A big synthesis extension on Napoleon III nor black legend or Golden Legend

A big synthesis extension on Napoleon III nor black legend or Golden Legend

Napoleon III (Paperback)

Customer Review

Complex and sometimes elusive figure that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte aka Napoleon III. The black legend, largely forged during his life and developed under the Third Republic, has certainly greatly influenced historiography, but is ruled today in favor of a "golden legend" that no longer tends to do that positive aspects of the regime, "erasing" the gray areas, like the coup in 1851 or repression. I had, at the beginning of this blog, a historiographical around the issue, while some members of the government then in power sought to rehabilitate Napoleon III. Is it finally possible to envisage a history free of these pitfalls? The biography of Pierre Milza, placing man in his time, there tended a little.

Unfortunately lacks an introduction that was nevertheless necessary to introduce the topic and the issue, the book begins directly on the birth of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, son of Louis, King of Holland, one of Napoleon's brothers, and Hortense Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine, the first wife of the emperor. Much has been written about the supposed parentage of the future Napoleon III, without doubt wrongly: it is probably true son of Louis. Born in 1808, Louis Napoleon is still very young child when he witnessed the debacle of his uncle in 1814, leaving his mother the interests of his children with the victors, waiting to return to the emperor during the Hundred Days in 1815.

Hortense is then forced into exile. Refugee in Arenenberg, only then it begins to worry about the education of his son, and in particular that of Louis Napoleon. Without father, this one has a model of an uncle, Eugene de Beauharnais, one of the ancient glories of the Empire, until his death in 1824. The family moved to Italy from 1823. A 20 years, Louis Napoleon sums up the romantic spirit of the time. He forges them politically aware, around the Italian patriots and ideas of freedom and nation. He wants to leave Greece fight the Ottomans, but his mother dissuaded.

While the Restoration collapses in 1830 Louis Napoleon and his brother are involved in the uprisings in central Italy against the Austrians. But France can not intervene in favor of the insurgents were soon crushed by the army of Habsburg. On the run, forced into hiding with his mother, Louis Napoleon lost his brother, a victim of the disease. Hortense attempts to flex Louis Philippe to return to France, but it can not assign as the threat is perceived as important. The nephew of the emperor and his mother seek refuge in England. In addition to playing the seductive, he already ready ear to Bonapartist conspiracies to restore power in France. From 1831 to 1836 he lived in Switzerland, and it is in 1832 that the Aiglon disappears, making him the most prominent heir of the emperor. Revenue in England in 1832-1833 for six months, he discovered the modernity of the country rose to the industrial age. It was then that layer his early writings: Political Reveries, and two technical books on the Swiss army and artillery.

Louis Napoleon is forced to marry, but the project of marrying a daughter of Jerome Bonaparte, Matilda, is not successful. Just as a first attempt to Bonapartist uprising in Strasbourg in October 1836, assembled with the help of Persigny. Louis Napoleon was finally exiled to the United States, where he does not like. He returned to attend his mother who is dying of cancer. The death of this figure who greatly influenced seems to have matured. He left for England since the July Monarchy, which trembled in Strasbourg does not want to take risks. It continues to embody a kind of romantic adventurism, and published in 1839 The Napoleonic ideas, which already sets a semblance of political program. A new attempted uprising in Boulogne, in 1840, yet fails miserably.

Judged, Louis-Napoleon was sentenced to life in the fort of Ham. A gilded cage, frequent visits and even sexual satisfactions are the lot of brand prisoner. Louis Napoleon took the opportunity to read a lot, also wrote, again, on technical issues, such as the sugar industry or, even, the artillery. Extinction of pauperism in 1844 reflects the influence of Saint-Simon, crossbred paternalism and authoritarianism. However, Louis Napoleon, ill (he keeps a limp due to moisture and fragility that may be the cause of his fatal illness) thinks only of escape. As one is not allowed to visit his father who is dying and demanded he take work in hard to escape the spring 1846 disguised as a worker, which earned him the famous nickname "Badinguet".

Returning to London, he formed a lasting relationship with Miss Howard, an English became his mistress. The February 1848 revolution finally throws down the July Monarchy, but still wary of the Napoleonic heir. It is discrete but his followers work to gather the disaffected within a party of order that is very diverse. Elected deputy, he finally shows by popular vote for the presidency. Some tenors of the party of Order naively think dealing with a naive easy to handle. Chance, Louis Napoleon knows what he wants and brings together all those who are hostile to the bourgeois republic, and have crushed the Paris workers in June 1848.

