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95-868: Franco-Sardinian victory The Second Italian War of Independence , also called the Sardinian War , the Austro-Sardinian War , the Franco-Austrian War , or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana ; German: Sardinischer Krieg ; French: Campagne d'Italie ), was fought by the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859 and played

190-703: A Second Mexican Empire headed by Emperor Maximilian , brother of Franz Joseph I of Austria , was a complete fiasco. The Mexicans fought back and after defeating the Confederacy the U.S. demanded the French withdraw from Mexico—sending 50,000 veteran combat troops to the border to ram the point home. The French army went home; the puppet emperor did not leave and was executed. From 1861 to 1863 France embarked on colonising experiments in Cochinchina ( southern Vietnam ) and Annam ( central Vietnam ). The conquest

285-566: A covert meeting at Plombières on 21 July 1858, Napoleon III and Cavour signed a secret treaty of alliance against Austria on 28 January 1859. France would help Piedmont-Sardinia, if attacked, to fight against Austria if Piedmont-Sardinia gave Nice and Savoy to France in return. The secret alliance served both countries by helping with the Sardinian-Piedmontese plan of unification of the Italian Peninsula under

380-484: A railway network that facilitated commerce and tied the nation together with Paris as its hub. This stimulated economic growth and brought prosperity to most regions of the country. The Second Empire is credited with rebuilding of Paris with broad boulevards , striking public buildings, and elegant residential districts for wealthier Parisians. Internationally, Napoleon III tried to emulate his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte , engaging in numerous imperial ventures around

475-547: A continuation of the dynasty. In 1859, Napoleon led France to war with Austria over Italy . France was victorious and gained Savoy and Nice . The commercial treaty with Great Britain in 1860 ratified the free trade policy of Richard Cobden and Michel Chevalier , had brought upon French industry the sudden shock of foreign competition. Thus both Catholics and protectionists discovered that authoritarian rule could be favourable when it served their ambitions or interests, but not when exercised at their expense. France

570-766: A crucial part in the process of Italian Unification . A year prior to the war, in the Plombières Agreement , France agreed to support Sardinia's efforts to expel Austria from Italy in return for territorial compensation in the form of the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice . The two states signed a military alliance in January 1859. Sardinia mobilised its army on 9 March 1859, and Austria mobilized on 9 April. On 23 April, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Sardinia demanding its demobilization. Upon Sardinia's refusal,

665-529: A half million in favour and only one and a half million against. However, the vote also signified divisions in France. Those affirming were found mainly in rural areas, while the opposition prevailed in the big towns. The Crimean War ended in 1856, a victory for Napoleon III and a resulting peace that excluded Russia from the Black Sea . His son Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was born the same year, which promised

760-581: A new Ministry of the Navy and the Colonies, and appointed an energetic minister, Prosper, Marquis of Chasseloup-Laubat , to head it. A key part of the enterprise was the modernisation of the French Navy ; he began the construction of fifteen powerful screw steamers ; and a fleet of steam powered troop transports. The French Navy became the second most powerful in the world, after Britain's. He also created

855-701: A new force of colonial troops, including elite units of naval infantry, Zouaves , the Chasseurs d'Afrique , and Algerian sharpshooters, and he expanded the Foreign Legion , which had been founded in 1831 and fought well in the Crimea, Italy and Mexico. French overseas territories had tripled in area; in 1870 they covered almost a million square kilometres, and controlled nearly five million inhabitants. While soldiers, administrators, businessmen and missionaries came and left, very few Frenchmen permanently settled in

950-443: A plebiscite the supreme power, with the title of emperor, upon Napoleon III. The Legislative Body was not allowed to elect its own president or to regulate its own procedure, or to propose a law or an amendment, or to vote on the budget in detail, or to make its deliberations public. Similarly, universal suffrage was supervised and controlled by means of official candidature, by forbidding free speech and action in electoral matters to

1045-572: A result, Austria had to keep 30,000 troops in Transylvania , which could ill be spared from Italy. The French Army, under Marshal François Certain Canrobert , moved into Piedmont in the first massive military use of railways . The Austrian forces counted on a swift victory over the weaker Sardinian Army before French forces could arrive in Piedmont. However, Count Gyulai, the commander of

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1140-618: A second lieutenant in the Russian campaign of 1812 , and in 1813 was an aide-de-camp to Marshal Marmont at the Battle of Leipzig , where he lost his left hand. Promoted to captain in 1815, he fought at Quatre Bras . In 1823, he served in the campaign to restore Bourbon power in Spain , where he remained until 1825. He distinguished himself in Algeria , where he was promoted to colonel after

1235-815: Is no war, my son will never be emperor." Napoleon III doubled the area of the French overseas Empire; he established French rule in New Caledonia , and Cochinchina , established a protectorate in Cambodia (1863); and colonised parts of Africa. He joined Britain in sending an army to China during the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion (1860), but French ventures failed to establish influence in Japan (1867) and Korea (1866). To carry out his new overseas projects, Napoleon III created

1330-675: The Alessandria and Po bridges around Casale Monferrato forced the Austrians to halt their advance on 9 May and to fall back on 10 May. Napoleon III left Paris on 10 May, landed at Genoa on 12 May and arrived in Alessandria on 14 May. Napoleon then took the command of the operations of the war, whose first major clash was the Battle of Montebello on 20 May, between the Austrian IX Corps led by Karl von Urban (under

1425-696: The American Civil War ended in 1865, by the apparent closing of the Roman question by the convention of 15 September , which guaranteed to the Papal States the protection of Italy , and finally by the treaty of 30 October 1864 , which temporarily put an end to the Second Schleswig War . France was primarily a rural society, in which social class depended on family reputation and land ownership. A limited amount of upward mobility

1520-629: The Army of Châlons , which, led by Marshal Patrice de MacMahon and the Emperor, attempted to relieve the Siege of Metz , where the largest French army lay entrapped. The army was repulsed by the Prussians, and retreated to Sedan, where it was surrounded and forced to surrender after the Battle of Sedan . Napoleon himself became a prisoner and Republican forces quickly took control of Paris. France, under

1615-728: The Crimean War he was given command of the expeditionary force destined for the Baltic Sea . After capturing Bomarsund , Baraguey d'Hilliers was promoted to Marshal of France and made a Senator of the French Second Empire . He would later serve as vice-president of the French Senate. During the Italian campaign of 1859 , Baraguey d'Hilliers commanded the I Corps with which he distinguished himself by capturing

1710-522: The Danubian principalities . To extricate himself from the Polish impasse , the emperor again proposed a congress, with no luck. He was again unsuccessful: Great Britain refused even to admit the principle of a congress, while Austria , Prussia and Russia gave their adhesion only on conditions which rendered it futile, i.e. they reserved the vital questions of Venetia and Poland. The Emperor's support of

1805-464: The House of Savoy . It also weakened Austria, a fiery adversary of Napoleon III's French Second Empire . Cavour, being unable to get French help unless the Austrians attacked first, provoked Vienna by a series of military maneuvers close to the border. Sardinia mobilised its army on 9 March 1859. Austria mobilised on 9 April 1859 and issued an ultimatum on 23 April demanding the complete demobilisation of

1900-634: The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies had proved the danger of half-measures. But when a concession, however narrow, had been made to the liberty of one nation, it could hardly be refused to the no less legitimate aspirations of the rest. In 1863, these "new rights" again clamoured loudly for recognition: in Poland , in Schleswig and Holstein , in Italy , now united, with neither frontiers nor capital, and in

1995-623: The Republic , staged a coup d'état by dissolving the National Assembly without having the constitutional right to do so. He thus became sole ruler of France, and re-established universal suffrage, previously abolished by the Assembly. His decisions were popularly endorsed by a referendum later that month that attracted 92 percent support. At that same referendum, a new constitution was approved. Formally enacted in January 1852,

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2090-520: The Revolution of 1848 , Nicolas Changarnier was sent as commanding general to Besançon and was elected to the constituent assembly for the department of Doubs . He was one of the three candidates presented by President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte for the office of vice president of the Republic ; he received only one vote. He was then appointed commander-in-chief of the French troops that invaded

2185-776: The Second Mexican Empire and bring it into the French orbit, but this ended in a fiasco. He mishandled the Prussian threat, and by the end of his reign, the French emperor found himself without allies in the face of overwhelming German forces. His rule was ended during the Franco-Prussian War , when he was captured by the Prussian army at Sedan in 1870 and dethroned by French republicans. He died in exile in 1873 in England . On 2 December 1851, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , who had been elected President of

