Gavin Howe
Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military leader who founded the First French Empire, had several brothers-in-law through his siblings' marriages. Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's older brother, married Julie Clary, connecting him to Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Désirée Clary's husband. Napoleon's younger brother, Louis Bonaparte, was married to Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Napoleon's wife, Josephine. Lucien Bonaparte, another one of Napoleon's brothers, helped him overthrow the Directory and take power in France in 1799. Napoleon's youngest brother, Jérôme Bonaparte, was made the King of Westphalia.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Joseph Bonaparte |
| Birth Year | 1768 |
| Death Year | 1844 |
| Occupation | Lawyer, Diplomat, Soldier |
| Relationship with Napoleon | Eldest surviving brother |
| Notable Achievements | King of Naples (1806–1808), King of Spain (1808–1813), Signed the Treaty of Mortefontaine, Founded the Grand Lodge National of Spain |
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What You'll Learn
Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's older brother
Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844) was the older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. He played a significant role in the Revolution and in Napoleon's government. Joseph trained as a lawyer and served as a politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Council of Five Hundred and the French ambassador to the Papal States. In 1799, he used his position to help Napoleon overthrow the Directory.
Joseph was admitted to Marseille's lodge la Parfaite Sincérité in 1793. Napoleon asked him to monitor freemasonry as Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France from 1804 to 1815. He also founded the Grand Lodge National of Spain in 1809. During the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon left his brother to govern Paris with the title of Lieutenant General of the Empire. As a result, Joseph was in nominal command of the French Imperial Army, which was defeated at the Battle of Paris. Some Bonapartists considered him the rightful Emperor of the French after the death of Napoleon II in 1832, but he did little to pursue this claim.
Joseph was close to his younger brother, Napoleon, and always remained loyal to him and the regime, despite their differing political views. He was given the title of Minister Plenipotentiary and, in 1800, signed the Treaty of Mortefontaine, a treaty of friendship and commerce between France and the United States. In 1805, when war broke out between France and Austria, Joseph was assigned to command the army sent to dispossess Ferdinand IV of Naples of his throne. He attached himself to General Reynier, who was advancing south from Rome with an army of forty thousand men.
Joseph Bonaparte's life and achievements have often been overshadowed by those of his famous brother, but his biography demonstrates that his personality, role, and political actions ought to be studied independently and not just in comparison to Napoleon.
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Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's younger brother
Louis Bonaparte was the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. Born in 1778 in Ajaccio, Corsica, Louis joined his brother Napoleon in Paris at a young age. Napoleon promoted his brother's education and later brought him along on his early military campaigns in Italy and Egypt. Louis served as Napoleon's aide-de-camp and was present at the battles of Caldiero, Arcola, Rivoli, and the Siege of Mantua.
In 1802, Louis married Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepdaughter. The marriage was an unhappy one, and the couple only lived together for brief periods. They had three sons, the third of whom, Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, would become Emperor Napoleon III of France.
In 1806, Napoleon placed his younger brother Louis on the throne of the Kingdom of Holland, which he had created after dissolving the Batavian Republic. As King, Louis put Dutch interests ahead of French interests and refused to fully implement the Continental System, Napoleon's attempted economic blockade of Great Britain. This led to quarrels between the brothers, and Louis resigned as King in 1810. He then went to live in Germany, France, Switzerland, and finally Italy. Louis Bonaparte died in 1846 in Livorno, Italy.
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Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's younger brother
Lucien Bonaparte, born on 21 May 1775 in Ajaccio, Corsica, was the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was a French politician and diplomat and played a significant role in the French Revolution and the Consulate. Lucien was a strong supporter of the French Revolution, which broke out in 1789 when he was just 14 years old. He became an outspoken member of the Corsican chapter of the Jacobin Club in Ajaccio, adopting the alias "Brutus Bonaparte".
Lucien's political career began under the Directory when he was elected to the Council of Five Hundred, despite not meeting the minimum legal age requirement. He used his marriage certificate, obtained with his elder brother Napoleon's birth certificate, to validate his election. Lucien served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800 and played a crucial role in helping his brother Napoleon seize power in France in 1799. During a heated council session, Lucien swore to stab his brother if he ever betrayed the principles of Liberté, égalité, fraternité.
Lucien Bonaparte's influence extended beyond politics. He was known to use his influence to protect those accused of being royalists, demonstrating his commitment to the principles of the French Revolution. Lucien also inspired the Napoleonic reconstitution of the Académie Française in 1803, where he took a seat. Additionally, he was a widower from 1800 and his remarriage to Alexandrine de Bleschamp, a widow herself, caused a rift between him and his brother Napoleon. Napoleon disapproved of his brother's remarriage, reproaching him for his tyrannical tendencies.
Despite their differences, Lucien and Napoleon reconciled in 1815, after Napoleon's abdication. Lucien returned to France and later went on to write novels and poetry. Lucien Bonaparte died of stomach cancer on 29 June 1840 in Viterbo, Papal States, the same disease that reportedly took his father's life and that of his brother Napoleon.
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Elisa Bonaparte, Napoleon's younger sister
Elisa Bonaparte, born Maria-Anna Bonaparte, was the younger sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was born in 1777 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and was the fourth surviving child and eldest surviving daughter of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. Elisa had a close relationship with her brother Napoleon, who appointed her Grand Duchess of Tuscany in Italy, Princess of Lucca and Piombino, and Countess of Compignano. She was the only sister of Napoleon to possess political power.
Elisa left her family and Corsica, the island of her birth, at the age of seven to receive an education at a boarding school near Paris. She was frequently visited by Napoleon. After the French Revolution, Elisa left with Napoleon to return to Ajaccio. In 1795, the Bonaparte family relocated to Marseille, where Elisa met Felice Pasquale Baciocchi, a Corsican nobleman. She married Baciocchi in 1797, and they had a daughter, Napoleona Baciocchi. Elisa held receptions and put on plays in Marseille, and she and her brother Lucien held an artistic and literary salon at the Hôtel de Brissac.
Elisa was a patron of the arts, particularly the theatre, and she encouraged and promoted the arts within the territories she ruled over. She was a friend of the arts and supported the “Académie des Marbres de Carrare”. She also founded a bank, an academy directed by sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini, and reformed the clergy and founded charities. Elisa was described as headstrong and determined, and she bore a strong resemblance to her brother Napoleon. She was often ill and tried to take care of herself by going swimming in the sea, which was a novel idea at the time.
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Caroline Bonaparte, Napoleon's youngest sister
Carolina Maria Annunziata Bonaparte, born on 25 March 1782, was the youngest of Napoleon's three sisters. She was the seventh child and third daughter of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. Caroline had a difficult childhood. Her family was driven out of Corsica, her birthplace, to France as they were thought to have been traitors of the Corsican independence cause, which many revolutionaries supported after the fall of Louis XVI. The Bonapartes first settled in Marseille in 1793 and then moved to Paris, taking advantage of the military and political successes of the young general Bonaparte (later to be Napoleon I).
Caroline was described as intensely jealous of her sister-in-law, Joséphine, and her children, reportedly because she felt Napoleon favoured them over his Bonaparte relatives. It was even rumoured that it was Caroline who arranged for Napoleon to take a mistress, Éléonore Denuelle, who gave birth to his first illegitimate child. Caroline was seventeen years old when she married Joachim Murat, an outstanding general who went on to become Maréchal and later King of Naples. Initially, Napoleon did not want to allow them to marry, but his wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais, persuaded him to change his mind. Caroline and Joachim had four children: Achille, Letizia, Lucien, and Louis.
Like her other siblings, Caroline was given a kingdom by Napoleon, which she governed with her husband Joachim: the Kingdom of Naples, in the south of Italy. She liked art and promoted the archaeological excavations at Pompeii, a town buried in the lava from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius several centuries before. On the fall of the French Empire in 1815, she set up home in Austria for a while before returning to Italy.
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Frequently asked questions
Joachim Murat was the brother-in-law of Napoleon, as he was married to Caroline Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister.
Joachim Murat (1767–1815) was a dashing cavalry officer under Napoleon who became King of Naples.
Napoleon had several brothers, including Joseph Bonaparte, Lucien Bonaparte, Jerome Bonaparte, and Louis Bonaparte.
Joseph Bonaparte was Napoleon's eldest surviving brother.
Yes, Napoleon's brothers held significant positions and played roles in historical events. For example, Joseph Bonaparte was a lawyer, diplomat, and soldier. He served as King of Naples and Spain, and he also helped Napoleon overthrow the Directory. Lucien Bonaparte assisted Napoleon in taking power in France and held the position of President of the Council of Five Hundred. Jerome Bonaparte was made King of Westphalia, and Louis Bonaparte became King of Holland.
