In 1832, he published the first of his own writings on political and military subjects, asserting in his tract 'Rveries politiques' that only an emperor could give France the glory and liberty it deserved. The Failed CoupsĪfter the death in 1832 of his cousin, the Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon I's only son), Louis-Napoleon considered himself, following the law of succession established by Napoleon I when he was emperor, next in line for the French throne, and he completed his military training and studied economic and social issues in preparation. Suffering from measles, Napoleon Louis died in his brother's arms during their escape Louis-Napoleon was saved from the troops only by his mother's intervention. The brothers fled in March 1831, when troops began cracking down on revolutionary activity. He and his elder brother, Napoleon Louis, began espousing liberal politics and joined the Carbonari, a revolutionist group fighting papal and Austrian control over Northern Italy. When he was a young man, Louis-Napoleon settled in Italy, where he became interested in history and ideas of national liberty, with thoughts of regaining the Napoleonic Empire beginning to burn in the back of his mind. Louis-Napoleon grew up in Switzerland, living with his mother, who instilled in him a longing for France and an abiding admiration of the genius of Napoleon I. Louis-Napoleon's parents had been made king and queen of French-controlled Holland by Napoleon I, but after Napoleon I's deposition in 1815, all members of the Bonaparte dynasty were forced into exile. Louis Bonaparte served as king of Holland from 1806 to 1810, and Hortense de Beauharnais Bonaparte was the stepdaughter of Napoleon I. Early Yearsīorn on April 20, 1808, in Paris, France, Charles-Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was the third son of Napoleon I's brother, Louis Bonaparte, and his wife, Hortense de Beauharnais Bonaparte. He was deposed and sent to England, where he died in 1873. He served in that position until 1852, when he was made emperor-a position he held until 1870, when the disastrous Franco-Prussian War led to his capture. After the Revolution of 1848, in 1850, Napoleon III was elected president of the Second Republic. After a failed coup attempt in 1836, he was exiled again. He began his quest in 1832, writing various political and military tracts in an effort to make himself and his ideas known.

However, Napoleon III was determined to regain the French throne.

Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon I, grew up in exile - the year 1815 marked the end of Napoleon I's reign.

Napoleon the third