Joseph Bonaparte

Joseph Bonaparte(bornGiuseppe di Buonaparte,Italian:[dʒuˈzɛppediˌbwɔnaˈparte];Corsican:Ghjuseppe Bonaparte;Spanish:José Bonaparte; 7 January 1768 – 28 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother ofNapoleon Bonaparte. During theNapoleonic Wars, the latter made himKing of Naples(1806–1808), and thenKing of Spain and the Indies(1808–1813). After the fall ofNapoleon, Joseph styled himselfComte de Survilliersand emigrated to theUnited States, where he settled nearBordentown, New Jersey, on an estate overlooking theDelaware Rivernot far fromPhiladelphia.
Joseph was born in 1768 as Giuseppe Buonaparte toCarlo BuonaparteandMaria Letizia RamolinoatCorte, the capital of theCorsican Republic. In the year of his birth,Corsica was invaded by Franceand conquered the following year. His father was originally a follower of the Corsican patriot leaderPasquale Paoli, but later became a supporter of French rule.
Bonaparte trained as a lawyer. In that role and as a politician and diplomat, he served in theCouncil of Five Hundredand as the French ambassador to thePapal States. In 1799, he used his position as member of the Council of Five Hundred to help his brother Napoleon tooverthrowtheDirectory. On 30 September 1800, asMinister Plenipotentiary, he signed theTreaty of Mortefontaine, treaty of friendship and commerce between France and theUnited States, alongsideCharles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu, andPierre Louis Roederer.
Upon the outbreak of war betweenFranceandAustriain 1805,Ferdinand IV of Napleshad agreed to a treaty of neutrality withNapoleon Ibut, a few days later, declared his support for Austria. He permitted a large Anglo-Russian force to land in his kingdom. Napoleon, however, was soon victorious. After theWar of the Third Coalitionwas shattered on 5 December at theBattle of Austerlitz, Ferdinand was subject to Napoleon's wrath.
On 27 December 1805,Napoleonissued a proclamation from theSchönbrunndeclaring Ferdinand to have forfeited his kingdom. He said that a French invasion would soon follow to ensure that "the finest of countries is relieved from the yoke of the most faithless of men".
On 31 December Napoleon commanded Joseph Bonaparte to move to Rome, where he would be assigned to command the army sent to dispossess Ferdinand of his throne. Although Bonaparte was the nominal commander-in-chief of the expedition,Marshal Massénawas in effective command of operations, withGeneral St. Cyrsecond. But, St. Cyr, who had previously held the senior command of French troops in the region, soon resigned in protest at being made subordinate to Masséna and left for Paris. An outraged Napoleon ordered St. Cyr to return to his post at once.
On 8 February 1806 the French invasion force of forty-thousand men crossed into Naples. The centre and right of the army underMassénaandGeneral Reynieradvanced south fromRome, whileGiuseppe Lechiled a force down theAdriaticcoast fromAncona. On his brother's recommendation, Bonaparte attached himself toReynier.The French advance faced little resistance. Even before any French troops had crossed the border, the Anglo-Russian forces had beaten a prudent retreat, the British withdrawing toSicily, and the Russians toCorfu. Abandoned by his allies,King Ferdinandhad also already set sail forPalermoon 23 January.Queen Maria-Carolinalingered a little longer in the capital but, on 11 February, fled to join her husband.
The first obstacle the French encountered was the fortress ofGaeta; its governor,Prince Louis of Hesse-Philippsthal, refused to surrender his charge. There was no meaningful delay of the invaders, asMassénadetached a small force to besiege the garrison before continuing south.Capuaopened its gates after only token resistance.On 14 February Masséna took possession ofNaplesand, the following day, Bonaparte staged a triumphant entrance into the city.Reynier was quickly dispatched to seize control of theStrait of Messinaand, on 9 March, inflicted a crushing defeat of the Neapolitan Royal Army at theBattle of Campo Tenese, effectively destroying it as a fighting force and securing the entire mainland for the French.
On 30 March 1806Napoleonissued a decree installing Joseph Bonaparte asKing of Naples and Sicily; the decree said as follows:
"Napoleon, by the Grace of God and the constitutions. Emperor of the French and King of Italy, to all those to whom these presents come, greetings. The interests of our people, the honor of our Crown, and the tranquility of the Continent of Europe requiring that we should assure, in a stable and definite manner, the lot of the people of Naples and of Sicily, who have fallen into our power by the right of conquest, and who constitute a part of the Grand Empire, we declare that we recognize, as King of Naples and of Sicily, our well-beloved brother, Joseph Napoleon, Grand Elector of France. This Crown will be hereditary, by order of primogeniture, in his descendants male, legitimate, and natural, etc."
