Louis Napoléon Bonaparte was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland. In that capacity, he was known as Louis I.
Portrait by Charles Howard Hodges, 1809
Louis Bonaparte, Constable of the Empire by François Gérard, 1806
Guilder of Louis Napoléon minted in 1807. Inscription: NAP. LODEW. I KON. VAN HOLL.
Louis defends Dutch independence against Napoleon. Painted by Ten Kate
Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French emperor and military commander who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and briefly again in 1815. His political and cultural legacy endures as a celebrated and controversial leader. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and his wars and campaigns are still studied at military schools worldwide. However, historians still debate the degree to which he was responsible for the Napoleonic Wars, in which between three and six million people died. Napoleon brought modernizing reforms to France and Western Europe and stimulating the development of nation states. He also sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803, doubling the latter's size. However, his mixed record on civil rights and exploitation of conquered territories adversely affect his reputation.
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812
Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, fought for Corsican independence under Pasquale Paoli. After their defeat, he eventually became the island's representative to Louis XVI's court.
Statue of Bonaparte as a schoolboy in Brienne, aged 15, by Louis Rochet [fr] (1853)
Bonaparte, aged 23, as lieutenant-colonel of a battalion of Corsican Republican volunteers. Portrait made in 1835 by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux