Joseph Bonaparte

 Joseph-Napoleon Bonaparte was a politician and lawyer during the First French Republic and an aristocrat and emperor during the First French Empire (January 7, 1768–July 28, 1844). He was promoted to the status of prince in the Bonaparte Royal Family after his brother Napoleon Bonaparte assumed the throne and actively participated in Emperor Napoleon's hegemonic aspirations. As king of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily (1806–1808), then king of Spain and the West Indies (1808–1813), Joseph was installed by his brother.

He was considered the best ruler of Enlightened Absolutism as he holds the thrones of Naples and Sicily, is loved by the people, and left many achievements for the kingdom. However, after he was put on the Spanish throne by his brother, it was the Peninsular War and the disapproval of the Spaniards that tarnished Joseph's image. He was always nostalgic about the golden years of rule on the Italian Peninsula.

After the fall of Napoleon, Joseph returned to France, claiming to be the Count of Survilliers. He emigrated to the United States, settling near Bordentown, New Jersey, on an estate overlooking the Delaware River, near Philadelphia. He later returned to Europe and died in Florence, Italy, with his body interred in the Palace of Invalides.

Early Years and Personal Life

Joseph Bonaparte was born in 1768 in Corte, the capital of the Corsican Republic, to Carlo Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino. In the year of his birth, the island of Corsica was invaded by the French and conquered a year later. His father was originally a Corsican independence fighter promoted by Pasquale Paoli, but he later turned to become a supporter of French rule in Corsica.

Joseph Bonaparte studied law and politics and worked as the French ambassador to Rome and in the Cinq-Cents (House of Representatives). Together with Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu and Pierre Louis Roederer, he signed a contract of friendship and commerce between the First French Republic and the United States at Morfontaine on September 30, 1800, in his capacity as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Joseph Bonaparte served on the Senate's Council of Presbyterians in 1795. He helped his younger brother, Napoleon Bonaparte, launch a coup that led to the overthrow of the Catholic regime four years later by using his position in the Senate.

King of Naples

When war between France and Austria broke out in 1805, King Ferdinand I of Naples and Emperor Napoleon agreed to a neutrality convention. However, the king suddenly double-crossed and declared his support for the Austrian Empire. He consented to the landing in his realm of a sizable Anglo-Russian force. Napoleon's army, though, soon prevailed. King Ferdinand of Naples was the target of Emperor Napoleon's wrath following the failure of the War of the Third Coalition on December 5 during the Battle of Austerlitz.

On December 27, 1805, at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Napoleon issued a statement that King Ferdinand of Naples had renounced his kingdom. He claimed an invasion of France was imminent to ensure that 'the best nations are liberated from the yoke of the unbelievers'

On December 31, Emperor Napoleon ordered his brother Joseph to move to Rome to command the French army, marching ahead to depose Ferdinand I from the throne. Although Joseph Bonaparte was nominally the ruler of the French empire, the highest authority, in fact, Marshal André Masséna was the commander with decisive actions, besides General Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr.

Naples was invaded by a French invading force of 40,000 men on February 8, 1806. Under the command of Generals André Masséna and Jean Reynier, the army's center wing proceeded south. General Giuseppe Lechi was in charge of the army as it was being marched from Ancona to the Adriatic Sea shore. Napoleon permitted General Reynier and his brother Joseph to go. The Anglo-Russian forces withdrew gradually, the British withdrew to Sicily, and the Russians withdrew to Corfu as the French advance encountered no opposition. King Ferdinand left the throne on January 23 after his allies abandoned him, and his wife Queen Maria-Carolona followed him to Palermo on February 11 to rejoin him.

The first obstacle the French encountered was at the fortress of Gaeta, whose commander, Prince Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal, refused to surrender. However, the French army did not delay the advance; General Masséna left a small force garrisoned and loaned, and the remaining force continued to march south. On February 14, General Masséna captured the capital, Naples, and the next day Joseph held a ceremony to celebrate the victory. General Reynier was quickly dispatched to gain control of the Strait of Messina on March 9, defeating the Royal Napoli Army at the Battle of Campo Tenese.

Napoleon proclaimed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king of Naples and Sicily on March 30, 1806.

Joseph entered Naples with a warm welcome from the people, and he managed to win their support in that he allowed most of the former officials and Bourbon elites to keep their titles and positions in the new government headed by him. Having established a provisional government in the kingdom's capital, he immediately set off with General Lamarque to tour and survey his kingdom. The main objective of the tour was to assess the feasibility of an invasion of Sicily to expel the former Emperor Ferdinand and his wife, Empress Maria-Carolona, from Palermo. However, considering the situation in the Strait of Messina, Joseph was forced to admit that an immediate invasion of Sicily was impossible since Bourbon's army had sent all troops, ships, and transport along the coast to increase defenses under British Empire support.

The king resolved to implement a reform agenda upon his return to Naples and bring the advantages of the French Revolution to the Kingdom of Naples. André François Miot de Mélito was appointed Minister of the Interior, Antoine Christophe Saliceti was appointed Minister of Police, Pierre Louis Roederer was made Minister of Finance, and General Guillaume-Mathieu Dumas was appointed Secretary of War by Joseph. Emperor Napoleon nominated Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan to serve as governor of Naples and as the new King Joseph's chief military advisor.

Joseph started an extensive reform program with the goal of making the Kingdom of Naples a contemporary nation inspired by France. To balance the finances of the new royal line, monasteries were persecuted, their property was nationalized, and their revenues were seized. The benefits and levies of feudalism were eliminated, but the aristocracy received compensation in the form of a certificate they could exchange for estates that had been seized from the Church. Each province received a college to educate women. Queen Julie Clary personally endorsed the establishment of a central college in Aversa for the daughters of public activists and the top students from provincial schools.

The policy of forced recruitment of prisoners into the army was abolished. To suppress and control mountain bandits, military commissions were established with the power to try and execute without appeal. Public works were started, providing jobs for the poor and investing in improvements to the kingdom. The highway was built to Reggio. A road in Calabria was completed under Joseph within a year after decades of delay in the previous king's reign. In the second year of his reign, Joseph installed the first public street lighting system in Naples, modeled on the system operating in Paris.

Although Joseph had ultimate power because the kingdom of Naples at the time lacked a constitution, he never really issued and carried out a decree or policy without consultation with the State Council and without the vote of the majority of the advisors. As a result, Joseph is regarded as the best monarch of Enlightened absolutism. During his brief two-year reign, he contributed to an increase in royal finances from 7 to 14 million ducats. At the same time, he consistently seeks out ways to lessen the burden on his subjects.

Joseph ruled the Kingdom of Naples for two years, then was made king of Spain by Napoleon I in August 1808, shortly after the First French Empire sent 100,000 troops to invade and occupy the country. The Kingdom of Naples was handed over to his brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, to rule.

King of Spain

At the request of his brother, Emperor Napoleon, Joseph was somewhat reluctant to abdicate the throne of the Kingdom of Naples and accept the crown of the Spanish Empire. Although he had only been king for two years in Naples, Joseph was well-liked and respected by the populace there, in contrast to Spain, where the Iberian Peninsula populace disliked him. As a result of Joseph's heavy drinking, his rivals in Spain called him "Pepe Botella" and attempted to damage his reputation.

Joseph's arrival on the Spanish throne caused an uprising in Spain against French rule, which started the Peninsular War. Thompson observed that the revolt in Spain was a reaction against new institutions and ideals. The hereditary monarchy of the Catholic kings that Napoleon, supposedly a longtime enemy of the Pope, has worn on the head of a Frenchman. Catholic churches were persecuted by republicans, killing priests and enforcing "loi des Cultes" (religious law); rights and privileges in the municipalities and autonomous provinces were threatened by a centralized monarchy organized on the model of Napoleon.

Joseph temporarily retreated with most of the French army to northern Spain. Feeling himself in a disgraceful position, he proposed to his brother that he abdicate and hope to return to the throne of the Kingdom of Naples, where he was very popular with his subjects. However, Emperor Napoleon dismissed this, and the government of the First French Empire sent more reinforcements to assist Joseph in maintaining his throne. Although the French army easily captured Madrid, Joseph's control of the territory in Spain was constantly resisted by pro-Bourbon guerrillas. Joseph and his supporters never established complete control over Spain.

Spanish-speaking people who backed King Joseph was referred to as "josefinos" or "afrancesados" (crazy). The Spanish Inquisition was abolished during Joseph's rule, in part due to Napoleon's disagreement with Pope Pius VII. Most Spaniards did not recognize Joseph as their legitimate king, despite the revolutionary reforms. Venezuela proclaimed its independence from Spain while Joseph was the ruler of Spain. The generals under King Joseph always sought the approval of Emperor Napoleon before implementing Joseph's orders; hence, the king had limited influence throughout the Peninsular War.

King Joseph abdicated and returned to France after the main French forces were defeated by the British-led coalition at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. During the concluding campaign of the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon left his brother alone. He ruled Paris with the rank of Lieutenant General of the Empire. As a result, Joseph again took titular command of the French Army at the Battle of Paris (1814).

He was considered by Bonapartists to be the rightful Emperor of the French Empire upon the death of Napoleon I's son, Napoleon II, in 1832; however, he did little to promote these claims.

Later life in America and Europe

Between 1817 and 1832, Joseph lived mainly in the United States (where he sold jewelry he had acquired during his reign as King of Spain). He initially settled in New York City and Philadelphia, where his home became a meeting place for French expatriates. In 1823, he became a member of the American Philosophical Society. He then purchased an estate called Point Breeze, formerly owned by Stephen Sayre, located in Bordentown, New Jersey, on the east side of the Delaware River. He greatly enlarged Sayre's house and created vast gardens in a picturesque style. In January 1820, after his house was destroyed by fire, he renovated the horse breeding place into a large mansion. Once completed, it was often considered the second-most diplomatic contact with intellectuals and politicians in the US at that time, just behind the White House. At Point Breeze, Joseph hosted many receptions for the leading elites of his day.

In 1820, the Mexican rebels proposed making Joseph Emperor of Mexico, but he declined. In 1821, Mexico declared independence from Spain.

In 1832, Joseph relocated to London and stopped visiting his land in America. He died in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Italy, in 1844. His body was returned to France and burial in Paris's Palace of the Invalides.