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87-470: On 17 September 1806, when The Netherlands were under the rule of King Louis Napoleon , he decided that the striking and distribution of coins should be by a single, national body. This was in contrast to the Middle Ages custom of large trading cities having their own mint and coins, which resulted in several coins circulating within the country, and many levels of controlling bureaucracy. Originally it

174-703: 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

261-475: 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

348-605: A puppet state , but Louis was determined to be as independent as possible and became quite popular amongst his new people. Growing tired of his brother's wilfulness, Napoleon annexed Holland into the French Empire in 1810, and Louis went into exile. His youngest son, Louis-Napoléon, established the Second French Empire in 1852, proclaiming himself Napoleon III . Louis was born in Ajaccio , Corsica . He

435-484: 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

522-467: A Bonapartist coup d'état . Louis Bonaparte died on 25 July 1846 in Livorno , and his remains were buried at Saint-Leu-la-Forêt , Île-de-France . Louis was married on 4 January 1802 to Hortense de Beauharnais , the daughter of the deceased general Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais , and his wife Josephine Tascher de la Pagerie . Josephine was the first wife of Louis's brother Napoleon. Thus Hortense

609-621: A company, 100% of whose shares are owned by the Dutch State. The Queen awarded the company the prefix Koninklijk (Royal) five years later, and the company was now allowed to call itself De Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (The Royal Dutch Mint). On 22 November 2016 the Royal Dutch Mint was sold to the Belgian Groep Heylen. Since 2002 the Royal Dutch Mint has been allowed to strike coins for foreign national banks in

696-547: 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

783-611: A decade before his birth. Louis followed his older brothers into the French Army , where he benefited from Napoleon's patronage. In 1802, he married his step-niece Hortense de Beauharnais , the daughter of Empress Joséphine (Napoleon's wife). In 1806, Napoleon established the Kingdom of Holland in place of the Batavian Republic , appointing Louis as the new king. Napoleon had intended for Holland to be little more than

870-659: A dozen times, trying Amsterdam , The Hague , Utrecht , and other places. On one occasion, after visiting the home of a wealthy Dutch merchant, he liked the place so much that he had the owner evicted so he could take up residence there. Then, Louis moved again after seven weeks. His constant moving kept the court in upheaval since they had to follow him everywhere. The European diplomatic corps went so far as to petition Bonaparte to remain in one place so they could keep up with him. Hortense bore Louis's sons Napoléon Charles Bonaparte and Napoléon Louis Bonaparte in Paris, while Louis

957-529: 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

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1044-581: 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

1131-701: 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

1218-443: 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

1305-676: A second Mint was located in Brussels . When Belgium achieved independence in 1839, the Rijks Munt became the only mint in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The provincial coins had been minted before the unification of the Mint were still in circulation. Due to their relatively high intrinsic value, the "new" coins would only gain popularity with the passage of time. In 1849 the provincial coins were officially taken out of circulation. In 1901

1392-577: A time. Upon Louis's return to France, he was involved in Napoleon's plot to overthrow the Directory . After becoming the First Consul , Napoleon arranged for a marriage between Louis and Hortense de Beauharnais , the daughter of Empress Josephine , and hence Napoleon's stepdaughter. Hortense was opposed to the marriage at first. She was soon persuaded by her mother to marry Louis for the sake of

1479-434: Is good, it means that he has failed in his rule.″ Louis Bonaparte's reign was short-lived due to two factors. The first was that Napoleon wanted to reduce the value of French loans from Dutch investors by two-thirds, meaning a serious economic blow to the Netherlands. The second became the pretext for Napoleon's demand of Louis's abdication. As Napoleon was preparing an army for his invasion of Russia , he wanted troops from

1566-815: 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

1653-696: 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

1740-681: 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

1827-522: 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

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1914-761: The Decree of Rambouillet on 9 July. After his abdication, Louis Bonaparte assumed the title of Count of Saint-Leu ( comte de Saint-Leu ), which was a reference to his property at Saint-Leu-la-Forêt near Paris. He was appointed as the Constable of France in 1808, a strictly honorary title. After his Dutch kingdom was taken away from him, the Austrian Emperor Francis I offered him asylum. Between 1811 and 1813, he found refuge in Graz , where he turned to writing and poetry. Louis wrote to Napoleon after

2001-768: The Dutch language ; he called himself Lodewijk I (adopting the Dutch form of his name) and declared himself Dutch rather than French. Allegedly, his Dutch was initially so poor that he told the people he was the Konijn van 'Olland ("Rabbit of 'Olland"), rather than Koning van Holland ("King of Holland"). However, his sincere effort to learn Dutch earned him respect from his subjects. Having declared himself Dutch, Louis tried to make his court Dutch as well. He forced his court and ministers (mostly provided by Napoleon) to speak only Dutch and to renounce their French citizenships. This latter

2088-589: 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) , 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

2175-639: The French campaign in Egypt and Syria . Thanks to his older brother, Napoleon, Louis was given a commission in the French Military, and was promoted to Lieutenant in the 4th Artillery Regiment, and from there he was made Aide de Camp on Napoleon's staff. Napoleon, during his Italian Campaign, recommended Louis to Carnot, and Louis was consequently made a captain. He later became a General by the age of 25, although he felt that he had risen too high in too short

2262-688: 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

2349-678: 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,

2436-776: 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

2523-475: 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

2610-526: 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

2697-407: 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

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2784-467: 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

2871-452: 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

2958-503: 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

3045-491: 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

3132-537: 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

3219-667: 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

3306-674: 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

3393-746: 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

3480-660: 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

3567-522: 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

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3654-401: 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

