The International Legion was created in Italy by Giuseppe Garibaldi , on October 5, 1860 – in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of the Volturno , where the forces of the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were decisively broken.
143-753: It had been the last main military engagement of the Expedition of the Thousand ; however, at the time Garibaldi seriously considered going on to northwards to Rome , in order to put an end to the Temporal power of the Holy See . The International Legion was evidently to take part in this campaign, from which Garibaldi was later reluctantly dissuaded by King Victor Emmanuel II . The International Legion brought together different national divisions of French , Poles , Swiss , German and other nationalities, with
286-736: A plebiscite that brought Naples and Sicily into the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia , the last territorial conquest before the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy on 17 March 1861. The Expedition of the Thousand was the only desired action that was jointly decided by the four " Fathers of the Fatherland " Giuseppe Mazzini , Giuseppe Garibaldi, King Victor Emmanuel II , and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour , pursuing divergent goals. Mazzini, of republican political belief, wanted to liberate Southern Italy and Rome , while Garibaldi wanted to conquer, in
429-510: A banking and savings system that would provide credit to the working class, and to establish agricultural colonies similar to the kibbutzim later founded in Israel. This book was widely reprinted and circulated in France, and played an important part in his future electoral success. Louis Napoleon was busy in prison, but also unhappy and impatient. He was aware that the popularity of his uncle
572-453: A broad popular mandate, so on 20–21 December a national plebiscite was held asking if voters agreed to the coup. Mayors in many regions threatened to publish the names of any electors who refused to vote. When asked if they agreed to the coup, 7,439,216 voters said yes, 641,737 voted no, and 1.7 million voters abstained. The fairness and legality of the referendum was immediately questioned by Louis Napoleon's critics, but Louis Napoleon
715-497: A clear majority, enough to block any initiatives of Louis Napoleon. On 11 June 1849, the socialists and radical republicans made an attempt to seize power. Ledru-Rollin , from his headquarters in the Conservatory of Arts and Professions , declared that Louis Napoleon was no longer President and called for a general uprising. A few barricades appeared in the working-class neighborhoods of Paris. Louis Napoleon acted swiftly, and
858-491: A compendium of his political ideas which was published in three editions and eventually translated into six languages. He based his doctrine upon two ideas: universal suffrage and the primacy of the national interest. He called for a "monarchy which procures the advantages of the Republic without the inconveniences", a regime "strong without despotism, free without anarchy, independent without conquest". He also intended to build
1001-579: A contingent of about sixty armed men, hired a ship called the Edinburgh-Castle , and on 6 August 1840, sailed across the Channel to the port of Boulogne . The attempted coup turned into an even greater fiasco than the Strasbourg mutiny. The mutineers were stopped by the customs agents, the soldiers of the garrison refused to join, the mutineers were surrounded on the beach, one was killed and
1144-470: A gifted orator; he spoke slowly, in a monotone, with a slight German accent from his Swiss education. His opponents sometimes ridiculed him, one comparing him to "a turkey who believes he's an eagle". Louis Napoleon's campaign appealed to both the left and right. His election manifesto proclaimed his support for "religion, family, property, the eternal basis of all social order". But it also announced his intent "to give work to those unoccupied; to look out for
1287-586: A laborer carrying lumber, and walked out of the prison. His enemies later derisively called him "Badinguet", the name of the laborer whose identity he had assumed. A carriage was waiting to take him to the coast and then by boat to England. A month after his escape, his father Louis died, making Charles Napoleon the clear heir to the Bonaparte dynasty. Louis Napoleon quickly resumed his place in British society. He lived on King Street, St James's , London, went to
1430-472: A mandate to amend the constitution. Work began on the new document in 1852. It was officially prepared by a committee of eighty experts but was actually drafted by a small group of the Prince-President's inner circle. Under the new constitution, Louis Napoleon was automatically reelected as president. Under Article Two, the president could now serve an unlimited number of 10-year terms. He was given
1573-456: A more powerful navy. The various groups participated in the expedition for a variety of reasons: for Garibaldi, it was to achieve a united Italy; for the Sicilian bourgeoisie, an independent Sicily as part of the Kingdom of Italy, and for common people, land distribution and the end of oppression. The Expedition was instigated by Francesco Crispi , who utilized his political influence to bolster
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#17327717770261716-611: A political solution were unsuccessful. Intolerance, even in urban and rural populations that associated with the Risorgimento was common, as evidenced by their belonging to the ranks of Giuseppe Garibaldi volunteers from Marsala to Messina , up until the Battle of the Volturno . Many leading cadres of the 1848 revolution (including Rosolino Pilo [ it ] and Francesco Crispi ) fled to Turin. They participated in
1859-624: A president elected by popular vote through universal male suffrage, rather than chosen by the National Assembly. The elections were scheduled for 10–11 December 1848. Louis Napoleon promptly announced his candidacy. There were four other candidates for the post: General Cavaignac, who had led the suppression of the June uprisings in Paris; Lamartine, the poet-philosopher and leader of the provisional government; Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin ,
2002-462: A slight but noticeable German accent. His tutor at home was Philippe Le Bas , an ardent republican and the son of a revolutionary and close friend of Robespierre . Le Bas taught him French history and radical politics. When Louis Napoleon was 15, his mother Hortense moved to Rome , where the Bonapartes had a villa. He passed his time learning Italian , exploring the ancient ruins and learning
2145-582: A sort of diplomatic isolation as it had in fact refused to participate in the Crimean War alongside France and the United Kingdom, alongside which the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia had instead participated. When the idea of a conference regarding the reorganization of Italy following recent events circulated in European diplomatic circles in late 1859, Francis II proved indifferent, not taking
2288-562: A three-year residency requirement. This new law excluded 3.5 of 9 million French voters, the voters that the leader of the Party of Order, Adolphe Thiers, scornfully called "the vile multitude". This new election law was passed in May 1850 by a majority of 433 to 241, putting the National Assembly on a direct collision course with the Prince-President. Louis Napoleon broke with the Assembly and
2431-477: A view not just of finishing the liberation of Italy, but also of their homelands. Ludwik Mieroslawski was made head of the organization. During Garibaldi's campaign in Sicily in 1860, he received reinforcements consisting of about 2,500 men. The largest contingent consisted of 500 Hungarians under the leadership of Colonel István Türr with Adolf Mogyórody, Nándor Éber and Gusztáv Frigyesy. The British Legion
