Lucien Bonaparte
Lucien Bonaparte entered the world in Ajaccio, Corsica, on the 21st of May 1775. He was the third surviving son of Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. His early education took him to mainland France for schooling at military academies in Autun and Brienne. After his father died, Lucien attended a seminary in Aix-en-Provence before dropping out in 1789. This period marked the end of his formal training as he prepared for a life beyond the classroom.
When the French Revolution erupted in 1789, Lucien stood just fourteen years old. He returned to Corsica to become an outspoken orator within the Jacobin Club chapter in Ajaccio. There he adopted the alias Brutus Bonaparte to signal his revolutionary fervor. In 1791, he served as secretary to Pasquale Paoli, a prominent Corsican patriot. By May 1793, both Lucien and his brother Napoleon broke with Paoli over political differences. Later that year, Lucien faced brief imprisonment due to his Jacobin activities during the Thermidorian Reaction. Napoleon intervened to secure his release and assigned him to the Army of the North.
On the 23rd of October 1799, Lucien won election as president of the Council of Five Hundred despite being underage. Just days later on the 9th of November 1799, he distributed pamphlets across Paris claiming a fake Jacobin plot existed. These documents justified moving the council to the safer grounds of Saint-Cloud. During the heated session that followed, Lucien bought time until Napoleon entered the chamber surrounded by grenadiers. He swore then that he would stab his own brother if Napoleon ever betrayed the principles of Liberté, égalité, fraternité. The next day he arranged for Napoleon's formal election as First Consul.
Lucien resigned as Minister of the Interior in November 1800 after clashing with Joseph Fouché over police matters. On the 7th of November 1800 he departed for Spain as ambassador to King Charles IV. His diplomatic skills won over the Bourbon royal family and minister Manuel de Godoy. In March 1801, Lucien and Godoy signed the Treaty of Aranjuez which established the French client kingdom of Etruria. By the 4th of August 1801, he received the title Grand-Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour. This role placed him at the center of European power dynamics before tensions rose again.
In 1804, Lucien rejected Napoleon's plan to declare himself Emperor of the French. He also refused a marriage arrangement to a Bourbon Spanish princess known as the Queen of Etruria. Lucien spurned all imperial honours and moved into self-imposed exile near Rome. He purchased the Villa Rufinella in Frascati where he lived quietly. Pressure mounted on him in 1809 when Napoleon demanded his divorce and return to France. Even their mother wrote letters urging him to abandon his wife and come back. The Papal States were annexed by France while the Pope remained imprisoned. Lucien became a virtual prisoner requiring permission from the Military Governor to leave his property.
Lucien turned his attention to archaeology after leaving politics behind. He excavated Roman sites at his property in Frascati and Musignano. These digs produced a complete statue of Tiberius and a bust of Juno. He owned land that once formed part of Cicero's estate called Tusculum. In 1825, Bonaparte uncovered the so-called Tusculum portrait of Julius Caesar at the forum there. He joined the American Philosophical Society in 1823 and took a seat in the Académie Française. His literary efforts included writing a novel titled La Tribu indienne and working on a heroic poem about Charlemagne.
Lucien married Christine Boyer on the 4th of May 1794 at Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume. She was the daughter of an innkeeper and illiterate sister of another. They had four children together before her death in 1800. His second wife was Alexandrine de Bleschamp whom he married in Paris on the 25th of May 1803. This union produced ten more children including Charles Lucien Bonaparte who became a famous naturalist. Other notable offspring included Louis Lucien Bonaparte who studied the Basque language. The family eventually settled in England after Lucien fled France following his capture by HMS Pomone. He died in Viterbo on the 29th of June 1840 from stomach cancer which also claimed his father and reportedly his brother Napoleon.
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Common questions
When and where was Lucien Bonaparte born?
Lucien Bonaparte entered the world in Ajaccio, Corsica, on the 21st of May 1775. He was the third surviving son of Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Ramolino.
What role did Lucien Bonaparte play during the French Revolution?
Lucien Bonaparte returned to Corsica to become an outspoken orator within the Jacobin Club chapter in Ajaccio when the French Revolution erupted in 1789. He adopted the alias Brutus Bonaparte to signal his revolutionary fervor before facing brief imprisonment due to his activities during the Thermidorian Reaction later that year.
How did Lucien Bonaparte influence Napoleon's rise to power in November 1799?
On the 23rd of October 1799, Lucien won election as president of the Council of Five Hundred despite being underage. Just days later he distributed pamphlets across Paris claiming a fake Jacobin plot existed to justify moving the council to Saint-Cloud, which allowed him to buy time until Napoleon entered the chamber surrounded by grenadiers.
Why did Lucien Bonaparte leave politics for archaeology after 1804?
Lucien Bonaparte rejected Napoleon's plan to declare himself Emperor of the French in 1804 and refused all imperial honours including a marriage arrangement to a Bourbon Spanish princess known as the Queen of Etruria. He moved into self-imposed exile near Rome where he excavated Roman sites at his property in Frascati and Musignano to produce artifacts like a complete statue of Tiberius.
Who were the wives and children of Lucien Bonaparte?
Lucien married Christine Boyer on the 4th of May 1794 who bore four children before her death in 1800. His second wife was Alexandrine de Bleschamp whom he married in Paris on the 25th of May 1803, producing ten more children including Charles Lucien Bonaparte who became a famous naturalist and Louis Lucien Bonaparte who studied the Basque language.