3741-515: 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

3828-662: The company was placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, and in 1912 the Mint officially became a company owned by the State. At the end of the German occupation during the Second World War, in 1944, coins were produced in the United States. This was necessary to ensure that there would be enough currency available after the liberation. In 1994 's Rijks Munt was renamed as De Nederlandse Munt NV . It became

3915-441: 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

4002-410: 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,

4089-427: 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

4176-641: The entire region under his control, this included troops from the Netherlands. Louis, confronted by his brother's demand, refused point-blank. Napoleon then accused Louis of putting Dutch interests above those of France, and removed most of the French forces in Holland for the coming war in the east, leaving only about 9,000 garrison soldiers in the country. Unfortunately for Louis, the English landed an army of 40,000 in 1809 in an attempt to capture Antwerp and Flushing . With Louis unable to defend his realm, France sent 80,000 militiamen, commanded by future King of Sweden Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte , and successfully repelled

4263-472: The euro zone, and occasionally strikes coins for other countries such as Guatemala and Honduras . Furthermore, the Dutch Royal Mint produces commemorative coins, coins intended for collectors, medals and royal decorations. The Royal Dutch Mint was also delegated the task of destroying the old guilders after their replacement by the euro in 2002. Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte ; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846)

4350-425: The family. Feeling that the Batavian Republic was too independent for his liking, Napoleon replaced it with the Kingdom of Holland on 5 June 1806 and placed Louis on the throne. Napoleon had intended for his younger brother to be little more than a French prefect of Holland. However, Louis had his mind and tried to be a responsible and independent ruler. To endear himself to his adopted country, he tried to learn

4437-462: 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

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4524-404: 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

4611-430: 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

4698-404: 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

4785-598: 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

4872-428: The invasion. Napoleon then suggested that Louis should abdicate, citing Louis's inability to protect Holland as a reason. Louis refused and declared the occupation of the Kingdom by a French army as unlawful. On 1 July 1810 Louis abdicated in favor of his second son, Napoleon Louis Bonaparte . He fled from Haarlem on 2/3 July and settled in Austria. Oudinot invaded Holland on 4 July. Napoleon annexed Holland to France by

4959-409: 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:

5046-419: The latter's defeat in Russia to request that the Dutch throne be restored to him; however, Napoleon refused. His request to visit the Netherlands was denied several times by King William I of the Netherlands , but King William II allowed him a visit in 1840. Although traveling in the Netherlands under a false name, some people found out that it was their former king, which led to a cheering crowd gathering under

5133-473: 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

5220-447: 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

5307-461: 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

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5394-403: 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

5481-407: 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,

5568-417: 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,

5655-406: 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

5742-407: 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,

5829-403: The reign of Louis Bonaparte: the explosion of a cargo ship loaded with gunpowder in the heart of the city of Leiden in 1807, and a major flood in Holland in 1809. In both instances, Louis personally and effectively oversaw local relief efforts, which helped earn him the title of Louis the Good . Napoleon appeared disappointed and commented: ″Brother, when they say of some king or other that he

5916-407: 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

6003-495: 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

6090-412: 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

6177-433: 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

6264-523: The window of his hotel room. It is said that he was quite moved by this demonstration of affection from his former subjects. After the death of his eldest brother Joseph in 1844, Louis was seen by the Bonapartists as the rightful Emperor of the French, although Louis took little action himself to advance the claim. Louis's son and heir, the future Emperor Napoleon III , on the other hand, was at that time being imprisoned in France for having attempted

6351-560: 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

6438-690: 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

6525-463: Was a younger brother of Joseph , Napoleon , Lucien , and Elisa Bonaparte , and the older brother of Pauline , Caroline , and Jérôme Bonaparte . Louis' godparents were the island's governor, Mr de Marbeuf , and the wife of the intendant, Bertrand de Boucheporn , whom Letizia and her husband, Carlo, had befriended. Louis Bonaparte's early career was spent in the Army, and he served with Napoleon in

6612-632: Was a younger brother of Napoleon I , Emperor of the French . He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French client state roughly corresponding to the modern-day Netherlands ). In that capacity, he was known as Louis I ( Dutch : Lodewijk I [ˈloːdəʋɛik] ). Louis was the fifth surviving child and fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino , out of eight children who lived past infancy. He and his siblings were all born in Corsica , which had been conquered by France less than

6699-644: Was also Louis's step-niece. This marriage had been forced upon them and was rather loveless, though they supposedly consummated it and interacted often enough to produce three sons. As a rule, the Bonapartes, except Napoleon, loathed the Beauharnaises. Hortense also certainly had extra-marital lovers. Hortense de Beauharnais gave birth to three sons who were officially claimed by Louis Bonaparte, despite his doubts about their paternity: Second French Empire The Second French Empire , officially

6786-485: 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

6873-407: 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

6960-404: 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

7047-541: 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

7134-476: Was in Holland. In 1806, Louis called for his son to be sent to him in Holland, but he was again refused by Hortense, who believed that her son would never be returned to France. When Louis appealed to his brother Napoleon for help, Napoleon sided with Hortense. Napoleon kept the boy in his court, and he even had him named the heir to the French throne before the birth of his son. Two major tragedies occurred during

7221-504: 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

7308-400: 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

7395-517: Was the intention to found the mint in the capital city of Amsterdam but, since there was insufficient finance available, it was decided to locate the National Mint seat in Utrecht. After Napoleon was defeated in 1813, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded with William I as King, the Mint was renamed as 's Rijks Munt . What is now known as Belgium was a part of the new kingdom, and

7482-417: 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

7569-405: Was too much for his wife Hortense who, in France at the time of his demands, refused his request. Louis and Hortense had never gotten along, and this demand further strained their relationship. She only came to Holland reluctantly and deliberately tried to avoid Louis as much as possible. Louis could never settle on the location of his capital city while he was in Holland. He changed capitals over

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