ferdinand de Lesseps was supported, which respectively ended up in the vaccine against rabies and in the Suez Canal, inaugurated in 1867.

Military campaigns

Napoleon's response to Russia's demand for influence in the Ottoman Empire led to France's victorious participation in the Crimean War (March 1854-March 1856). He also approved launching a naval expedition in 1858 to punish the Vietnamese and force his royal court to accept a French presence in the country. On January 14, 1858, Napoleon escaped another assassination attempt.

In May 1859, the French intervention ensured the defeat of Austria in Italy. But the French invasion of Mexico (January 1862-March 1867) ended in defeat and the execution of the French-backed Emperor of Mexico Maximilian.

Bismarck (on the right, with helmet) and Napoleon III (on the left) after the battle of Sedán.

In October 1865 in (Biarritz), the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck obtained from Napoleon III that France stay out of a foreseeable Austro-Prussian conflict, while Prussia promised to support the Kingdom of Italy to achieve the annexation of Venice, in Austrian hands. Napoleon thought that the conflict would be long and would give him an opportunity to mediate and perhaps gain territorial advantage. The emperor undertook to mediate with the Italians, which was achieved with the offensive-defensive alliance against Austria signed in April 1866. But Prussia easily defeated Austria in the Seven Weeks' War.

Forced by the diplomacy and lobbying of the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Napoleon declared the start of hostilities in the Franco-Prussian War (1870), which was disastrous for France and gave way to the formation of the Second Reich. The Emperor was taken prisoner at the Battle of Sedan on September 2 and deposed by the forces of the Third Republic in Paris two days later.

Exile and death

Napoleon III died in exile in England on January 9, 1873. He is buried in the Imperial Crypt of Saint Michael's Abbey, England.

Family

Marriage, child and family

The imperial family photographed around 1858.

Married Eugenia de Montijo (Countess of Teba), a Spanish noblewoman of Scottish and Spanish descent, Napoleon III had a son, Eugenio Bonaparte (Napoleón Eugenio Luis Juan José, 1856-1879), who on the death of Napoleon III he became head of the family and was called Napoleon IV by his supporters.

Ancestors

Controversy over his relationship to Napoleon I

In April 2014, DNA studies showed that Emperor Napoleon III was not a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. His mother is known to have had an illegitimate child with General Charles Joseph, Count of Flahaut, Charles Augustus de Morny. It is not unreasonable to think that Charles Joseph himself was also the biological father of Napoleon III. This would imply that the French monarch would be the grandson of Talleyrand, since it is accepted that Charles Joseph was actually the biological son of the French politician and diplomat.