2574-569: A way to produce an heir for the Emperor, who agreed, as Joséphine was by then infertile. Louis and Hortense had a difficult relationship and only lived together for brief periods. Their first son, Napoléon Charles Bonaparte , died in 1807 and—though separated and parents of a healthy second son, Napoléon Louis —they decided to have a third child. They resumed their marriage for a brief time in Toulouse starting from 12 August 1807 and Louis Napoleon
2717-435: A wider European community of nations. "I believe", wrote Louis Napoleon, "that from time to time, men are created whom I call volunteers of providence, in whose hands are placed the destiny of their countries. I believe I am one of those men. If I am wrong, I can perish uselessly. If I am right, then providence will put me into a position to fulfill my mission." He had seen the popular enthusiasm for Napoleon Bonaparte when he
2860-534: A young and inexperienced monarch ( Francis II of the Two Sicilies , who succeeded his father Ferdinand II only on 22 May 1859, less than one year before the expedition). In 1836, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies had worsened relations with the United Kingdom, to which it had owed its survival during the Napoleonic period, with the " sulphur question ". Finally, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies had fallen into
3003-569: A young woman from the town of Ham, who gave birth to two of his children. While in prison, Louis Napoleon wrote poems, political essays, and articles on diverse topics. He contributed articles to regional newspapers and magazines in towns all over France, becoming quite well known as a writer. His most famous book was L'extinction du pauperisme (1844), a study of the causes of poverty in the French industrial working class, with proposals to eliminate it. His conclusion: "The working class has nothing, it
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#17327717770263146-828: A youth he had joined in the patriotic uprising against the Austrians. The previous government had sent an expeditionary force, which had been tasked and funded by the National Assembly to support the republican forces in Italy against the Austrians and against the Pope. Instead the force was secretly ordered to do the opposite, namely to enter Rome to help restore the temporal authority of Pope Pius IX , who had been overthrown by Italian republicans including Mazzini and Garibaldi . The French troops came under fire from Garibaldi's soldiers. The Prince-President, without consulting his ministers, ordered his soldiers to fight if needed in support of
3289-574: Is however not proven and not logical. The Royal Navy defended only British interest during the landing of the Thousand, and donors from the United Kingdom supported the expedition financially. Furthermore, there is no proof of British bribery within the ranks of the Bourbon military officers. French and Spanish ships supported the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies during the Siege of Gaeta . Since
3432-413: Is necessary to give them ownership. They have no other wealth than their own labor, it is necessary to give them work that will benefit all....they are without organization and without connections, without rights and without a future; it is necessary to give them rights and a future and to raise them in their own eyes by association, education, and discipline." He proposed various practical ideas for creating
3575-478: Is no longer a question of republic or monarchy: it is a question of national unity... to be or not to be". In 1860 the only force opposed to the Bourbons that proved willing to take up arms was the Sicilian independentism . The memory of the long revolution of 1848 was still alive on the island, where the repression by the Bourbons was particularly harsh. Subsequently, the Bourbon government's attempts to reach
3718-724: The American Civil War , the Union's Garibaldi Guard and its Confederate counterpart, the Garibaldi Legion , wore red shirts as a part of their uniforms. During the night of 5 May, a small group of Redshirts led by Nino Bixio "seized" two steamships in Genoa from the Rubattino shipping company (the ships were actually provided by Rubattino following a secret agreement with the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, which paid
3861-531: The Bourbon ships were deterred from interfering. The Lombardo was attacked and sunk only after the disembarkation had been completed, while the Piemonte was captured. Furthermore, the Bourbon commanders, ignoring the recommendations of the secret services of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, just one day before the landing, had the column of General Letizia and Major d'Ambrosio repatriated to Palermo to face
4004-691: The Calabrian revolution of 1847 , the Sicilian independence revolution of 1848, the Calabrian insurrection of the same year, and the constitutional movement of Naples, also in 1848. From a military point of view, it is essential for the Two Sicilies to maintain close ties with the Austrian Empire . Twice the Bourbons regained the throne due to the intervention of the Austrian armies. In 1815,
4147-563: The Jacobins of the Kingdom of Naples , as well as the anti-French of the period 1806–15. The revolt began on 4 April in Palermo with an episode that was immediately repressed whose protagonists, on the field, were Francesco Riso [ it ] and, far from the theater of the operation, Francesco Crispi , who coordinated the action of the Genoese rebels. Despite the failure,
4290-477: The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia which took the lead in the movement for the political unification of the peninsula. The Expedition took place within the overall process of the unification of Italy , which was largely orchestrated by Cavour , Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia , as his life's work. The Second Italian War of Independence ended on 11 July 1859; the terms of the armistice of Villafranca , wanted by Napoleon III , which recognized Lombardy (with
4433-467: The Mediterranean Sea . Instead, the other more reactionary European powers such as Spain , the Austrian Empire and Russian Empire took the side of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but maintained a wait-and-see attitude. In such a divided Europe, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies found itself rather isolated and could only count on its own forces. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was led by
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4576-529: The National Assembly on 13–14 May 1849 , only a few months after Louis Napoleon had become president, and were largely won by a coalition of conservative republicans—which Catholics and monarchists called "The Party of Order "—led by Thiers. The socialists and "red" republicans, led by Ledru-Rollin and Raspail, also did well, winning two hundred seats. The moderate republicans, in the middle, did very badly, taking just 70–80 seats. The Party of Order had
4719-617: The Palazzo dei Normanni and the Castello a Mare . On 29 May there was a decisive counterattack by the royal troops which, however, was contained. Thus began the Siege of Palermo . On 30 May the Bourbons, barricaded in the fortresses along the walls, asked for an armistice (organized by the British Admiral Rodney Mundy ), which was granted and which lasted from 30 May to 3 June. On 6 June the Bourbon troops defending
4862-664: The Second Italian War of Independence and adopted a decidedly liberal and unitary political position. It is these follower of Giuseppe Mazzini who see, in insurrectional Sicily, in Garibaldi's intervention and in the House of Savoy, the fundamental elements for the success of the unification cause. On 2 March 1860, Giuseppe Mazzini wrote a letter inciting the Sicilians to rebel, declaring: "Garibaldi must come". At
5005-517: The Swiss Army , trained to become an officer, and wrote a manual of artillery (his uncle Napoleon had become famous as an artillery officer). Louis Napoleon also began writing about his political philosophy—for as the early twentieth century English historian H. A. L. Fisher suggested, "the programme of the Empire was not the improvisation of a vulgar adventurer" but the result of deep reflection on
5148-779: The Treaty of Turin as its deferred reward. At the same time, his forces defended the Papal States against annexation by Italy. He was also favourable towards the 1859 union of the Danubian Principalities , which resulted in the establishment of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia . Napoleon doubled the area of the French colonial empire with expansions in Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. On
5291-574: The Trentino region of Austria, as well as István Türr and three other Hungarians . The volunteers came from middle-class backgrounds, with the vast majority being students and skilled craftsmen. The 1,089 volunteers were unfavorably armed with obsolete muskets, and wore red shirts and grey trousers as their uniform. Thus they became known as the Redshirts . The Redshirts were very popular and influenced many armies worldwide. For example, during
5434-463: The United Kingdom , workers from Glasgow and Liverpool offered days of work to support the expedition. The French daily newspaper Le Siècle launched an appeal for fundraising and the enlistment of volunteers. Having left Marseille on 9 May, Alexandre Dumas arrived in Palermo on 30 May from his personal yacht to supply Garibaldi with weapons. A friend and admirer of Garibaldi, Dumas organized
5577-690: The fall of the Western Roman Empire , the Italian peninsula was divided into a multitude of small independent states. The French Revolution and the constitution of the Cisalpine Republic and of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy gave birth to a political movement aimed at national reunification. Insurrectional movements aimed at national self-determination were therefore born. Some of them were viewed favorably by
5720-635: The Élysée Palace at the end of December 1848 and immediately hung a portrait of his mother in the boudoir and a portrait of Napoleon I, in his coronation robes, in the grand salon. Adolphe Thiers recommended that he wear clothing of "democratic simplicity", but following the model of his uncle, he chose instead the uniform of the General-in-Chief of the National Guard , and chose the title of "Prince-President". Louis Napoleon also made his first venture into foreign policy, in Italy, where as
5863-575: The Austrian Frederick Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza , defeated the army of Gioacchino Murat , Napoleon's brother-in-law, during the battle of Tolentino and, in 1821, the Austrian Johann Maria Philipp Frimont defeated Guglielmo Pepe 's troops during the battles of Rieti and the battle of Rieti-Antrodoco [ it ] . In 1860, however, the situation seemed much more favorable to
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6006-438: The Bonaparte family, Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte , Pierre Napoléon Bonaparte , and Lucien Murat were elected; the name Bonaparte still had political power. In the next elections, on 4 June, where candidates could run in multiple departments, he was elected in four different departments; in Paris, he was among the top five candidates, just after the conservative leader Adolphe Thiers and Victor Hugo . His followers were mostly on
6149-647: The Bonaparte legend and increased his publicity. King Louis Philippe had demanded that the Swiss government return Louis Napoleon to France, but the Swiss pointed out that he was a Swiss soldier and citizen and refused to hand him over. The King responded by sending an army to the Swiss border. Louis Napoleon thanked his Swiss hosts, and voluntarily left the country. The other mutineers were put on trial in Alsace , and were all acquitted. Louis Napoleon traveled first to London, then to Brazil , and then to New York City. He met
6292-540: The Bourbons. From 1821, the army received constant funding from the regime and was reinforced by units made up of foreigners (especially Swiss) who appeared loyal to the ruling house. The populations of the provinces of the peninsular part are generally close to the Bourbon dynasty, as demonstrated by the success of the Sanfedist movement which overthrew the Parthenopean Republic in 1799 by massacring
6435-452: The European powers. The only occurrence that would have satisfied this requirement was an uprising from within. Such an event would have felt the alienation of the people from the dynasty that ruled in Naples and, particularly, the inability of Francis II of the Two Sicilies , to exercise government in his domains. Sicily, as shown by the history of the past decades, was fertile ground, and
6578-518: The French border. Hortense and Louis Napoleon traveled incognito to Paris, where the old regime of King Charles X had just fallen and been replaced by the more liberal regime of Louis Philippe I , the sole monarch of the July Monarchy . They arrived in Paris on 23 April 1831, and took up residence under the name "Hamilton" in the Hotel du Holland on Place Vendôme . Hortense wrote an appeal to
6721-715: The Italian unification project. Although many recent writers consider that the expedition and the whole enterprise was supported by the British Empire to establish a friendly government in Southern Italy , which was becoming of great strategic value due to the imminent opening of the Suez Canal , the Bourbons were considered unreliable due to their increasing openings towards the Russian Empire . This
6864-710: The King, asking to stay in France, and Louis Napoleon offered to volunteer as an ordinary soldier in the French Army . The new king agreed to meet secretly with Hortense; Louis Napoleon had a fever and did not join them. The King finally agreed that Hortense and Louis Napoleon could stay in Paris as long as their stay was brief and incognito. Louis-Napoleon was told that he could join the French Army if he would simply change his name, something he indignantly refused to do. Hortense and Louis Napoleon remained in Paris until 5 May,
7007-418: The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, while the papal government had regained full possession of Umbria and the Marche , whose populations suffered harsh repression, culminating on 20 June 1859 in the bloody massacres of Perugia by the papal Swiss troops in the service of Pope Pius IX . Napoleon III and Cavour were mutually indebted because he had withdrawn from the Second Italian War of Independence before
7150-607: The Napoleonic political philosophy and on how to adjust it to the changed domestic and international scenes. As early as 1832 he presented a reconciliation between Bonapartism and republicanism through the principle of popular sovereignty. He believed a strong emperor existed to execute the will of the people. He published his Rêveries politiques or "political dreams" in 1833 at the age of 25, followed in 1834 by Considérations politiques et militaires sur la Suisse ("Political and military considerations about Switzerland"), followed in 1839 by Les Idées napoléoniennes ("Napoleonic Ideas"),
7293-418: The National Assembly were arrested in their homes. When about 220 deputies of the moderate right gathered at the city hall of the 10th arrondissement , they were also arrested. On 3 December, writer Victor Hugo and a few other republicans tried to organize an opposition to the coup. A few barricades appeared, and about 1,000 insurgents came out in the streets, but the army moved in force with 30,000 troops and
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#17327717770267436-426: The National Assembly, where Cavaignac was certain to win. The elections were held on 10–11 December. Results were announced on 20 December. Louis Napoleon was widely expected to win, but the size of his victory surprised almost everyone. He won 5,572,834 votes, or 74.2 percent of votes cast, compared with 1,469,156 for Cavaignac. The socialist Ledru-Rollin received 376,834; the extreme left candidate Raspail 37,106, and
7579-409: The National Assembly. In seven months, he had gone from a political exile in London to a highly visible place in the National Assembly, as the government finished the new constitution and prepared for the first election ever of a president of the French Republic. The new constitution of the Second Republic , drafted by a commission including Alexis de Tocqueville , called for a strong executive and
7722-448: The Pope. This was very popular with French Catholics, but infuriated the republicans, who supported the Roman Republic . To please the radical republicans, he asked the Pope to introduce liberal reforms and the Code Napoleon to the Papal States . To gain support from the Catholics, he approved the Loi Falloux in 1851, which restored a greater role for the Catholic Church in the French educational system. Elections were held for
7865-418: The Porta Termini and entered the city, while another column entered Palermo crossing the Porta Sant'Antonino with less difficulty. Aided by the Palermo insurrection, between 28 May and 30 May, the Garibaldians and the insurgents, often fighting street by street, conquered the whole city, despite the indiscriminate bombardment carried out by the Bourbon ships and by the positions present on the floor in front of
8008-453: The Second Republic had been declared, led by a Provisional Government headed by a Commission led by Alphonse de Lamartine , and that different factions of republicans, from conservatives to those on the far left, were competing for power. He wrote to Lamartine announcing his arrival, saying that he "was without any other ambition than that of serving my country". Lamartine wrote back politely but firmly, asking Louis-Napoleon to leave Paris "until
8151-417: The Sicilian capital capitulated in exchange for permission to leave the city, asking for the honor of arms, which Garibaldi granted as they were also Italian. The garrison evacuated on 7 July, after King Francis II authorized the Bourbon withdrawal. On 21 June 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi definitively occupied Palermo. The news went around the world and public opinion took up the cause of the expedition. In
8294-438: The Thousand ( Italian : Spedizione dei Mille ) was an event of the unification of Italy that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto al Mare near Genoa and landed in Marsala , Sicily , in order to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies , ruled by the Spanish House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies . The name of the expedition derives from the initial number of participants, which
8437-527: The absolute authority to declare war, sign treaties, form alliances and initiate laws. The Constitution re-established universal male suffrage , and also retained a National Assembly, albeit one with reduced authority. Louis Napoleon's government imposed new authoritarian measures to control dissent and reduce the power of the opposition. One of his first acts was to settle scores with his old enemy, King Louis Philippe, who had sent him to prison for life and who had died in 1850. A decree on 23 January 1852 forbade
8580-428: The action gave rise to a series of demonstrations and insurrections, including Rosolino Pilo [ it ] 's march from Messina to Piana dei Greci from 10 to 20 April. To those, Rosolino Pilo met along the way he announced that they would have to be ready "for Garibaldi's arrival". The news of the revolt was confirmed on the continent by an encrypted telegram sent by Nicola Fabrizi on 27 April. The content of
8723-400: The age of seven, Louis Napoleon visited his uncle at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Napoleon held him up to the window to see the soldiers parading in the Place du Carrousel below. Louis Napoleon last saw his uncle with the family at the Château de Malmaison , shortly before Napoleon departed for the Battle of Waterloo . All members of the Bonaparte dynasty were forced into exile after
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#17327717770268866-413: The area, fomenting revolt among the Sicilian population. In Alcamo , on the way to Palermo, the Two Sicilies troops were attacked by Sicilians who shot from houses and balconies, and in retaliation, the soldiers set many houses on fire. In Partinico the population rebelled against the attempted forced requisition of goods and food by the retreating soldiers with a bloody popular revolt. The battle boosted
9009-460: The arts of seduction and romantic affairs, which he used often in his later life. He became friends with the French Ambassador, François-René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand , the father of romanticism in French literature , with whom he remained in contact for many years. He was reunited with his older brother Napoléon-Louis; together they became involved with the Carbonari , secret revolutionary societies fighting Austria's domination of Northern Italy. In
9152-425: The banking system. Napoleon promoted the building of the Suez Canal and established modern agriculture, which ended famines in France and made the country an agricultural exporter. He negotiated the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier Free Trade Agreement with Britain and similar agreements with France's other European trading partners. Social reforms included giving French workers the right to strike, the right to organize, and
9295-477: The beginning of March, Rosolino Pilo turned to Garibaldi, first asking him for weapons, then inviting him to intervene directly. Garibaldi considered any revolutionary movement that does not have a good chance of success to be inappropriate. He wants to lead the revolution if the people ask him to, and in the name of the King Victor Emmanuel II . With the help of the local populations and the support of Piedmont, Garibaldi managed to avoid failures similar to those of
9438-435: The city is more calm, and not before the elections for the National Assembly ". His close advisors urged him to stay and try to take power, but he wanted to show his prudence and loyalty to the Republic; while his advisors remained in Paris, he returned to London on 2 March 1848 and watched events from there. Louis Napoleon did not run in the first elections for the National Assembly , held in April 1848, but three members of
9581-413: The consent of the French emperor to the annexation of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. After the annexation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany , the Duchies of Modena and Parma and the Romagna to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in March 1860, Italian patriots set their sights on the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which comprised all of southern mainland Italy and Sicily, as
9724-440: The conservative ministers opposing his projects in favour of the dispossessed. He secured the support of the army, toured the country making populist speeches that condemned the Assembly, and presented himself as the protector of universal male suffrage. He demanded that the law be changed, but his proposal was defeated in the Assembly by a vote of 355 to 348. According to the Constitution of 1848, Louis Napoleon had to step down at
9867-422: The contemporary Italian regions, including Genoa (156 volunteers), Tuscany (78 volunteers), Sicily (45 volunteers), Naples (46 volunteers), with only 11 from Rome and the Papal States . The largest number of volunteers came from Austrian Lombardy and Venetia , with 434 from Lombardy and 194 from Venetia. An additional 33 foreign volunteers joined the expedition. This included 14 ethnic Italians from
10010-430: The country. Strict press censorship was enacted by a decree from 17 February 1852. No newspaper dealing with political or social questions could be published without the permission of the government, fines were increased, and the list of press offenses was expanded. After three warnings, a newspaper or journal could be suspended or even permanently closed. Louis Napoleon wished to demonstrate that his new government had
10153-434: The coup. On the night of 1–2 December, Saint Arnaud's soldiers quietly occupied the national printing office, the Palais Bourbon , newspaper offices, and the strategic points in the city. In the morning, Parisians found posters around the city announcing the dissolution of the National Assembly, the restoration of universal suffrage, new elections, and a state of siege in Paris and the surrounding departments. Sixteen members of
10296-514: The crews of an English sailing ship and a Sicilian fishing vessel owned by master Strazzeri that the city's port was not protected by Bourbon vessels. The absence of Bourbons convinced Garibaldi to head towards Marsala, where the Thousand steamers arrived in the early hours of the afternoon of 11 May 1860. The army of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which the Expedition of the Thousand and
10439-579: The defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and the Bourbon Restoration of monarchy in France. Hortense and Louis Napoleon moved from Aix to Bern to Baden , and finally to a lakeside house at Arenenberg in the Swiss canton of Thurgau . He received some of his education in Germany at the gymnasium school at Augsburg , Bavaria . As a result, for the rest of his life, his French had
10582-477: The defeat of the French Army and his capture by Prussia and its allies at the Battle of Sedan in 1870. Napoleon III was a popular monarch who oversaw the modernization of the French economy and filled Paris with new boulevards and parks. He expanded the French colonial empire , made the French merchant navy the second largest in the world, and personally engaged in two wars. Maintaining leadership for 22 years, he
10725-497: The departure from Argentario promontory and therefore approximately at the height of the Aegadian Islands or to the west of them, at least 70 miles from Cape Bon , without considering delays and stops. The Thousand , intending to turn towards Sciacca , after having excluded Menfi , between Selinunte and Sciacca , due to shallow water and disembarkation difficulties, then headed for Marsala , as they were informed by
10868-643: The economy of Britain. He strolled in Hyde Park , which he later used as a model when he created the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. He spent the winter of 1838-39 in Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire . Living in the comfort of London, he had not given up the dream of returning to France to seize power. In the summer of 1840 he bought weapons and uniforms and had proclamations printed, gathered
11011-557: The elite of New York society and the writer Washington Irving . While he was traveling to see more of the United States, he received word that his mother was very ill. He hurried as quickly as he could back to Switzerland. He reached Arenenberg in time to be with his mother on 5 August 1837, when she died. She was finally buried in Rueil , in France, next to her mother, on 11 January 1838, but Louis Napoleon could not attend, because he
11154-451: The end of his term. He sought a constitutional amendment to allow him to succeed himself, arguing that four years were not enough to fully implement his political and economic program. He toured the country and gained support from many of the regional governments and many within the Assembly. The vote in July 1851 was 446 to 278 in favor of changing the law and allowing him to run again, but this
11297-683: The evolution of events, to grasp any favorable developments in Piedmont; it was only when the chances of success of the expedition were significant that Cavour openly supported the initiative. With this in mind, on 18 April Cavour sent two warships to Sicily; the Governolo and the Authion . Officially their presence aimed to guarantee the protection of the Piedmontese citizens present on the island but, in reality, they had to accurately evaluate
11440-618: The exclusion of Mantua ) to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, but left Venice and all of Veneto in Austrian hands, had created discontent among a large part of the Italian patriots. Already since May 1859 the populations of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany , of the Delegation of Romagna ( Bologna , Ferrara , Ravenna and Forlì ), of the Duchy of Modena and of the Duchy of Parma had expelled their sovereigns and requested annexation to
11583-523: The expected conquest of Veneto, and because he had allowed the uprisings to spread to the territories of central-northern Italy, thus going beyond what was agreed with the Plombières Agreement . The political stalemate was resolved on 24 March 1860, when Cavour signed the cession of the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice to France with the Treaty of Turin (1860) , obtaining in exchange
11726-426: The expedition. The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia needed a presentable casus belli in order to attack the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. This was needed for the House of Savoy, which however never gave any declaration of war against the Bourbon kingdom, a necessary condition since this was among the requirements presented to Cavour . In fact, Cavour always presented himself as an instrument for maintaining order among
11869-593: The expedition." On 7 May, having no ammunition or gunpowder, Garibaldi decided to stop at Talamone , on the Tuscan coast, where he knew a military fort existed. In addition to the ammunition, he recovered three old cannons and a hundred rifles from the Sardinian army garrison stationed at fort. A second stop was made on 9 May, near Porto Santo Stefano (capital of Monte Argentario ), for coal supply. Garibaldi officially obtained weapons and coal, as major general of
12012-530: The forces at play. At the same time, Cavour managed, through Giuseppe La Farina (sent after the landing in Sicily to monitor and maintain contact with Garibaldi), to follow all the preparatory phases of the expedition. The definitive agreements between Cavour and King Victor Emmanuel II were concluded during a meeting in Bologna on 2 May. Cavour accepted that the government, with caution, would help Garibaldi in
12155-444: The fortress Ham for 7 October 1840 contained a concise description of the new prisoner: "Age: thirty-two years. Height: one meter sixty-six. Hair and eyebrows: chestnut. Eyes: Gray and small. Nose: large. Mouth: ordinary. Beard: brown. Moustache: blond. Chin: pointed. Face: oval. Complexion: pale. Head: sunken in his shoulders, and large shoulders. Back: bent. Lips: thick." He had a mistress named Eléonore Vergeot [ fr ] ,
12298-513: The ground together with part of the crew. The neutrality of the English navy was confirmed during the following battle of Palermo, when Garibaldi, left almost without gunpowder, requested it in vain from the commanders of the war fleets moored off the coast of the city. They were joined, as early as 12 May, by 200 Sicilian volunteers commanded by the Sant'Anna brothers. Their forces increased due to
12441-564: The home of Candido Augusto Vecchi, his old comrade-in-arms from South American times, where Garibaldi had established his headquarters and lodgings. According to Frederick Schneid, "Before embarking on the adventure, Garibaldi once again pledged his loyalty to Victor Emmanuel II and proclaimed that his intention was to conquer Sicily for the king. There is every indication that there was far more collusion between Cavour and Garibaldi, if not Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi. After Garibaldi landed in Sicily, Admiral Persano received orders to support
12584-435: The insurgents had to face, was numerically considerable. In 1860 the active army was made up of four army corps, one of the guards and three of the line, for a total of around 90,000 soldiers in active service and over 50,000 in the reserve, therefore overall the total of the Two Sicilies forces at full mobilization could have had 143,586 personnel, while according to other sources, the maximum number that could be mobilized with
12727-571: The insurrectionary threat in the Sicilian capital. The landing had been preceded by the arrival of Francesco Crispi and others, who had the task of gaining the support of the locals for the volunteers. According to what was stated by the English historian George Macaulay Trevelyan in his book Garibaldi and the Thousand , the two English ships HMS Argus and HMS Intrepid did nothing to help Giuseppe Garibaldi , nor could they have because their boilers were turned off and they were moored offshore, with their commanders Marryat and Winnington-Ingram on