Joseph's arrival in Naples was warmly greeted with cheers and he was eager to be a monarch well liked by his subjects. Seeking to win the favour of the local elites, he maintained in their posts the vast majority of those who had held office and position under theBourbonsand was anxious to not in any way appear a foreign oppressor. With a provisional government set up in the capital, Joseph then immediately set off, accompanied byGeneral Lamarque, on a tour of his new realm. The principal object of the tour was to assess the feasibility of an immediate invasion ofSicilyand the expulsion ofFerdinandandMaria-Carolinafrom their refuge inPalermo. But, upon reviewing the situation at theStrait of Messina, Joseph was forced to admit the impossibility of such an enterprise, the Bourbons having carried off all boats and transports from along the coast and concentrated their remaining forces, alongside the British, on the opposite side.Unable to possess himself ofSicily, Joseph was nevertheless master of the mainland and he continued his progress throughCalabriaand on toLucaniaandApulia, visiting the main villages and meeting the local notables, clergy and people, allowing his people to grow accustomed to their new king and enabling himself to form first-hand a picture of the condition of his kingdom.
Upon returning toNaples, Bonaparte received a deputation from theFrench Senatecongratulating him upon his accession. The King formed a ministry staffed by many competent and talented men; he was determined to follow a reforming agenda and bring Naples the benefits of theFrench Revolution, without its excesses.Salicetiwas appointed Minister of Police,RoedererMinister of Finance,MiotMinister of the Interior andGeneral DumasMinister of War.Marshal Jourdanwas also confirmed as Governor of Naples, an appointment made byNapoleon, and served as Bonaparte's foremost military adviser.
Bonaparte embarked on an ambitious programme of reform and regeneration, in order to raise Naples to the level of a modern state in the mould of Napoleonic France. Monastic orders were suppressed, their propertynationalised, and their funds confiscated to steady the royal finances.Feudal privileges and taxes were abolished; however, the nobility was compensated by an indemnity in the form of a certificate that could be exchanged in return forlands nationalised from the Church.Provincial intendants were instructed to engage those dispossessed former monks who were willing to work in public education, and to ensure that elderly monks no longer able to support themselves could move into communal establishments founded for their care.A college for the education of young girls was established in each province. A central college was founded atAversafor the daughters of public functionaries, and the ablest from the provincial schools, to be admitted under the personal patronage ofQueen Julie.
The practice of forcibly recruiting prisoners into the army was abolished. To suppress and control robbers in the mountains, military commissions were established with the power to judge and execute, without appeal, all those brigands arrested with arms in their possession.Public works programmes were begun to provide employment to the poor and invest in improvements to the kingdom. Highways were built toReggio. The project of a Calabrian road was completed under Bonaparte within the year after decades of delay.In the second year of his reign, Bonaparte installed the first system of public street-lighting in Naples, modelled on that operating inParis.
Although the kingdom was not at that time furnished with a constitution, and thus Joseph's will as monarch reigned supreme, there is yet no instance of him ever adopting a measure of policy without prior discussion of the matter in the Council of State and the passing of a majority vote in favour his course of action by the counsellors.Joseph thus presided over Naples in the best traditions ofEnlightened absolutism, doubling the revenue of the crown from seven to fourteen million ducats in his brief two-year reign while all the time seeking to lighten the burdens of his people rather than increase them.
Joseph ruled Naples for two years before being replaced by his sister's husband,Joachim Murat. Joseph was then madeKing of Spainin August 1808, soon after the French invasion.
Joseph somewhat reluctantly left Naples, where he was popular, and arrived in Spain, where he was extremely unpopular. Joseph came under heavy fire from his opponents in Spain, who tried to smear his reputation by calling himPepe Botella(Joe Bottle) for his alleged heavy drinking, an accusation echoed by later Spanish historiography, despite the fact that Joseph was abstemious. His arrival as a foreign sovereign sparked a massive Spanish revolt against French rule, and the beginning of thePeninsular War. Thompson says the Spanish revolt was, "a reaction against new institutions and ideas, a movement for loyalty to the old order: to the hereditary crown of the Most Catholic kings, whichNapoleon, an excommunicated enemy of the Pope, had put on the head of a Frenchman; to the Catholic Church persecuted by republicans who had desecrated churches, murdered priests, and enforced a "loi des cultes" (law of religion); and to local and provincial rights and privileges threatened by an efficiently centralized government.
