raharris1973
Well-known member
Why was Europe, and Britain in particular, so relatively "chill" about the ascension of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte to power?
You would think his coming to power, and stepping through the cursus infamousorum of naming himself Consul and then Emperor would seem like some spooky deja vu to Europeans and British who had the first Napoleon in living memory or heard about him and his wars from Dad or Grandad.
From a 20th and 21st century perspective, our views on him, especially non-French ones, may be more detached and balanced, with some good points of the guy being recognized and him not being seen as some Genghis Khan or Hitler figure. But to many non-French continental nationalities and the British *in the 19th century*, Napoleon "the ogre" *was* their Hitler, the guy who almost wiped us out. A lot of adults in Britain and across the continent at the time Louis-Napoleon came to power in France probably had been told as children that if they were naughty, Napoleon would take them away.
Transferred to a later era - it would be like Hitler's nephew taking power in Germany in the 70s, or a Hohenzollern restoration in the mid-40s. I think there would have been some alarm.
How did Louis-Napoleon allay suspicions? How did he get British and Spanish and Austrian tolerance or even cooperation with so many of his diplomatic initiatives? When he modernized his fleet with steamships, there was a bit of naval scare in the British press and Admiralty, but how did this end up becoming a nothingburger in terms of leading to an Anglo-French war, or a British anti-2nd Empire containment policy?
In the case of the French 2nd Empire's overall cordial relations with the British Empire, such a contrast to the relationship between the two during the "2nd hundred years war" of 1689-1815 and tensions with the 3rd Republic in the 1880s and 1890s and rough episodes in 1940-42 and the De Gaulle Presidency, who should get most of the credit?
Should Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte get the most credit for expert substantive policy and public diplomacy that mastered the art of reassurance?
Should the British leadership get most of the credit for their cool and level-headed receptiveness to French outreach?
You would think his coming to power, and stepping through the cursus infamousorum of naming himself Consul and then Emperor would seem like some spooky deja vu to Europeans and British who had the first Napoleon in living memory or heard about him and his wars from Dad or Grandad.
From a 20th and 21st century perspective, our views on him, especially non-French ones, may be more detached and balanced, with some good points of the guy being recognized and him not being seen as some Genghis Khan or Hitler figure. But to many non-French continental nationalities and the British *in the 19th century*, Napoleon "the ogre" *was* their Hitler, the guy who almost wiped us out. A lot of adults in Britain and across the continent at the time Louis-Napoleon came to power in France probably had been told as children that if they were naughty, Napoleon would take them away.
Transferred to a later era - it would be like Hitler's nephew taking power in Germany in the 70s, or a Hohenzollern restoration in the mid-40s. I think there would have been some alarm.
How did Louis-Napoleon allay suspicions? How did he get British and Spanish and Austrian tolerance or even cooperation with so many of his diplomatic initiatives? When he modernized his fleet with steamships, there was a bit of naval scare in the British press and Admiralty, but how did this end up becoming a nothingburger in terms of leading to an Anglo-French war, or a British anti-2nd Empire containment policy?
In the case of the French 2nd Empire's overall cordial relations with the British Empire, such a contrast to the relationship between the two during the "2nd hundred years war" of 1689-1815 and tensions with the 3rd Republic in the 1880s and 1890s and rough episodes in 1940-42 and the De Gaulle Presidency, who should get most of the credit?
Should Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte get the most credit for expert substantive policy and public diplomacy that mastered the art of reassurance?
Should the British leadership get most of the credit for their cool and level-headed receptiveness to French outreach?
Last edited: