Joseph Bonaparte was born in 1768 as Giuseppe Buonaparte to Carlo Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino at Corte, the capital of the Corsican Republic.
27 Facts About Joseph Bonaparte
2.
Joseph Bonaparte's father was originally a follower of the Corsican patriot leader Pasquale Paoli, but later became a supporter of French rule.
3.
In 1795 Joseph Bonaparte was a member of the Council of Ancients.
4.
Joseph Bonaparte permitted a large Anglo-Russian force to land in his kingdom.
5.
Joseph Bonaparte said that a French invasion would soon follow to ensure 'that the finest of countries is relieved from the yoke of the most faithless of men.
6.
But, upon reviewing the situation at the Strait of Messina, Joseph Bonaparte was forced to admit the impossibility of such an enterprise, the Bourbons having carried off all boats and transports from along the coast and concentrated their remaining forces, alongside the British, on the opposite side.
7.
Unable to possess himself of Sicily, Joseph Bonaparte was nevertheless master of the mainland and he continued his progress through Calabria and on to Lucania and Apulia, visiting the main villages and meeting the local notables, clergy and people, allowing his people to grow accustomed to their new king and enabling himself to form first-hand a picture of the condition of his kingdom.
8.
Joseph Bonaparte embarked on an ambitious programme of reform and regeneration, in order to raise Naples to the level of a modern state in the mould of Napoleonic France.
9.
Joseph Bonaparte thus presided over Naples in the best traditions of Enlightened absolutism, doubling the revenue of the crown from seven to fourteen million ducats in his brief two-year reign while all the time seeking to lighten the burdens of his people rather than increase them.
10.
Joseph Bonaparte ruled Naples for two years before being replaced by his sister's husband, Joachim Murat.
11.
Joseph Bonaparte was then made King of Spain in August 1808, soon after the French invasion.
12.
Joseph Bonaparte came under heavy fire from his opponents in Spain, who tried to smear his reputation by calling him Pepe Botella for his alleged heavy drinking, an accusation echoed by later Spanish historiography, despite the fact that Joseph Bonaparte was abstemious.
13.
Joseph Bonaparte's arrival sparked a massive Spanish revolt against French rule, and the beginning of the Peninsular War.
14.
Joseph Bonaparte temporarily retreated with much of the French Army to northern Spain.
15.
King Joseph Bonaparte abdicated the Spanish throne and returned to France after the main French forces were defeated by a British-led coalition at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813.
16.
Joseph Bonaparte was seen by some Bonapartists as the rightful Emperor of the French after the death of Napoleon's own son Napoleon II in 1832, although he did little to advance his claim.
17.
Joseph Bonaparte first settled in New York City and Philadelphia, where his house became the centre of activity for French expatriates.
18.
Joseph Bonaparte considerably expanded Sayre's home and created extensive gardens in the picturesque style.
19.
At Point Breeze, Joseph Bonaparte entertained many of the leading intellectuals and politicians of his day.
20.
In 1832, Joseph Bonaparte moved to London, returning to his estate in the United States only intermittently.
21.
Joseph Bonaparte's body was returned to France and buried in Les Invalides, in Paris.
22.
Joseph Bonaparte identified the two surviving daughters as his heirs.
23.
Joseph Bonaparte fathered two children with Maria Giulia Colonna, the Countess of Atri:.
24.
Joseph Bonaparte had two American daughters born at Point Breeze, his estate in Bordentown, New Jersey, by his mistress, Annette Savage :.
25.
Joseph Bonaparte was admitted to Marseille's lodge la Parfaite Sincerite in 1793.
26.
Joseph Bonaparte was asked by his brother Napoleon to monitor freemasonry as Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France.
27.
Joseph Bonaparte founded the Grand Lodge National of Spain.