The prince-president moved to the Elysee, Napoleonic place par excellence. It is surrounded by faithful with his half-brother Morny. He asserts his authority by repressing the Italian patriots who threaten the Pope. The 1849 election confirmed the victory of the party of Order. Louis Napoleon seeks both to stand out from his opponents but also sometimes of his own supporters who often have nothing reactionary Bonapartist ... A turning point is emerging in 1850 with the Falloux law and subsequently Louis -Napoléon considering taking power by force.

Things are accelerating after the rejection by the Assembly of a constitutional amendment allowing the prince-president to stand for re-election. Since August 1851, the coup is being prepared, not without difficulty to find leaders capable of rallying in particular the military. In addition, it is an open secret, to the point that everyone is waiting, almost. The coup of December 2 State, which obviously contributes strongly to the black legend of the character, confirms the evolution filigree since June 1848. If the resistance is quickly suffocated in Paris, with still some hundreds of deaths on the barricades it is much harder in the South, in particular. 30,000 persons are arrested, the leaders are sent to prison in Cayenne, over 9,000 other supporters of the insurgency deported to Algeria. Louis-Napoleon himself was frightened by the extent of the repression and the legal consequences mitigated. A quickly organized plebiscite sanctioned the seizure of power by the Prince-President.

This one is by first establishing a constitution a "consular republic." A year after the coup, the official restoration of the Empire is proclaimed on December 2, 1852. The emperor will eventually marry Eugénie de Montijo, a descendent of good Spanish family met in 1849, but he will have win up to win in 1853. He exercises the only power with the help of informal advisors, who have assembled more than a role of figuration almost. The company is supervised by prefects, many of which are kept in place, and a city police, in particular, which is significantly strengthened. The tight censorship and clever propaganda complete the package. The Emperor gestured toward the Catholic Church to rally support. But it remains suspicious ultramontanes. The opposition is divided and so modest, but Republicans in the Legislature to come 1858 elections.

Raised mostly by women, the emperor, autodidact, retains a certain timidity but a recognized charm. He throws himself headlong into his work. The person who has most influenced, it is his mother, which we find many traits in him. The Empress, foreign and wrong view of this fact, yet knows how to impose: devout Catholic, his opinion is important, but not enough to override that of the Emperor, except in time of war with Prussia, particular circumstances force . Relations with the rest of the Bonaparte family are complicated. The emperor is exceeded by his cousin Jerome Napoleon, "Plonplon". It is served by the faithful as Morny and in its political and administrative staff: Rouher Baroche, Magne, Fould, etc. Napoleon III continues to have his "little distractions" despite her marriage to the Empress.

"The empire is peace", said Napoleon III in 1852, to reassure the European powers. 18 months later, France is already at war. The desire to reshape the 1815 map and support the nationalities leads to churn out military interventions. But if the French diplomatic tool is excellent, military means are more fragile. A "fine army, but not a good army" as stated by Philippe Séguin. The colonial troops are strong but this specificity is not offset by quality in terms of more traditional confrontations and especially the lack of incorporation of new tools of industrial war. The staff is limited. However, the French navy is powerful. Steam triumph, led by Dupuy de Lome. In 1870, the Navy has more than 300 buildings! Napoleon III soon finds himself drawn into a war with Russia on the question of the Holy Places. In reality, the intransigence of the Tsar, eager to carve up the Ottoman Empire ruled moribund weighed. In addition, Napoleon III seeks to consolidate its rapprochement with England. But France and England were not prepared for such a long distance campaign, which will finally take place in Crimea, from 1854 to 1856. The siege of Sevastopol is long and costly. Napoleon finally resigned to not to take command of the troops, hosts Victoria and Albert in France (a first for 400 years!) And made the return journey. The Congress of Paris in 1856 finally sanctioned the victory of a nationalities policy, certainly hard won.

It is then that begins to seriously question of the unification of Italy. Piedmont, which is engaged in the Crimean War, needs a powerful ally to defeat the Austrians. Orsini's attack in January 1858 forces the hand of the Emperor. It does not want the unification of Italy, but free people from the north of the Austrian iron rule and exercise a sort of influence on what comes out. Fragile diplomatically, the French effort is taken by the thrusts of Turin, whose military preparations entail an ultimatum of Austria in April 1859. France was then involved in a campaign that will be difficult. Magenta is a Pyrrhic victory, a real butcher Solferino, which also raises the vocation of Henry Dunant. The Austrians were beaten but not defeated. Napoleon resolved to peace. Cavour and Victor Emmanuel, reinforced Garibaldi their hands on the rest of the peninsula until 1861.

