Napoleon III of France

Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (20 April 1808, Paris, France - 9 January 1873, Chislehurst, Kent, England) was a President of France, and later, Emperor of the French.

Biography

Bonaparte was the son of Hortense de Beauharnais, who was the daughter of Josephine de Beauharnais and, thus, the stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte. The identity of his biological father remains a subject of speculation, given his unhappily married mother's record of extramarital liaisons. The father of record, however, was Hortense's husband, Louis Bonaparte, a younger brother of Napoleon. The couple had been made king and queen of a French puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland. During his youth, he was a member of the Carbonari, a resistance organization fighting Austrian domination of Northern Italy. This would later have an effect on his foreign policy.

Related Topics:
Hortense de Beauharnais - Josephine de Beauharnais - Napoleon Bonaparte - Louis Bonaparte - Napoleon - French - Puppet state - Kingdom of Holland - Carbonari - Austria - Italy - Foreign policy

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Imprisoned after the second of two abortive coup attempts (October 1836 and August 1840), he escaped to the United Kingdom in May 1846, returning after the revolution of February 1848 to win the presidential election December 10 that year on a platform of strong government, social consolidation and national greatness. President Bonaparte then on December 2, 1851 overthrew the Second Republic and seized dictatorial powers, becoming Napoléon III. In a situation that resembles the case of Louis XVIII of France, the numbering of Napoléon's reign assumes the existence of a legitimate Napoléon II of France who never actually ruled, but was briefly recognized as emperor from June 22 to July 7, 1815. He became Emperor exactly one year after overthrowing the Second Republic and established the Second French Empire. That same year, he began shipping political prisoners and criminals to penal colonies such as Devil's Island (in French Guyana) or (in milder cases) New Caledonia. On 28 April, 1855 he survived an attempted assassination.

Related Topics:
October - 1836 - August - 1840 - United Kingdom - May - 1846 - February - 1848 - December 10 - December 2 - 1851 - Second Republic - Louis XVIII of France - Napoléon II of France - June 22 - July 7 - 1815 - Second French Empire - Devil's Island - New Caledonia - 28 April - 1855

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Napoléon III's challenge to Russia's claims to influence in the Ottoman Empire led to France's successful participation in the Crimean War (March 1854–March 1856). He approved the launching of a naval expedition in 1858 to punish the Vietnamese and force the court to accept a French presence in the country. On January 14, 1858 Napoléon escaped another assassination attempt. In May–July 1859 French intervention secured the defeat of Austria in Italy, and the result of this was the unification of Italy, and the acquisition of Savoy and the region of Nice (the so-called French Riviera) by France in 1860, the last time France extended its territory in Europe. France took part in the Second Opium War along with Great Britain, and in 1860 the French troops entered Beijing. In the beginning of the 1860s, the objectives of the emperor in foreign policy had been met: France had scored several military victories in Europe and abroad, the humiliation of Waterloo had been exorcised, and France was regarded again as the largest military power in Europe.

Related Topics:
Russia - Ottoman Empire - Crimean War - March - 1854 - 1856 - 1858 - Vietnam - January 14 - May - July - 1859 - Austria - Italy - Savoy - Nice - French Riviera - 1860 - Second Opium War - Great Britain - Beijing - 1860s - Waterloo

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However, the French intervention in Mexico (January 1862–March 1867) ended in defeat and in the execution of the French-backed Emperor Maximilian. More importantly, France saw her influence eroded by Prussia's crushing victory over Austria in June–August 1866. Due to his Carbonari past, Napoléon was unable to bring himself to ally with Austria, despite the obvious threat that a victorious Prussia would present to France.

Related Topics:
French intervention in Mexico - January - 1862 - March - 1867 - Maximilian - Prussia - Victory - Austria - June - August - 1866

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He would pay the price for this blunder in 1870 when, forced by the diplomacy of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Napoléon began the Franco-Prussian War. This war proved disastrous, and was instrumental in giving birth to the German Empire. In battle against Prussia in July 1870 the Emperor was captured at the Battle of Sedan (September 2) and was deposed by the forces of the Third Republic in Paris two days later. He died in exile in England on January 9, 1873.

Related Topics:
1870 - Otto von Bismarck - Franco-Prussian War - German Empire - July - Battle of Sedan - September 2 - Third Republic - January 9 - 1873

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Married to Eugenie de Montijo, Countess of Teba, a Spanish noblewoman of Scottish and Spanish descent, Napoléon III had one son, Eugène Bonaparte, known as the Prince Imperial.

Related Topics:
Eugenie de Montijo - Spanish - Scottish - Eugène Bonaparte - Prince Imperial

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He is buried in the Imperial Crypt at Saint Michael's Abbey, Farnborough, Hampshire, England.

Related Topics:
Saint Michael's Abbey - Farnborough, Hampshire

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Napoleon stayed at No. 6 Clarendon Square, Royal Leamington Spa between 1838-1839. The building is now called Napoleon House and has a 'Blue Badge' put up by the local council.

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