2280-534: The Treaty of Turin as compensation for its assistance. The Piedmontese, following their defeat by Austria in the First Italian War of Independence , recognized their need for allies. That led Prime Minister Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour to attempt to establish relations with other European powers, partially through Piedmont's participation in the Crimean War . In the peace conference at Paris after

2375-475: The bourgeoisie might spread to the people. Napoleon believed that he would consolidate his menaced power by again turning to the labouring masses, by whom that power had been established. Assured of support, the emperor, through Rouher, a supporter of the absolutist régime , refused all fresh claims on the part of the Liberals. He was aided by international events such as the reopening of cotton supplies when

2470-526: The collectivist theories of Karl Marx and the revolutionary theories of Mikhail Bakunin , as set forth at the congresses of the International . These labour congresses defied official proscriptions, and proclaimed that the social emancipation of the worker was inseparable from his political emancipation. The union between the internationalists and the republican bourgeois became an accomplished fact. The Empire, taken by surprise, sought to curb both

2565-407: The senatus-consulte of 8 September 1869, a parliamentary monarchy was substituted for the Emperor's personal government. On 2 January 1870 Ollivier was placed at the head of the first homogeneous, united and responsible ministry. Although most of the country hailed this reconciliation of liberty and order, the republican party insisted on further reforms and liberties and demanding the overthrow of

2660-467: The 'grandes écoles.' The elite maintained their position while allowing social ascent through the professions for ambitious sons of wealthy farmers and small-town merchants. The ultramontane party grumbled, while the industries formerly protected were dissatisfied with free trade reform. The working classes had abandoned their political neutrality. Disregarding Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 's impassioned attack on communism , they had gradually been won over by

2755-672: The Austrian troops in Lombardy , was very cautious and marched around the river Ticino in no specific direction until he crossed it to begin the offensive. Unfortunately for him, very heavy rains began to fall, which allowed the Piedmontese to flood the rice fields in front of his advance and slowed his army's march to a crawl. The Austrians, under Gyulai, captured Novara on 30 April and Vercelli on 2 May and advanced on Turin from 7 May onward. The Franco-Sardinian move to strengthen

2850-482: The Crimean War, Cavour attempted to bring attention to efforts for Italian unification. He found Britain and France to be sympathetic but refusing to go against Austrian wishes, as any movement towards Italian independence would threaten Austria's territory of Lombardy–Venetia . Private talks between Napoleon III and Cavour after the conference identified Napoleon as the most likely candidate to aid Italy although he

2945-452: The Empire. The killing of the journalist Victor Noir by Pierre Bonaparte , a member of the imperial family, gave the revolutionaries their long desired opportunity (10 January). But the émeute (uprising) ended in a failure. In a concession to democratic currents, the emperor put his policy to a plebiscite on 8 May 1870. The result was a substantial success for Bonaparte, with seven and

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3040-592: The II Corps, led by Patrice de MacMahon ; the III Corps, led by François Certain de Canrobert , the IV Corps; led by Adolphe Niel , and the V Corps, led by prince Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte . The Imperial Guard was commanded by Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély . Napoleon III participated in the war and showed up on the battlefield in the belief that it would motivate the French people during

3135-503: The Left that he had lost from the Right. After the return from Italy, the general amnesty of 16 August 1859 had marked the evolution of the absolutist or authoritarian empire towards the liberal, and later parliamentary empire, which was to last for ten years. The idea of Italian unification , which would inevitably end the temporal power of the popes , outraged French Catholics, who had been

3230-491: The Opposition, and by a gerrymandering in such a way as to overwhelm the liberal vote in the mass of the rural population. The press was subjected to a system of cautionnements ("caution money", deposited as a guarantee of good behaviour) and avertissements (requests by the authorities to cease publication of certain articles), under sanction of suspension or suppression. Books were subject to censorship. To counteract

3325-537: The Polish rebels alienated the Russian leadership. The visit of Tsar Alexander II of Russia to Paris ended in near-disaster when he was twice attacked by Polish assassins, but escaped. In Berlin, Otto von Bismarck saw the opportunity to squeeze out the French by forming closer relationships with the Russians. The success of the 1870 plebiscite, which should have consolidated the Empire, determined its downfall. It

3420-561: The Sardinian Army. When it was not heeded, Austria started a war against Sardinia on 26 April. The first French troops entered Piedmont on 25 April, and France declared war on Austria on 3 May. The French Army for the Italian campaign had 170,000 soldiers, 2,000 horsemen and 312 guns, half of the whole French army. The army, under the command of Napoleon III, divided into five corps: the I Corps, led by Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers ;