At that time, internally, the regime is experiencing a peak between 1858 and 1861. After the authoritarian turn following the attack Orsini, Napoleon takes the first liberalization measures: doing right opposition strengthens, around the Italian question and the place of the Pope in Italy, but also the free-trade policy desired by the emperor. A group in this sense, promoter of free trade around Michel Chevalier. The decree with England in 1860 followed by others with neighboring European states. The debates of the legislative body are made public. Some would have seen there the signs of a profound change.

Napoleon III is one of France's men contemporary states which is most interested in the economy. He tries to apply the Saint-Simonian principles tailored to their own reflections. A proactive policy, to give France a modern economy and stimulating. The economic climate is also favorable. The Second Empire provides the France of its rail network, 20,000 km of railways in 1870. The roads are maintained, river navigation developed after 1860. Shipping increases. Marseille and Le Havre are the head of the ports, the electric telegraph is spreading everywhere. Regions such as the Sologne or the Landes are refurbished at the express will of the Emperor, which also seeks to democratize credit and to use the Bank of France for its economic policy. But growth only affects some areas and not over the entire period. Agriculture remains behind the industry. The commercial sector remains backlog despite the birth of department stores. The two universal exhibitions of 1855 and 1867 also barely conceal the reign of "easy money". In social terms, the emperor first merely paternalistic measures, then changed tactics after 1861 and the reversal of the party of Order against his Italian policy, trying to placate the workers. It gives them the right to strike in 1864 and allowed to form associations, which paradoxically accelerates the decomposition of the regime.

In Paris, Napoleon wants to make it the capital of Europe. The population has doubled in fifty years on an unchanged space. This is mainly to ensure people's safety but also the power itself. Haussmann, Paris in charge of construction, has been able to compromise to translate into reality the Emperor's wishes. The city is in the works for 20 years: 20 000 buildings razed, 43,000 built. Paris is decongested, stations are connected by transverse axes. The city is growing in size and population, the periphery is absorbed. Schools, barracks, town halls, markets are increasing. The Palace of Industry and Opera Garnier are among the modern buildings. Consequence: the poor are driven out from the center to the periphery. The Haussmann model is exported in Lyon and Marseille, and in key regional cities, which at times questionable financing price, build entire neighborhoods that still today date back to that period.

Paris is also the theater of the imperial party. The Court Tuileries shows the splendor of the Empire. Some resorts also exist in province: Biarritz owes much to the Empress, St. Cloud and Compiègne are also steps in the ballet of the year. Paris is organized around the exhibitions. Offenbach and Verdi enliven the cultural life of Paris. Popular civic festivals, like the imperial cult on August 15, his recovered by the regime.

The opinion awakens from 1862 though. The right-wing opposition stacks with a left opposition, legal or illegal. The 1863 elections mark the decline of official candidates. Emperor's health is deteriorating, especially from 1865, due to a calculation untreated bladder. Eugenie is concerned more and more to ensure dynastic continuity for his son. The emperor compensates by focusing on Caesar, Vercingetorix and the Gallic Wars, for which he did a lot and writing. The liberalization of the regime begins, initiated by the death of Morny in 1865, which was favorable. Napoleon failed to rally the workers. However, Victor Duruy began the democratization of school, especially in primary and secondary education for girls. The clashes with the Church are also frequent until 1868, when supporters of the hardline regime triumph. Concerned about a likely confrontation with Prussia, Napoleon wants to amend the recruitment system to have more staff. But the opposition is already so powerful that the proposal is rejected Niel.

In foreign policy, the success will not be at the rendezvous. The Roman question is not resolved, the Mexican expedition ended in disaster, and colonial conquests are successes that are not approved by all because they divert efforts on other continents. In Italy, Piedmont defeat against Austria in 1866 is obvious. The progression of Rome was stopped by Napoleon III, Pope saving by moving troops into the city. The uprising in Poland against the tsar in 1863, shows the limits of the Napoleonic policy on nationalities, and distends the relations with Russia. Napoleon redirects effort to settlements, including to Algeria. He had wanted to be proclaimed "King of Algeria," grant special status to the natives, to the fury of the settlers. The famine of 1867-1868 and uprisings were right. France is also installed in other strategic places like the Indian Ocean. These are also the beginnings of what will become of French West Africa, intervention in China 1859-1860, the beginnings of the conquest of Indochina and the taking of the New Caledonia. The expedition to Mexico, which starts in 1861, responds to Napoleon's economic ambitions, also related to the conduct of the Civil War, in the event of a Confederate victory. But the Emperor Maximilian, unearthed by Napoleon, does not have enough legitimacy nor troops to win and crush the opposition. The northerner victory changes the game. The French expeditionary force withdrew in 1867, wins Juarez, Maximilian was executed. Napoleon fell out with the United States and Austria, including one of its own has been sacrificed for little. In Europe, the victory of Sadowa for France strengthens the Prussian peril, and Napoleon did not find a strong ally.

