Exiled in luxury, with misery on the horizon.
Intestinal problems rather than poison to worry about. Conspiracy in the dizzying wake
of delirium. Napoleon Bonaparte’s final months weren’t as peachy as you’d think.
When Napoleon was exiled the first time it was to Elba, a small island in the Tuscan
Archipelago. As part of the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Napoleon was allowed
to keep the title of emperor, and given a sizable annual income of two million francs.
Hundreds of guards were also allowed to attend to him,
and he was given absolute rule over the island to which he was exiled. Even in exile,
the disgraced Napoleon would live in luxury. Still, it wasn't enough.
“Get out of my sight now!”
“You are bloody maniac! I don’t want to stay
anymore.” *Grumbles*
Soon, Napoleon returned to power in France, but for just a brief time before his
defeat at Waterloo. Following that infamous battle, Napoleon nearly escaped to America.
In an effort to prevent Napoleon from trying to seize power again,
the island of Elba was deemed to be too close to the European mainland.
Instead, he was sent to a remote island in the South Atlantic called St. Helena.
Several of Napoleon's companions accompanied him into this second exile. At first, his life on the
island was somewhat serene. Napoleon ate well, slept late, played cards, and read books in both
French and English. But only a few months after he arrived, he began complaining of health problems.
Only a short time after he arrived on St. Helena, Napoleon, then 46,
reported similar symptoms to the condition that would one day kill him. As his mood worsened,
Napoleon's body began to be wracked with aches and pains.
Sometimes he was unable to sleep, and other times he was unable to stay awake.
Headaches and intestinal issues — including both diarrhea and constipation — furthered
his misery. Other symptoms Napoleon suffered from included dehydration,
hearing issues, tooth pain, and sores on his mouth and lips. He also became jaundiced and
was known to spasm, losing consciousness at several points, as Dartmouth Medicine explains.
A particularly bad bout of illness in 1817 lasted an entire year; doctors were brought in to attend
the sick exiled leader. What was wrong remained unclear. Signs of illness would come and go.
One Irish doctor named Barry O'Meara was at Napoleon's side throughout the episode,
having been on the British ship he surrendered to in 1815. He recorded
that Napoleon was suffering from vomiting,
soreness in his liver and along the right side of his abdomen, a lack of appetite, and fever.
Even though Napoleon's health improved over the course of the following year,
his symptoms returned at the end of 1818. By the early days of 1819, it was believed that
he could be close to dying. In retrospect, all his symptoms could add up to poisoning:
After all, there was certainly ample motive for world governments to conspire to do so.
Even after the low point of Napoleon's malady in 1817, he would seem to recover one final time
and add yet another layer of mystery to his health condition. In 1819, Napoleon was well
enough to rise early and work until mid-morning, overseeing several ongoing projects on his estate.
Despite periodic setbacks, this good health would remain for more than a year,
though this turn of good luck for Napoleon would not last long. By 1820, the worst of his symptoms
returned and he once more was under medical care with his daily activities highly restricted.
By March of 1821, Napoleon suffered a severe relapse. By the first of May that year,
he'd grown weak and almost completely lost his hearing. He vomited, hiccuped,
became incoherent, and struggled to breathe.
By May 4, Napoleon lost consciousness one final time and died the following day.
At first, some medical professionals believed the exiled emperor's cause of death could
be chronic hepatitis, or a possible stomach ulcer. An autopsy revealed a lesion, fluid,
and scarring in Napoleon's lungs. His spleen and liver were also swollen. A large mass
and lesion were also detected. Nevertheless, and even though rumors of poisoning remained,
Napoleon's death was deemed at the time to be caused by a stomach ulcer.
“He died. Deliriously whispering – France, Army, Chief of Army.”
Adding fuel to the theory that Napoleon may have been poisoned by his political enemies were
high levels of arsenic found in his hair. But, here's the thing: With arsenic more widely used
in all sorts of products at that time, levels of arsenic detected in an autopsy was not uncommon.
Otherwise, there was no other real evidence of poisoning recorded in Napoleon's autopsy, such
as heart hemorrhaging. Combining modern medicine with notes and other period evidence, a study
from an international team of researchers has now concluded that Napoleon died from gastric cancer.
Supporting this theory is the mass that was found in his stomach at the time of his autopsy,
as well as rapid weight loss, and a grainy substance caused in his stomach by bleeding.
Referring to the likely cancerous growth in Napoleon's stomach, a pathology and internal
medicine professor from the University of Texas, Robert Genta told National Geographic,
"It was a huge mass from the entrance of his stomach to the exit.
It was at least [four inches] long. Size alone suggests the lesion was cancer."
With that, the mystery of what killed Napoleon was answered,
and conspiracy theories that Napoleon may have been poisoned seem to be put to rest.
Despite the verdict recently reached on what killed Napoleon Bonaparte, some questions remain
such as what caused it, and whether or not his father and sister, who suffered a similar plight,
may have also succumbed to the same condition. These final questions may never be answered.
“The fact is, I’m growing weaker every day.”
Napoleon's poor diet likely didn't help any potential genetic predisposition toward cancer,
and even if he had not been in exile his ultimate fate was likely unavoidable.
Similarly, it's highly unlikely, given his condition, that he could
have returned to power for long even if he had tried.
Genta also told National Geographic that with the advanced stages of his illness,
treatment from modern medicine may have only prolonged his life another year… maybe.
Following Napoleon's death, he was at first buried at a place called Sane Valley on St.
Helena. Eventually, the French were allowed to return Napoleon Bonaparte to his homeland,
where he currently rests on the grounds of Les Invalides, a complex of historic structures in
Paris. His empty tomb remains on St. Helena, though, and it can still be visited today.