8. Joseph Bonaparte, the Diplomat
Joseph Bonaparte continued to serve as a diplomat after younger brother Napoleon seized power, reorganized the government, and established himself as head of the French Consulate. Over the next few years, Joseph helped negotiate the Treaty of Luneville with Austria in 1801, and the Treaty of Amiens with Britain in 1802. However, his efforts to forge a permanent peace with the British came to naught, when Napoleon’s military ambitions led to a rupture and a resumption of war with Britain in 1803. In 1805, the Bourbon King Ferdinand IV of Naples signed a treaty of neutrality with Napoleon. However, he reneged a few days later, and openly sided with Austria and Russia when they declared war against France. Unfortunately for King Ferdinand, Napoleon crushed the Austro-Russian armies. The irate French emperor then turned his wrath on the Neapolitan monarch, and declared that King Ferdinand had forfeited his throne.