The last years of the Second Empire (1868-1870 saw the rise of a radical opposition. New tenors appear as Gambetta and Rochefort in the press. The 1869 elections confirmed the decline of the Order and official party candidates, but the Republican thrust is limited by the number of conservatives. Persigny deputies and Emperor bend to a parliamentary Empire, which was finally adopted. The Legislature finds its prerogatives and Emile Ollivier serves bail. A few months later, on May 8 1870 plebiscite validates the direction taken by Napoleon, although the army, for example, has also expressed his opposition more than usual. It is however a sick emperor who faces the maneuvers of Bismarck's candidacy throne . Spain Hohenzollern Around the Empress and supporters of the authoritarian empire grows and a coterie of war and the Emperor can put hola;. Bismarck knows enjoy Certainly the Marshal Leboeuf proclaims that "no a gaiter button is lacking ", but when war was declared on 19 July 1870, the French army is outnumbered, his artillery is exceeded, and she faces a Prussian army broken in strategic maneuver for a decade . France is diplomatically isolated. Napoleon, aware of all its weaknesses, became head of the army when he can no longer ride a horse. Eugenie took control in Paris and dedicated the victory of authoritarian party. The outcome is quick. The emperor, encircled with his troops and who wants to avoid a bloodbath among his soldiers, capitulated at Sedan on 2 September. Two days later, the Second Empire falls in Paris facing the street.

Through Belgium, Napoleon is held in the castle of Wilhelmshöhe, which experienced the splendor of the First Empire. He writes, is reconciled with Eugenie, while Bismarck seeks to manipulate it to negotiate a peace favorable to the winners, in parallel with the new authorities of the Republic. Only after the armistice of January 1871 and the fall of Napoleon Paris is freed and went into exile once again in England. The emperor deposed despair not recover his throne, maintained in its hopes by the faithful who followed. A conspiracy is even sketched in 1872, when Napoleon's condition worsens. He finally agrees to be operated on, but died as a result of the operation, 9 January 1873.

Planted by the English, Napoleon is not cried a lot in France: he is accused of being responsible for the defeat and amputation of the territory. The black legend is built because the Republic needs a foil. Denunciation of Caesarism, the authoritarian drift, becomes part of the parliamentary republic. After the work of La Gorce and Ollivier, republican historiography remains largely hostile to Napoleon III until 1914. The rehabilitation-or even the hagiographie- is already developing in the interwar period and especially after 1945. After the Dansette work, two heirs of right currents sign character biographies: Louis Girard, in the liberal current, and Philippe Séguin, to the current "Bonapartist" within the meaning given to it by Rene Remond. For Milza, Bonapartism is not really a body of doctrine, it is the combination of several elements: authority, respect displayed for popular sovereignty, concentration of power, distrust of parliamentary institutions. The model of Napoleon III, is Caesar. The regime corresponds to a democracy that would be authoritative and experienced different phases, which makes it quite unclassifiable. There never was a Bonapartist party as such, there will be none after the death of the emperor, and his son in 1879 against the Zulus. The latest organizations are shelved, however, in 1940. For Milza, the influence of Bonapartism especially sees in his meeting at the end of the nineteenth century, with the background against-revolutionary who gives birth to extreme -Straight making the synthesis, as shown at the time of the Dreyfus affair, after Boulanger episode. Yet, right, a legalist continues, as illustrated by the example of La Rocque party and the RPF De Gaulle with Bonapartist influences. Still, for the historian, Napoleon III and the Second Empire participated in their way to the political construction of what became of France today.

As Fabien Cardoni says in his own recension for the nineteenth century History Review, Milza multiplies shells, and spends maybe a few too many pages for Verdi, which he is also the biographer. Moreover, it frequently advance the comparison between Napoleon and Mussolini, he knows above all to be, this time, the specialist, but it is not pushed to the end, especially in political affiliation: it leaves a little hungry. Obviously, Pierre Milza -grosse- wanted to make a synthesis for the general public up to date on the historiographical plane, but may disappoint, indeed, as Cardoni emphasizes the connoisseur, for it brings nothing new, particularly in the analysis. There remains the pleasure of reading a sum that is neither part of the black legend, or the golden legend. In these times, it is more than welcome.

Commensurate with the prices Rank: 3/5
April 18
what more do you want? 9 Rank: 5/5
February 21
funny 1 5 Rank: 4/5
April 16
Book a must read Rank: 5/5
May 12
9 perfection Rank: 5/5
January 6
Disappointed 1738 Rank: 2/5
May 9

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