12870-558: The journey, the Thousand were joined by 3,200 Sicilians, bringing the number of fighters under Garibaldi's orders to 4,000 men. From there, Garibaldi and the Sicilian volunteers arrived in Palermo on 27 May and prepared to enter the city, through the Admiral's Bridge and the Porto Termini manned by the Bourbon military. After a hard battle, the royal troops abandoned the field and returned to Palermo. A column of Garibaldi crossed
13013-424: The late king's family to own property in France and annulled the inheritance he had given to his children before he became king. The National Guard, whose members had sometimes joined anti-government demonstrations, was re-organized and largely used only in parades. Government officials were required to wear uniforms at official formal occasions. The Minister of Education was given the power to dismiss professors at
13156-456: The leader of the army, first withdrew his soldiers from Paris to allow the insurgents to deploy their barricades, and then returned with overwhelming force to crush the uprising; from 24 to 26 June, there were battles in the streets of the working class districts of Paris. An estimated five thousand insurgents were killed at the barricades, fifteen thousand were arrested, and four thousand deported. Louis Napoleon's absence from Paris meant that he
13299-452: The leader of the socialists; and Raspail , the leader of the far left wing of the socialists. Louis Napoleon established his campaign headquarters and residence at the Hôtel du Rhin on Place Vendôme . He was accompanied by his companion, Harriet Howard, who gave him a large loan to help finance his campaign. He rarely went to the sessions of the National Assembly and rarely voted. He was not
13442-428: The left, from the peasantry and working class. His pamphlet on "The Extinction of Pauperism" was widely circulated in Paris, and his name was cheered with those of the socialist candidates Barbès and Louis Blanc . The Moderate Republican leaders of the provisional government, Lamartine and Cavaignac , considered arresting Louis Napoleon as a dangerous revolutionary, but once again he outmaneuvered them. He wrote to
13585-806: The liberal south, especially those returning after an amnesty granted by the young king, who worked in this direction for some time. Meanwhile the organization of the expeditionary force was in full swing. Garibaldi, fresh from the brilliant Lombardy campaign with the Hunters of the Alps , had demonstrated his abilities as a military leader, facing a regular army with a light army made up of volunteers. Also for this expedition he would have resorted to enlisting volunteers willing to fight under his leadership. In March 1860, exile Rosolino Pilo [ it ] exhorted Giuseppe Garibaldi to take charge of an expedition to liberate southern Italy from Bourbon rule. Garibaldi
13728-491: The message was not at all encouraging and increased Giuseppe Garibaldi 's uncertainty to the point that he initially gave up on the idea of an expedition. Francesco Crispi, who had decoded the telegram, claimed to have been wrong and provided a new version, probably falsified, which convinced Garibaldi to undertake the expedition. Cavour considered the expedition risky. He feared that it would damage relations with France, especially because he suspected that Giuseppe Garibaldi
13871-558: The moment came, he could return to France. In February 1848, Louis Napoleon learned that the French Revolution of 1848 had broken out; Louis Philippe, faced with opposition within his government and army, abdicated. Believing that his time had finally come, he set out for Paris on 27 February, departing England on the same day that Louis-Philippe left France for his own exile in England. When he arrived in Paris, he found that
14014-427: The morale of the Thousand and, at the same time, depressed the Bourbons, who were poorly led by their often corrupt higher officers, and started to feel abandoned. Having promised land to every male who volunteered to fight against the Bourbons the ranks of the Thousand enlarged to 1,200 with local men. After the battle of Calatafimi Giuseppe Garibaldi headed for Palermo passing through Alcamo and Partinico. Along
14157-418: The most easily controlled; Thiers called him "of all the candidates, the least bad". He won the backing of L'Evenement , the newspaper of Victor Hugo, which declared, "We have confidence in him; he carries a great name." His chief opponent, General Cavaignac, expected that Louis Napoleon would come in first, but that he would receive less than fifty percent of the vote, which would mean the election would go to
14300-416: The most important families. In this way he obtained the support of the landowners. In fact, once the expeditionary force had landed, the barons made their gangs, the picciotti available. Rosolino Pilo was killed in a clash on 21 May 1860. In the first half of the 19th century, several revolts broke out in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, all repressed by the Bourbons. There was the insurrection of 1820–24,
14443-541: The name of Charles-Louis Napoleon, however, shortly after, Charles was very quick to be removed from his name. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was the first and only president of the French Second Republic , elected in 1848 . He seized power by force in 1851 when he could not constitutionally be re-elected. He later proclaimed himself Emperor of the French and founded the Second Empire , reigning until
14586-402: The name of Victor Emmanuel II, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and continue towards Rome to complete the Italian unification, while Cavour wanted to prevent the conquest of Rome to avoid a conflict with his French ally, Napoleon III , who protected the Papal States . The project was an ambitious and risky venture aiming to conquer, with one thousand men, a kingdom with a larger regular army and
14729-417: The next step toward their dream of unification of all Italian lands. As regard to the interests of foreign powers, the United Kingdom supported the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia to counter French policy in the Italian peninsula. In fact, the United Kingdom, which together with France dominated North Africa , did not want Napoleon III to extend his influence on the Italian peninsula to have greater control of
14872-427: The old age of the workers; to introduce in industrial laws those improvements which do not ruin the rich, but which bring about the well-being of each and the prosperity of all". Louis Napoleon's campaign agents, many of them veterans from Napoleon Bonaparte's army, raised support for him around the country. Louis Napoleon won the grudging endorsement of the conservative leader Adolphe Thiers , who believed he could be
15015-488: The opportunity to show an active presence internationally. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi , already the most famous Italian revolutionary leader, was in Genoa planning an expedition against Sicily and Naples, with the covert support of the United Kingdom. Lorenzo del Boca suggested that British support for Garibaldi's expedition was spurred by the necessity to obtain more favourable economic conditions for Sicilian sulfur , which
15158-477: The other hand, the intervention in Mexico , which aimed to create a Second Mexican Empire under French protection, ended in total failure. From 1866, Napoleon had to face the mounting power of Prussia as its minister president Otto von Bismarck sought German unification under Prussian leadership. In July 1870, Napoleon reluctantly declared war on Prussia after pressure from the general public. The French Army
15301-476: The others arrested. Both the British and French press heaped ridicule on Louis-Napoleon and his plot. The newspaper Le Journal des Débats wrote, "this surpasses comedy. One doesn't kill crazy people, one just locks them up." He was put on trial, where, despite an eloquent defense of his cause, he was sentenced to life in prison in the fortress of Ham in the Somme department of Northern France. The register of
15444-423: The participation of the population, Garibaldi declared to ensure the dictatorship of Sicily in the name of King Victor Emmanuel II, which would then come later. The Thousand , flanked by 500 Sicilian insurgents, had their first clash on 15 May 1860 in the battle of Calatafimi against around 3,000 Two Sicilies soldiers led by General Francesco Landi . The news of the victory of the Thousand spread rapidly in
15587-485: The penal colony in Cayenne . 9,530 followers were sent to French Algeria , 1,500 were expelled from France, and another 3,000 were given forced residence away from their homes. Soon afterwards, a commission of revision freed 3,500 of those sentenced. In 1859, the remaining 1,800 prisoners and exiles were amnestied, with the exception of the republican leader Ledru-Rollin, who was released from prison but required to leave
15730-418: The poet Lamartine only 17,000 votes. Louis Napoleon won the support of all segments of the population: the peasants unhappy with rising prices and high taxes; unemployed workers; small businessmen who wanted prosperity and order; and intellectuals such as Victor Hugo. He won the votes of 55.6 percent of all registered voters, and won in all but four of France's departments. Louis Napoleon moved his residence to
15873-511: The president of the provisional government: "I believe I should wait to return to the heart of my country, so that my presence in France will not serve as a pretext to the enemies of the Republic." In June 1848, the June Days Uprising broke out in Paris, led by the far left, against the conservative majority in the National Assembly. Hundreds of barricades appeared in the working-class neighborhoods. General Louis-Eugène Cavaignac ,
16016-520: The previous actions of the Bandiera brothers and Carlo Pisacane . Despite not receiving Garibaldi's support, Rosolino Pilo traveled to Sicily on 25 March with the intention of preparing the ground for a future expedition. Accompanied by Giovanni Corrao [ it ] , also a follower of Giuseppe Mazzini , Rosolino Pilo arrived in Messina and immediately made contact with representatives of
16159-558: The propaganda of the expedition through the newspapers. George Sand and Victor Hugo , then in exile, supported Garibaldi's action. The same went for Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels . These, in the New-York Tribune , considered the conquest of Palermo "one of the most surprising military feats of our century". Funds and volunteers arrived from all over Europe, the United States, Uruguay and Chile . Giacomo Medici and Enrico Cosenz were joined by 33 Englishmen, as well as
16302-451: The regiment to his side. The prefecture was seized, and the prefect arrested. Unfortunately for Louis-Napoleon, the general commanding the garrison escaped and called in a loyal regiment, which surrounded the mutineers. The mutineers surrendered and Louis-Napoleon fled back to Switzerland. Louis Napoleon was widely popular in exile and his popularity in France continuously grew after his failed coup in 1836 as it established him as heir to
16445-454: The reserves totaled 130,000. Garibaldi's landing in Marsala on 11 May 1860, on the westernmost point of Sicily, was favored by various circumstances, in particular by the presence of two British Royal Navy warships in the port of Marsala, the gunboats HMS Argus and the sloop-of-war HMS Intrepid , under the command of Admiral Rodney Mundy . With British ships present in the harbour,
16588-468: The right for women to be admitted to a French university. In foreign policy, Napoleon III aimed to reassert French influence in Europe and around the world. In Europe, he allied with Britain and defeated Russia in the Crimean War (1853–1856). His regime assisted Italian unification by defeating the Austrian Empire in the Second Italian War of Independence and later annexed Savoy and Nice through
16731-612: The royal army, a title obtained during the 1859 campaign. The two steamers, to avoid Bourbon ships, had followed an unusual route, which had taken them almost to the Tunisian coast. On this route near the Tunisian coast, however, it was observed that on the morning of the last day of navigation, at the Il Lombardo' s speed of 7 miles per hour and after 40 hours of navigation, the two steamers could not be more than 280 miles from
16874-461: The socialist Paul de Flotte [ fr ] who was the only foreign Garibaldian to obtain, posthumously, the Medal of the Thousand. Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 1808 – 9 January 1873) was the first president of France from 1848 to 1852, and the last monarch of France as the second Emperor of the French from 1852 until he
17017-457: The spring of 1831, when Louis Napoleon was 23, the Austrian and Papal governments launched an offensive against the Carbonari. The two brothers, wanted by the police, were forced to flee. During their flight, Napoléon-Louis contracted measles . He died in his brother's arms on 17 March 1831. Hortense joined Louis Napoleon and together they evaded the police and Austrian army and finally reached
17160-662: The subsequent landings of Sardinian troops in civilian clothes and the liberation of prisoners taken from the Bourbon prisons. On 12 May Garibaldi left Marsala and advanced quickly and easily towards the interior of Sicily. In the following days, a thousand Sicilian volunteers joined the expedition, including Franciscan priests. The volunteers are grouped within a new military structure, the Hunters of Etna , directed by Giuseppe La Masa [ it ] . On 14 May 1860 in Salemi , after an enthusiastic welcome which reassured him of
17303-546: The temporary rent of the two ships). The two ships were renamed Il Piemonte and Il Lombardo . That night, the expedition meticulously controlled by the Piedmontese authorities, set sail for Sicily, having embarked from a rock now known as the Scoglio dei Mille , at Quarto al Mare (now Quarto dei Mille ), 5.6 km south-east of the Old Port of Genoa. The rock was situated directly in front of Villa Spinola (now Villa Carrara),
17446-471: The tenth anniversary of the death of Napoleon. The presence of Hortense and Louis Napoleon in the hotel had become known, and a public demonstration of mourning for the Emperor took place on Place Vendôme in front of their hotel. The same day, Hortense and Louis Napoleon were ordered to leave Paris. During their brief stay in Paris Louis Napoleon had become convinced that Bonapartist sentiment
17589-722: The theatre and hunted, renewed his acquaintance with Benjamin Disraeli, and met Charles Dickens . He went back to his studies at the British Museum . He had an affair with the actress Rachel , the most famous French actress of the period, during her tours to Britain. More important for his future career, he had an affair with the wealthy heiress Harriet Howard (1823–1865). They met in 1846, soon after his return to Britain. They began to live together, she took in his two illegitimate children and raised them with her own son, and she provided financing for his political plans so that, when
17732-472: The uprising was short-lived. Paris was declared in a state of siege, the headquarters of the uprising was surrounded, and the leaders arrested. Ledru-Rollin fled to England, Raspail was arrested and sent to prison, the republican clubs were closed, and their newspapers closed down. The National Assembly, now without the left republicans and determined to keep them out forever, proposed a new election law that placed restrictions on universal male suffrage, imposing
17875-506: The uprisings were swiftly crushed, with the killing of an estimated 300 to 400 opponents of the coup. There were also small uprisings in the more militant red republican towns in the south and center of France, but these were all put down by 10 December. Louis Napoleon followed the self-coup by a period of repression of his opponents, aimed mostly at the red republicans. About 26,000 people were arrested, including 4,000 in Paris alone. The 239 inmates who were judged most severely were sent to