3515-730: The Second Empire strongly favoured Catholicism, the official state religion, it tolerated Protestants and Jews, with no persecutions or pogroms. The state dealt with the small Protestant community of Calvinist and Lutheran churches, whose members included many prominent businessmen who supported the regime. The emperor's Decree Law of 26 March 1852 led to greater government interference in Protestant church affairs, thus reducing self-regulation in favor of Catholic bureaucrats who misunderstood and mistrusted Protestant doctrine. Their administration affected not only church-state relations but also

3610-658: The Second Empire. Anthony Geraghty, The Empress Eugenie in England: Art, Architecture, Collecting, The Burlington Press, London: 2022 Achille Baraguey d%27Hilliers Baraguey d'Hilliers was born in Paris , the son of the French revolutionary general Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers . He was educated at the Prytanée National Militaire and joined the Grande Armée . Baraguey d'Hilliers served as

3705-674: The Senate scheduled a second referendum in November , which passed with 97 percent support. As with the December 1851 referendum, most of the "yes" votes were manufactured out of thin air. The empire was formally re-established on 2 December 1852, and the Prince-President became "Napoléon III, Emperor of the French". The constitution had already concentrated so much power in his hands that the only substantive changes were to replace

3800-541: The United Provinces of Central Italy including the ( Duchy of Parma , Duchy of Modena , Grand Duchy of Tuscany , and part of the Papal States ) were annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia, and France took its deferred rewards of Savoy and Nice . This latter move was vehemently opposed by Italian national hero Garibaldi, a native of Nice, and directly led to Garibaldi's expedition to Sicily , which would complete

3895-519: The United States. Napoleon helped finance the Confederacy but refused to intervene actively until Britain agreed, and London always rejected intervention. The Emperor realised that a war with the US without allies would spell disaster for France. Napoleon dreamed of building a French economic sphere in Latin America, centered on Mexico. He helped to promote rapid economic modernisation, but his army battled diehard insurgents who had American support. By 1863, French military intervention in Mexico to set up

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3990-482: The anxiety of those candid friends who were calling attention to the defective budget, the commercial crisis and foreign troubles. Napoleon again disappointed the hopes of Italy, allowed Poland to be crushed , and allowed Prussia to triumph over Denmark regarding the Schleswig-Holstein question . These inconsistencies led opposition leaders to form the Union libérale , a coalition of the Legitimist, Liberal and Republican parties. The Opposition gained forty seats in

4085-449: The armistice was signed on the following day - the Peace of Villafranca . Napoleon III signed the armistice with Austria at Villafranca for a combination of reasons. The Austrians had retreated to the Quadrilateral , which would be very costly to overrun. His absence in France had made the country vulnerable to attack. His actions in Italy were being criticised in France. He did not want Cavour and Piedmont to gain too much power, mostly at

4180-415: The basis for Prussia's rapid victories over Austria in 1866 and France in 1870-71 , which led to a united Germany under Prussian dominance. Second French Empire The Second French Empire , officially the French Empire , was the government of France from 2 December 1852 to 4 September 1870 between the Second and the Third French Republics . Ruled by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoleon III) ,

4275-412: The better option, and outvoted, he backed down. The immediate issue was a trivial controversy regarding control of the Spanish throne. France was successful in the diplomatic standoff, but Napoleon wanted to humiliate the Prussian king, William I . Bismarck in turn manipulated the situation such that France declared war against Prussia on 15 July 1870 after major protests in France (however, Napoleon

4370-435: The capture of Algiers in 1830. In 1834, Baraguey d'Hilliers was made vice-governor of the military academy of Saint Cyr , promoted to général de brigade in 1836, he was made commandant of the academy. Sent to Algeria in 1841, by 1843 he had been promoted to général de division and was made commandant of Constantine . Put on the non active list in 1844, by 1847 he was reinstated and made Inspector-General of infantry. After

4465-401: The city into a world-class showpiece. The financial soundness for all six companies was solidified by government guarantees. Although France had started late, by 1870 it had an excellent railway system, supported as well by good roads, canals and ports. Napoleon, in order to restore the prestige of the Empire before the newly awakened hostility of public opinion, tried to gain the support from

