AHC Napoleonic italy

I just saw (another) discussion about Napoleonic identity on the forum, and I came up with a idea of something I saw years ago

it was a scenario in which the island of Corsiga wasn't conquered by France, and then a fully italian Napoleone Bonaparte is born and thus lead italy to glory, I remember that in the scenario he turned into some alternative version of Garibaldi who first took power of genova and them milan, while marching south and totally unifying italy and late pushing the austrians and the french back

Well, in this Alternate history challenge your objective is to make a Bonapartist italy TL, I know you will have to slaughter some butterflies, but that's it, you don't necessary need Napoleon to be the leader of italy, but someone from his family or someone with the same ideals of the Bonapartist code
 
This may not so much be a case of slaughtering butterflies so much as sing heavy doses of handwavium. A Genoan Nappy is probably not going to get French military training, for example.
 
Gotta agree. Napoleon could have only risen to power due to the chaos of the French revolution. If he was Genoan there's little chance of him gaining power in Italy. Even if he couped the Doge of Genoa, what then? Genoa was a minor and fading power. He wouldn't be able to use it as a springboard to conquer say Sardinia-Piedmont and the rest of Northern Italy.
 
I think it's do-able. Let Pitt (Earl Of Chatham) accept the offer of a position in Rockingham's ministry in the UK and let Rockingham run the government (rather than letting Pitt fail to). Great Britain's luke warm support for the fledgling Corsican Republic is then extended into a blockade against French troops landing in 1768 which secures Corsica's independence (this action and the continuation of Rockingham will have HUGE butterflies for the American Revolution as well - anything from preventing it to accelerating it - peacefully!).

Napoleon's grows up in a state where the army is equipped and trained by the British. When (if?) the collapse of the monarchy in France occurs, radical Corsican volunteers (led by Napoleon) land in Sicily and then Naples to set up similar Republics. Here things get messy as Britain can easily prevent Corsica from supporting (overtly in any case) the volunteers. Napoleon being Napoleon organises the defense of the Sicilies and whilst Britain and others are distracted by the bloodshed in France extends the Republican influence into the Papal States.

The problem now ius Napoleon being Napoleon I can't see how he won't try something that overstretches his meager resources and annoys France or Austria (or indeed Britain) enough to squash him. I guess this alt-Napoleon may have learnt more politics given his background but it's still a big ask to retain Corsica, the Sicilies and possibly Sardina too as a core for later consolidation of Italy
 
Napoleon wouldn't have been able to achieve what he did without the combination of revolutionary élan, state of the art artillery and sofisticate French military tradition: his success didn't came out of nowhere and he couldn't replicate it in Genoa (with no significant army) or as some sort of guerrillero in Naples. If he disembarked there with some radicals he would likely be slaughtered by sanfedisti peasants...
 
Well, getting Napoleon in Savoyard service isn't that hard. Charles Emmanuel III was definitely interested in the conquest of Corsica during the War of Austrian Succession; he authorized the expedition of Count Rivarola to Corsica, which failed utterly even with British help because Rivarola was a complete incompetent. If he had chosen somebody better who was able to get the squabbling Corsican leaders behind the notion of liberation under the auspices of the House of Savoy - difficult, but far from impossible - the Corsicans might be able to roll up the last remaining Genoese coastal bastions before the end of the war, allowing Sardinia-Piedmont to present the conquest of Corsica as a fait accompli by the time of the peace conference.

The Savoyard monarchy would certainly raise a regiment from Corsica if the island came into their possession; the French and Neapolitans had already done that, and they didn't even possess the island. As I recall, Napoleon's family was of some small consequence in Corsica in Paoli's era and it's far from ridiculous to suppose that Napoleon, were he still born in this scenario, might end up in the Sardinian military. That, however, doesn't mean he'll do anything like what he went on to do in France; as others have noted, Napoleon's rise depended on a very specific set of circumstances that aren't likely to be repeated in Sardinia-Piedmont. At best, the Sardinians are probably going to get a clever artillery lieutenant. The addition of Corsica to the kingdom is the bigger gain, albeit probably not a game-changer from the perspective of Sardinia-Piedmont.

Still, he's better off working for the Savoyards than for Genoa, which was a decrepit state living on borrowed time.
 
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An important point of Napoléon's life, prior to his ascension as general, is his extensive studies. Between ages 9 and 21, he spend almost all his time in schools (Brienne, Paris, Auxonne), who greatly influenced his personality. For the lieutenant di Buonaparte to be Napoléon, an equivalent formation is necessary.

When the French bought Corsica from the Genovese, it was in a virtual independent state. The Bonaparte/Buonaparte were an important local family linked to Paoli, so in a non-French scenario, Corsica would have gone independent and the Bonaparte would still be on the winning side. The Corsican independence will be backed by at least a great power, be it French or Britain or even Spain. The sons of the new corsican elite will probably be sent to foreign schools in order to strengthen the links between Corsica and its protector, but also in order to gain competent administrators/military officers. A Woolwich-educated Napoléon, maybe ?

For the French not to go into Corsica, you would have to get rid of Choiseul two years prior to OTL (1768 instead of 1770). The "home first" policy of Maupeou-Terray-d'Aiguillon would lead to few foreign interventions. However, the conservative leanings of the triumvirate would probably not lead to a backing of the Corsicans, so these ones will go to the British for support. So, we have an independent, British-dependent Corsica by 1775.

In Corsica, the authoritative side of Pascal Paoli would probably go unchecked, as in OTL. It is quite possible to see Charles Bonaparte having a fallout with his former protector on some subject by 1785. With Charles out, Napoleon will have no further funding for his studies or perspective of career in Corsica. A logic reaction of the Bonaparte clan would be to go to France, the main rival of the British in the Med. So Bonaparte could maybe finish his studies/start his military life in France but as a foreigner, not a Frenchman.

The Corsica annexation had few consequences on the French Revolution, which is likely to happen in this TL in 1789. In these years of Revolution, young exiled Bonaparte will probably see the many opportunities opened by the radical shift in French statehood. Like the exiled Belgians, he could be a rising star in the liberal exiled italian community - the exiled Corsicans being probably too few to be an independent group. As with the Belgians, he will recruit and lead italian liberal units during the expansions phases of the Revolution. His ascension will be as swift as in OTL, but his objective different : from his formative years, he would not see himself as the providential man for France, but for Italy. Starting with Corsica, he will create an Italian Republic, dependent of the French revolutionary government, but his own importance will grow and grow until a breaking point with the French. If the French play ball and let him be the master in Italy (a quite difficult task, to get rid of all internal opposition and to keep the Austrians in check), we could see a true alliance between the two republics, something many in the liberal wing of the Revolutionaries (Talleyrand) would welcome. If not, the British may support him in order to force France to surrender the Netherlands. If he keeps his ambitions to Italy, annoying the Spanish and the Austrians will probably not be enough for France or GB to start a complicated assault on Italy. Maybe in his latter years, a second, more liberal revolution will be the downfall of Consul Napoleone Buonaparte, Founder of the Italian Republic.
 
Anybody want to speculate on a Napoleon whose family, as part of a Republic of Corsica sends Nappy to England for education? Per OTL we saw he had great respect for sciencen. He might lead the "intellectual revolution" of making the metric system standard in Britain! He could be seen as a Newton or Franklin, or at least an amateur savant like Jefferson.
 
Anybody want to speculate on a Napoleon whose family, as part of a Republic of Corsica sends Nappy to England for education? Per OTL we saw he had great respect for sciencen. He might lead the "intellectual revolution" of making the metric system standard in Britain! He could be seen as a Newton or Franklin, or at least an amateur savant like Jefferson.

It could be fun to see Napoléon as a peaceful man of science, widely respected in the english-speaking world. But if he went in England, it would probably be as cadet, not as university student.
 
It could be fun to see Napoléon as a peaceful man of science, widely respected in the english-speaking world. But if he went in England, it would probably be as cadet, not as university student.
Is that because of the family position and status that he would go military route instead of intellectual?
 
Is that because of the family position and status that he would go military route instead of intellectual?
As a second son, he was not destined to be trained as a lawyer in university. Military seemed quite normal. A more original thing would be for him to become a naval officer, as was his first choice. But the British system, though very efficient, put the schooling way after the practical. A Royal Navy Lieutenant Bonaparte would not be Napoleon.
 
As a second son, he was not destined to be trained as a lawyer in university. Military seemed quite normal. A more original thing would be for him to become a naval officer, as was his first choice. But the British system, though very efficient, put the schooling way after the practical. A Royal Navy Lieutenant Bonaparte would not be Napoleon.

What about a prussian Napoleon? Imagine he turning his owned parts of italy into a militaristic state like Prussia!
 
He could become Bishop a like his great-uncle.

Luciano Bonaparte was only archdeacon of Ajaccio, not Bishop. His chosen successor was his nephew Charles's brother-in-law, Joseph Fesch, not his grandnephews. It was probably done because of his age : in order to keep a clergy living in a family, you had to provide a suitable successor, of minimal canonical age. It is the reason why Talleyrand, for example, became a clergyman while he was the first son : the Talleyrands needed to keep his uncle Alexandre Angélique's livings inside the family and he was the only one old enough to become a successor. This led to a famous line from Napoléon to Talleyrand : "Your uncle was archbishop, mine was archdeacon. You know, in Corsica, archdeacons are as archbishop in France." Talleyrand swallowed it with a smile, but the Archbishop-Duke of Reims, first Peer of the Realm, consecrator of the King's coronation and the Archdeacon of Ajaccio were clearly not in the same world.
 
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