Joseph Bonaparte biography

Synopsis

Early Years

Joseph Bonaparte, the eldest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, was born Giuseppe Buonaparte, in Corte, Corsica, on January 7, 1768. He was the third child of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Romolino, but the first to survive infancy. His family was middle-class, allowing him to receive a formal education.

After the French occupied Corsica, the family moved to the French mainland, where Joseph Bonaparte furthered his education. He later studied law in Pisa, Italy. In his late twenties, he settled in Marseilles and married Marie Julie Clary, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, on August 1, 1794. Over the course of their marriage they would have three daughters, two of whom survived into adulthood.

French Diplomat

Both Joseph Bonaparte and his younger brother, Napoleon, supported the French Revolution, with Joseph serving in the new government and Napoleon in the military. During the first years of the French Republic, Joseph served as a foreign diplomat, helping negotiate several treaties between the French government and other European powers, and served as a representative for Corsica in the Council of Five Hundred.

By 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte had reorganized the French government and established himself as head of the French Consulate. Over the next four years, Joseph Bonaparte again played a diplomatic role, helping negotiate the Treaty of Lunéville with Austria (1801) and the Treaty of Amiens with England (1802). In 1803, Napoleon's military ambitions severed diplomatic relations between France and England, and Joseph's efforts proved to be in vain.

King of Naples and Spain

Although Joseph Bonaparte held the ideals of his brother and served him as best he could, Napoleon's push for dominance in Europe eventually set the two men apart. Once Napoleon had consolidated his power, the two clashed on the issue of a successor. The dispute came to a head when Napoleon established himself as emperor and offered Joseph rule over Lombardy if he would his waive claim to succession, but he refused.

In 1806, Napoleon named Joseph Bonaparte king of Naples. During his brief reign, Joseph was able to make some progress bringing the backward country into the modern era by abolishing feudalism; introducing educational, judicial and financial reforms; and reforming the monastic orders of the Church. But he was never able to see these reforms to maturity, as his brother appointed him king of Spain a year later.

In 1807, Napoleon invaded Spain, replacing Charles IV with Joseph Bonaparte. Joseph reluctantly accepted this role and did all he could to win over the Spanish people: trying to learn the language, disciplining French troops when necessary and professing devotion to the Catholic Church.