Carlo Buonaparte

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Carlo Maria Buonaparte (March 29, 1746 – February 24, 1785) was the father of Napoleon I of France.

He was born in Ajaccio, Corsica his father is Giuseppe Maria Buonaparte (May 31, 1713-December 13, 1763) and his wife Maria-Anna Tusilo de Bocagnano (1690-September 17, 1760). His father had represented Ajaccio to the council of Corte in 1749.

His paternal grandparents were Sebastiano Nicolo Buonaparte (September 29, 1683-November 24, 1760) and his wife Maria Colonna Bozzi (c. 1668-October 16, 1704). Whether his paternal grandmother had any relation to the Colonna family is uncertain.

[edit] Marriage and children

He is said to have been in love with a girl of the Forcioli family. His paternal uncle Archdeacon Luciano Buonaparte (January 8, 1718 - October 16, 1791) instead convinced him to marry Maria Letizia Ramolino for a dowry of 7,000 Lires of the Republic of Genoa.

He married Letizia on June 2, 1764. They had a total of thirteen children:

• Napoleone Buonaparte (1764/1765 - August 17, 1765).
• Maria Anna Buonaparte (January 3, 1767 - January 1, 1768).
• Joseph Bonaparte (January 7, 1768 - July 28, 1844).
• Napoleon I of France (August 15, 1769 - May 5, 1821). Named for his deceased older brother.
• Maria Anna Buonaparte (1770). Named for her deceased older sister.
• Maria Anna Buonaparte (July 14 - November 23, 1771). Named for her deceased older sisters.
• A stillborn son.
• Lucien Bonaparte (May 21, 1775 - June 29, 1840).
• Elisa Bonaparte (January 13, 1777 - August 7, 1820).
• Louis Bonaparte (September 2, 1779 - July 25, 1844).
• Pauline Bonaparte (October 20, 1780 - June 9, 1825).
• Caroline Bonaparte (March 24, 1782 - May 18, 1839). Wife of Joachim Murat.
• Jérôme Bonaparte (November 15, 1784 - June 24, 1860).

[edit] Career

He left Corsica shortly after his marriage to study law in Rome which at the time was the seat of Pope Clement XIII. He left Rome in a hurry on August 31, 1765. His reasons were uncertain. His hasty return to Corsica lead to him enlisting its recently founded University. He enlisted a course in Ethics by December of the same year.

Prior to his graduation Carlo was employed as a secretary by Pasquale Paoli, starting on 1767.

The Republic of Genoa had offered Corsica to Louis XV of France as payment for a debt in 1768. Many Corsicans were against this change of hands. Carlo was noted for a fervent speech against the French "invasion".

Carlo apparently changed his mind soon after the French conquest of the island. He was appointed assessor to the royal court for Ajaccio and the neighbouring districts on September 20, 1769. He never again questioned French authority.

He was awarded a Doctorate of Law by the University of Pisa between November 27 and November 30, 1769.

The French administration created a Corsican Order of nobility in April, 1770. Carlo already possessed the title of a "noble Patrician of Tuscany" due to his ancestry. He was recognized as a member of the new Corsican nobility on September 13, 1771.

He was named Corsica's representative to the court of Louis XVI of France at Versailles in 1778. He remained at court for a number of years.

He died in Montpellier. He was survived by his wife and eight of his children.