- Italian:
- Gioacchino Murat
- Born:
- March 25, 1767, La Bastide-Fortunière, France
- Died:
- October 13, 1815, Pizzo, Calabria (aged 48)
- Title / Office:
- king (1808-1815), Kingdom of Naples
- Notable Family Members:
- spouse Caroline Bonaparte
Joachim Murat
-
Who was Joachim Murat?
Joachim Murat (1767–1815) was a celebrated French cavalry leader under Napoleon and King of Naples (1808–15). Murat's early military career saw him rise through the ranks, distinguishing himself in key battles such as Marengo and Austerlitz. Awarded the title of Grand Duke of Berg and Cleves, he later became King of Naples, where he implemented reforms such as breaking up vast landed estates and introducing the Napoleonic Code. Despite his contributions, Murat's ambition led him to seek the Spanish throne and later to waver between loyalty to Napoleon and alliances against him. Ultimately, his attempt to reclaim Naples failed, and he was captured and executed.
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How did Joachim Murat become king of Naples?
Joachim Murat, a celebrated marshal of Napoleon, became king of Naples in 1808. After Napoleon placed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne, he gave Joseph's former position as king of Naples to Murat. In Naples, Murat implemented reforms such as breaking up vast landed estates and introducing the Napoleonic Code.
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What was Murat's relationship to Napoleon Bonaparte?
Joachim Murat was a celebrated French cavalry leader under Napoleon Bonaparte, eventually becoming the king of Naples. Murat's career advanced significantly when he aided Bonaparte in suppressing a royalist insurrection in Paris in 1795, which led to his appointment as Bonaparte's aide-de-camp for the Italian campaign of 1796–97.
Their relationship was further solidified when Murat married Napoleon’s youngest sister, Caroline. As king of Naples from 1808 to 1815, Murat implemented reforms such as breaking up vast landed estates and introducing the Napoleonic Code. Despite his loyalty, Murat occasionally wavered, such as during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812, when he abandoned the army to save his kingdom.
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What changes did Murat make as king of Naples?
As king of Naples from 1808 to 1815, Joachim Murat brought about significant changes. He not only indulged in a lavish court but also implemented key reforms, such as distributing vast landed estates and introducing the Napoleonic Code. He opened the administration to those who earned it and took effective measures against Neapolitan brigandage. Murat also encouraged cotton growing and foresaw the unification of Italy, fostering secret societies that would later contribute to the Risorgimento.
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How did Murat's rule in Naples come to an end?
Joachim Murat's rule as king of Naples ended due to a combination of military defeat and political circumstances. After initially wavering between loyalty to Napoleon and negotiation with the Allies, Murat declared war on Austria in 1815, hoping to unify Italy under his rule. However, his forces were quickly defeated, and he was forced to abdicate and flee to Corsica. In October 1815, he attempted to regain his kingdom but was captured by Bourbon troops and executed. The Congress of Vienna restored the Bourbons to the throne of Naples, thus ending Murat's reign.
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What is Murat remembered for in European history?
Joachim Murat is remembered in European history as a celebrated French marshal under Napoleon and as the King of Naples from 1808 to 1815. In Naples, he implemented significant reforms, such as breaking up large estates and introducing the Napoleonic Code, and he opened the administration to those who earned it. These fiscal, judicial, and educational reforms were similar to those in the Kingdom of Italy. Murat also foresaw a unified Italy and encouraged secret societies that would later play a role in the Risorgimento.
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Joachim Murat (born March 25, 1767, La Bastide-Fortunière, France—died October 13, 1815, Pizzo, Calabria) was a French cavalry leader who was one of Napoleon’s most celebrated marshals and who, as king of Naples (1808–15), lent stimulus to Italian nationalism.
The son of an innkeeper, he studied briefly for a career in the church but enlisted in a cavalry regiment in 1787 and, when war broke out in 1792, won rapid promotion. In October 1795 he was on hand in Paris at the moment that Napoleon Bonaparte was entrusted with the mission of suppressing a royalist insurrection; Murat’s contribution in bringing up cannon won him a place as aide-de-camp to Bonaparte for the Italian campaign of 1796–97. In Italy and later in Egypt (1798–99) he established his reputation as a gifted and daring leader of cavalry, and he again served his chief well in the coup d’état of 18 Brumaire, year VIII (November 9, 1799), by which Bonaparte seized power as first consul. Murat’s reward was the hand of Napoleon’s youngest sister, Caroline.
In the Italian campaign of 1800 Murat helped win the decisive Battle of Marengo, and in 1801 he rapidly concluded the campaign against Bourbon-ruled Naples by imposing the Armistice of Foligno. As governor of Paris in 1804, he was included among the first generals promoted to the rank of marshal after Napoleon’s coronation as emperor on December 2. In 1805 he played a conspicuous role in the Austerlitz campaign, helping to pin the Austrian Army in Ulm, where it was forced to surrender, and defeating Austrian and Russian cavalry on the field of Austerlitz. At Jena in 1806 his energetic pursuit completed destruction of the Prussian Army, and at Eylau in 1807 his headlong charge saved a desperate tactical situation.
Rewarded with the title of grand duke of Berg and Clèves, Murat began to have dreams of sovereignty, and when he was sent to act as Napoleon’s lieutenant in Spain he tried to gain possession of the unoccupied Spanish throne. His intrigues led instead to Spanish opposition and a rising in Madrid that, though quelled (May 2, 1808), ended his hopes. Though Napoleon gave the Spanish throne to his brother Joseph, he rewarded Murat with Joseph’s former place as king of Naples, under the name Joachim-Napoléon (or Gioacchino-Napoleone, in Italian).
In Naples Murat not only satisfied his own vanity by a lavish court display but also carried out important reforms, breaking up the vast landed estates and introducing the Napoleonic Code. The administration was opened to advancement by merit, cotton growing was encouraged, and effective measures were taken against the chronic Neapolitan brigandage. Murat even foresaw the unification of Italy, a development at whose head he sought to place himself through the encouragement of secret societies that eventually played a major role in the Risorgimento.
In 1812 Murat took part in Napoleon’s Russian campaign and once more distinguished himself at Borodino; but, left in charge of the shattered Grand Army during the retreat from Moscow, he abandoned it to try to save his kingdom of Naples. In 1813 he wavered between loyalty to Napoleon and negotiation with the allies. The Austrians signed a treaty with him, but the former Bourbon rulers of Naples raised objections, and his situation was in doubt when Napoleon returned to France in 1815. He then staked his hopes on an appeal to Italian nationalism, but his Neapolitans were defeated by the Austrians at Tolentino, and he was forced to flee to Corsica. In October he made a last, hopeless attempt to recover Naples virtually unaided and was taken prisoner and shot.
Murat left two sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Napoléon-Achille (1801–47), went to the United States in 1821, took U.S. citizenship, and died in Florida. The younger son, Napoléon-Lucien-Charles (1803–78), went to the United States in 1825 but returned to France in 1848 and was recognized as a prince by Napoleon III, with the title of Prince Murat, under the Second Empire. From him descended the princely house of Murat, surviving into the 20th century.
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