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Video: Why the last of the Bonaparte dynasty was openly mocked: "The Pygmy and the Jackal" Napoleon III
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Only the lazy did not scoff at this French emperor. Victor Hugo called Napoleon III a petty little man, a pygmy, a jackal, a nonentity. The texts that the great writer dedicated to this ruler have not yet been fully studied and translated by philologists. The sophisticated curses with which he portrays the last emperor of France are too difficult for an accurate translation. At the same time, experts in the field of economics tend to disagree with Hugo and call Louis Bonaparte one of the most reasonable rulers, and the period of his cadence - the most successful in the history of France. So what was he like, the last of the great dynasty of Bonapartes, and what is the reason for his tragic end?
Worthy descendant of Napoleon
At birth, the future emperor Napoleon III (Napoléon III) was named Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. He was the son of the daughter of the famous Josephine, Hortense de Beauharnais and Louis, the younger brother of Napoleon. The boy grew up outside of France. He spent his adolescence in Switzerland, where he studied at the military academy. Louis Napoleon was a sturdy young man of short stature, but a very athletic build.
The boy was raised to worship the personality of his great uncle. Louis respected him endlessly and dreamed of being like him. When he died, the boy was thirteen years old and he decided at all costs to bear the name of Napoleon with dignity. The father of the future emperor did not interfere in the struggle for power, but young Louis raved about it. As soon as the prospect of returning to France loomed, the ambitious young man began to do everything to secure his political future. Louis Napoleon organized a coup d'état twice, albeit unsuccessfully. He was sent to prison, sent to America, but this did not prevent him from making new plans.
After spending some time in Switzerland, then in England, the future French emperor read a lot, studied a lot of political and economic literature. Louis Napoleon even wrote a book about his great ancestor, where he described him from an unexpected side. The nephew introduced readers not only to his merits as a commander and warrior, but also as a great social reformer. Throughout his life, Louis tried to match his beloved uncle.
When the young republic of France chose its first president, everything could be expected. The candidates were for every taste: the pride of the state, the poet Alphonse de Lamartine, the "friend of the people", the socialist Alexander-Auguste Ledru-Rollin and the military general Louis-Eugene Cavaignac. Imagine the disappointment of the "fathers of democracy" when, instead of all these wonderful people who stood at the origins of the liberation revolution, people chose … Louis Napoleon! Yes, the name of the great Napoleon turned out to be the most attractive to the French voter.
No freedom-loving calls for the creation of a republic meant anything. The love of the people appointed a person who wanted to revive the great empire. The crowd did not want a democratic system, but a charismatic strong leader. She got it.
Emperor: Dictator or Liberal?
Like his great uncle, Louis Napoleon always appealed directly to the people. The people loved him, this one was akin to worship. The legacy of the great name, the personal charisma of Louis, all this aroused the boundless trust of the people. Louis Napoleon said: “Freedom has never been the way to build a lasting political edifice. But she can crown this building when it is strengthened by time."
The people automatically considered the descendant of Napoleon to be the bearer of eternal truths. For them, his name served as a guarantee of order and prosperity. It also meant for all the maintenance of national honor in the international arena. People believed that such an authoritarian leader was aware of their hopes and aspirations, that he would bring them a long-awaited economic respite. Louis Napoleon, using such support, began to do something different from what the elite and the proletariat expected of him. This bore fruit for the country much later. But everyone was unhappy.
Many politicians of the time imagined that they would rule France at least partially. Only now the newly-made emperor did not want to share his power with anyone. Unlike one of his crowned predecessors, Napoleon I, Louis built the vertical of his authoritarian power quite intelligently. No wonder he studied so many books on economics. The emperor was fascinated by the ideas of the development of industry and free trade. This provided France with significant economic growth. The emperor was surrounded by like-minded people, followers of Saint-Simon. On this occasion, he liked to joke: “The government is strange for me! The Empress is a Legitimist, Prince Napoleon is a Republican, and I myself am a Socialist. The only imperialist among us is Persigny, but, I must confess, he does not have all of his homes."
President Louis Napoleon became emperor as a result of a bloody coup on December 2, 1851. Contemporaries called it a true triumph of socialism. This had some ground under it, despite Louis' monarchical manners. He believed that order and progress are first of all, and for this it is necessary to develop industry and the bourgeoisie must step on the throat of its personal interests.
Despite all this, of course, the emperor was not a liberal. He believed that the interests of the working class should not be trampled on, because this threatens the destruction of the social social order. Louis considered government to be the motor in the body of the social organism. The motor should run like a clock. During the reign of Louis Napoleon, private business developed, the foundations of social, pension and health insurance, and legal assistance were laid. The emperor sought as far as possible to lead the people away from the ideas of radical revolutionary ideas that shook the unfortunate France.
Key - banking system
In the system of government of Napoleon, special attention was paid to banks. They guaranteed a good organization of the economy, insured risks. Through the banking system, the organized beginning of the centralized economy was created. Bankers, more than anyone else, could reasonably assess the needs and capabilities of industry. Economic planning, social security, it is Napoleon III who is rightfully the founder of the methods of state economic regulation. To the greatest regret, Louis lacked either perspicacity or courage, but his system collapsed and led to another revolution. The beginning was very bright.
During the reign of Napoleon III, the brothers Emile I Isaac Pereira created the Credit Mobilier society. It was engaged in the placement of securities and sponsored the construction of railways, canals, factories. The society existed for fifteen years and managed to make an invaluable contribution to the French economy. It was then that almost the entire system of French railways was created. Then it seemed that one more leap and all the sensimonist ideas would prevail. But the political elites changed, Credit Mobilier went bankrupt, and at the same time the tragic end of Napoleon III's system approached.
Tragic denouement
The French economy was developing rapidly, treasury revenues were growing. The population was getting rich. The appetite of the government grew along with the economy. The result was a chain of dangerous financial decisions. The budget was ruined, and no measures to stabilize it were successful. Raising taxes also did not help the situation. The people were dissatisfied, and the treasury was getting thinner. Government loans were increasing, and the emperor seemed to not notice this and plunged headlong into new adventures. Military campaigns have ruined the budget. Despite the fact that at the beginning Louis drew political dividends from these adventures, over time this changed, as victories were followed by a series of failures.
Eventually, in 1870, Napoleon's empire fell. The emperor fled the country. He soon died in London. His only son, being an ambitious young man, went to Africa. The attempt to win a high military position ended tragically for Napoleon the younger. Its end was worthy of his great surname. The prince, surrounded by a huge number of Zulu, decided to retreat. Only by chance did he not manage to jump into the saddle, he fell to the ground, and the enemies were advancing. Napoleon struggled to his feet and began to advance on the natives. Before dying, he managed to fire several shots. After his body was found, eighteen darts were found in it! This is how the last of the great Bonaparte dynasty met his death.
Read more about Napoleon in our article how Napoleon's first love became Queen of Sweden.
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