To round out our Meet the Bonapartes series, we turn to Napoleon’s eldest – and apparently coolest – brother, Joseph. Affable, charming, and comfortable in his own skin, he was a contrast to most of his siblings, including Napoleon. His easygoing nature made him popular even with political opponents, and Joseph was an important player in Napoleon’s rise.
As a reward, Emperor Napoleon named Joseph the King of Naples, where he fashioned himself a man of the people and governed them well, implementing various government reforms, fighting crime, and creating jobs by building infrastructure. His reign in Naples was short lived, however, as Napoleon replaced him with their sister Caroline and her husband, Joachim Murat.
Napoleon then dispatched Joseph to govern occupied Spain, where the public mood was very different. Not only was Spain’s King Joseph reviled by commoners and elites alike, he himself became fairly burned out with the family business in this era. After Napoleon’s defeat, he hopped a boat for New York and in a lot of ways, never looked back. He spent decades mostly living a quiet, prosperous life in New Jersey, before returning to Europe to be closer to his remaining family in his later years.
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