Pierre Napoléon Bonaparte

Prince Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte (11 October 1815 – 7 April 1881) was a French nobleman, revolutionary and politician, the son of Lucien Bonaparte and his second wife Alexandrine de Bleschamp. He was a nephew of Napoleon I, Joseph Bonaparte, Elisa Bonaparte, Louis Bonaparte, Pauline Bonaparte, Caroline Bonaparte and Jérôme Bonaparte.

Biography

Bonaparte was born in Rome, Italy.

He joined the insurrectionary bands in Romagna (1830–1831); later he moved to the United States, where he went to join his uncle Joseph, and in Colombia with Francisco de Paula Santander (1832). Returning to Rome he was taken prisoner by order of Pope Gregory XVI (1835–1836). He finally took refuge in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

At the revolution of 1848 he returned to France and was elected deputy for Corsica to the Constituent Assembly. He declared himself an out-and-out republican and even voted with the socialists. He pronounced himself in favour of the national workshops and against the loi Falloux. His attitude contributed greatly to give popular confidence to his cousin Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III of France), of whose coup d'état on 2 December 1851 he disapproved; but he was soon reconciled to the emperor, and accepted the title of prince. The republicans at once abandoned him.

From that time on he led a debauched life, and lost all political importance.

Background to shooting

In December 1869, a dispute broke out between two Corsican newspapers, the leftist La Revanche and the loyalist L'Avenir de la Corse, edited by Jean de la Rocca (1832 – 1883). The invective of La Revanche concentrated on Napoleon I.