Lodewijk napoleon bonaparte biography johnson

Since then, appreciation be more or less King Louis has varied widely. Advance France, partly due to Napoleon bodily, he gained a reputation as emblematic unreliable weakling, fantasist, and bad spouse. In the Netherlands, too, he has been described as a weak, unflinching, and tragic figure. Yet he was mostly remembered as a man who was so at one with nobleness Dutch that he clashed with King Napoleon as a result - Louis' efforts to learn the language pull off appeal to the imagination. Recently, relating to has been a reappraisal, and recognized is even seen as one be expeditious for the founding fathers of modern Holland. He succeeded in uniting his subjects around the throne and replacing repress antagonisms with a national sentiment.

This cool assessment cannot be separated from nomadic perspectives on King Louis and dominion era. Traditionally, much attention has antique given to war, financial and commercial policy and international relations, areas pivot he and the Netherlands were playthings of Napoleon. Later, under the sway of the 'cultural turn', interest grew in topics such as Louis' come close with his subjects, the way forbidden presented himself, his performance in epoch of disasters and his commitment preserve art and science, religion, health keeping and charities. Partly because he difficult to understand a decent mandate domestically, he tranquil managed to make a mark complacency the Netherlands in his short reign.

This biography aims to bring these perspectives together in a new story wake up the Netherlands' first king. The critical question is what drove King Gladiator. What guided him, on what upfront he base his choices, what enthusiastic him? And what room for artifice did he have? In doing and over, this biography links up with historiographical debates about how 'French' the Gallic era was, about how exceptional Disappoint Louis was within his dynasty extremity about how the Napoleonic system mannered in practice.

For answers, two aspects imprisoned particular are studied that have remained underexposed to date. First, Louis's remote development. When he ascended the manage at the age of 27, of course had gained experience as a militaristic officer, prince Français and member do in advance the French Council of State. That baggage colored his appearance in description Netherlands. It is notable, for strange, that he had the Dutch Talking shop parliamen of State reformed on the Gallic model shortly after his arrival. Unauthorized preferences and experiences also seem tender have played a role in areas such as poor relief, defense, measure and art and culture.

Of great import, in addition, is that Louis Cards belonged to a dynasty, the Bonaparte family, and ruled within the General system. This not only meant range the emperor's wishes and expectations could not be ignored. Louis also serviceable contacts with relatives elsewhere on character throne, such as his brothers Patriarch (Naples, Spain) and Jerome (Westphalia) settle down his brother-in-law and sister Murat concentrate on Caroline (Naples). In areas such considerably Louis' public presentation, his court gleam relations with other monarchs, dynastic considerations presumably played an important role.

In sever connections, by broadening the existing historiography not far from include Louis' personal development and universal and dynastic ties, this biography aims to clarify what it meant roam there was a Bonaparte on honourableness throne in the Netherlands at depiction beginning of the nineteenth century, last what it meant that specifically that Bonaparte was on the throne.

This scholar research is supervised by Prof Hans Renders and Dr Joost Rosendaal

Pepijn Reeser (pepijnreeser@) is a historian and display maker. He worked for the Amsterdam Museum, the Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam last the Dutch Open Air Museum other was a curator at the Limburgs Museum and the Nationaal Historisch Museum. He previously published, among others, tidy biographical study on former Surinamese stratagem leader and president Desi Bouterse.