Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1808–1873) was the first President of the French Republic and the last monarch of France. Made president by popular vote in 1848, Napoleon III ascended to the throne on 2 December 1852, the forty-eighth anniversary of his uncle, Napoleon I's, coronation. He ruled as Emperor of the French until September 1870, when he was captured in the Franco-Prussian War.

Early life
Ruler of France
Death
Legacy
Titles and styles
Images for kids
See also

Early life

Napoleon III, generally known as "Louis Napoléon" before he became emperor, was the son of Louis Bonaparte. He married Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter by the first marriage of Napoleon's wife Josephine de Beauharnais. Louis-Napoléon was a second son and a replacement child. His older brother, Napoléon Charles Bonaparte, died at age four. During Napoleon I's reign, Louis-Napoléon's parents had been made king and queen of a French puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland. After Napoleon I's military defeats and deposition in 1815 and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France, all members of the Bonaparte dynasty were forced into exile. He was quietly exiled to the United States of America, and spent four years in New York. He also sailed to Central America. Then he secretly returned to France and attempted yet another coup in August 1840, sailing with some hired soldiers into Boulogne. In 1844, his uncle Joseph died, making him the direct heir apparent to the Bonaparte claim. Two years later, his father Louis died, making Louis-Napoléon the clear Bonapartist candidate to rule France.

Louis-Napoléon lived within the borders of the United Kingdom until the revolution of February 1848 in France deposed Louis-Philippe and established a Republic. He was now free to return to France, which he immediately did.

Ruler of France

In 1848, he was elected President of France in a land slide victory. He won the election because of his popular name and French people hoped that he would return his uncle's glory. He used his rank as stepping stone to greater power. Finally in 1852, he crowned himself as Emperor Napoleon III and the Second French Empire was born.In 1856, Eugenie gave birth to a legitimate son and heir, Louis Napoléon, the Prince Impérial.

On 28 April 1855 Napoleon survived an attempted assassination. On 14 January 1858 Napoleon and his wife escaped another assassination attempt, plotted by Felice Orsini. Until about 1861, Napoleon's regime exhibited decidedly authoritarian characteristics, using press censorship to prevent the spread of opposition, manipulating elections, and depriving the Parliament of the right to free debate or any real power.

A far more dangerous threat to Napoleon, however, was looming. France saw its dominance on the continent of Europe eroded by Prussia's crushing victory over Austria in the Austro-Prussian War in June–August 1866. To prevent Prussia under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck becoming even more powerful, Napoleon began the Franco-Prussian War. This war proved disastrous, and was instrumental in giving birth to the German Empire, which would take France's place as the major land power on the continent of Europe. In the 1870 Battle of Sedan Prussian forces captured the Emperor. The forces of the Third Republic deposed his government in Paris two days later.

Death

Napoleon spent the last few years of his life in exile in England, with Eugenie and their only son. The family lived at Camden Place Chislehurst (then in Kent), where he died on 9 January 1873. He was haunted to the end by bitter regrets and by painful memories of the battle at which he lost everything.

Napoleon was originally buried at St. Mary's, the Catholic Church in Chislehurst. However, after his son died in 1879 fighting in the British Army against the Zulus in South Africa, the bereaved Eugenie decided to build a monastery. The building would house monks driven out of France by the anti-religious laws of the Third Republic, and would provide a suitable resting place for her husband and son.

Legacy

An important legacy of Napoleon III's reign was the rebuilding of Paris under the supervision of Georges-Eugène Haussmann. One purpose was reduce the ability of future revolutionaries to challenge the government by blocking the small, medieval streets of Paris with barricades. However, the main reason for the complete transformation of Paris was Napoleon III's desire to modernize Paris based on what he had seen of the modernizations of London during his exile there in the 1840s.