Joseph temporarily retreated with much of the French Army to northern Spain. Feeling himself in an ignominious position, Joseph then proposed his own abdication from the Spanish throne, hoping that Napoleon would sanction his return to the Neapolitan Throne he had formerly occupied. Napoleon dismissed Joseph's misgivings out of hand, and to back up the raw and ill-trained levies he had initially allocated to Spain, the Emperor sent heavy French reinforcements to assist Joseph in maintaining his position as King of Spain. Despite the easy recapture ofMadrid, and nominal control by Joseph's government over many cities and provinces, Joseph's reign over Spain was always tenuous at best, and was plagued with near-constant conflict with pro-Bourbonguerrillas. Joseph and his supporters never established complete control over the country, and after a series of failed military campaigns, he would eventually abdicate the throne.
King Joseph's Spanish supporters were calledjosefinosorafrancesados(frenchified). During his reign, he ended theSpanish Inquisition, partly because Napoleon was at odds with PopePius VIIat the time. Despite such efforts to win popularity, Joseph's foreign birth and support, plus his membership of aMasoniclodge,virtually guaranteed he would never be accepted as legitimate by the bulk of the Spanish people. During Joseph's rule of Spain,Venezueladeclared independence from Spain. The king had virtually no influence over the course of the ongoingPeninsular War: Joseph's nominal command of French forces in Spain was mostly illusory, as the French commanders theoretically subordinate to King Joseph insisted on checking with Napoleon before carrying out Joseph's instructions.
King Joseph abdicated the Spanish throne and returned toFranceafter the main French forces were defeated by aBritish-led coalition at theBattle of Vitoriain 1813. During the closing campaign of theWar of the Sixth Coalition,Napoleon Ileft his brother to governPariswith the title Lieutenant General of the Empire. As a result, he was again in nominal command of theFrench Imperial Armythat was defeated at theBattle of Paris.
He was seen by someBonapartistsas the rightfulEmperor of the Frenchafter the death of Napoleon's own sonNapoleon IIin 1832, although he did little to advance his claim.
Bonaparte travelled to theUnited Statesonboard theCommerceunder the name of M. Bouchard. British naval officers had searched the vessel three times but never found Bonaparte on board and the ship arrived on 15 July 1815.In the period 1817–1832, Bonaparte lived primarily in the United States (where he sold the jewels he had taken from Spain).He first settled inNew York CityandPhiladelphia, where his house became the centre of activity for Frenchmigrants.In 1823, he was elected as a member to theAmerican Philosophical Society.Later he purchased an estate, calledPoint Breezeand formerly owned byStephen Sayre. It was inBordentown, New Jersey, on the east side of theDelaware River. It was located near the confluence of Crosswicks Creek and the Delaware. He considerably expanded Sayre's home and created extensive gardens in the picturesque style. When his first home was destroyed by fire in January 1820 he converted his stables into a second grand house. On completion, it was generally viewed – perhaps diplomatically – as the "second-finest house in America" after theWhite House.At Point Breeze, Bonaparte entertained many of the leading intellectuals and politicians of his day.
In the summer of 1825, the Quaker scientistReuben Haines IIIdescribed Bonaparte's estate at Point Breeze, in a letter to his cousin:
Another visitor a few years later, British writerThomas Hamilton, described Bonaparte himself:
Reputedly some Mexican revolutionaries offered to crown Bonaparte asEmperor of Mexicoin 1820, but he declined.Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821.
In 1832, Bonaparte moved to London, returning to his estate in the United States only intermittently.In 1844, he died inFlorence, Italy. His body was returned to France and buried inLes Invalides, in Paris.
Bonaparte marriedMarie Julie Clary, daughter ofFrançois Claryand his wife, on 1 August 1794 inCuges-les-Pins, France. They had three daughters:
He identified the two surviving daughters as his heirs.
He also fathered two children with Maria GiuliaColonna, the Countess ofAtri:
Bonaparte had two American daughters born atPoint Breeze, his estate inBordentown,Burlington County,New Jersey, by his mistress, Annette Savage ofPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania("Madame de la Folie"):
Bonaparte had two more sons by Émilie (Hémart) Lacoste(1798 - 1879), wife of Félix Lacoste, founder of theCourrier des États-Unis:
Joseph Bonaparte was admitted toMarseille's lodgela Parfaite Sincéritéin 1793.He was asked by his brother Napoleon to monitor freemasonry as Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France (1804–1815).He founded the Grand Lodge National of Spain (1809).WithCambacérès, he encouraged the post-Revolution rebirth of the Freemasonry Order in France.