Napoleon III and the French Second Empire Read online

  Napoleon III and the Second Empire

  IN THE SAME SERIES

  General Editors: Eric J. Evans and P. D. King

  Lynn Abrams

  Bismarck and the German Empire 1871–1918

  David Arnold

  The Age of Discovery 1400–1600

  A. L. Beier

  The Problem of the Poor in Tudor and Early Stuart England

  Martin Blinkhorn

  Democracy and Civil War in Spain 1931–1939

  Robert M. Bliss

  Restoration England 1660–1688

  Stephen Constantine

  Lloyd George

  Stephen Constantine

  Social Conditions in Britain 1918–1939

  Susan Doran

  Elizabeth I and Religion 1558–1603

  Christopher Durston

  James I

  Eric J. Evans

  The Great Reform Act of 1832

  Eric J. Evans

  Political Parties in Britain 1783–1867

  Eric J. Evans

  Sir Robert Peel

  Dick Geary

  Hitler and Nazism

  John Gooch

  The Unification of Italy

  Alexander Grant

  Henry VII

  M. J. Heale

  The American Revolution

  Ruth Henig

  The Origins of the First World War

  Ruth Henig

  The Origins of the Second World War 1933–1939

  Ruth Henig

  Versailles and After 1919–1933

  P. D. King

  Charlemagne

  Stephen J. Lee

  Peter the Great

  Stephen J. Lee

  The Thirty Years War

  J. M. MacKenzie

  The Partition of Africa 1880–1900

  John W. Mason

  The Cold War 1945–1991

  Michael Mullett

  Calvin

  Michael Mullett

  The Counter-Reformation

  Michael Mullett

  James II and English Politics 1678–1688

  Michael Mullett

  Luther

  D. G. Newcombe

  Henry VIII and the English Reformation

  Robert Pearce

  Attlee’s Labour Governments 1945–51

  Gordon Phillips

  The Rise of the Labour Party 1893–1931

  John Plowright

  Regency England

  Hans A. Pohlsander

  Constantine

  J. H. Shennan

  France Before the Revolution

  J. H. Shennan

  International Relations in Europe 1689–1789

  J. H. Shennan

  Louis XIV

  Margaret Shennan

  The Rise of Brandenburg–Prussia

  David Shotter

  Augustus Caesar

  David Shotter

  The Fall of the Roman Republic

  David Shotter

  Tiberius Caesar

  Keith J. Stringer

  The Reign of Stephen

  John Thorley

  Athenian Democracy

  John K. Walton

  Disraeli

  John K. Walton

  The Second Reform Act

  Michael J. Winstanley

  Gladstone and the Liberal Party

  Michael J. Winstanley

  Ireland and the Land Question 1800–1922

  Alan Wood

  The Origins of the Russian Revolution 1861–1917

  Alan Wood

  Stalin and Stalinism

  Austin Woolrych

  England Without a King 1649–1660

  LANCASTER PAMPHLETS

  Napoleon III and the

  Second Empire

  Roger Price

  London and NewYork

  First published 1997

  by Routledge

  11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

  Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

  by Routledge

  29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

  This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001.

  © 1997 Roger Price

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or

  hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

  A catalogue record for this book has been requested

  ISBN 0–415–15433–2 (Print Edition)

  ISBN 0-203-13424-9 Master e-book ISBN

  ISBN 0-203-17920-X (Glassbook Format)

  In memory

  of

  Ralph Gibson

  (1943–1995)

  Contents

  Preface xi

  Acknowledgements xiii

  Chronology xv

  1 Introduction 1

  2 Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte,

  President of the Second Republic 12

  3 The authoritarian Empire 25

  4 Liberalisation 39

  5 Defeat and collapse 59

  6 Conclusion 64

  Bibliography 67

  ix

  Preface

  Ralph Gibson originally planned to write this book. Just before he died he was concerned that he would be unable to fulfil his commitment and gently reminded me that I had been preparing a book on the Second Empire for longer than either of us cared to remember. I hope that Ralph would have been happy with the result. It is written in memory of a very fine man, a considerable scholar and a very good friend.

  Ralph arrived in this country from Adelaide as a young Rhodes Scholar in 1965.