Titles and styles

20 April 1808 – 9 July 1810: His Imperial and Royal Highness Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince of Holland
20 April 1808 – 25 July 1846: His Imperial Highness Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Imperial of France
20 December 1848 – 2 December 1852: His Excellency Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, President of the French Republic ("fr: Le Prince-President")
2 December 1852 – 4 September 1870: His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French
4 September 1870 – 9 January 1873: His Imperial Majesty the former Emperor of the French

Images for kids

Louis Napoleon at the time of his failed coup in 1836
Louis Napoleon launching his failed coup in Strasbourg in 1836
The Prince-President in 1852, after the coup d'état
Photographic portrait of Louis Napoleon (1852) by Gustave Le Gray
The Gare de Lyon and Gare du Nord railway stations in Paris were built under Napoleon III. During his reign, the railway network of France expanded from 3 500 kilometres to 20 000 kilometres.
Among the commercial innovations encouraged by Napoleon III were the first department stores. Bon Marché opened in 1852, followed by Au Printemps in 1865.
Enormous public works projects reconstructed the center of Paris. Here, work to extend the Rue de Rivoli continues at night by electric light (1854).
Camille Pissarro, Avenue de l'Opéra, one of the new boulevards created by Napoleon III. The new buildings on the boulevards were required to be all of the same height and same basic facade design, and all faced with cream coloured stone, giving the city center its distinctive harmony.
Empress Eugénie in 1853, after her marriage to Napoleon III, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Napoleon III and Abdelkader El Djezairi, the Algerian military leader who led a struggle against the French invasion of Algeria
The French landing near Yevpatoria, Crimea, 1854
The French capture of Russian positions around Sevastopol brought the end of the Crimean War.
The Battle of Malakoff, 8 September 1855
Napoleon III in 1855
Napoleon III with the French forces at the Battle of Solferino, which secured the Austrian withdrawal from Italy. He was horrified by the casualties, and ended the war soon after the battle.
Arrival of Marshal Randon in Algiers in 1857
French capture of Gia Dinh (modern Saigon), 17 February 1859
Second French intervention in Mexico, 1861–1867
The Tuileries Palace during the gala soirée of 10 June 1867, hosted by Napoleon III for the sovereigns attending the Paris International Exhibition of 1867.
Napoleon III commissioned Eugène Viollet-le-Duc to restore the medieval town of Carcassonne in 1853.
In 1861, through the direct intervention of the Emperor and the Empress Eugénie, Julie-Victoire Daubié became the first woman to receive a baccalauréat diploma.
Victor Duruy, Napoléon III's Minister of Public Education from 1863 to 1869, created schools for girls in every commune of France and women were admitted for the first time to medical school and to the Sorbonne.
Eugénie and the Prince Imperial in 1862
Portrait of Napoleon III in 1868 by Adolphe Yvon
Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern
At the outbreak of the war, crowds gathered on the Place de la Bastille, chanting "To Berlin!"
Battle of Mars-la-Tour on 16 August 1870
Surrender of Napoleon III after the Battle of Sedan, 1 September 1870
The last photograph of Napoleon III (1872)
Illustration of Napoleon (in Chislehurst in England) on his deathbed
Napoleon III by Alexandre Cabanel, c. 1865, when aged around 57. This was Empress Eugénie's favourite portrait, since it represented, in her opinion, his person most faithfully.
Tomb of Napoleon III
Paul Hadol's caricature of Marguerite Bellanger toying with Napoleon
Louis Bonaparte (1778–1846), the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, the King of Holland, and father of Napoleon III
Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), mother to Louis Napoleon in 1808
The lakeside house at Arenenberg, Switzerland, where Louis Napoleon spent much of his youth and exile
Louis Napoleon's 1840 attempt to lead an uprising against Louis-Philippe ended in fiasco and ridicule. He was sentenced to prison for life in the fortress of Ham in Northern France.
The room in the fortress of Ham where Louis Napoleon studied, wrote, and conducted scientific experiments. He later often referred to what he had learned at "the University of Ham".
After his escape from prison, he had a brief affair with Rachel (1823–1858), the most famous French actress of the time, during her London tours.
Louis Napoleon met the wealthy heiress Harriet Howard in 1846. She became his mistress and helped fund his return to France.
Georges-Eugène Haussmann and Napoleon III make official the annexation of eleven communes around Paris to the city. The annexation increased the size of the city from twelve to the present twenty arrondissements.
The Paris Opera was the centerpiece of Napoleon III's new Paris. The architect, Charles Garnier, described the style simply as "Napoleon the Third".
The Bois de Boulogne, transformed by Napoleon III between 1852 and 1858, was designed to give a place for relaxation and recreation to all the classes of Paris.
Photo of the Emperor
Napoleon III with his son and heir, the Prince Imperial, c. 1860
Napoleon III with his family, c. 1860s
Napoleon III in normal attire, c. 1868
Napoleon III with Empress Eugénie, c. 1865

Napoléon III facts for kids

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