33.3 Europe: a.d. 1801 to 1900  (Page 8/27)

An interesting sidelight to the machinations of Metternich and his Austrian emperor has to do with the treatment of the only son of Napoleon. Born in March, 1811 to Marie Louis, daughter of Emperor Franz, Napoleon had his son christened "Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles Bonaparte, King of Rome". After his father 's banishment to Elba, the boy was tentatively to be given the title of Prince of Parma, with his mother as regent, but in the end Metternich and the emperor took him to Vienna for "protection" while his mother was given a small principality in Italy to rule. In Vienna, as a bright, handsome child, Napoleon II was raised virtually as a political prisoner until his death from tuberculosis at the age of 21 years. To the end he intermittently hoped for a throne and was actually considered at one time or another for the crowns of Greece, Poland and Belgium, as well as France. His mother took a lover by whom she had several illegitimate children and turned against her banished husband and essentially abandoned her French son. (Ref. 23 )

Concerning Metternich, the other side of the coin shows that his domestic "system" led to revolution and his eventual downfall. To prevent the rise of nationalism in his multi- racial domain, he developed almost a police state, denying all freedoms. There was no free parliament, no free press, no free university, no intelligent civil service. All liberalism was suppressed. The revolution was led by the intellectuals in 1848, and the aims there were different than those in Germany, for in Austria the revolution was designed at securing autonomy for the component nationalities living under the Habsburg rule. In the turmoil, Metternich was forced to resign and he escaped to London, while Vienna was turned over to the National Guard. The Hungarians adopted their own constitution and other coalitions rose to demand self-rule. The Milanese forced the withdrawal of Austrian troops and the Venetians set up an independent republic again. The Czechs, Moravians and Galicians were all clamoring for autonomy. In the meantime (while Metternich was still there), the old emperor had died (1835) and the inadequate Ferdinand, hydrocephalic, epileptic and close to an idiot, reigned in name only. Prince Felix von Schwarzenberg assumed the post of chief minister and persuaded the weak Ferdinand to abdicate in favor of his 18 year old grandson Franz-Joseph I and between them, the Habsburg Empire was restored.

In a few years the new emperor took as his bride the beautiful Elizabeth, a Wittelsbach of Bavaria and then proceeded to complete his reign of "sixty-eight years of almost unbroken misfortune and disaster but he never swerved or flinched from his mission"