Overview

The Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III and one of the most beautiful women ever to grace a throne, was the victim of her own inconstant mind. A daughter of an aristocratic Spanish family, she had a natural reverence for legitimate monarchy; yet her high-spirited temperament and chivalric outlook made her admire instinctively the boldness and aura of glory that she associated with the Napoleonic empire. The incongruous principles of Legitimism and Bonapartism battling within the Empress produced in her a double-mindedness that had tragic consequences. The Empress has always been a controversial figure. Her enemies have blamed her the fall of the Second Empire and the defeat of France; her admirers have disclaimed for her any part in the mistakes that led to the disastrous Franco-Prussian War of 1870. To determine the actual role that Eugenie played, Barker, using material from public and private European archives and a wide range of published works, examines in Distaff Diplomacy the development of the Empress' views on foreign affairs and ascertains their effect on the formation of the policies of the Second Empire. Eugenie's influence fluctuated widely over the years. As a bride she was neither interested in nor knowledgable about foreign matters; as a middle-aged woman, in the late years of the Empire, she was discredited by her past errors, but she continued to pull strings outside of normal diplomatic channels. Her most sustained and effective work, from 1861 to 1863, was largely the inspiration for a grand design to remake the map to assure French hegemony in Europe and to establish an empire in Mexico. The success of this design rested on an Austro-French alliance; but the design itself, reflecting the Empress' incoherent thinking, contained the fatal inconsistencies that made Austrian rejection of it inevitable. Since the Mexican expedition and the diplomatic muddle of 1863 were the watershed from which the subsequent troubles of the Empire flowed, the Empress must be held responsible for seriously undermining the foreign policy of the Empire. Despite Eugenie's many fine qualities-her generosity of spirit, her splendid courage, and her moral integrity-her diplomatic efforts, affected as they were by her background, temperament, state of health, and changing moods, did not amount to statesmanship. This first systematic examination of the Empress' influence on foreign policy delves deeply and carefully into the subject.

Full Product Details

Author:   Nancy Nichols Barker
Publisher:   University of Texas Press
Imprint:   University of Texas Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780292735927

ISBN 10:   0292735928
Pages:   268
Publication Date:   01 January 1967
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Preface Abbreviations Used in the Footnotes I. FROM COUNTESS TO EMPRESS: “La Montijo Triomphe” A Mésalliance? The Eastern Question Eyes across the Pyrenees The Beginning of Trouble with Rome II. THE ITALIAN WAR : An Apprentice in Revolt Orsini and the Empress’ Italian Phase “Our Cause is Good …” Madame la Régente In Defense of Altar— —And Throne III. THE COLD WAR of 1859–1861: The Triumph of the “Italianissimes” The Argument over the Preliminaries of Villafranca “The Battle of Compiègne” “The Pope and the Congress” Complications at Home Annexation of Nice and Savoy: An Idyllic Interlude Frustration and Flight Revolution Prevails IV. THE GRAND DESIGN: Italy, Mexico, and Poland, 1861–1863 Reversing the Revolutionary Trend The Origin of the Mexican Venture The Roman Question: A Trial of Strength The Fall of Thouvenel The Polish Revolt: A Marriage of Inclination? V. EMPIRE IN THE DOLDRUMS : The Loss of Hegemony, 1863–1866 A Woman Scorned Reactions and Reprisals: Rome— —And Mexico Prewar Diplomacy—Picking a Loser VI. AFTER SADOWA : “The Beginning of the End of the Dynasty” The Impact of Sadowa The Forage for Compensations Political Limbo The Roman Question Again Realignments and Reappraisals VII. A TIME TO SPEAK : “II Faut en Finir” In Quest of Allies Fall of the Vice Emperor Revolution in Spain The Hohenzollern Candidacy for the Spanish Throne Premature Exultation The Demand for Guarantees The Declaration of War VIII. A HOUSE DIVIDED Appendix: Metternich to Rechberg, February 22, 1863 Bibliography Index

Reviews

Author Information

Nancy Nichols Barker (1925–1994) was Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions