Editing Napoleon III (section)

==Early adult years==

===Bonapartist succession and philosophy of Bonapartism===
Ever since the fall of Napoleon in 1815, a [[Bonapartist]] movement had existed in France, hoping to return a Bonaparte to the throne. According to the law of succession established by Napoleon I, the claim passed first to his own son, declared "King of Rome" at birth by his father. This heir, known by Bonapartists as [[Napoleon II]], was living in virtual imprisonment at the court of [[Vienna]] under the title Duke of Reichstadt. Next in line was Louis Napoleon's eldest uncle, [[Joseph Bonaparte]], followed by Louis Bonaparte, but neither Joseph nor Louis had any interest in re-entering public life. When the Duke of Reichstadt died in 1832, Louis Napoleon became the ''de facto'' heir of the dynasty and the leader of the Bonapartist cause.{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|pp=55–56}}

In exile with his mother in Switzerland, Louis Napoleon enrolled in the [[Swiss Army]], trained to become an officer, and wrote a manual of artillery (his uncle Napoleon had become famous as an artillery officer). Louis Napoleon also began writing about his political philosophy—for as the early twentieth century English historian [[H. A. L. Fisher]] suggested, "the programme of the Empire was not the improvisation of a vulgar adventurer" but the result of deep reflection on the Napoleonic political philosophy and on how to adjust it to the changed domestic and international scenes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=Herbert Albert Laurens |url=https://archive.org/details/bonapartismsixle00fishiala |title=Bonapartism, six lectures delivered in the University of London |date=1908 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |page=[https://archive.org/details/bonapartismsixle00fishiala/page/87 87]}}</ref> As early as 1832 he presented a reconciliation between Bonapartism and republicanism through the principle of popular sovereignty. He believed a strong emperor existed to execute the will of the people.<ref name=":0" /> He published his ''Rêveries politiques'' or "political dreams" in 1833 at the age of 25, followed in 1834 by ''Considérations politiques et militaires sur la Suisse'' ("Political and military considerations about Switzerland"), followed in 1839 by ''Les Idées napoléoniennes'' ("Napoleonic Ideas"), a compendium of his political ideas which was published in three editions and eventually translated into six languages. He based his doctrine upon two ideas: universal suffrage and the primacy of the national interest. He called for a "monarchy which procures the advantages of the Republic without the inconveniences", a regime "strong without despotism, free without anarchy, independent without conquest".{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|pp=61–62}} He also intended to build a wider European community of nations.<ref name=":0" />

===Failed coup, exile in London (1836–1840)===
[[File:Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte 1836.JPG|thumb|upright|Etching portrait of Louis Napoleon at the time of his failed coup in 1836]]
"I believe", wrote Louis Napoleon, "that from time to time, men are created whom I call volunteers of providence, in whose hands are placed the destiny of their countries. I believe I am one of those men. If I am wrong, I can perish uselessly. If I am right, then providence will put me into a position to fulfill my mission."{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|p=68}} He had seen the popular enthusiasm for Napoleon Bonaparte when he was in Paris, and he was convinced that, if he marched to Paris, as Napoleon Bonaparte had done in 1815 during the [[Hundred Days]], France would rise up and join him. He began to plan a coup against King [[Louis-Philippe]].{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

[[File:Soulèvement Strasbourg Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte 1836.jpg|thumb|upright|Louis Napoleon launching his failed coup in [[Strasbourg]] in 1836]]
He planned for his uprising to begin in [[Strasbourg]]. The colonel of a regiment was brought over to the cause. On 29 October 1836, Louis Napoleon arrived in Strasbourg, in the uniform of an artillery officer; he rallied the regiment to his side. The [[prefecture]] was seized, and the [[Prefect (France)|prefect]] arrested. Unfortunately for Louis-Napoleon, the general commanding the garrison escaped and called in a loyal regiment, which surrounded the mutineers. The mutineers surrendered and Louis-Napoleon fled back to Switzerland.{{Sfn|Milza|2006|pp=97–100}}

Louis Napoleon was widely popular in exile and his popularity in France continuously grew after his failed coup in 1836 as it established him as heir to the Bonaparte legend and increased his publicity.<ref name=":0" />

King Louis Philippe had demanded that the Swiss government return Louis Napoleon to France, but the Swiss pointed out that he was a Swiss soldier and citizen and refused to hand him over. The King responded by sending an army to the Swiss border. Louis Napoleon thanked his Swiss hosts, and voluntarily left the country. The other mutineers were put on trial in [[Alsace]], and were all acquitted.

