Once Napoleon Bonaparte declared France an Empire in 1804 and crowned himself Emperor for life, he set about installing his relatives as rulers of neighboring countries. Even his own young son became King of Rome. Through these family alliances, Napoleon sought to strengthen his own position as Emperor and increase the influence of France throughout Europe.
Napoleons Brothers and Sisters
Napoleon first installed his brothers as the newest rulers in Europe. In 1806 Napoleon appointed his brother Louis King of Holland. Jerome, another brother, was appointed the king of Westphalia, which Napoleon created in 1807. Napoleon’s older brother, Joseph was King of Naples, in southern Italy for two years before being upgraded to King of Spain. Even Napoleon’s sister was included in the royal action. Caroline Bonaparte married Marshal Joachim, who became king of Naples after Joseph left for Spain. A second sister, Elisa, was married to Prince of Lucca and made grand duchess of Tuscany, located in northern Italy, in 1809. By marrying his sisters and brothers into royal families, Napoleon was able to strengthen the legitimacy of his appointments. Closer to home in France, another of Napoleon’s brothers, Lucien, helped him overthrow the government and establish a Roman-style consulate (which only lasted until someone tried to assassinate Napoleon- then he declared himself emperor).
Napoleon Makes Son King of Rome
The papal states of modern day Italy, had been ruled by the Catholic Church for hundreds of years. Beginning in 1808 Napoleon annexed the states and locked up Pope Pius XVII. He declared his young son, Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, King of Rome. Napoleon also appointed his step-son, Eugene de Beauharnais as viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy.
Europe Unites Against Napoleon
Napoleon hoped by appointing his relatives to thrones across Europe he could unite the continent, in keeping with the principles of the Rights of Man. His actions had the exact opposite effect. No one was fooled by Napoleons family appointments, especially Great Britain. Each of Napoleon’s ruling family members bore the suffix Napoleon (Elisa-Napoleon, Joachim-Napoleon, and so on and son…) as a not-so-subtle reminder of who was really in charge. In 1815 Napoleon was defeated by the British and allied forces at the Battle of Waterloo and the French Empire ceased to exist. As for the royal family appointments, they were dismantled during the Congress of Vienna, which deconstructed Napoleon’s empire and set up new political boundaries and rulers within Europe.
Sources:
Godechot, Jacques. The Napoleonic Era in Europe. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.
Lang, Sean. European History for Dummies. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, LTD, 2006.
Stavrianos, L.S.. The World Since 1500: A Global History. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1966.
Time Life Books. The Pulse of Enterprise: TimeFrame AD 1800-1850. Alexandria: Time Life Books, 1990.
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