4560-460: The colonies, except in Algeria . The colonial trade reached 600 million francs, but the profits were overwhelmed by the expenses. However, a major goal was the 'Mission civilisatrice', the mission to spread French culture, language and religion, and this proved successful. The rise of the neighbouring state of Prussia during the 1860s threatened French supremacy in western Europe. Napoleon, growing steadily weaker in body and mind, badly mishandled

4655-441: The elect of the people as the representative of the democracy, ruled supreme. He himself drew power and legitimacy from his role as representative of the great Napoleon I of France , "who had sprung armed from the French Revolution like Minerva from the head of Jove ". The anti-parliamentary French Constitution of 1852 instituted by Napoleon III on 14 January 1852 was largely a repetition of that of 1848 . All executive power

4750-410: The elections of May–June 1863, and Adolphe Thiers urgently gave voice to the opposition parties' demands for "necessary liberties". It would have been difficult for the emperor to mistake the importance of this manifestation of French opinion, and in view of his international failures, impossible to repress it. The sacrifice of minister Persigny of the interior, who was responsible for the elections,

4845-427: The empire. One innovation was made, namely that the legislative body was elected by universal suffrage but had no right of initiative, all laws being proposed by the executive power . This new political change was rapidly followed by the same consequence as had attended that of Brumaire . On 2 December 1852, France, still under the effect of Napoleon's legacy, and the fear of anarchy, conferred almost unanimously by

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4940-468: The end of the war and the signing of the Armistice of Villafranca on 12 July. Austria ceded Lombardy to France, which, in turn, gave it to Sardinia. Exploiting the collapse of Austrian power in Italy, Sardinia annexed the United Provinces of Central Italy , consisting of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany , the Duchy of Parma , the Duchy of Modena and Reggio and the Papal Legations, on 22 March 1860. Two days later, Sardinia ceded Savoy and Nice to France at

5035-404: The expense of his men. He feared involvement of the German states. Most of Lombardy , with its capital, Milan , excluding only the Austrian fortresses of Mantua and Legnago and the surrounding territory, was transferred from Austria to France, which would immediately cede the territories to Sardinia. The rulers of Central Italy, who had been expelled by revolution shortly after the beginning of

5130-462: The fiasco in Mexico. Napoleon did not know what he wanted or what to do, but the reverse was true for Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck , who planned to create a great new German nation, based on Prussian power, as well as resurgent German nationalism based on the systematic humiliation of France. After seeing the defeat of Austria , the Emperor demanded a conscription law. The parliament disagreed, maintaining that professionals would be always

5225-404: The first nine days of August, France experienced major losses. The Emperor handed power to the other generals and let them command, then telegrammed his wife, asking if he should return to Paris. His wife refused, and thus he only sent his son home. The French prime minister resigned, being replaced with a more effective military leader, who soldered the disorganised and demoralised French. He forged

5320-405: The general command of Stadion) and Forey 's division, part of the French I Corps under marshal d'Hilliers. The Austrians retreated after 9 hours of combat when the Sardinian Cavalry under De Sonnaz arrived, which made Gyulai even more cautious. Napoleon III crossed the Ticino river after the Battle of Turbigo and entered Lombardy. He advanced with part of his force and sent many other troops to

5415-430: The height of the Italian question in February 1860, made the most of the freedom of expression enjoyed by the Catholic Church in France. The goal was to mobilise Catholic opinion and encourage the government to support the Pope. A major result of the Catholic ultramontane campaign was to trigger reforms in the cultural sphere, which also granted freedoms to their political enemies the Republicans and freethinkers. Although

5510-404: The increase of secret police activity and the imperial police lacked the omnipotence seen in later totalitarian states. Napoleon began by removing the gag which was keeping the country in silence. On 24 November 1860, he granted to the Chambers the right to vote an address annually in answer to the speech from the throne, and to the press the right of reporting parliamentary debates. He counted on

5605-598: The internal lives of Protestant communities. Napoleon III manipulated a range of politicised police powers to censor the media and suppress opposition. Legally he had broad powers but in practice he was limited by legal, customary and moral deterrents. By 1851 political police had a centralised administrative hierarchy and were largely immune from public control. The Second Empire continued the system; proposed innovations were stalled by officials. Typically political roles were part of routine administrative duties. Although police forces were indeed strengthened, opponents exaggerated

5700-406: The larger battle around Solferino, where, after a day-long battle, the French broke through. Ludwig von Benedek with the Austrian VIII Corps was separated from the main force and defended Pozzolengo against the Piedmontese part of the opposing army. It was successful, but the entire Austrian army retreated after the breakthrough at Solferino and withdrew back into the Quadrilateral. Meanwhile, in

5795-409: The latter concession to hold in check the growing Catholic opposition, which was becoming more and more alarmed by the policy of laissez-faire practiced by the emperor in Italy. The government majority already showed some signs of independence. The right of voting on the budget by sections, granted by the emperor in 1861, was a new weapon given to his adversaries. Everything conspired in their favour:

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5890-473: The leadership of Léon Gambetta , declared the establishment of the Third French Republic . Napoleon and Eugénie went into exile in England. Victory produced an onrush of German nationalism that Bismarck immediately seized to unite all of the German states ( except Austria ), thereby creating the German Empire , with the Prussian king as its emperor and Bismarck as chancellor. The new Germany was now continental Europe's dominant military force. Additionally, France

5985-447: The leading supporters of the Empire. A keen Catholic opposition sprang up, voiced in Louis Veuillot 's paper the Univers , and was not silenced even by the Syrian expedition (1860) in favour of the Catholic Maronite side of the Druze–Maronite conflict . Ultramontane Catholicism, longing for close links to the Pope in Rome, played a pivotal role in the democratisation of culture. The pamphlet campaign led by Mgr Gaston de Ségur, at

6080-461: The middle classes and the labourers, goading both into revolutionary actions. There were multiple strikes. The elections of May 1869 , which took place during these disturbances, inflicted upon the Empire a serious moral defeat. In spite of the government's warning against the "red terror", the conciliatory candidate Ollivier was rejected by Paris, while 40 irreconcilables and 116 members of the Third Party were elected. Concessions had to be made, and by

6175-403: The new and unsuccessful attempt made at Frohsdorf in 1853, by a combination of the legitimists and Orléanists , to re-create a living monarchy out of the ruin of two royal families. The Empress Eugenie created a memorial to the Second Empire in England in the 1880s. Exiled in Farnborough, Hampshire, she turned her house at Farnborough Hill into a Bonapartist shrine, filling the interior with

6270-407: The new document made Louis-Napoléon president for 10 years, with no restrictions on re-election. It concentrated virtually all governing power in his hands. However, Louis-Napoléon was not content with merely being an authoritarian president. Almost as soon as he signed the new document into law, he set about restoring the empire. In response to officially inspired requests for the return of the empire,

6365-409: The north of Lombardy, the Italian volunteers of Giuseppe Garibaldi 's Hunters of the Alps defeated the Austrians at Varese and Como , and the Piedmontese-French Navy landed 3,000 soldiers and conquered the islands of Losinj (Lussino) and Cres (Cherso), in Dalmatia . After the Battle of Solferino, a cease fire was agreed on 8 July. The two emperors met on 11 July at Villafranca di Verona and

6460-491: The north to flank the Austrians. The Austrians planned a resistance before Milan, however they were defeated at the Battle of Magenta on 5 May, which caused Gyulai to retreat east of the river Mincio to the quadrilateral fortresses , where he was relieved of his post as commander by the Emperor Franz Josef , who assumed the command himself. The Piedmontese-French army took Milan and slowly marched further east to finish off Austria before Prussia could get involved. During

6555-417: The opposition of individuals, a surveillance of suspects was instituted. Felice Orsini 's attack on the emperor in 1858, though purely Italian in its motive, served as a pretext for increasing the severity of this régime by the law of general security ( sûreté générale ) which authorised the internment, exile or deportation of any suspect without trial. In the same way public instruction was strictly supervised,

6650-406: The opposition represented by Thiers was rather constitutional than dynastic, there was another and irreconcilable opposition, that of the amnestied or voluntarily exiled republicans, of whom Victor Hugo was the eloquent mouthpiece. Thus those who had formerly constituted the governing classes were again showing signs of their ambition to govern. There appeared to be some risk that this movement among

6745-407: The people, to function as supreme leader and safeguard the achievements of the revolution. He had so often, while in prison or in exile, chastised previous oligarchical governments for neglecting social questions that it was imperative France now prioritise their solutions. His answer was to organise a system of government based on the principles of the "Napoleonic Idea". This meant that the emperor,

6840-677: The period was one of significant achievements in infrastructure and economy, while France reasserted itself as the dominant power in Europe . Historians in the 1930s and 1940s disparaged the Second Empire as a precursor of fascism , but by the late 20th century it was re-evaluated as an example of a modernizing regime. Historians have generally given the Second Empire negative evaluations on its foreign policy, and somewhat more positive assessments of domestic policies, especially after Napoleon III liberalised his rule after 1858. He promoted French business and exports. The greatest achievements included

6935-644: The preliminary Unification of Italy . The annexation of Nice to France caused the Niçard exodus , or the emigration of a quarter of the Niçard Italians to Italy, and the Niçard Vespers . During the war, Prussia also mobilized 132,000 men, but never joined the fighting. The weaknesses laid bare during the mobilization caused the Prussian Army to initiate military reforms. These reforms were

7030-564: The previous rulers, and France was unwilling to force them to do so. The Austrians were left to look on in frustration at the French failure to carry out the terms of the treaty. Austria had emerged triumphant after the suppression of liberal movements in 1849, but its status as a great power on the European scene was now seriously challenged and its influence in Italy severely weakened. As such, on 22 March 1860, with French and British approval,

7125-472: The remnants of the imperial collection (returned to her in early 1881) and reconstructing elements of the display at the imperial palaces before 1870. On an adjacent hill she created a spectacular Mausoleum, today St Michael’s Abbey, where the bodies of Napoleon III and the Prince Imperial were interred in 1888. The imperial crypt at Farnborough remains the only official monument to Napoleon III and

7220-474: The retreat, the Austrians won one of their only victories of the war, when Karl von Urban defeated Giuseppe Garibaldi at the Battle of Treponti . The Austrians found out that the French had halted at Brescia and decided that they should counterattack along the river Chiese. The two armies met accidentally around Solferino , which precipitated a confused series of battles. A French corps held off three Austrian corps all day at Medole and kept them from joining

7315-424: The revolutionary Roman Republic , in 1849, in the context of the First Italian War of Independence . In 1851, he replaced as commander of the army of Paris Nicolas Changarnier , whom President Napoleon Louis Bonaparte distrusted, and was a supporter of the latter's coup d'état later in that year. In 1853, Baraguey d'Hilliers was sent to Constantinople as ambassador extraordinaire, and recalled in 1854. During

7410-546: The situation, and eventually found himself in a war without allies. Britain was afraid of French militarism and refused to help. Russia was highly annoyed about French interference in supporting Polish rebels in the 1863 uprising . Napoleon had given strong support to Italy , but refused the demand for Rome, and kept French troops in Rome to protect the pope from the new Italian government, thus leading to Italian refusal to help. The United States remained alienated because of

7505-521: The substitution for the ministers without portfolio of a sort of presidency of the council filled by Eugène Rouher , the "Vice-Emperor", and the nomination of Jean Victor Duruy , an anti-clerical, as minister of public instruction, in reply to those attacks of the Church which were to culminate in the Syllabus of 1864, all indicated a distinct rapprochement between the emperor and the Left. But though

7600-433: The teaching of philosophy was suppressed in the lycées , and the disciplinary powers of the administration were increased. For seven years France had no democratic life. The Empire governed by a series of plebiscites. Up to 1857 the Opposition did not exist; from then until 1860 it was reduced to five members: Alfred Darimon, Émile Ollivier , Hénon , Jules Favre , and Ernest Picard . The royalists waited inactive after

7695-528: The town of Solferino during the Battle of Solferino . After the war he was given command of V Corps in Tours . Made governor of Paris in 1870, by his frankness he made himself unpopular with the Empress Eugénie and with Count Palikao . On 12 August, he was replaced by Trochu . After the end of the Franco-Prussian War , Adolphe Thiers made him president of a commission investigating the causes of

7790-474: The war began on 26 April. Austria invaded Sardinia three days later, and France declared war on Austria on 3 May. The Austrian invasion was stopped by the arrival of French troops in Piedmont that had begun in late April. The Austrians were defeated at the Battle of Magenta on 4 June and pushed back to Lombardy , where the Franco-Sardinian victory at the Battle of Solferino on 24 June resulted in

7885-554: The war, were to be restored. The agreement, made by Napoleon behind the backs of his Sardinian allies, led to great outrage in Piedmont-Sardinia, and Cavour resigned in protest. However, the Villafranca terms never took effect. Although they were reaffirmed by the final Treaty of Zürich in 11 November, the agreement had become a dead letter. The central Italian states were occupied by Piedmont, which would not restore

