A condottiere of the Renaissance living in the I9th century, he used France, and Napoleons all those nations annexed or attracted by the Revolu- political tion, to resuscitate the Roman conception of the idea, Empire for his own benefit.
After nation.al insurrections and family recriminations came treachery from Napoleons ministers.
Although attempts were made to read Egyptian hieroglyphs so far back as the 17th century, no promise of success appeared until the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799 by the French engineers attached to Napoleons expedition to Egypt.
As it was, Napoleons arrival in Spain was enough to restore victory to the French.
Between 1810 and 1812 Napoleons divorce of Josephine, and his marriage with Marie Louise of Austria, followed by the birth of the king of Rome, shed a brilliant light upon his future policy.
But to Napoleons statement that he could not agree to the unification of Italy, as he was bound by his promises to Austria at Villafranca, Victor Emmanuel replied that he himself, after Magenta and Solferino, was bound in honor to link his fate with that of the Italian people; and Genetal Manfredo Fanti was sent by the Turin government to organize the army of the Central League, with Garibaldi under him.
Central Italy refused to be bound by the treaty, and offered the dictatorship to Prince Carignano, who, himself unable to accept owing to Napoleons opposition, suggested Boncompagni, who was accordingly elected.
Eugene de Beauharnais, Napoleons stepson, was transferred to Frankfort, and Murat carefully watched until the time should come to take him to Russia and instal him as king of Poland.
He entered into secret relations with Eugene Beauharnais, Napoleons envoy at Madrid, and went so far as to demand the hand of a Bonaparte princess.
He undertook to write the Geschichte Frankreichs von der Thronbesteigung Ludwig Philipps bis zum Fall Napoleons III., but only two volumes were completed (to 1848) (2nd ed., 1881-1882).
In June 1805 there came a last and intolerable affront to the emperors of Austria and Russia, who at that very time were seeking to put bounds to Napoleons ambition and to redress the balance of power.
In May 1859 Ferdinand of Naples was succeeded by his son Francis II., who gave no signs of any intention to change his fathers policy, and, in spite of Napoleons advice, refused to grant a constitution or to enter into an alliance with Sardinia.
In Rome, after the restoration of the temporal power by the French troops, the pope paid no attention to Louis Napoleons advice to maintain some form of constitution, to grant a general amnesty, and to secularize the administration.
It had been Castlereaghs conception and, had it been as well executed as it was conceived, it might have dealt a fatal blow at Napoleons hopes of recovering his power at sea, by destroying his great naval establishments at Antwerp. It failed, and it became the subject of angry dispute between Canning and Castlereagh, a dispute embittered by personal rivalry and the friction due to the illdefined relations of the foreign secretary to the secretary for war; the quarrel culminated in a duel, and in the resignation of both ministers (see LONDONDERRY, 2ND MARQUESS OF, and CANNING, GEORGE).
It was the work of a special committee of German the congress, presided over by Metternich; and, con federa- owing to the panic created by Napoleons return from lion.
Napoleons Bell (Lapageria) - A beautiful climber usually grown in the greenhouse, but hardy and flowering well in the open air in Cornwall and the south of Ireland; with care it would be found to do over a larger area round the coast.
Napoleons great military expedition in 1798 was accompanied by a scientific commission including artists and archaeologists, the results of whose labors fill several of the magnificent volumes of the, Description de lEgypte.
Napoleons material omnipotence could not stand against the moral force of the pope, a prisoner at Fontainebleau; and this he did not realize.
On the 16th of April 1814 Eugene, on hearing of Napoleons overthrow at Paris, signed an armistice at Mantua by which he was enabled to send away the French troops beyond the Alps and entrust himself to the consideration of the allies.
On the 3rd of September the news of Sedan reached Florence, and with the fall of Napoleons empire the September convention ceased to have any value.
On the other hand, Napoleons creation of the kingdom of Italy, his annexation of Venetia and her ancient Adriatic empire wiping out the humiliation of 1797and the occupation of Ancona, marked a new stage in his progress towards his Roman Empire.
Suddenly on the 14th of January 1858 Napoleons life was attempted by Felice Orsini a Mazzinian Romagnol, who believed that Napoleon was the chief obstacle to the success of the revolution in Italy.
The attempt failed and its author was caught and executed, but while t appeared at first to destroy Napoleons Italian sympathies and led to a sharp interchange of notes between Paris and Turin, the emperor was really impressed by the attempt and by Orsinis letter from prison exhorting him to intervene in Italy.
The Confederation of the Rhine, however, was a menace to Prussia too serious to be neglected; and Frederick Williams hesitations were suddenly ended by Napoleons contemptuous violation of Prussian territory in marching three French brigades through Ansbach without leave asked.
The defection of the military and civil aristocracy, which brought about Napoleons abdication, the refusal of a regency, and the failure of Bernadotte, who wished to resuscitate the Consulate, enabled Talleyrand, vicepresident of the senate and desirous of power, to persuade the Allies to accept the Bourbon solution of the difficulty.
The first fortnight of Napoleons campaign of 1796 detached Sardinia from alliance with Austria and England.
The marshals were jealous of each other, and Napoleons plans were not approved by his brother.
The negotiations broke downon the refusal of Italy to throw over her ally, and Napoleons proposal of a European congress, to reconsider the whole settlement under the treaties of 1815, proved equally abortive.
The Spanish national rising of 1808 and thereafter the Peninsular War diverted Napoleons attention from the affairs of south Italy.
The year 1812 saw Napoleons invasion of Russia, and the disastrous Liverpool ministry, retreat from Moscow.
There was, however, to be one final struggle before Napoleons supremacy was established.
Thereupon the French general, Miollis, who still occupied Rome, caused the pope to be arrested and carried him away northwards into Tuscany, thence to Savona; finally he was taken, at Napoleons orders, to Fontainebleau.
Thiers had consistently opposed the emperor Napoleons pro-Italian policy.
Though the vague plan for an invasion of England fell to the ground Ulm and Austerlitz obliterated Trafalgar, and the camp at Boulogne put the best military resources he had ever commanded at Napoleons disposal.
Thus Spain swallowed up the soldiers who were wanted for Napoleons other fields of battle, and they had to be replaced by forced levies.
With the aid of Russia Frederick William held out a while longer, but after Napoleons decisive victory at Friedland (June 14, 1807) the tsar came to terms with the French emperor, sacrificing the interests of his ally.