House of Bonaparte | |
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Country |
French Empire Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Westphalia Kingdom of Holland Kingdom of Naples Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
Titles |
Emperor of the French Emperor in Elba King of Italy King of Spain King of Holland King of Westphalia King of Naples King of Rome (courtesy title only) Grand Duchess of Tuscany |
Founded | 1804 |
Founder | Napoleon I, Emperor of the French |
Final ruler | Napoleon III, Emperor of the French |
Current head | Disputed: Charles, Prince Napoléon or Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon |
Dissolution | 1815: Bourbon Restoration 1870: Defeat in Franco-Prussian War |
Ethnicity |
Corsican (originally Italian) later French |
Cadet branches |
Prince Canino Line (extinct) Prince Napoléon Line |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded in 1804 by Napoleon I, a French military leader who had risen to notability out of the French Revolution and who in 1804 transformed the First French Republic into the First French Empire, five years after his coup d'état of November 1799. Napoleon turned the Grande Armée against every major European power and dominated continental Europe through a series of military victories during the Napoleonic Wars. He installed members of his family on the thrones of client states, extending the power of the dynasty.
The House of Bonaparte formed the Imperial House of France during the French Empire, together with some non-Bonaparte family members. In addition to holding the title of Emperor of the French, the Bonaparte dynasty held various other titles and territories during the Napoleonic Wars, including their ancestral Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Kingdom of Holland, and the Kingdom of Naples. The dynasty held power for around a decade until the Napoleonic Wars began to take their toll. Making very powerful enemies, such as Austria, Britain, Russia, and Prussia, as well as royalist (particularly Bourbon) restorational movements in France, Spain, the Two Sicilies, and Sardinia, the dynasty eventually collapsed due to the final defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and the restoration of former dynasties by the Congress of Vienna.