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==Bounaparte family==
==Bounaparte family==
The Italian Bounaparte family were minor Italian nobility who held most of their property in the hill town of [[San Miniato]] near [[Florence, Italy]]. The Bounapartes came from a [[Tuscan]] stock of [[Lombard]] origin.
The Bounaparte family were from minor Italian nobility who held most of their property in the hill town of [[San Miniato]] near [[Florence, Italy]]. The Bounapartes came from a [[Tuscan]] stock of [[Lombard]] origin.


After settling in Florence the family enjoyed a relationship with the then ruling [[Medici]] family. [[Jacopo Buonaparte]] was a friend and advisor to [[Medici]] [[Pope Clement VII]]. Jacopo was also a witness to and wrote an account of the [[sack of Rome (1527)]], which remains an important historical document of that time. Two of Jacopo's nephews, Pier-Antonio Bounaparte and Giovanni Bounaparte, however, took part in the 1527 Medici rebellion, were banished from Florence and later restored by [[Alessandro de' Medici]]. Jacopo's brother Benedetto Bounaparte remained politically neutral.
After settling in Florence the family enjoyed a relationship with the then ruling [[Medici]] family. [[Jacopo Buonaparte]] was a friend and advisor to [[Medici]] [[Pope Clement VII]]. Jacopo was also a witness to and wrote an account of the [[sack of Rome (1527)]], which remains an important historical document of that time. Two of Jacopo's nephews, Pier-Antonio Bounaparte and Giovanni Bounaparte, however, took part in the 1527 Medici rebellion, after which they were banished from Florence and later were restored by [[Alessandro de' Medici]]. Jacopo's brother Benedetto Bounaparte maintained politically neutral.


The family later broke in two branches; the original one, Buonaparte-Sarzana, had been compelled to leave Florence due to the defeat of the [[Ghibellines]] and later when [[Francesco Buonaparte]] came to Corsica in [[16th century]] and the island was in [[Genoa|Genoese]] possession.
The family later broke in two branches: Buonaparte-Sarzana, had been compelled to leave Florence due to the defeat of the [[Ghibellines]] and later when [[Francesco Buonaparte]] came to Corsica in [[16th century]] and the island was in [[Genoa|Genoese]] possession.


The Bounaparte tomb lies in the Church of San Francesco in San Miniato.
The Bounaparte tomb lies in the Church of San Francesco in San Miniato.

Revision as of 18:06, 8 June 2007

This article is about the family of Napoléon Bonaparte. There is also an article on the Argentine paleontologist, José Bonaparte. For the Olympic medallist, see Bonaparte (horse). There have been a few people named Charles Bonaparte.
The original arms of the Buonapartes

Bonaparte is a family name that is of Italian origin. Originally Buonaparte, this family claims numerous influential descendents including Corsican Napoléon I who ruled France during the early 19th century. The Bonaparte family's descendants also include kings of Spain, Naples, Holland and Westphalia, and a second French Emperor, Napoléon III. Supporters of the Bonaparte family's claim to the throne of France are known as Bonapartists.

Bounaparte family

The Bounaparte family were from minor Italian nobility who held most of their property in the hill town of San Miniato near Florence, Italy. The Bounapartes came from a Tuscan stock of Lombard origin.

After settling in Florence the family enjoyed a relationship with the then ruling Medici family. Jacopo Buonaparte was a friend and advisor to Medici Pope Clement VII. Jacopo was also a witness to and wrote an account of the sack of Rome (1527), which remains an important historical document of that time. Two of Jacopo's nephews, Pier-Antonio Bounaparte and Giovanni Bounaparte, however, took part in the 1527 Medici rebellion, after which they were banished from Florence and later were restored by Alessandro de' Medici. Jacopo's brother Benedetto Bounaparte maintained politically neutral.

The family later broke in two branches: Buonaparte-Sarzana, had been compelled to leave Florence due to the defeat of the Ghibellines and later when Francesco Buonaparte came to Corsica in 16th century and the island was in Genoese possession.

The Bounaparte tomb lies in the Church of San Francesco in San Miniato.

