Napoleon I's exile to St. Helena

Napoleon I's exile to St. Helena encompasses the final six years of the deposed emperor's life, commencing with his second abdication[note 1] at the end of the Hundred Days, which had concluded with his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

The British government had decided to imprison him and deport him to the island of Saint Helena, situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with the intention of ensuring that he could no longer "disturb the peace of the world."

[1] On July 15, 1815, Napoleon surrendered to the British forces near the Île d'Aix and was subsequently transported to Torbay and then Plymouth on England's southwest coast aboard the HMS Bellerophon.

[2] Those in attendance included the Grand Marshal of the Palace, Henri Gratien Bertrand, and his wife Fanny; General Gourgaud; Emmanuel de Las Cases; General de Montholon and his wife Albine; Louis-Étienne Saint-Denis, also known as the Mameluke Ali; his maître d'hôtel Jean Baptiste Cipriani [fr]; his valet Marchand; and his usher Jean-Noël Santini [fr].

On October 17, Napoleon took temporary residence at The Briars Pavilion, hosted by the Balcombe family, while awaiting the preparation of his permanent detention site at Longwood, which would take seven weeks.

[7] Longwood, situated on a plateau, allowed for easier surveillance but was constantly exposed to trade winds, often shrouded in fog and humidity, with sudden alternations between heavy rain and scorching sun.

[10] His weapons were confiscated, his correspondence was opened (which prompted the French to devise strategies and enlist accomplices to send uncensored letters), and his freedom of movement was severely restricted.

This forced exile intensified emotional distress and facilitated the emergence of disruptive behaviors among those who shared his circumstances, with the oppressive heat and humidity exacerbating the situation.

In September 1819, a small cohort of new companions, predominantly Corsican individuals relocated from Italy by the Bonaparte family, arrived, briefly disrupting the prevailing monotony.

Notwithstanding the circumstances, the former emperor clung to the possibility that a shift in the British government might facilitate his ability to reside in peace in England or join his brother Joseph in America.

Antommarchi consulted with Hudson Lowe, who dismissed Napoleon's condition as merely a "diplomatic illness",[16] despite the emperor's frequent complaints of sharp pain in his right side.

Antommarchi diagnosed only simple constipation and prescribed a high dosage of calomel, a potent laxative that exacerbated Napoleon's existing gastric ulcer.

Meanwhile, his death certificate, independently recorded in the parish register of St. James in Jamestown, the capital of Saint Helena, listed him on the same date as "Napoleon Buonaparte, late Emperor of France.

[22] In his study of representations of the emperor on screen, Hervé Dumont [fr] notes that directors of films dealing with this period are fascinated by the ruler's twilight, employing either an adequate or a freer vision.