Blog category: Napoleon Bonaparte
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When Basil Hall Met Napoleon
December 20, 2024
Basil Hall was a British naval officer, traveller and author who wrote engaging books about his trips to Asia, South America and North America in the early 1800s. In 1817, Hall met with defeated French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena. A dozen years later, Hall’s publication about his travels in the United States caused a “moral earthquake” among Americans.
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Vignettes of Napoleon’s Final Months
May 4, 2018
Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821, on St. Helena, an isolated island in the South Atlantic where the British imprisoned him after his 1815 defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. He probably died of stomach cancer. Napoleon noticed that his health was declining in the fall of 1820. By the end of that year, his illness had become apparent to those around him. Here are some vignettes of Napoleon’s final months, as recorded by those closest to him.
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Living Descendants of Napoleon and the Bonapartes
April 27, 2018
One question I am often asked is whether Napoleon Bonaparte has any living descendants, or whether a particular sibling of Napoleon has any living descendants. Another version of the question is whether there are any Bonaparte descendants living in America. Here’s a handy summary to help you keep track.
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When Napoleon Attempted Suicide
April 6, 2018
Napoleon Bonaparte tried to commit suicide in 1814, rather than resign himself to a life in exile on Elba.
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Songs About Napoleon Bonaparte
January 19, 2018
More songs have been written about Napoleon Bonaparte than about any other military leader in history. Here’s a look at English popular songs about Napoleon.
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Self-Help Lessons from Napoleon Bonaparte
November 3, 2017
Napoleon has been used as an example in self-help books ever since the genre was invented. The self-help lessons drawn from Napoleon say as much about the preoccupations of the author, and the age in which he or she is writing, as they do about the former French Emperor.
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10 Myths about Napoleon Bonaparte
September 8, 2017
When Napoleon Bonaparte called history “a fable agreed upon,” he was talking about his own life and times. There are so many myths about Napoleon that it is sometimes hard to separate fact from fiction. Here are ten popular myths about the French Emperor.
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Cancer Treatment in the 19th Century
August 18, 2017
Cancer treatment in the 19th century had not advanced much beyond the methods used during the time of Hippocrates (circa 460-370 BC). These consisted of diet, bloodletting and laxatives. Surgery was also used, but operations were extremely painful and had a poor prognosis.
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Napoleon at the Pyramids: Myth versus Fact
July 21, 2017
Before leading the French army to victory at the Battle of the Pyramids on July 21, 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte rallied his troops by pointing to the distant pyramids and saying, “Soldiers, forty centuries look down upon you.” Napoleon’s encounter with the pyramids during his Egyptian campaign led to at least three myths about him.
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Napoleon and the Ice Machine on St. Helena
July 7, 2017
Napoleon had a number of admirers in Britain, including Lord and Lady Holland, who regularly sent books and other gifts to him when he was in exile on St. Helena. In the summer of 1816, they sent Napoleon an ice machine.
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Fake News about Napoleon Bonaparte
June 9, 2017
Was the King of Rome really Napoleon’s son? Was Napoleon killed by Cossacks? Did he escape from St. Helena? Lest you think fake news is a recent problem, here are some samples from the Napoleonic era.
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What happened to Napoleon’s body?
May 5, 2017
Napoleon’s tomb is in the Dôme des Invalides in Paris, but that’s not where he was first laid to rest. Here’s what happened to Napoleon’s body after he died
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10 More Interesting Napoleon Facts
March 24, 2017
Here are 10 interesting Napoleon facts you may not have come across. Did you know Napoleon was a bad dancer? And that he was hard to shave?
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Assassination Attempts on Napoleon Bonaparte
March 3, 2017
Napoleon Bonaparte faced between 20 and 30 attempts to assassinate him during his reign over France. Here’s a look at the best-known assassination attempts on Napoleon.
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Boney the Bogeyman: How Napoleon Scared Children
September 23, 2016
In the same way that early 19th century British caricaturists portrayed Napoleon Bonaparte as a devilish tyrant, British parents and teachers used Napoleon as a threat to scare children into good behaviour during the Napoleonic Wars. In fact, the word “bogeyman” is sometimes said to be derived from “Boney,” the popular British nickname for Napoleon, even though it actually comes from the Middle English bogge/bugge (hobgoblin).
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The Birth of Napoleon Bonaparte
August 12, 2016
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on Tuesday, August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica. There are several myths about Napoleon’s birth, and one myth-like thing that is actually true.
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How was Napoleon’s death reported?
May 6, 2016
Napoleon Bonaparte died at 5:49 p.m. on May 5, 1821 as a prisoner on St. Helena, an isolated British island in the South Atlantic. Here’s what the newspapers had to say about Napoleon’s death – or, rather, about his life.
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Napoleon and the Veronese Easter
March 25, 2016
On April 17, 1797, the inhabitants of Verona revolted against the French forces stationed there. The Veronese Easter gave Napoleon the excuse he had been looking for “to efface the Venetian name from the face of the globe.”
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How did Napoleon escape from Elba?
February 26, 2016
In April 1814, with a European coalition occupying Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to abdicate the French throne. He was sent into exile on Elba, a small Mediterranean island located 260 km (160 miles) south of France and 10 km (6 miles) west of the Italian coastline. Ten months later, in one of those life-is-stranger-than-fiction episodes, Napoleon managed to spirit himself off the island and regain the French crown. How did Napoleon escape from Elba?
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Bonypart Pie and Questions for Christmas
December 24, 2015
There is no mention of Napoleon Bonaparte doing anything special for his first Christmas in exile on St. Helena. He nonetheless occasioned some Christmas cheer in England, judging from a seasonal recipe appearing in a London newspaper.
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Napoleon’s Arrival at St. Helena
October 16, 2015
Former French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte arrived at St. Helena, his final place of exile, in October 1815. What were his first impressions of the island, and what did the inhabitants think of him?
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What was Napoleon’s favourite music?
October 9, 2015
Though Napoleon had no musical talent, he thoroughly enjoyed music. Napoleon valued music both for the pleasure it gave him, and because it could serve political ends. What kind of music did Napoleon like best?
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James Monroe and Napoleon
September 25, 2015
President James Monroe met Napoleon when he was in France to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. He later became alarmed at Napoleon’s “overweaning ambition.”
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Weird Pictures of Napoleon
September 4, 2015
We’ve all seen the classic pictures of Napoleon Bonaparte: riding across the Alps, sitting on his imperial throne, standing with a hand in his waistcoat. Here are some less well-known pictures of Napoleon that are downright weird.
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Napoleon’s Birthday at Sea
August 14, 2015
Napoleon Bonaparte celebrated his 46th birthday (August 15, 1815) as a prisoner on a British ship off the northwest coast of Spain. How did he spend the day?
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Napoleon & New Orleans in 1821
July 24, 2015
The New Orleans in which Napoleon lands in Napoleon in America was fertile ground for Bonapartists. In 1821 New Orleans was the nation’s fifth-largest city (after New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston), with a population of approximately 27,000. French speakers accounted for some three-quarters of that total. About 1,500 of these were actual French citizens, fresh from Europe. Another 10,000 or so were refugees from Saint-Domingue who had arrived in 1809 and 1810. The remainder were other Creoles, American-born descendants of the Europeans. But the predominantly French character of New Orleans was changing.
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Why didn’t Napoleon escape to the United States?
June 26, 2015
After his 1815 abdication from the French throne, Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to start a new life in the United States. Why didn’t he?
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What did Napoleon say about the Battle of Waterloo?
June 5, 2015
During his exile on St. Helena, Napoleon reflected on his defeat at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo. Here’s what he said about the last battle he ever fought.
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Napoleon in French Canada
January 9, 2015
Though Napoleon tends to be idolized in Quebec, this was not the case when he was in power. People vilified Napoleon in French Canada in the early 1800s.
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10 Interesting Facts About Napoleon Bonaparte
October 24, 2014
There’s no shortage of Napoleon Bonaparte facts. Here are 10 you may not be aware of.
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Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?
November 15, 2013
Napoleon is one of the few historical figures readily identifiable by only his first name. Who was he, and what are the best websites about Napoleon?
We must confess that fate, which sports with man, makes merry work with the affairs of this world.
Napoleon Bonaparte