Here is a crash course and an interesting poisoning hypothesis of ‘le petit caporal’ aka Napoleon Bonaparte...
Now, I believe that his death is unknown or there just might be a confusing of how he really died. I know that in that era medical of any kind wasn’t 100% accurate. So, his death to me is somewhat of “could have been this…” type of ordeal. Napoleon's physician, François Carlo Antommarchi, led the autopsy, which found the cause of death to be stomach cancer. Antommarchi did not sign the official report. So therefore, it’s a “maybe”. Napoleon’s father had died of stomach cancer, although this was apparently unknown at the time of the autopsy. However, Antommarchi found evidence of a stomach ulcer; this was the most convenient explanation for the British, who wanted to avoid criticism over their care of Napoleon. Subsequently making everything a little more complicated to know the genuine cause of death.
But this is where it gets interesting. In 1955, the diaries of Napoleon's valet, Louis Marchand, were published.
Louis-Joseph Marchand provides a detailed description of Napoleon’s last days.
“On May 4, the Emperor refused all help offered to him. He continued to drink water and wine with sugar, or sugar water flavored with orange blossoms: these were the only drinks that appeared to please him. Each time I served them to him, he answered me with these words: ‘That is very good, my boy.’ He often vomited what he took, the retching became more frequent. He made an effort to get up. Dr. Antommarchi tried to prevent him from doing so, but he pushed him away, appeared very upset by the attempts to constrain him, and demanded to be left alone…. Around 10 o’clock, he seemed to be asleep under the mosquito netting that had been lowered…. The Emperor made an effort to vomit: I immediately raised the mosquito netting to offer him a small silver basin into which he vomited a blackish liquid, after which his head fell back onto the pillow. The hiccups that had appeared at intervals became much more frequent, and delirium set in; the Emperor pronounced a lot of inarticulate words that were translated ‘France,… my son,… the army…. These were the last words we were to hear.”
However, His description of Napoleon in the months before his death led Sten Forshufvud in a 1961 paper in Nature to put forward other causes for his death, including deliberate arsenic poisoning. Arsenic was used as a poison during the era for the reason that it was undetectable when administered over a long period. Forshufvud, in a 1978 book with Ben Weider, noted that Napoleon's body was found to be well preserved when moved in 1840. Arsenic is a strong preservative, and therefore this supported the poisoning hypothesis. Forshufvud and Weider observed that Napoleon had attempted to quench abnormal thirst by drinking large amounts of orgeat syrup that contained cyanide compounds in the almonds used for flavoring.
They maintained that the potassium tartrate used in his treatment prevented his stomach from expelling these compounds and that his thirst was a symptom of the poison. Their hypothesis was that the calomel given to Napoleon became an overdose, which killed him and left extensive tissue damage behind. According to a 2007 article, the type of arsenic found in Napoleon's hair shafts was mineral, the most toxic, and according to toxicologist Patrick Kintz, this supported the conclusion that he was murdered. Some still try support Antommarchi “Medical report” although it was still an unofficial report. Others support that he was murdered. All and all this was a crash course on Napoleon Bonaparte. What do you believe? Was he murdered? Or was he just very ill? What do you think? Thank you for reading my latest post. I hope you enjoyed this article.
Life timeline
- August 15, 1769: ·Napoleon Bonaparte born in Ajaccio, Corsica.
-May 17, 1779: ·Napoleon begins study at the royal military academy
- October 17, 1784: ·Enrolls in the Ecole Militaire
-October 28, 1785: ·Graduates from Ecole Militaire with the rank of second lieutenant in the artillery.
- November 3, 1785: ·Stationed in Valence
- July 14, 1789: ·Paris mob storms the Bastille
-May-October, 1792: ·While in Paris with his regiment, Napoleon witnesses the storming of the Tuileries Palace and the dethroning of the French King, Louis XVI.
