Image from New Jersey Historical Society.īonaparte sometimes lived in Philadelphia during the winter and became close friends with Stephen Girard, General Thomas Cadwalader and Joseph Hopkinson, president of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Point Breeze is visible on the horizon on the right. "View from Bordentown Hill on the Delaware" by C.B. The Count was known as a generous, gracious host, entertaining guests both local citizens and friends who were some of the most distinguished men in the country. Reportedly financed with the sale of some of the crown jewels of Spain, Bonaparte was comfortably ensconced in a mansion with his fine and decorative arts collections, library, and entourage. After a time in New York City and then Philadelphia, Joseph Bonaparte became enamored with the countryside of western New Jersey and bought an estate of 211 acres called Point Breeze in Bordentown, near the confluence of Crosswicks Creek and the Delaware River for $17,000. But with an 1816 French law banishing the Bonapartes from France, Joseph Bonaparte and his party (minus his wife) sailed to New York incognito. Joseph Bonaparte in a portrait by Jean-Baptiste Wicar, 1803.Ībdicating the Spanish throne after the defeat of French forces to the British in the Battle of Vitoria in 1813, he returned to France. Bonaparte, as he was sometime called, was one of the most significant of the emigres to become a catalyst in bringing European culture to early 19th century America. There were large numbers of artists and craftsmen who came to this country seeking opportunities, but Mr. Not so many outside the Mid-Atlantic region seem to be aware that Joseph Bonaparte, former King of Spain and the Indies (and King of Naples before that) and elder brother of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I, lived in the United States as the Comte de Survilliers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |