José I Napoleón

Descended from the Corsican family of noble origin; elder brother of Napoléon Bonaparte (= Napoléon I^er); was educated at the Collège d'Autun, Burgundy (1779-1784); attended the University of Pisa (1787-1788) where he studied law; admitted to the bar at Bastia, Corsica (1788); was elected a deputy for Ajaccio to sit in the Consulta (1791) convened at Orezza; was made a member of the administration of the département of Corse (1792-1793); fled to France after coming into conflict with Corsican nationalist leader, Pasquale Paoli (1793); joined the revolutionary army and participated in the siege of Toulon (1793); accompanied Napoléon in Italian campaign of 1796; participated in a military expedition sent to occupy Corsica (1796); was appointed envoy to the Duchy of Parma (27 Mar 1797); elected to the Conseil des Cinq-Cents (Council of Five Hundred) (1797-1799) as a representative of the département of Liamone, Corsica; appointed minister plenipotentiary (6 May 1797) and ambassador of the French Republic (15 May 1797) to the Holy See; presented his credentials to Pius VI (28 Sep 1797); with eruption of Jacobin riot, was compelled to flee from Rome (29 Dec 1797); admitted to the Council of Five Hundred and took oath as deputy (23 Jan 1798); served as a secretary of the Council of Five Hundred (20 Jun 1798 - 19 Jul 1798); supported the coup of 18 Brumaire, Year VIII (9 Nov 1799 - 10 Nov 1799); was made a member (conseiller d'État) of the Conseil d'État (Council of State, 1800-1802); was a signatory of the Treaty of Lunéville (9 Feb 1801) with the Holy Roman Empire and of the Treaty of Amiens (25 Mar 1802) with the United Kingdom; negotiated the Concordat with the Holy See (copies exchanged 10 Sep 1801); was made a member of the Sénat conservateur (1802-1814); promoted to colonel (1804); created Premier prince du sang (18 May 1804) and Grand-électeur (Grand Elector, 18 May 1804); was offered the Crown of Lombardy, but rejected (response communicated to Napoléon 27 Jan 1805); promoted to division general (1806); sent by Napoléon I^er to conquer the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily; entered Naples 15 Feb 1806; was created King of Naples and Sicily by decree of Napoléon I^er (30 Mar 1806, communicated to Joseph 13 Apr 1806 near Scigliano on a military expedition to Calabria, returning to Naples 11 May 1806); ordered to come to Bayonne, France (Napoléon's letter of 11 May 1808, received 21 May 1808); left Naples 24 May 1808; appointed King of the Spains and of the Indies by decree of Napoléon I^er (6 Jun 1808); arrived to Bayonne (7 Jun 1808); signed the Constitution of Bayonne (6 Jul 1808) and was sworn in as constitutional monarch (7 Jul 1808); ceded his rights to the Crowns of Naples and Sicily in favor of Napoléon I^er by a treaty (5 Jul 1808); abdicated the crowns of Naples and Sicily (8 Jul 1808, decision communicated to Naples 20 Jul 1808); entered the territory of Spain (9 Jul 1808), reaching Madrid by 20 Jul 1808; evacuated Madrid (29 Jul 1808) after defeat of the French army at Bailén; restored to his power with invasion of the grand army under Napoléon I^er, which seized Madrid on 3-4 Dec 1808; returned to Madrid (22 Jan 1809), continuing warfare with the Spanish national resistance and their English allies; was displeased with limitation of his power by French military commanders; grew increasingly frustrated with his mission and failed to pursue independent course in politics despite his appeals to Napoléon; participated in a number of campaigns and battles [8]; following the defeat in the Battle of Vitoria (21 Jun 1813), he abandoned Spain, crossing the border on 28 Jun 1813 near Bera, Navarre; served as lieutenant-général de l'Empereur (lieutenant-general of the emperor, appointed 28 Jan 1814) and commander-in-chief of the National Guard (1814); departed for Switzerland (1814), but returned to France on 19 Mar 1815; peer of France (22 Apr 1815); moved to the United States where he lived under the pseudonym of the Comte de Survilliers at Bordentown, New Jersey; returned to Europe in 1832. Biography source: [9][10]