Alexandre Colonna-Walewski | |
|---|---|
 Colonna-Walewski in 1860 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 7 May 1855 – 4 January 1860 | |
| Monarch | Napoleon III |
| Preceded by | Édouard Drouyn de Lhuys |
| Succeeded by | Jules Baroche |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Aleksander Florian Józef Colonna-Walewski (1810-05-04)4 May 1810 |
| Died | 27 September 1868(1868-09-27) (aged 58) |
| Nationality | Polish, French |
| Spouse | |
| Parents |
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| Signature |  |
Alexandre Florian Joseph, Count Colonna-Walewski (French pronunciation:[alɛksɑ̃dʁkɔlɔnavalɛvski];Polish:Aleksander Florian Józef Colonna-Walewski; 4 May 1810 – 27 September 1868), also Count of the Empire, was a Polish and French politician anddiplomat, the unacknowledged son of French emperorNapoleon I.
He is best known for his position as foreign minister ofFrance under his cousinNapoleon III and for his diplomatic efforts presiding over theCongress of Paris, which ended theCrimean War and laid the base for modern internationallaw of the sea with theParis Declaration Respecting Maritime Law.
Alexandre Florian Joseph Colonna Walewski was born on May 4, 1810, at Walewice, near Warsaw, to CountessMaria Walewska, the Polish noblewoman and mistress ofNapoleon Bonaparte. His mother conceived him while residing nearSchönbrunn Palace in Vienna, where Napoleon was temporarily staying. When Marie requested to give birth in Paris, Napoleon insisted she return to her husband's estate in Poland. Count Athanasius Walewski, nearly eighty years old at the time, legally recognized the child as his own. Later in life, Alexandre would write: "My birth was accompanied by lightning and thunder, and it was predicted that my life would be stormy and even life-changing. To satisfy an old family prejudice, I was held at the font by two beggars, which was supposed to bring me luck..."[1]
In 2013, published scholarship comparingDNAhaplotype evidence taken from Emperor Napoleon, from his brotherKing Jérôme Bonaparte's descendantCharles, Prince Napoléon and from Colonna-Walewski's descendant indicated Alexandre's membership in the genetic male-line of the imperialHouse of Bonaparte.[2]
Upon hearing of Alexandre's birth while in Belgium with his new bride, EmpressMarie Louise, Napoleon sent an affectionate message and a gift of Brussels laces to Marie Walewska congratulating the birth of the child. Despite the ending of their affair when he married Marie Louise, Napoleon ensured Marie and their son were well provided for, granting them a residence in Rue de Montmorency in Paris along with a significant pension of 120,000 francs.
According to Napoleon's valet, Constant, Napoleon was deeply moved by the boy's resemblance to him. Constant recorded:
"She was delivered of a son who bore a striking resemblance to His Majesty. This was a great joy for the Emperor. Hastening to her as soon as it was possible for him to get away from the chateau, he took the child in his arms, and embracing it as he had just embraced the mother, he said to him: I will make thee a count."[3]
On May 5, 1812, Napoleon officially decreed Alexandre a “Count of the French Empire” and bestowed upon him lands in theKingdom of Naples. The young Alexandre's endowment included sixty-nine farms generating an annual income of 169,516 francs. On June 15, while inKönigsberg Napoleon signed letters patent confirming Alexandre's title, and his new coat of arms combined the insignias of the Walewski and Laczynski families. While in Paris, his mother Marie Walewska became close friends with the former EmpressJoséphine frequently visiting her atMalmaison. Joséphine, who had no children with Napoleon, lavished Marie and young Alexandre with kindness and gifts.[4]
Following Napoleon's abdication in 1814, Marie took four-year-old Alexandre to the island ofElba. Many islanders mistook Marie Walewska for Empress Marie Louise and Alexandre for theKing of Rome. During their stay, Napoleon played games with the boy and shared affectionate moments.
Napoleon reportedly asked Alexandre:
“ I hear you don't mention my name in your prayers." Alexandre admitted he did not, but he did remember to say "Papa Empereur." Amused, Napoleon remarked, "He'll be a great social success, this boy: he's got wit."[5]
Napoleon's physician, Foureau de Beauregard, later wrote to Alexandre, recalling:"You are that pretty little Alexandre that I saw, almost twenty-nine years ago, on the Emperor's lap near the Madonna delle Grazie on the island of Elba."[6]
However, with Empress Marie Louise expected to visit, Napoleon discreetly arranged for Marie and Alexandre to leave the island to avoid scandal. In early 1815, they returned to Paris before Napoleon departed for theHundred Days campaign. After his defeat atWaterloo, Marie Walewska and Alexandre were present atMalmaison to bid farewell to Napoleon before his exile toSaint Helena. Years later, Alexandre reminisced:
I can still see the Emperor... every single feature of his face.... He took me in his arms and I remember a tear ran down his face..But I cannot recall what exactly he said to me on that occasion.[7][8]
In his final will, Napoleon mentioned both Alexandre and his half-brother,Charles Léon, stating:
On September 7, 1816, Marie Walewska married Napoleon's cousin,Philippe Antoine d'Ornano, who had been exiled in Brussels for supporting Napoleon during the Hundred Days. Alexandre and his younger half-brother, Antoine, remained in Paris under the care of Marie's trusted friend, M. Carite. The family later moved toLiège, where Marie gave birth to another son,Rodolphe, in 1817. Marie died on December 11, 1817. In her will, she entrusted the care of Alexandre and Antoine to her brother Theodore Łaczyński while their half brother Rodolphe stayed with his father.
Łaczyński took the boys toKiernozia in Poland. Alexandre’s uncle would teach them of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic campaigns and of Emperor Napoleon and his court. Expressing his dream to take them to Saint Helena when they were older.[10] To give them an education, Łaczyński would send them toWarsaw, where they studied under a tutor with strong republican and anti-Napoleon views. Łaczyński concerned about this influence, placed them instead in a Jesuit college, where Alexandre made his first communion. In 1820, at the age of ten, Alexandre left Poland forGeneva, where he attended boarding school for four years.
At age fourteen, Walewski refused to join theImperial Russian army and fled toLondon, thence toParis, where the French government refusedTsar Alexander I's demands for his extradition toRussia.[11]
Upon the accession ofLouis-Philippe d'Orléans to theFrench throne in 1830, Walewski was dispatched toPoland, later the same year being entrusted by the leaders of the PolishNovember Uprising of 1830 as a diplomatic envoy to theCourt of St James's. After theFall of Warsaw, he took out letters of Frenchnaturalization and joined theFrench Army, being in action inAlgeria as aCaptain in theChasseurs d'Afrique of theFrench Foreign Legion.
In 1837 he resigned hiscommission to begin writing plays and working as a journalist forthe press. He is said to have collaborated with theelder Dumas onMademoiselle de Belle-Isle and a comedy of his,L'Ecole du monde, was produced at theTheâtre Français in 1840.[11]
Later that year the prime minister of FranceThiers, also a man of letters, became patron to one of Walewski's papers,Le Messager des Chambres, before sending him on a mission toEgypt. UnderGuizot's government Walewski was posted toBuenos Aires to liaise with theBritishAmbassador,John Cradock, 1st Baron Howden.Prince Louis Napoleon's accession to power in France as Napoleon III furthered his career with postings as envoy extraordinary toFlorence,Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and theKingdom of the Two Sicilies beforeLondon (1851–55), where he was charged with announcing thecoup d'état to the prime minister,Lord Palmerston.[12]
In 1855, Walewski succeededDrouyn de Lhuys asMinister of Foreign Affairs and he acted as President of, and Frenchplenipotentiary at, theCongress of Paris the following year, leading to peace in theCrimean War and to theParis Declaration Respecting Maritime Law. The latter treaty did contain an important novelty ininternational law, creating the possibility for nations that were not involved in the establishment of the agreement, to become a party by acceding to the Declaration afterwards.[13][14]
As foreign minister, Walewski advocated a de-escalating strategy towards Russia, known asentente, opposing his emperor's strategy in Italy which led to war withAustria in 1859. After leaving the Foreign Ministry in 1860 he becameFrance'sMinister of State, an office which he held until 1863. He served asSenator from 1855 to 1865, before being appointed to theCorps Législatif in 1865 and asPresident of theChamber of Deputies by the Emperor, who returned him to theSenate after a revolt against his authority two years later.[11]
Walewski was made aDuke of the Empiread personam in 1866,[15] was elected amember of theAcadémie des beaux-arts, appointed Grand-Cross of theImperial Order of the Legion of Honour and made aKnight of theSovereign Military Order of Malta, also receiving the Gold Cross ofVirtuti Militari.