18018-402: The younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte , who made Louis the king of Holland from 1806 until 1810. His mother was Hortense de Beauharnais , the only daughter of Napoleon's wife Joséphine by her first marriage to Alexandre de Beauharnais . He was the first Bonaparte prince born after the proclamation of the empire . As empress, Joséphine had proposed the marriage of Louis and Hortense as
18161-577: Was a British contingent, including John Whitehead Peard , Hugh Forbes, and Colonel John Dunne. Frenchmen included Lieutenant Paul de Flotte, Jean Philippe Bordone, Gustave Paul Cluseret , Maxime du Camp and Alexandre Dumas, père . This article about a specific military unit is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Expedition of the Thousand Garibaldine victory [REDACTED] Piedmont-Sardinia [REDACTED] Two Sicilies The Expedition of
18304-528: Was against it at first, but eventually agreed. The expeditionary force was in full preparation and was organizing itself publicly throughout the Italian peninsula. Agostino Bertani , Giovanni Acerbi , Giuseppe Guerzoni [ it ] and Nino Bixio were active in Genoa , and Giuseppe Missori and Giuseppe Sirtori in Lombardy . By May 1860, Garibaldi had collected 1,089 volunteers for his expedition to Sicily. A total of 336 volunteers came from
18447-481: Was around 1,000 people. The Garibaldians, with the contribution of southern volunteers and reinforcements to the expedition, increased in number, creating the Southern Army . After a campaign of a few months with some victorious battles against the Bourbon army, the Thousand and the newborn southern army managed to conquer the entire Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The expedition was a success and concluded with
18590-591: Was born prematurely, (at least) three weeks short of nine months. Hortense was known to have lovers and Louis Napoleon's enemies, including Victor Hugo , spread the gossip that he was the child of a different man, but most historians agree today that he was the legitimate son of Louis Bonaparte. Louis Napoleon was baptized at the Palace of Fontainebleau on 5 November 1810, with Emperor Napoleon serving as his godfather and Empress Marie-Louise as his godmother. His father stayed away, once again separated from Hortense. At
18733-502: Was convinced that he had been given a public mandate to rule. Following the returns, many challenged the validity of such an implausibly lopsided result. One such critic was Victor Hugo, who had originally supported Louis Napoleon but had been infuriated by the coup d'état, departed for Brussels on 11 December 1851. He became the most bitter critic of Louis Napoleon, rejected the amnesty offered to him, and did not return to France for twenty years. The 1851 referendum gave Louis Napoleon
18876-461: Was deposed on 4 September 1870. Prior to his reign, Napoleon III was known as Louis Napoleon Bonaparte . He was born in Paris as the son of Louis Bonaparte , King of Holland (r. 1806–1810), and Hortense de Beauharnais . Napoleon I was Louis Napoleon's paternal uncle, and one of his cousins was the disputed Napoleon II . It would only be two months following his birth that he, in accordance to Napoleon I's dynastic naming policy, would be bestowed
19019-560: Was in Paris, and he was convinced that, if he marched to Paris, as Napoleon Bonaparte had done in 1815 during the Hundred Days , France would rise up and join him. He began to plan a coup against King Louis-Philippe . He planned for his uprising to begin in Strasbourg . The colonel of a regiment was brought over to the cause. On 29 October 1836, Louis Napoleon arrived in Strasbourg, in the uniform of an artillery officer; he rallied
19162-648: Was living in virtual imprisonment at the court of Vienna under the title Duke of Reichstadt. Next in line was Louis Napoleon's eldest uncle, Joseph Bonaparte , followed by Louis Bonaparte, but neither Joseph nor Louis had any interest in re-entering public life. When the Duke of Reichstadt died in 1832, Louis Napoleon became the de facto heir of the dynasty and the leader of the Bonapartist cause. In exile with his mother in Switzerland, Louis Napoleon enrolled in
19305-481: Was needed in great quantities for munitions. Garibaldi, although close to republican and revolutionary circles, had already been in contact with King Victor Emmanuel II for some time to organize the Expedition of the Thousand. Despite his republican ideas, he agreed to collaborate with the House of Savoy until national unity was achieved; the contingencies are such that even the republican Giuseppe Mazzini wrote: "It
19448-485: Was not allowed into France. Louis Napoleon returned to London for a new period of exile in October 1838. He had inherited a large fortune from his mother and took a house with 17 servants and several of his old friends and fellow conspirators. He was received by London society and met the political and scientific leaders of the day, including Benjamin Disraeli and Michael Faraday . He also did considerable research into
19591-504: Was not connected either with the uprising, or with the brutal repression that had followed. He was still in London on 17–18 September, when the elections for the National Assembly were held, but he was a candidate in thirteen departments. He was elected in five departments; in Paris, he received 110,000 votes of the 247,000 cast, the highest number of votes of any candidate. He returned to Paris on 24 September, and this time he took his place in
19734-469: Was rapidly defeated, and Napoleon was captured at Sedan . He was swiftly dethroned and the Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris. After he was released from German custody, he went into exile in England, where he died in 1873. Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, later known as Louis Napoleon and then Napoleon III, was born in Paris on the night of 19–20 April 1808. His father was Louis Bonaparte ,
19877-495: Was short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution. Louis Napoleon believed that he was supported by the people and he chose to retain power by other means. His half-brother Charles, duc de Morny , and a few close advisors quietly began to organize a coup d'état . They included minister of war Jacques Leroy de Saint Arnaud and officers from the French Army in North Africa to provide military backing for
20020-428: Was steadily increasing in France; Napoleon I was the subject of heroic poems, books and plays. Huge crowds had gathered in Paris on 15 December 1840 when the remains of Napoleon were returned with great ceremony to Paris and handed over to King Louis Philippe, while Louis Napoleon could only read about it in prison. On 25 May 1846, with the assistance of his doctor and other friends on the outside, he disguised himself as
20163-462: Was still strong among the French people and the army. They went to Britain briefly, and then back into exile in Switzerland. Ever since the fall of Napoleon in 1815, a Bonapartist movement had existed in France, hoping to return a Bonaparte to the throne. According to the law of succession established by Napoleon I, the claim passed first to his own son, declared "King of Rome" at birth by his father. This heir, known by Bonapartists as Napoleon II ,
20306-452: Was targeting Rome. However, since his prestige was undermined by the transfer of Savoy and Nice, he did not consider himself in a position to express his dissent. For Cavour Garibaldi represented an "opportunity", because through him it was possible to trigger an internal revolt in the Two Sicilies which would have forced the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia to take measures to guarantee public order. Cavour therefore decided to wait and observe
20449-536: Was the longest-reigning French head of state since the fall of the Ancien Régime , although his reign would ultimately end upon his surrender to Otto Von Bismarck and Wilhelm I on 2 September 1870. Napoleon III commissioned a grand reconstruction of Paris carried out by prefect of the Seine, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann . He expanded and consolidated the railway system throughout the nation and modernized
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