Emperor of the French whose Second Empire, founded by the coup of 1851, ended with his capitulation at Sedan in 1870
A nephew of Napoleon I, born in Paris, he led two failed coups against the July Monarchy and was imprisoned in 1840. Elected president of the Second Republic in 1848, he seized power by the coup of 2 December 1851 when he could not be re-elected and became emperor in 1852. The Second Empire was an age of railways and the rebuilding of Paris, but after 1866 it was overshadowed by Prussia. Having won the plebiscite of May 1870, in July he declared war on Prussia under public pressure, accompanied the army though seriously ill and was taken prisoner at Sedan on 2 September. While he was held at Wilhelmshöhe a republic was proclaimed in Paris, and in March 1871 the National Assembly declared him deposed. Released, he went into exile at Chislehurst in England and died there in 1873.
Also known as: Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1840Imprisoned after his second failed coup against the July Monarchy
- 1848–1852President of the Second Republic
- 1851Coup d'état of 2 December
- 1852–1870Emperor of the French
- 1870–1871Captivity at Wilhelmshöhe after Sedan
- 1871–1873Exile at Chislehurst, England