The manuscript was carefully read and commented upon by: Colin Heywood of
Nottingham University; Olena Heywood of the Open University; Aled Jones, my colleague in the Department of History and Welsh History at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth; and by Heather Price, whose constructive criticism, as
always, was invaluable. Richard, Siân, Andy, Emily and Hannah provided help –
and happy distractions.
xiii
Chronology
1848
23–24 February Revolution and the establishment of the Second Republic;
introduction of manhood suffrage
23 April
Election of a Constituent Assembly to prepare a new constitu-
tion
4 June
By-election victory by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
13 June
Debate in the Assembly on whether to admit the Bonapartist
pretender to the throne as a deputy; admitted but resigns
23–26 June
Popular insurrection in Paris crushed
17 September
Louis-Napoléon re-elected
10 December
Election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte as President of the
Republic
1851
2 December
Seizure of power by means of a military coup
21 December
Plebiscite ratifying extension of president’s power
1852
14 January
Promulgation of new constitution
17 February
Press decree
xv
29 February
Election of Corps législatif
25 March
Decree banning gatherings of more than 20 persons
27 March
End of martial law
21 November
Plebiscite on the re-establishment of the hereditary empire
2 December
Establishment of the Second Empire
1853
23 January
Haussmann appointed Prefect of the Seine
1854
27 March
France and Britain declare war on Russia
1856
16 March
Birth of the Prince-Imperial; remaining political prisoners
amnestied on condition that they accept the regime
30 March
Signature of Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean war
1857
21 June
Election of new Corps législatif
1858
14 January
Attempt to assassinate Napoléon by four Italians led by Orsini
27 February
Promulgation of general security law
14 June
End of state of emergency
1859
3 May
France declares war on Austria
11 June
Law regulating cooperation between state and railway compa-
nies
6 July
Franco-Austrian armistice leading to Treaty of Villa-franca
ends militarily successful campaign in Italy
xvi
1860
11 January
Publication of acrimonious correspondence between Emperor
and Pope
22 January
Signature of Cobden–Chevalier commercial treaty with Brit-
ain
24 March
Treaty transferring sovereignty over Nice and Savoy to France
24 November
Publication of decree on political reform
1861
14 March
Emile Ollivier announces his willingness to rally to a liberal
Empire
15 November The Emperor promises financial reforms
1862
29 March
Franco-Prussian commercial treaty
16 April
Declaration of war on Juarez’s government in Mexico
1863
23 May
Law authorising limited liability companies
31 May
General election
23 June
Designation of Minister of State as official government parlia-
mentary spokesman
1864
11 January Thiers in Corps législatif calls for ‘the four necessary liberties’
25 May
Law establishing the right of workers to strike
1865
1 January
Government forbids the reading of parts of the Papal encyclical
Quanta Cura and accompanying Syllabus of Errors from pul-
pits
xvii
1866
22 January Announcement of decision to withdraw from Mexico
3 July Decisive Prussian victory over Austria at Sadowa
12 December Publication of controversial proposals for army reforms
1867
10–13 January Talks between Napoléon and Ollivier
19 January Publication of plans for further liberal reform
March Presentation of proposed laws on the press and public meet-
ings; promulgated 11 May and 6 June 1868, respectively
1868
March French section of the Workers International prosecuted
31 March Official tolerance of trade unions
May Jules Ferry publishes Les comptes fantastiques d‘Haussmann
1869
3 May General elections begin
8–10 June Serious disorders in Paris
16 June Strike at Ricamarie, troops open fire
6 July 116 deputies support demands for a government responsible
to parliament
12 July Napoléon announces plans for further political reform
13 July Corps législatif prorogued; resignation of Rouher
15 August Unconditional amnesty for political offenders
27 December Napoléon asks Ollivier to form a ministry
1870
2 January Ollivier forms a government
5 January Dismissal of Haussmann
26 February Abandonment of official candidacy
21 March Napoléon proposes to establish a liberal Empire
8 May Plebiscite on proposals for constitutional reform
3 July First news of Hohenzollern candidacy
xviii
19 July
France declares war on Prussia
26 July
Decision to withdraw protective French garrison from Rome;
Italian troops enter the city on 2 September
10 August
Following initial military defeats, Cousin-Montauban (Comte
Palikao) forms a conservative government
1–2 September Defeat at Sedan and surrender of army led by the Emperor and MacMahon
4 September
Crowds enter the Palais Bourbon and republican deputies pro-
claim the Republic
Map France in 1851
Source: France 1848–1851, Open University Press, 1976
xix
1
Introduction
On 10 December 1848 the nephew of the great Emperor Napoléon was elected
President of the French Republic, gaining a massive majority under the system of universal manhood suffrage introduced following the Revolution of the previous February. The origins of the Second Empire have to be searched for in the ruins of the first. The creation of a dynasty and foundation of a legend were two of the achievements of Napoléon I. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte’s major asset was
undoubtedly his name, associating him with a Napoleonic cult kept alive
throughout the intervening years by an outpouring of almanacs, pamphlets and lithographs promoting a legend of prosperity and glory. It had especial appeal in the countryside in which, it ought to be remembered, over 70 per cent of the population still lived. National pride had been incarnated in the historical memory of Napoléon. The July Monarchy (1830–48) had attempted to benefit by association.
In 1833, the statue of the great Emperor had been replaced on top of the Vendôme column in the centre of Paris. In 1836, the Arc de Triomphe, celebrating the glorious achievements of the imperial armies, had finally been completed. The culminating event was undoubtedly the return, in 1840, of the remains of Napoléon I from Saint Helena to their final resting place in the Invalides. Vast crowds had turned out to watch the procession. Louis-Napoléon made every effort to take advantage of this powerful legend, deliberately conceived by the first Napoléon, diffused by the veterans of the Imperial armies, manufactured by printers,
publishers and the producers of all manner of commemorative objects, and given respectability by the government of Louis-Philippe. At Strasbourg in 1836 and then 1
Boulogne in 1840, Louis-Napoléon had attempted to seize power. He had appeared in uniform, behind a tricolour capped by an imperial eagle and sought to raise the local garrisons. Although pathetic failures in themselves, these adventures had at least helped to establish him in the public mind as the Bonapartist pretender. For much of the population, the Imperial years stood in marked contrast to the
impoverishment and political strife which seemed to have accompanied its
successor regimes. The misery of interminable war during the First Empire
appeared largely to have been