- June 13, 1793: ·Accused of being too pro-French, Napoleon and his family flee their household in Corsica
-December 22, 1793: ·For his courage at an internal French battle at Toulon, Napoleon receives the new rank of brigadier general
-August 9-20, 1794: ·Napoleon is imprisoned under suspicion of being a Jacobin and a supporter of Robespierre
-June 13, 1795: ·Napoleon is promoted to General of the Army of the West
-October 5, 1795: ·The government assigns Napoleon the task of suppressing civil strife and rebellion against the Republic
- October 15, 1785: ·At the home of Paul Francois Barras, a Directory member, Napoleon meets Rose de Beauharnais (Josephine)
- October 16, 1785: ·Barras helps Napoleon win promotion to Commander of the Army of the Interior
- March 2, 1786: ·Napoleon is given command of the French army in Italy
- March 9, 1796: ·Napoleon marries Josephine
- March 11, 1796: ·Italian campaign against Austria begins
- May 10, 1796: ·Napoleon wins the Battle of Lodi
- November 17, 1796: ·Napoleon wins the Battle of Arcole
- January 14, 1797: ·Napoleon wins the Battle of Rivoli
- October 17, 1797: ·Napoleon draws up the Treaty of Campo-Formio with Austria
- December 5, 1797: ·He returns to Paris a hero
-May 19, 1798: ·Napoleon begins his Egyptian campaign
-July 2, 1798: ·Fall of Alexandria
- July 21, 1798: ·Wins Battle of the Pyramids against Mamelukes in Egypt
- July 24, 1798: ·Fall of Cairo
- August 1, 1798: ·Under the command of Admiral Nelson, the British fleet destroys the French navy in the Battle of Aboukir
- August 23, 1799: ·Receiving news of turmoil in France, Napoleon returns to Paris
- November 9-10, 1799: ·Following a coup d'etat, Napoleon becomes First Consul of the new French government
- February 19, 1800: ·Sets up a household in Tuileries Palace
- May 20, 1800: ·Napoleon leads his army across the Alps in the Second Italian Campaign
- June 14, 1800: ·Wins Battle of Marengo against Austria
- February 9, 1800: ·Treaty with Austria signed at Luneville
- July 15, 1801: ·Signing of the Concordat between France and Rome ends schism between the French government and the Catholic Church
-December 24, 1801: ·Napoleon escapes an assassination attempt
- March 25, 1802: ·Treaty of Amiens signed with Britain
- May 1, 1802: ·Napoleon restructures French educational system
- August 4, 1802: ·New constitution adopted, making Napoleon First Consul for life
- May 3, 1803: ·France sells Louisiana territory to U.S.
- May 16, 1803: ·England violates Treaty of Amiens
- May 18, 1804: ·Senate proclaims Napoleon Emperor
- December 2, 1804: ·Napoleon crowns himself Emperor in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris
- March 17, 1805: ·Napoleon is crowned king of Italy in Milan
-October 21, 1805: ·The Battle of Trafalgar marks yet another naval defeat to the British under the command of Admiral Nelson
- December 2, 1805: ·Victory in the Battle of Austerlitz against Austria and Russia
- March 30, 1806: ·Napoleon names his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, king of Naples, and appoints other family members to various other posts
- June 14, 1807: ·Defeats the Russians at the Battle of Friedland
- July 7, 1807: ·Czar Alexander I makes peace with Napoleon in the Treaty of Tilsit
- July 22, 1807: ·Napoleon creates the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (Poland), to be overseen by France
- November 30, 1807: ·Beginning of French occupation of Portugal
- February 20, 1808: ·Napoleon sends the French marshal Joachim Murat to lead an army in Spain
- May 2, 1808: ·Unsuccessful Spanish revolt against French army under Murat
- June 4, 1808: ·Napoleon names Joseph Bonaparte King of Spain, and Murat King of Naples
- December 15, 1809: ·Divorces Josephine
- April 2, 1810: ·Marries Marie-Louise, Archduchess of Austria
- March 20, 1811: ·Napoleon's son born, referred to as the "King of Rome"
- June 24, 1812: ·Russian Campaign begins
- September 14, 1812: ·Grand Army enters Moscow to find the city abandoned and set aflame by the inhabitants; retreating in the midst of a frigid winter, the army suffers devastating losses
- December 18, 1812: ·Napoleon returns to Paris
- March 17, 1813: ·Prussia declares war on France
- June 21, 1813: ·The French fall to Spain in the Battle of Vitoria
- January 1814: ·Anti-French coalition army enters France
- March 30-31, 1814: ·Paris falls
- April 2, 1814: ·Senate proclaims end of the Empire; Napoleon's wife and son flee Paris.
- April 4, 1814: ·Napoleon abdicates his rule and Louis XVIII, a Bourbon, is restored to the French throne
- May 4, 1814: ·Napoleon is exiled to Elba; his wife and son take refuge in Vienna
- March 1, 1815: ·Escaping Elba, Napoleon returns in South France
-March 7, 1815: ·Napoleon rallies the French army
- March 20, 1815: ·Louis XVIII flees, Napoleon takes control, begins "Hundred Days" campaign
- June 18, 1815: ·Defeated in the Battle of Waterloo by the British and Prussians, led by Wellington and Blucher
- June 22, 1815: ·Abdicates for the second time
-October 16, 1815: ·Napoleon is exiled to Saint Helena
-March 5, 1821: ·Napoleon dies
sources :Wikipedia, archives, picture credit to museums.
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