Louis Napoleon traveled first to London, then to [[Empire of Brazil|Brazil]], and then to New York City. He met the elite of New York society and the writer [[Washington Irving]]. While he was traveling to see more of the United States, he received word that his mother was very ill. He hurried as quickly as he could back to Switzerland. He reached Arenenberg in time to be with his mother on 5 August 1837, when she died. She was finally buried in [[Rueil]], in France, next to her mother, on 11 January 1838, but Louis Napoleon could not attend, because he was not allowed into France.{{Sfn|Milza|2006|pp=107–108}}

Louis Napoleon returned to London for a new period of exile in October 1838. He had inherited a large fortune from his mother and took a house with 17 servants and several of his old friends and fellow conspirators. He was received by London society and met the political and scientific leaders of the day, including [[Benjamin Disraeli]] and [[Michael Faraday]]. He also did considerable research into the economy of Britain. He strolled in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], which he later used as a model when he created the [[Bois de Boulogne]] in Paris.{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|pp=74–75}} He spent the winter of 1838-39 in [[Royal Leamington Spa]] in [[Warwickshire]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Napoleon III |url=https://leamingtonhistory.co.uk/napoleon-iii |access-date=1 June 2023 |publisher=Leamington History Group}}</ref>

===Second coup, prison, escape and exile (1840–1848)===
Living in the comfort of London, he had not given up the dream of returning to France to seize power. In the summer of 1840 he bought weapons and uniforms and had proclamations printed, gathered a contingent of about sixty armed men, hired a ship called the ''Edinburgh-Castle'', and on 6 August 1840, sailed across the [[English Channel|Channel]] to the port of [[Boulogne]]. The attempted coup turned into an even greater fiasco than the Strasbourg mutiny. The mutineers were stopped by the customs agents, the soldiers of the garrison refused to join, the mutineers were surrounded on the beach, one was killed and the others arrested. Both the British and French press heaped ridicule on Louis-Napoleon and his plot. The newspaper ''[[Le Journal des Débats]]'' wrote, "this surpasses comedy. One doesn't kill crazy people, one just locks them up." He was put on trial, where, despite an eloquent defense of his cause, he was sentenced to life in prison in the fortress of [[Ham, Somme|Ham]] in the [[Somme (department)|Somme]] department of Northern France.{{Sfn|Milza|2006|pp=122–133}}{{Sfn|Strauss-Schom|2018|pp=65–70}}

===Activities===
The register of the fortress Ham for 7 October 1840 contained a concise description of the new prisoner: "Age: thirty-two years. Height: one meter sixty-six. Hair and eyebrows: chestnut. Eyes: Gray and small. Nose: large. Mouth: ordinary. Beard: brown. Moustache: blond. Chin: pointed. Face: oval. Complexion: pale. Head: sunken in his shoulders, and large shoulders. Back: bent. Lips: thick."<ref>Quoted in {{Harvnb|Séguin|1990|p=81}}.</ref> He had a mistress named {{Ill|Eléonore Vergeot|fr}}, a young woman from the town of Ham, who gave birth to two of his children.{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|p=83}}

While in prison, Louis Napoleon wrote poems, political essays, and articles on diverse topics. He contributed articles to regional newspapers and magazines in towns all over France, becoming quite well known as a writer. His most famous book was ''L'extinction du pauperisme'' (1844), a study of the causes of poverty in the French industrial working class, with proposals to eliminate it. His conclusion: "The working class has nothing, it is necessary to give them ownership. They have no other wealth than their own labor, it is necessary to give them work that will benefit all....they are without organization and without connections, without rights and without a future; it is necessary to give them rights and a future and to raise them in their own eyes by association, education, and discipline." He proposed various practical ideas for creating a banking and savings system that would provide credit to the working class, and to establish agricultural colonies similar to the ''[[kibbutz]]im'' later founded in Israel.<ref>{{Harvnb|Séguin|1990|p=89}}. Translated by D. Siefkin.</ref> This book was widely reprinted and circulated in France, and played an important part in his future electoral success.

Louis Napoleon was busy in prison, but also unhappy and impatient. He was aware that the popularity of his uncle was steadily increasing in France; Napoleon I was the subject of heroic poems, books and plays. Huge crowds had gathered in Paris on 15 December 1840 when the [[Retour des cendres|remains of Napoleon]] were returned with great ceremony to Paris and handed over to King Louis Philippe, while Louis Napoleon could only read about it in prison. On 25 May 1846, with the assistance of his doctor and other friends on the outside, he disguised himself as a laborer carrying lumber, and walked out of the prison. His enemies later derisively called him "Badinguet", the name of the laborer whose identity he had assumed. A carriage was waiting to take him to the coast and then by boat to England. A month after his escape, his father Louis died, making Charles Napoleon the clear heir to the Bonaparte dynasty.{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|p=93}}

===Return and early affairs===
[[File:Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte à Boulogne (Débarquement en Août 1840).JPG|thumb|Louis Napoleon's 1840 attempt to lead an uprising against King Louis Philippe ended in fiasco and ridicule. He was sentenced to prison for life in the fortress of [[Ham, Somme|Ham]] in Northern France.]]
[[File:Louis Napoléon à Ham - estampe de Philippoteaux.jpg|thumb|Louis Napoleon in his room in the fortress of Ham where he studied, wrote, and conducted scientific experiments. He later often referred to what he had learned at "the University of Ham".]]
Louis Napoleon quickly resumed his place in British society. He lived on [[King Street, St James's]], London, went to the theatre and hunted, renewed his acquaintance with Benjamin Disraeli, and met [[Charles Dickens]]. He went back to his studies at the [[British Museum]]. He had an affair with the actress [[Rachel (actress)|Rachel]], the most famous French actress of the period, during her tours to Britain. More important for his future career, he had an affair with the wealthy heiress [[Harriet Howard]] (1823–1865). They met in 1846, soon after his return to Britain. They began to live together, and she took in his two illegitimate children and raised them with her own son, and she provided financing for his political plans so that, when the moment came, he could return to France.{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|pp=96–97}}