This is the third installment formed by pieces of José Luis Aragón Panés, on the occasion of the commemoration of the Battle of Chiclana.
On the occasion of the commemoration of the Battle of Chiclana, the Museum of Chiclana welcomes a new guest piece, which will be available to the public until March 6. It is a question of 'The impossible dream of Napoleon. The King who could not reign: Joseph Napoleon I', formed by elements donated by José Luis Aragón Panés. This has been announced by the municipal delegate of Culture, Susana Rivas, and the author himself. It is the preamble to the events commemorating the 213th anniversary of the Battle of Chiclana, during the Napoleonic period in our city.
Continuing with the exhibition cycle, 'Spain: the impossible dream of Napoleon', this year, which is the third, various collectibles are exhibited, related to King Joseph and his family; a facsimile of the proclamation of Joseph Napoleon I, July 12, 1808, in which he addressed his subjects at the time of taking possession of the kingdom; postcards of the King, three reproductions of coins of the time and a book with an extensive biography of the monarch.
"With the upcoming commemoration 213 anniversary of the Battle of Chiclana on March 5, José Luis Aragón Panés brings us these pieces on Joseph Bonaparte," said Susana Rivas, who has encouraged citizens to visit the Museum and enjoy this guest piece. "Thank José Luis his commitment to bring us all that hard work of his on the Battle of Chiclana," he stressed.
For his part, José Luis Aragón Panés has indicated that "this will be our third year with the initiative 'Spain. Napoleon's dream', after those made on Napoleon himself the first year and Goya and the family of Charles IV the second year." "With this guest piece, which is a facsimile of the proclamation of Joseph Bonaparte as king of Spain, three coins of the time, a series of cards and the genealogy of the family, visitors can learn a small profile of what was the king who could not reign," said the chronicler of the city, who recalled that "Joseph was a person very close to his brother, one of his advisers, perhaps the most intelligent people Napoleon surrounded himself."
Joseph Napoleon I, King of Spain and the Indies, was born in 1768 in Corte (Corsica), being the first-born of the marriage between Carlo Buonaparte and Maria Leticia Ramolino. Lawyer by profession, he was one of the most intelligent personalities of those who surrounded his brother the emperor. Before Spain, he reigned for two years in Naples, assuming the position with dignity.
Joseph was not as enlightened and reforming a king as he was believed to be. Nor was he the inept and indolent king that he was made out to be from a simplistic and biased point of view. He was willing to modernize Spain, especially the inefficient and obsolete structure of the absolutist state machine. Convinced that he could carry out his task, he confronted his brother the emperor who, disparaging him, said of him: "My brother has become completely a king".
He was unjustly called unjustly on numerous occasions, but this did not overshadow his attempts to reign for all Spaniards, although he was unable to do so. Neither the war, nor his hostile subjects, nor some of his closest collaborators allowed him to do so. After the war he went into exile in Switzerland, the United States, and later in Florence. He died there in 1844. He is buried in Paris, at Les Invalides, to the right of Napoleon's tomb.
Source: Chiclana City Hall
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