Bounaparte arms

The arms of the Buonaparte family were: Gules two bends sinister between two stars or. In 1804 Napoleon changed the arms to Azure an imperial eagle or. The change applied to all members of his family except for his brother Lucien, and the son of Jerome's first marriage.


Napoleon the I

Napoleon is perhaps the most prominent name associated with the Bonaparte family because he conquered much of the Western world during the early part of the 19th century. He was elected as first consul of France on November 10, 1799 with the help of his brother, Lucien Bonaparte, and president of the Council of Five Hundred at Saint-Cloud. He was crowned Emperor of the French and ruled from 1804-1814, 1815.

Following his conquest of most of Western Europe, the first Napoléon made his elder brother Joseph (1768-1844) king first of Naples (1806-1808) and then of Spain (1808-1813), his third brother Louis (1778-1846) king of Holland (1806-1810) (subsequently forcing his abdication after his failure to subordinate Dutch interests to those of France) and his youngest brother Jérôme Bonaparte (1784-1860) king of Westphalia, the short-lived realm created from some of the states of northwestern Germany (1807-1813).

Napoléon's son Napoléon François Charles Joseph (1811-1832) was created king of Rome (1811-1814) and was later styled Napoleon II by loyalists of the dynasty, though he only ruled for two weeks after his father's abdication. Charles Louis Napoléon (1808-1873), son of Louis Napoléon, was president of France in 1848-1852 and emperor in 1852-1870, reigning as Napoléon III; his son, Eugène Bonaparte (1856-1879), styled the Prince Imperial, died fighting the Zulus in Natal, South Africa. With his death, the family lost much of its remaining political appeal, though claimants continue to assert their right to the imperial title. A political movement for Corsican independence surfaced in the 1990s which included a Bonapartist restoration in its programme.

Crowns held by the family

Imperial coat of arms

Emperors of the French

Kings of Holland

  • Louis I (1806-1810), also Grand Duke of Berg and Celeves (1809-1813)
  • Louis II (1810)

Kings of Naples

King of Westphalia

King of Spain

Grand Duchess of Tuscany

The family tree

Carlo-Maria (Ajaccio 1746-Montpellier 1785) married Maria Letizia Ramolino (Ajaccio 1750 - Rome 1836) in 1764. He was a minor official in the local courts. They had eight children:

  1. Joseph Bonaparte (Corte 1768-Florence 1844), King of Naples and Spain, married Julie Clary, sister of Napoleon's childhood sweetheart, Désirée, who was to become the wife of Charles XIV of Sweden.
  2. Napoléon (I) Bonaparte (1769-1821) Emperor
  3. Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840)
  4. Maria-Anna Elisa Bonaparte (1777-1820), grand-duchess of Tuscany married Félix Bacciochi
  5. Louis Bonaparte, (1778 - 1846) married Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepdaughter
  6. Maria Paola or Marie Pauline Bonaparte (1780-1825), married in 1797 to French general Charles Leclerc and later married Prince Borghese.
  7. Maria Annunziata Caroline Bonaparte (1782-1839) married Joachim Murat
  8. Jérôme Bonaparte (1784-1860), King of Westphalia

Current descendants

The current head of the family is the Prince Napoléon (Charles Marie Jérôme Victor Bonaparte, born 1950), great-great-grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte by his second marriage; he has a son Jean (born 1986) and a brother, Jérôme Bonaparte, (born 1957), unmarried. There are no remaining descendants in male line from any other of Napoleon's brothers. There are, however, numerous descendants of Napoleon's illegitimate, but recognized son Walewski from his union with Marie, Countess Walewski.

See also

Template:S-hno
Vacant
Title last held by
House of Bourbon
Ruled as King of France 		Ruling House of the French Empire
1804–1814 		Succeeded by
House of Bourbon
Ruled as King of France
Vacant
Title last held by
House of Orléans
Ruled as King of France 		Ruling House of the French Empire
1852–1870 		Empire Abolished
Third French Republic Declared
Preceded by Ruling House of the Kingdom of Spain
1808–1813 		Succeeded by
Ruling House of the Kingdom of Naples
1806–1815
Preceded by
New Creation
Succeeded the Napoleonic Italian Republic
 Ruling House of the Kingdom of Italy
1808–1815 		Succeeded by

External links

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