Louis Bonaparte: Encyclopedia II - Louis Bonaparte - King of Holland

Louis Bonaparte - King of Holland

His brother Napoleon made him king of Holland on June 5, 1806. Intended by his older brother as little more than a French governor, Louis took his duties as King seriously, calling himself King Lodewijk I (adopting the Dutch form of his name), attempting to learn the Dutch language and trying hard to be a responsible, independent ruler of Holland.

During his reign, Holland was struck by two major tragedies: the explosion of a ship filled with gunpowder in the heart of the city of Leiden in 1807, and a major flooding in 1809. In both tragedies, Louis personally and effectively oversaw local relief efforts, which helped earn him the moniker of Louis the Good.

Napoleon, accusing Louis of putting Dutch interests above those of France, forced him to abdicate on July 1, 1810.

Louis Bonaparte had also been created the Count of Saint-Leu. He was created Constable of France in 1808, a strictly honorary title. He was also Grand Duke of Berg and Cleves from 1809 to 1813 under the reign name of Karl Ludwig Napoléon.

After the death of his elder brother Joseph in 1844, Louis was seen by Bonapartists as the rightful Emperor of the French, although he took little action himself to advance the claim. (His son and heir, the future Napoleon III, on the other hand, was at that time imprisoned in France for having tried to engineer a Bonapartist coup d'etat).

Louis died on July 25, 1846, and is buried at Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, Île-de-France.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "King of Holland", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki