Bonapartism (French:Bonapartisme) is the political ideology supervening fromNapoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term, originated byKarl Marx, is used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore theHouse of Bonaparte and its style of government. In this sense, aBonapartiste was a person who either actively participated in or advocated for imperialpolitical factions in 19th-century France. Although Bonapartism emerged in 1814 with the first fall of Napoleon, it only developed doctrinal clarity and cohesion by the 1840s.[1]
The term developed a broad definition used to mean political movements that advocate for an authoritariancentralised state, with a militarystrongman andcharismatic leader with relativelytraditionalist ideology.[2]
Marxism andLeninism developed a vocabulary of political terms that included Bonapartism, derived from analysis of the career of Napoleon Bonaparte.Karl Marx, a student ofJacobinism and theFrench Revolution, was a contemporary critic of theSecond Republic and the Second Empire.[3]
Notedpolitical scientists and historians greatly differ on the definition and interpretation of Bonapartism.Sudhir Hazareesingh's bookThe Legend of Napoleon explores numerous interpretations of the term.[4]
Those who ruled are indicated with an asterisk.
| Claimant | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napoleon I* 1814–1815 1815–1821 |  | 15 August 1769,Ajaccio Son ofCarlo Buonaparte andLetizia Ramolino | Joséphine de Beauharnais 9 March 1796 No children Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma 11 March 1810 1 child | 5 May 1821 Longwood, Saint Helena Aged 51 |
| Napoleon II* 1811–1832 |  | 20 March 1811, Paris Son of Napoleon I and Marie Louise of Austria | Never married | 22 July 1832 Vienna Aged 21 |
| Joseph Bonaparte (Joseph I) 1832–1844 |  | 7 January 1768,Corte Son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino | Julie Clary 1 August 1794 2 children | 28 July 1844 Florence Aged 76 |
| Louis Bonaparte (Louis I) 1844–1846 |  | 2 September 1778, Ajaccio Son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino | Hortense de Beauharnais 4 January 1802 3 children | 25 July 1846 Livorno Aged 67 |
| Napoleon III* 1846–1873 President of France (1848–1852) Emperor of the French (1852–1870) |  | 20 April 1808, Paris Son of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense de Beauharnais | Eugénie de Montijo 30 January 1853 1 child | 9 January 1873 Chislehurst Aged 64 |
| Napoléon, Prince Imperial (Napoleon IV) 1873–1879 |  | 16 March 1856, Paris Son of Napoleon III and Eugénie de Montijo | Never married | 1 June 1879 Zulu Kingdom Aged 23 |
| Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte (Napoleon V) 1879–1891 (disputed) |  | 9 September 1822,Trieste Son ofJérôme, King of Westphalia andCatharina of Württemberg | Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy 30 January 1859 3 children | 17 March 1891 Rome Aged 68 |
| Victor, Prince Napoléon (Napoleon V) 1879–1926 (disputed until 1891) |  | 18 July 1862,Palais-Royal Son of Prince Napoléon Bonaparte and Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy | Princess Clémentine of Belgium 10/14 November 1910 2 children | 3 May 1926 Brussels Aged 63 |
| Louis, Prince Napoléon (Napoleon VI) 1926–1997 |  | 23 January 1914, Brussels Son of Victor, Prince Napoléon and Princess Clémentine of Belgium | Alix de Foresta 16 August 1949 4 children | 3 May 1997 Prangins Aged 83 |
| Charles, Prince Napoléon (Napoleon VII) 1997–present (disputed) |  | 19 October 1950,Boulogne-Billancourt Son of Louis, Prince Napoléon and Alix, Princess Napoléon | Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies 19 December 1978 2 children Jeanne-Françoise Valliccioni 28 September 1996 2 children (1 adopted) | |
| Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon (Heir apparent) 1997–present (disputed) |  | 11 July 1986,Saint-Raphaël, Var Son of Charles, Prince Napoléon and Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies | Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg 17 October 2019 1 child |
In Marxist theory, the term 'Bonapartism' was coined to describe the political trajectory ofLouis Bonaparte.[5] Karl Marx was a student of Jacobinism and the French Revolution, as well as a contemporary critic of the Second Republic and Second Empire. He used the term to refer to a situation in which counter-revolutionary military officers seize power from revolutionaries, and use selectivereformism to co-opt the radicalism of the masses. In the process, Marx argued, Bonapartists preserve and mask the power of a narrower ruling class. He believed that both Napoleon I and Napoleon III had corrupted revolutions in France in this way. Marx offered this definition of and analysis of Bonapartism inThe Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, written in 1852. In this document, he drew attention to what he calls the phenomenon's repetitive history with one of his most quoted lines, typically condensed aphoristically as: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce."[6][7]
Hegel remarks somewhere that all great events and characters of world history occur, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| Capetian pretenders (1792–present)  |
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1 Actually reigned twice: first from 1814–1815, second from 1815–1824 2 Actually reigned from 1824–1830 3 Reigned in pretense asLouis Philippe II from 1848–1873 4 Briefly restored and then deposed in 1815 5 Actually reigned from 1852–1870 6 Pretense disputed until 1891 7 Pretense currently disputed | |||||
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