Jahn, Ralf G. Napoleons Clan

This book traces the development of an ancient minor noble family from Tuscany that emigrated to Corsica and was recognised as noble by France. At first it was a Corsican clan, but in 1793 the Buonapartes became outlaws (vendetta). They had to flee to mainland France, where the Jacobin and revolutionary general Napoleon succeeded to the ascendancy. In June 1797, the Bonaparte dynasty was founded as a family business. The aim: to be successful and rich together.

The coup d'état by which Napoleon seized power in 1799 was a successful family project. When he became consul for life in 1802, the "consular family" emerged as a republican dynasty. In 1804 Napoleon became Emperor of the French, hereditary military dictator of a republic and over the occupied territory beyond the state border (Grand Empire). The succession system does not correspond to traditional Salic law, but rather to the Corsican sense of family. The Imperial Family (1806 Family Statute) became the "family of kings" and even distant relatives suddenly became attractive as marriage candidates for German princes. The Napoleonid network increasingly included marshals and grand dignitaries. Napoleon's downfall was accompanied by the downfall of the Bonapartes. But in 1852 Napoleon III became emperor. He created the "Imperial Family" and the "Civil Family". Numerous family members thus gained wealth, power, offices and titles of nobility. In 1870, that was the end of it. This book is the first to present the Bonapartes as a highly successful family business, to reproduce the family statute, to present its marriage policy, and to list all the descendants of Napoleon and his siblings with their genealogical data (including illegitimate children). This is a family that was actually Italian and made a great contribution to the unity of Italy.