  He returned to take up an appointment at the University of Lancaster in 1969 and remained there as Lecturer and, subsequently, Reader in History and French

  Studies until his untimely death in 1995. During this time he established an international reputation as a historian with such notable publications as A Social History of French Catholicism, 1789–1914 (Routledge 1989); Landownership and Power in Modern Europe (in collaboration with Martin Blinkhorn, Harper-Collins 1991); ‘The French nobility in the 19th century’ in J. Howorth and P. Cerny (eds) Elites in France (Pinter 1981); ‘Missions paroissiales et re-christianisation en Dordogne au 19e siècle’ ( Annales du Midi 1986); ‘Hellfire and damnation in nineteenth-century France’ ( Catholic History Review 1988); ‘De la prédication de la peur à la vision d’un Dieu d’amour’ in Le Jugement, le Ciel et l’Enfer dans l’histoire du christianisme (Presses universitaires d’Angers 1989); ‘Why Republicans and Catholics couldn’t stand each other in nineteenth-century France’

  in F . Tallett and N. Atkin (eds) Religion, Society and Politics: France, 1789–1945

  (Hambledon Press 1991); ‘Le Catholicisme et les femmes en France au 19e siècle’

  ( Revue d’Histoire de l’Eglise de France 1993); ‘The intensification of national xi

  consciousness in modern Europe’ in C. Bjorn et al. (eds) Nations, Nationalism and Patriotism in the European Past (Copenhagen, Academic Press 1994); ‘Théologie et société en France au 19e siècle’ in J.-D. Durand (ed.) Histoire et théologie (Beauchesne 1994); and ‘Female religious orders in nineteenth-century France’ in F. Tallett and N. Atkin (eds) Catholicism in Britain and France (Hambledon Press 1996). The invitation to make a substantial contribution to G. Cholvy (ed.) Matériaux po
ur l’histoire religieuse du peuple français, 19e–20e siècles, Vol. III (Presses de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques 1992) offered clear recognition by French historians of his status both as a regional historian of the Dordogne and as an expert on religious history. If he had lived longer, Ralph would have amply confirmed his growing reputation with the two other major books he was working on: studies of Women, Faith and Liberation: Female Religious Orders in nineteenth-century France and of Religion et Société: le diocèse de Périgueux au 19e siècle (a massively expanded version of his French doctorate).

  Sadly, we shall be deprived of these, and of Ralph’s witty and informed

  conversation and his unique sense of fun.

  xii

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank, in particular, Francesca Gibson for her kind assistance.

  Heather McCallum of Routledge and the series editors Eric Evans and David King were very encouraging and made helpful suggestions for revision of the first draft.

  The manuscript was carefully read and commented upon by: Colin Heywood of

  Nottingham University; Olena Heywood of the Open University; Aled Jones, my colleague in the Department of History and Welsh History at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth; and by Heather Price, whose constructive criticism, as

  always, was invaluable. Richard, Siân, Andy, Emily and Hannah provided help –

  and happy distractions.

  xiii

  Chronology

  1848

  23–24 February Revolution and the establishment of the Second Republic;

  introduction of manhood suffrage

  23 April

  Election of a Constituent Assembly to prepare a new constitu-

  tion

  4 June

  By-election victory by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte

  13 June

  Debate in the Assembly on whether to admit the Bonapartist

  pretender to the throne as a deputy; admitted but resigns

  23–26 June

  Popular insurrection in Paris crushed

  17 September

  Louis-Napoléon re-elected

  10 December

  Election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte as President of the

  Republic

  1851

  2 December

  Seizure of power by means of a military coup

  21 December

  Plebiscite ratifying extension of president’s power

  1852

  14 January

  Promulgation of new constitution

  17 February

  Press decree

  xv

  29 February

  Election of Corps législatif

  25 March

  Decree banning gatherings of more than 20 persons

  27 March

  End of martial law

  21 November

  Plebiscite on the re-establishment of the hereditary empire

  2 December

  Establishment of the Second Empire

  1853

  23 January

  Haussmann appointed Prefect of the Seine

  1854

  27 March

  France and Britain declare war on Russia

  1856

  16 March

  Birth of the Prince-Imperial; remaining political prisoners

  amnestied on condition that they accept the regime

  30 March

  Signature of Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean war

  1857

  21 June

  Election of new Corps législatif

  1858

  14 January

  Attempt to assassinate Napoléon by four Italians led by Orsini

  27 February

  Promulgation of general security law

  14 June

  End of state of emergency

  1859

  3 May

  France declares war on Austria

  11 June

  Law regulating cooperation between state and railway compa-

  nies

  6 July

  Franco-Austrian armistice leading to Treaty of Villa-franca

  ends militarily successful campaign in Italy

  xvi

  1860

  11 January

  Publication of acrimonious correspondence between Emperor

  and Pope

  22 January

  Signature of Cobden–Chevalier commercial treaty with Brit-

  ain

  24 March

  Treaty transferring sovereignty over Nice and Savoy to France

  24 November

  Publication of decree on political reform

  1861

  14 March

  Emile Ollivier announces his willingness to rally to a liberal

  Empire

  15 November The Emperor promises financial reforms

  1862

  29 March

  Franco-Prussian commercial treaty

  16 April

  Declaration of war on Juarez’s government in Mexico

  1863

  23 May

  Law authorising limited liability companies

  31 May

  General election

  23 June

  Designation of Minister of State as official government parlia-

  mentary spokesman

  1864

  11 January Thiers in Corps législatif calls for ‘the four necessary liberties’

  25 May

  Law establishing the right of workers to strike

  1865

  1 January

  Government forbids the reading of parts of the Papal encyclical

  Quanta Cura and accompanying Syllabus of Errors from pul-

  pits

  xvii

  1866

  22 January Announcement of decision to withdraw from Mexico

  3 July Decisive Prussian victory over Austria at Sadowa

  12 December Publication of controversial proposals for army reforms

  1867

  10–13 January Talks between Napoléon and Ollivier

  19 January Publication of plans for further liberal reform

  March Presentation of proposed laws on the press and public meet-

  ings; promulgated 11 May and 6 June 1868, respectively

  1868

  March French section of the Workers International prosecuted

  31 March Official tolerance of trade unions

  May Jules Ferry publishes Les comptes fantastiques d‘Haussmann

  1869

  3 May General elections begin

  8–10 June Serious disorders in Paris

  16 June Strike at Ricamarie, troops open fire

  6 July 116 deputies support demands for a government responsible

  to parliament

  12 July Napoléon announces plans for further political reform

  13 July Corps législatif prorogued; resignation of Rouher

  15 August Unconditional amnesty for political offenders

  27 December Napoléon asks Ollivier to form a ministry

  1870

  2 January Ollivier forms a government

  5 January Dismissal of Haussmann

  26 February Abandonment of official candidacy

  21 March Napoléon proposes to establish a liberal Empire

  8 May Plebiscite on proposals for constitutional reform

  3 July First news of Hohenzollern candidacy

  xviii

  19 July

  France declares war on Prussia

  26 July

  Decision to withdraw protective French garrison from Rome;

  Italian troops enter the city on 2 September

  10 August

  Following initial military defeats, Cousin-Montauban (Comte

  Palikao) forms a conservative government

  1–2 September Defeat at Sedan and surrender of army led by the Emperor and MacMahon

  4 September

  Crowds enter the Palais Bourbon and republi
can deputies pro-

  claim the Republic

  Map France in 1851

  Source: France 1848–1851, Open University Press, 1976

  xix

  1

  Introduction

  On 10 December 1848 the nephew of the great Emperor Napoléon was elected

  President of the French Republic, gaining a massive majority under the system of universal manhood suffrage introduced following the Revolution of the previous February. The origins of the Second Empire have to be searched for in the ruins of the first. The creation of a dynasty and foundation of a legend were two of the achievements of Napoléon I. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte’s major asset was

  undoubtedly his name, associating him with a Napoleonic cult kept alive

  throughout the intervening years by an outpouring of almanacs, pamphlets and lithographs promoting a legend of prosperity and glory. It had especial appeal in the countryside in which, it ought to be remembered, over 70 per cent of the population still lived. National pride had been incarnated in the historical memory of Napoléon. The July Monarchy (1830–48) had attempted to benefit by association.

  In 1833, the statue of the great Emperor had been replaced on top of the Vendôme column in the centre of Paris. In 1836, the Arc de Triomphe, celebrating the glorious achievements of the imperial armies, had finally been completed. The culminating event was undoubtedly the return, in 1840, of the remains of Napoléon I from Saint Helena to their final resting place in the Invalides. Vast crowds had turned out to watch the procession. Louis-Napoléon made every effort to take advantage of this powerful legend, deliberately conceived by the first Napoléon, diffused by the veterans of the Imperial armies, manufactured by printers,

  publishers and the producers of all manner of commemorative objects, and given respectability by the government of Louis-Philippe. At Strasbourg in 1836 and then 1

  Boulogne in 1840, Louis-Napoléon had attempted to seize power. He had appeared in uniform, behind a tricolour capped by an imperial eagle and sought to raise the local garrisons. Although pathetic failures in themselves, these adventures had at least helped to establish him in the public mind as the Bonapartist pretender. For much of the population, the Imperial years stood in marked contrast to the

  impoverishment and political strife which seemed to have accompanied its

  successor regimes. The misery of interminable war during the First Empire

  appeared largely to have been forgotten. Louis-Napoléon’s electoral victory was evidence of the importance of historical myth but in the particular circumstances created by the long mid-century crisis, a complex series of inter-related economic and political crises with devastating social consequences. It was this situation which made it possible for Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, previously known for his two adventurous but essentially mad-cap attempts to seize power through military coups, to finally succeed.

  Varying approaches to the period