Was Napoleon III the world's first populist leader?

2026-09-10 · 56 min · episode 2624 · 7 entities

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mentioned HistoryExtra company

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Episode description as stored

Napoleon III's family was, in the words of historian Edward Shawcross, “the most cutthroat mafioso soap opera in the world”. Exiled to Switzerland as a boy and disowned by his own father, he spent years as a laughing stock of French politics, twice arrested trying to seize power. Here, in conversation with Danny Bird, Edward traces Louis-Napoleon's strange path from mocked pretender in exile to Emperor of the French, and explores whether Napoleon III can really be regarded as an early populist dictator. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST To find out more about Napoleon III's long-suffering consort, Eugénie de Montijo, don't miss our podcast episode on her relationship with Empress Sisi of Austria, in conversation with author Nancy Goldstone: https://bit.ly/3SfJfVR Go to ⁠https://surfshark.com/historyextra⁠ or use code HISTORYEXTRA at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices