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.

Legacy

An important change during his reign was the rebuilding of Paris. Part of the design decisions were taken in order to reduce the ability of future revolutionaries to challenge the government. Large sections of the city were razed and the old convoluted streets were replaced with many broad avenues, with the intent of allowing cannon and cavalry to be used easily within the city. The rebuilding of Paris was directed by Baron Haussmann (1809–1891; Prefect of the Seine département 1853–1870).

Related Topics:
Paris - Cannon - Cavalry - Baron Haussmann - 1809 - 1891 - Seine - Département - 1853 - 1870

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He also directed the building of the French railway network, which greatly contributed to the development of the coal mining and steel industry in France, radically changing the nature of the French economy, which entered the modern age of large-scale capitalism. The French economy, the second largest in the world at the time (behind Great Britain), experienced a very strong growth during the reign of Napoléon III. Names such as steel tycoon Eugène Schneider or banking mogul James de Rothschild are symbols of the period. The two largest French banks, Société Générale and Crédit Lyonnais, still in existence today, were founded during that period. The French stock market also expanded prodigiously, with many coal mining and steel companies issuing stocks. Although largely forgotten by later Republican generations, which only remembered the non-democratic nature of the regime, the economic successes of the Second Empire are today recognized as impressive by historians. The emperor himself, who had spent his youth in Victorian England, was largely influenced by the ideas of the Industrial Revolution in England, and he took particular care of the economic development of the country. He is recognized as the first ruler of France to have taken great care of the economy, previous rulers considering it secondary.

Related Topics:
Great Britain - Eugène Schneider - James de Rothschild - Société Générale - Crédit Lyonnais - Industrial Revolution

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Napoléon III, to this day, has not enjoyed the prestige that Napoleon I enjoyed. Victor Hugo called him "Napoleon the small", as opposed to Napoleon I "The Great". Karl Marx mocked Napoléon III by saying that history repeats itself: "the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." Napoléon III has often been described as an ineffectual and authoritarian leader who brought France into dubious foreign military adventures. In France, the arch-opposition of Victor Hugo to Napoléon III made it impossible for a very long time to assess his reign objectively. However, in the latter part of the 20th century historians have done much to restore the image of Napoléon III. The diplomatic, and above all economic achievements of the reign are now recognized. Historians have also shown that the emperor was one of the very few rulers of Europe actually interested in the fate of poor people. His book Extinction du paupérisme ("Extinction of pauperism"), which he wrote while imprisoned at the Fort of Ham in 1844, made much for his successful election in 1848, and all along his reign the emperor showed concerns to alleviate the sufferings of the most poor in the empire. Among other things, the emperor granted the right to strike to French workers in 1864, despite intense opposition from corporate lobbies. The emperor also ordered the creation of three large parks in Paris (Parc Monceau, Parc Montsouris, and Parc des Buttes-Chaumont) with the clear intention of offering them for poor working families as an alternative to the pub (bistrot) on Sundays, much as Victoria Park in London was also built with the same social motives in mind.

Related Topics:
Victor Hugo - Karl Marx - 1844 - 1864 - Parc Monceau - Parc Montsouris - Parc des Buttes-Chaumont - Victoria Park - London

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