Bonapartism arose in response to disorders unleashed in France by incessant struggle between forces associated with the Revolution of 1789 and counter-revolutionary forces associated with the ancien régime. If they are to endure, all ‘isms’ must subsequently evolve as circumstances alter, and Bonapartism was no exception. As a political movement directed towards the acquisition or retention of power, Bonapartism began to emerge only after the first fall of Napoleon in 1814, and even then it lacked organisation and doctrinal clarity until the 1840s. While they helped prepare a receptive audience for the organisation of a distinct movement, neither the cult nor the legend of Napoleon fully constituted Bonapartism and, for that matter, they both outlived it.