Controversy over Napoleon Bonaparte's death

DATE: May 5, 1821

THE EVENT: After the French emperor Napoleon I was defeated by the British at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, he was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, a British possession in the South Atlantic. He arrived on the island on October 17, 1815, and died there after less than six years of captivity at the age of fifty-one under circumstances that are still debated.

SIGNIFICANCE: The question of whether Napoleon I died from natural causes or from criminal action, as some allege, has been an ongoing source of controversy among historians. forensic science has played a small role in the examination of the available evidence in this case.

Physical as well as psychosomatic reasons could account for Napoleon I’s deteriorating health condition some two years after the exiled former French emperor arrived to live on the desolate island of Saint Helena. Napoleon’s father died from pyloric (lower stomach) cancer, so genetics may also have played a role. It is true, however, that more than one person may have had reasons to want the former emperor out of the way; this fact has lent credence to theories that Napoleon’s may have been poisoning.

Sickness

By 1817, Napoleon was intermittently complaining of a number of physical problems, including a pain in his stomach, discomfort in his spleen or kidneys, frequent heavy sweating, nausea and vomiting, and weariness. The several British doctors who examined him, as well as the French-Corsican physician Napoleon’s family eventually sent to care for him, Francesco Antommarchi, variously diagnosed chronic hepatitis, stomach cancer, an ulcerated stomach lining, and other ailments. The doctors subjected the often unwilling patient to such standard remedies of the time as emetics and bleeding.

Some of the physicians who were more astute than others suggested that Napoleon’s lack of physical exercise and isolation were contributory causes; they encouraged Napoleon’s predilection for horse riding and gardening. Indeed, when Napoleon felt well enough to engage in these activities, he became more energized. His seeming remission would then end, however, or he would become too depressed to want to engage in any activities and would instead spend long hours dozing or sleeping. He took part in socializing with the members of his dwindling entourage only intermittently.

By all accounts, Napoleon was very sensitive to his surroundings—his remoteness from family, Saint Helena’s unhealthy climate, his rat-infested residence at Longwood House, and especially the demeaning attitude of his captors. The British governor of Saint Helena, Sir Hudson Lowe, insisted on calling him “General Bonaparte” instead of “Emperor,” adding to Napoleon’s unhappiness. In addition, the governor ordered that a British officer check on Napoleon daily to make sure he did not escape, despite the large British garrison and strong naval presence around the island that made flight practically impossible. Perhaps the most depressing for Napoleon was the hopelessness of his situation—that he would never be allowed to return to where he belonged.

Death

For political reasons, the British governor refused to accept any diagnosis of Napoleon’s condition that would suggest that the former emperor had been mistreated in any way or even that he was adversely affected by the island’s inclement climate. By 1821, however, Napoleon’s condition had clearly deteriorated significantly. Dr. Antommarchi as well as the approximately half dozen British doctors who had examined the prisoner (or, because of Napoleon’s refusal, had conferred with others who had seen him) eventually agreed with Napoleon’s own prediction, voiced in December 1820, that there was “no more oil in the lamp.”

The end came in May 1821. Napoleon had been confined to bed for some days, existing mainly on arrowroot and gentian, occasionally taking a sip of flavored water or a spoonful of wine mixed with water, and dozing much of the time. His mind began to wander, and he finally became delirious, repeating certain inarticulate words that have been variously interpreted. He died at 5:49 P.M. on the afternoon of May 5, surrounded by several members of his much-diminished entourage.

Autopsy

The was performed by Antommarchi, presumably because he was more experienced in postmortems than the six British physicians who attended the process (only five signed the autopsy report because the sixth was considered too junior in rank). The doctors agreed that the pylorus was surrounded by tumors and that Napoleon’s ulcers were conceivably cancerous and had eaten into the stomach, but they disagreed on the condition of the liver—that is, on whether chronic hepatitis was also present. The doctors did not consider the possibility that physician error in Napoleon’s treatment could have led to his death. Napoleon had been treated with large doses of almond-flavored calomel, a mercurial chloride used as a purgative, and this could have been a contributing factor in his death, especially if he also ingested arsenic in whatever form. Saint Helena’s British governor favored an autopsy report that prioritized cancer as the leading cause of death.

The theory that Napoleon died from arsenic poisoning surfaced much later, when samples of his hair, which had been deeded to some of his entourage and family members, were examined microscopically and found to contain excessively high levels of arsenic (a substance readily available at Longwood House, where it was used to keep the large rat population under control). In addition, when Napoleon’s body was moved from Saint Helena to Paris, France, in 1840, it was found to be in nearly perfect condition even though it had not been embalmed; this preservation and the fact that the body was also hairless both pointed to arsenic poisoning.

The leading for administering the poison to Napoleon in small doses over time was the former emperor’s chief chamberlain, Count Charles-Tristan de Montholon. Montholon had some connection with the count of Artois, later France’s King Charles X, who may have feared a comeback and second coup d’état by the former leader. Montholon was also a major beneficiary of Napoleon’s will; thus, if Napoleon’s intention to leave the count two million francs was clear at an early date, Montholon had a financial interest in Napoleon’s early demise. Another theory, however, is that Montholon did administer the poison to Napoleon in small doses, mixed with the former emperor’s wine, to which he had access, but his intent was not to kill his benefactor; rather, he wanted to induce sufficient ill health for Napoleon to be allowed to return to his kin in Europe.

Given that Napoleon I’s legend as a leader who has had few equals in the history of the world is well established, the French government has not been concerned with debates regarding his possible cause of death. Although it is possible that the techniques of modern forensic science could shed light on this issue, French authorities have shown little inclination to allow researchers to open the former emperor’s coffin to subject his body to the tests that would be necessary to gather new evidence.

Bibliography

Asprey, Robert. The Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. New York: Basic Books, 2001. Pinpoints Napoleon’s terminal illness as beginning on March 17, 1821.

Hibbert, Christopher. Napoleon: His Wives and Women. New York: W. W. Norton, 2002.

Johnson, Paul. Napoleon. New York: Viking Penguin, 2002.

McLynn, Frank. Napoleon: A Biography. 1997. Reprint. New York: Arcade, 2002.

Markel, Dr. Howard. "How Napoleon's Death in Exile Became a Controversial Mystery." PBS, 15 Aug. 2022, www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-napoleons-death-in-exile-became-a-controversial-mystery. Accessed 15 Aug. 2024.

McIlvenna, Una. "Napoleon's Life--And Mysterious Death--in Exile." History.com, 11 July 2023, www.history.com/news/napoleon-exile-death. Accessed 15 Aug. 2024.

Weider, Ben, and Sten Forshufvud. Assassination at St. Helena Revisited. Rev. ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995.