Napoleon III

I

Introduction

Napoleon III (1808-1873), emperor of the French (1852-1870), who revived the Napoleonic empire in the mid-19th century and led France to defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).

Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Paris, the third and last son of King Louis and Queen Hortense of Holland, and thus a nephew of Napoleon I. Because the Bonaparte family was banished from France after his uncle's downfall, Louis Napoleon was educated privately in Switzerland and Bavaria. His mother schooled him in the glories of the Napoleonic legend and set his course toward the recovery of family power. Toward that end, he wrote pamphlets and treatises to formulate a political program, portraying himself as social reformer, political liberal, military expert, and proponent of agricultural and industrial development. He also led two unsuccessful armed attempts to overthrow the regime of King Louis Philippe, in 1836 and 1840. Imprisoned for life after the latter, he escaped in 1846, calling renewed attention to himself.

II

Leadership of France

Once Louis Philippe was ousted in 1848, Louis Napoleon renewed his quest by offering himself as a candidate for the presidency of the new French republic. To the astonishment of political veterans, he won in a landslide. His triumph was diminished, however, by a Royalist victory in the legislative elections in 1849 and by the constitution's limiting him to one four-year term. He resolved that dilemma by a coup d'état on December 2, 1851, assuming dictatorial powers and extending his term of office to ten years. Despite continued pockets of opposition, clear evidence of widespread popular support encouraged him a year later to convert the Second Republic into the Second Empire; because Napoleon I's son had been known to his followers as Napoleon II, Louis Napoleon took the title Napoleon III. Historians divide his reign into two periods. The dictatorship persisted until 1860. During the dictatorship, Napoleon limited the freedom of the press and the freedom of intellectual thought; he censored newspapers and exiled many writers, including Victor Hugo, banning their works. During this period, opposition began to mount and Napoleon was forced to limit his powers. After 1860, Louis Napoleon began a series of liberal reforms that culminated in a limited monarchy, the Liberal Empire, on January 2, 1870. This liberalization was marked by labor legislation, a movement toward free trade, and a revival of opposition parties. In 1868 he granted freedom of assembly and loosened restrictions on the press. Napoleon also greatly extended the French railways and tried to improve the conditions of poor people. Perhaps Napoleon III's most durable work was the reconstruction of Paris, overseen by urban planner Baron Haussmann.

His successes, however, were overshadowed by a foreign policy that was too often idealistic, blinding the emperor to real dangers to French security. From 1854 to 1856 France joined England, the Ottoman Empire, and the kingdom of Sardinia in the Crimean War fighting against Russian advancement. In 1859 France went to war again with the kingdom of Sardinia in order to oust Austria from Italy. Although France received Nice and Savoy in 1860 because of its efforts, French intervention created other problems. The war was a costly one, and Napoleon had not foreseen the possibility that Italy would unite in 1861, creating another European power with which France must contend. In 1863 Napoleon encouraged Maximilian, the archduke of Austria, to become emperor of Mexico. Angered by French intervention, the United States demanded that the French leave. However, Maximilian did not leave and was killed by the Mexican government. The threat from Prussia, in particular, was perceived too late and caught the French unprepared in every respect when war came in 1870. Swift defeat in the field led to Napoleon's capture, and his regime was overthrown in Paris on September 4, 1870. He died in exile at Chislehurst, England.

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III

Evaluation

Evaluations of Napoleon III range from viewing him as a tyrant to praising his efforts toward democracy. He embodied strange contradictions and his reign vacillated from an authoritarian regime to an increasingly democratic one. Peasants strongly supported him and he was popularly elected. However, he crushed any adversaries. He improved France through his efforts to lessen poverty, to encourage industrialization, and to improve the infrastructure of the country. When he granted liberal reforms, he could not handle opposition. Napoleon was defeated trying to navigate between democracy and oppression.