7980-601: The war. That would prove successful. The Sardinian Army had about 70,000 soldiers, 4,000 horsemen and 90 guns. It was divided into five divisions, led by Castelbrugo, Manfredo Fanti , Giovanni Durando , Enrico Cialdini and Domenico Cucchiari . Two volunteer formations, the Cacciatori delle Alpi and the Cacciatori degli Appennini , were also present. It was led by Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy , supported by Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora . The Austrian Army fielded more men with 220,000 soldiers, 824 guns and 22,000 horsemen. It

8075-560: The word "president" with the word "emperor" and to make the post hereditary. The popular referendum became a distinct sign of Bonapartism , which Charles de Gaulle would later use. With almost dictatorial powers, Napoleon III made building a good railway system a high priority. He consolidated three dozen small, incomplete lines into six major companies using Paris as a hub. Paris grew dramatically in terms of population, industry, finance, commercial activity and tourism. Working with Georges-Eugène Haussmann , Napoleon spent lavishly to rebuild

8170-753: The world as well as several wars in Europe . He began his reign with French victories in Crimea and in Italy , gaining Savoy and Nice , and very briefly, Venetia (before in turn ceding to Italy ). Using very harsh methods, he built up the French Empire in North Africa , in East Africa and in French Indochina . Napoleon III also launched an intervention in Mexico seeking to erect

8265-430: Was bloody but successful, and supported by large numbers of French soldiers, missionaries and businessmen, as well as the local Chinese entrepreneurial element. Mixed domestic gains and losses resulted from European policies. The support France gave to the Italian cause had aroused the eager hopes of other nations. The proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy on 17 March 1861 after the rapid annexation of Central Italy and

8360-407: Was entrusted to the emperor, who, as head of state, was solely responsible to the people. The people of the Empire, lacking democratic rights, were to rely on the benevolence of the emperor rather than on the benevolence of politicians. He was to nominate the members of the council of state, whose duty it was to prepare the laws, and of the senate, a body permanently established as a constituent part of

8455-404: Was feasible through the steadily improving educational system. Students from all levels of society were granted admission to public secondary schools, opening a ladder to sons of peasants and artisans. However, whether through jealousy of or distrust for the higher classes, few working-class families took advantage of education or wished to see their sons move up and out: very few sought admission to

8550-541: Was forced to give up the two border provinces of Alsace and Lorraine , and its humiliation lasted for generations. The structure of the French government during the Second Empire was little changed from the First . Emperor Napoleon III stressed his own imperial role as the foundation of the government; if government was to guide the people toward domestic justice and external peace, it was his role as emperor, holding his power by universal male suffrage and representing all of

8645-487: Was led by Field Marshal Ferenc Graf Gyulay . The newly-formed United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia also supported the Franco-Italian alliance. Their ruler, Alexandru Ioan Cuza , was given 10,000 rifles and ammunition by Napoleon III. Napoleon III, with his unwavering and very genuine sympathy, also sent a military mission to Bucharest . Encouraged, Cuza formed a new military camp at Ploiești . As

8740-504: Was officially neutral throughout the American Civil War , 1861–1865 and never recognised the Confederate States of America . The Union warned that recognition would mean war. However, the textile industry needed Southern cotton, and Napoleon had imperial ambitions in Mexico, which could be greatly aided by the Confederacy. At the same time, other French political leaders, such as Foreign Minister Édouard Thouvenel , supported

8835-453: Was reluctant as he had become ill as well as being sceptical of the outcome), thus sparking the Franco-Prussian War . The French empire made the first move, as the Emperor led a charge that crossed the German border. On August 2, the French defeated a Prussian vanguard and occupied the town of Saarbrücken . Two days later, the Prussians launched an offensive that repulsed the French army. After

8930-405: Was still uncommitted. On 14 January 1858, Felice Orsini , an Italian, led an attempt on Napoleon III's life. The assassination attempt brought widespread sympathy for the Italian unity and had a profound effect on Napoleon III himself, who now was determined to help Piedmont against Austria to defuse the wider revolutionary activities, which governments in Italy might later allow to happen. After

9025-417: Was thought that a diplomatic success would make the country forget liberty in favour of glory. It was in vain that after the parliamentary revolution of 2 January 1870, Comte Daru revived, through Lord Clarendon , Count Beust 's plan of disarmament after the Battle of Königgrätz . He met with a refusal from Prussia and from the imperial entourage. The Empress Eugénie was credited with the remark, "If there

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