Napoleon III, born Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, rose from exile to become the first President of France and then Emperor. He’s known for modernizing Paris, building the Suez Canal, and his eventful reign that ended with the Franco-Prussian War and the collapse of the Second French Empire.
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If you are interested in French History, please watch our related biographies below.
1. Napoleon Bonaparte Part One – The Early Years https://youtu.be/HCU_cuAfkuc
2. Napoleon Bonaparte Part Two – The Rise to Power https://youtu.be/9AP-hi7I0cg
3. Napoleon Bonaparte Part Three – Reign & Rule https://youtu.be/X9I8SyadmfI
4. Napoleon Bonaparte Part Four – War & Peace https://youtu.be/m2AuqfIg8OY
5. Napoleon Bonaparte Part Five – Downfall & Exile https://youtu.be/eoW14EUcFRc
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Interesting compilation, but I think talent and personality outshine physical looks any day.
Do one on Bernadotte.
Love Napoleon III
Great presentation.. Thank you
Napoleon lll definitely mixed results. but Bonaparte resolve and persistence and wise social and cultural policies definitely need admiration
Napoleon 3 sounds like politics today. Sell the public a populist message, get elected and create laws to secure your power, flick the working poor a few crumbs but keep the lion’s share for you and your rich friends.
According to this program, Napoleon III was definitely a plus for the country and managed to gain support from the population enough to be a very democratic autocrat. Autocrats, we may think, can more easily make mistakes. But with all the democraties making incredible wastes and errors and corruptions these days, maybe democraties are not much better as a system. The qualities of the men/women in power is probably more important. Here also, we noticed that Napoleon III was making his Eugenie (woman) the ruler in his absence. The downfall came with the germans and the germans proved disatrous for Europe and the whole world soon after. Hence, France cannot really be blamed for its struggles in the following years. I must say though that France made terrible mistakes in wars and from its diaspora in some colonies, particularly Algérie. All these war and political histories may inform how to gain a final world peace, something elusive so far, but no inaccessible.
He transformed Paris, industrialized the country, and implemented the first social policies. At the end he got sick and listen to poor advisers, totally underestimating the german prussian led military machine.
Amazing video! I always love a bit of French History, especially from the late 18th to the mid 19th century. Don't know if it's on a list but would it be possible to have a Franz Joseph video one day? His long reign and personal life were absolutely fascinating! Thanks again for all your hard work T.P.P team! 🙂
He was indeed one of those figures that escape the usual standards of historical judgement: on the one hand, he has genially vilified by Marx and Zola; on the other, his immense work of society and, above all, culture, witnesses his capability. And, as always, the documentary shows this with a rich visual framework. Thanks.
Made Paris more beautiful. Social policies OK. Exterior politics, well, part of the messy ambitions to create Empires.
Napoleon III paved the way for Impressionism with his failure of the war with Prussia, as France needed something entirely new to get back national confidence. So indirectly Napoleon III made France the leading cultural nation of the world!
It’s the first time I have revisited since my A Levels many years ago. I had always regarded him as an ambitious and hapless due to his early failures and the manner of his fall from power, but this has given me a different perspective. It’s a complex matter especially when judged by our opinions of colonialism and personal morality. Although flawed and selfish maybe his heart was in the right place? Would the world have been a better place without him? Probably.
~ 38:30
He was allowed to keep a mistress in a prison?! What?!
The Russians could well have taken Constantinople in the 1850's but were thwarted by the French & English foolishly saving the Ottoman Muslims. Some seventy years later the English & French were allied to Russia during WW1 but the capture of the city from the Turks was forestalled by the Bolshevik revolution. More's the pity.
In his time the English called him a goat for his promiscuity.
Do documentaries on African leaders too
We can't afford to be reading about European and Asian leaders only
He was a great man
Not my Empereur. I was only born in 1961 and only became French in 2018. Neither Napoleon was Italian, however.
22 years in the UK, 4 years in Saudi Arabia and 38 years in France.
Vive la République, vive la France 🇫🇷🇪🇺. EXCELLENT VIDEO THOUGH. THE DEFINITIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE VERSION.
Louis Napoleon simply walking out of prison dressed as a worker is some Looney Tunes shit
Just started to listen to the Chappo vid and I couldn't do it because of the different narrator. It's the narrator on this vid for me or nothing.
Could you do a video on Santa Anna?
Please do a video on the life of Otto Von Bismarck.
Yes great man
Could you cover Herge of tintin fame, Michael Collins, Eammon De Valera
Yes another good video of French history! Love to see it.
Napoleons always getting exiled…
The mention of Mexico as a Central American country @ 1:06:34 is incorrect. Mexico is in North America
Thank you for this you guys are the best thank you
I wish presenter had a softer tone similar to the presenters in the previous years.
You would think these guys would learn to have less mistresses and more legit kids. They never learned lol.
I think that Louis Napoleon III was both good at his job as emperor and bad at his job at emperor. The bad news is he had to much power because he was an emperor. The good news is his empire brought new ideas and philosophies to different areas of the world. I think that he would be proud to have heard that his
legacy is still being talked about today.
Recommendations: Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun
Loved it
I wish you guys had more recognition. Absolutely the best history channel on YouTube.
A very good ruler and a sad end to the story. The French should hope for another restoration.
Napoleon 3's persistence was his greatest strength AND his greatest weakness.
Amazing video! I always love a bit of French History, especially from the late 18th to the mid 19th century. Don't know if it's on a list but would it be possible to have a Franz Joseph video one day? His long reign and personal life were absolutely fascinating! Thanks again for all your hard work T.P.P team! 🙂
I seriously don't understand what's so impressive with the French when they just lose wars and surrender all the time.
A fascinating portrait of a man often overshadowed by his uncle — yet whose reign shaped modern France in dramatic ways. From ambitious reforms to disastrous wars, Napoleon III's legacy is more complex than people think. A must-watch for anyone interested in the strange blend of empire, idealism, and downfall.
Make a Bismarck vidoe please
My goodness. So much history covered in just under 15 minutes alone! 🫨 ❤M
Hard to follow the linage ❤
My people in Mexico still don't like Napoleon III as he pretty much tried to cash in on stealing our land just because Mexico's Government was a little behind and it's debt, so we ended up finding out the hard way Mexico will never be conquered and will never surrender to a monarchy, the sad part is he did use Maximilian of the austro-hungarian empire just to get what he wanted and to this day Napoleon III is still despised by my people.
Such gross nails
But why does the picture look like Colonel Robert Shaw from Glory?
Please do one on Cnut the Great!!!
Napoleon III commissioned a grand reconstruction of Paris carried out by prefect of the Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann. He expanded and consolidated the railway system throughout the nation and modernized the banking system.