Alexandre Colonna-Walewski died of astroke atStrasbourg on 27 September 1868 and is buried atPère Lachaise Cemetery inParis.
He married firstly in London on 1 December 1831 Lady Catherine Montagu (London, 7 October 1808 – Paris, 30 April 1834), daughter ofGeorge Montagu, 6th Earl of Sandwich, by his wifeLady Louisa Lowry-Corry. Following her death inchildbirth, he married secondly, on 4 June 1846 in Florence,Maria Anna di Ricci (Florence, 18 July 1823 - Paris, 18 November 1912), daughter of thePapal Count Zanobi di Ricci by his wife Princess Isabella Poniatowski.
He had seven children, two from his first marriage, four from his second marriage, and one illegitimate child.
Poland:Knight of the Golden Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari (3 March 1831)[19]
Sovereign Order of Malta: Knight of the Cross of Honor and Devotion of the Knights of Malta
France: Grand Ribbon of the Imperial Order of theLegion of Honor[20][21]France: Grand Officer of the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honor[22][23]France: Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honor[24]
Denmark: Great Ribbon of theOrder of the Danebrog[22]
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of Saint Januarius[24][22][25]
Kingdom of Sardinia: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarus[22][23][21]
Grand Duchy of Tuscany: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of St. Joseph[24][22][25]
Kingdom of Portugal: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of Vila Viçosa[22]
Ottoman Empire: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of the Medjids[22][23]
Kingdom of Greece: Great Ribbon of theOrder of the Savior[22]
Kingdom of Bavaria: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of St. Hubert[20][21][25]
Austria-Hungary: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of St. Stefan[20][21]
Sweden: Great Ribbon of theOrder of the Seraphim[23]
Netherlands: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of the Netherlands Lion[21]
Baden: Great Ribbon of theOrder of Fidelity[21][25]
Belgium: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of Leopold[20][21]
Prussia: Great Ribbon of theOrder of the Black Eagle[21][25]
Russian Empire: Grand Ribbon of theOrder of St. Anna[25]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Walewski, Alexandre Florian Joseph Colonna".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 270.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom 1851–1855 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Foreign Minister of France 1855–1860 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State of France 1860–1863 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Président duCorps législatif 1865–1867 | Succeeded by |
Third cabinet of Napoleon III (2 December 1852 - 17 July 1869) | ||
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| President of the Council of State | .svg) | |
| Justice | ||
| Foreign Affairs | ||
| Interior | ||
| Police | ||
| Finance | ||
| Defense | ||
| Marine, Colonies and Algeria | ||
| Education and Cults | ||
| Public works | ||
| Agriculture and Commerce | ||
| Beaux-Arts | ||
| Emperor's Household | ||
| Ministers of State | ||
| Ministers without portfolio | ||
Preceded bySecond cabinet of Louis Napoleon • Followed byFourth cabinet of Napoleon III | ||
