What did Bonaparte die from? Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte)

Scientists from a research team led by Dr. Robert M. Genta from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas were able to make a definitive diagnosis of Napoleon's death. According to them, the death of the emperor is explained by the first known official version.

Recall that after defeat in the war in 1815, Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena, where he died six years later at the age of 52.

According to the results of an autopsy carried out soon, the cause of death was stomach cancer. However, after arsenic was discovered in Napoleon's hair in 1961, rumors of poisoning began to spread. This murder was beneficial to many: it could prevent Bonaparte’s escape from the island and his further political activity.

However, if you believe the results of a new comprehensive study, which collected a wide variety of data (autopsy results, memories of Napoleonic doctors, descriptions of eyewitnesses, as well as medical histories of family members), the picture of Napoleon’s illness was not associated with poisoning. Combining this information with modern medical evidence, the scientists said the immediate cause of death was gastric bleeding. According to them, we are talking about a final diagnosis.

According to the documented autopsy data, Bonaparte was found to have two stomach ulcers, one of which turned out to be through and reached the liver. Genta and his colleagues studied the features of modern photographs of 50 ulcers and 50 tumors and compared them with the description of Napoleon's ulcers. Researchers concluded that Napoleon's ulcers were caused by a cancerous tumor. According to the participants in the work, this is indicated by the size of one ulcer – about 10 centimeters.

According to Dr. Genta, even if Napoleon had been released from the island or had fled from there, his serious condition would not have given him the opportunity to somehow influence the course of history. “Even with modern sophisticated surgical techniques and chemotherapy, patients with gastric cancer of Napoleon's grade have a poor prognosis,” says the researcher. “Even if he were treated now, he would still die within a year.”

Also relying on the analysis of genetic material, scientists have refuted the long-standing but little widespread belief that Napoleon could have had a hereditary form of stomach cancer. According to them, a significant role in the development of the commander’s illness was played by the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables and the abundance of salty canned food - provisions often used during long military campaigns.

Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821 on the secluded island of St. Helens in the Atlantic Ocean, where the deposed emperor was sent into exile. He was buried on this island. Almost twenty years later, his remains were transported to France and now rest in the Paris Invalides.

As you know, Napoleon tried several times to escape from St. Helena, but all such attempts ended in failure. However, there is an assumption that Bonaparte still managed to escape. A similar version is shared by some historians, including the American researcher T. Wheeler. In 1974, his book “Who Lies Here” was published in New York. New research on the last years of Napoleon."

Wheeler's hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the following curious fact. A letter has been preserved from the wife of the French general Bertrand, who in August 1818 wrote from St. Helena to Paris: “Victory, victory! Napoleon left the island." This letter was intercepted by the British, and the prisoner's security was strengthened.

This is not the only legend associated with the mysterious rescue of Napoleon. On August 7, 1815, when the English ship with Napoleon was already approaching the island of St. Helena, a man calling himself Felix appeared in a village in the French Alps. He looked exactly like a deposed monarch. The peasants immediately notified the local authorities about this. The royal gendarmes quickly arrived, arrested Felix and put him in prison. No one else saw this mysterious man...

In 1822, the secretary of the prefecture of the city of Mand, Armand Marquise, reported that the new curate, Father Hilarion, who bought a dilapidated castle near the city, bore a striking resemblance to the deposed emperor. He had the opportunity to see this for himself. This story, however, had no continuation. Apparently, Father Hilarion managed to convince the authorities that he was not Bonaparte.

The French emperor had several doubles. Since 1808, one of them was Corporal François Rabot. After Napoleon's abdication and exile, Rabaud returned to his native village in the department of Meuse and took up peasant labor. In the fall of 1818, a richly dressed gentleman with a military bearing appeared in his village, looking for “his old friend Francois.” Soon Rabo and his sister disappeared from the village.

The police searched for the former corporal throughout France and finally found his sister in the city of Tours, who suddenly became rich. When asked where her brother was, she answered, laughing, that he became a sailor and went on a long voyage. They got nothing more from her...

According to Wheeler, Francois Rabaud was brought to St. Helena and replaced as the emperor. The corporal had successfully played the role of the French ex-emperor since the autumn of 1818; in any case, the British authorities did not seem to suspect anything. By the way, all that the English sentries could do was look through the window into Napoleon’s bedroom once a day to make sure that he was still there. Even the commissars of the allied powers could not visit the deposed emperor.

Outwardly, Napoleon did not change, but he became forgetful and was often confused about the obvious facts of his former life. And his handwriting became different. Some of his inner circle soon returned to France. On May 5, 1821, Napoleon (or Francois Rabaud) died, according to the official version, from stomach cancer.

What about Bonaparte who fled, where did he go? According to Wheeler, Napoleon went to Italy, to Verona. Together with his companion, the Italian Petrucci, he opened a small optics and jewelry store there. The people of Verona rarely saw this Frenchman, who looked very much like Napoleon. His name was Monsieur Revard; he was almost never in the city or even in his store. Five years passed like this.

Another thirty years passed. Petrucci, already an old man, suddenly appeared before the magistrate and made a statement under oath that his companion in Verona for five years was Napoleon Bonaparte himself. So says the legend.

The letter that so suddenly moved Napoleon-Révard from his seat was supposedly from his wife Marie-Louise, the former French Empress, who, after her husband's expulsion, returned with her son to Vienna. In the letter, she wrote that his twelve-year-old son, Francois-Charles-Joseph, was seriously ill with scarlet fever. Napoleon immediately went to Vienna. On the night of September 4, 1823, he climbed over the stone fence of Schönbrunn Palace and was shot by sentries.

In the morning, the police arrived at the scene, drew up a report and left. Marie-Louise ordered to bury the murdered man in the park in an unmarked grave, but next to her family crypt...

In 1956, London officially announced that part of Napoleon's intestines with traces of a bayonet or bullet wound was kept in Britain. Perhaps these were traces of that tragic September night in 1823?

There is another version concerning the last years of Napoleon’s life and his death. In 1969, a book by two French historians entitled “The British, Give Us Back Napoleon” was published in France. It was stated there that in May 1821, it was not Napoleon or Rabo who was buried on St. Helena, but the former housekeeper of the emperor, the Italian Francesco Cipriani.

Now let’s move away from all kinds of legends and traditions concerning the death of Napoleon Bonaparte, and try to approach the events of almost two centuries ago somewhat objectively. Let's assume that in the fall of 1818 it was possible to replace the French emperor with his double, and Napoleon managed to escape from the island. In the United States, in New Orleans, there was then a large colony of French Bonapartists led by Napoleon's elder brother. There Bonaparte could live quite legally, surrounded by honor and respect. What was he supposed to do in Europe, especially in Italy, which was then largely occupied by Austrian troops?

François Rabaud was indeed Napoleon's double, but after he returned to his village in 1815, traces of him were lost. Everything else is a legend, the authenticity of which can no longer be verified.

The papers that Napoleon Bonaparte wrote and dictated in the last years and even months of his life contain references to hundreds of things, many details that could only be known to the emperor. Napoleon did not experience any memory loss.

Apparently, the former Emperor of the French actually died in exile in 1821. He died quite early: he was not even 52 years old. His death on a distant Atlantic island gave rise to many rumors, and then legends that have survived to this day.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a brilliant commander, diplomat, had excellent intelligence, phenomenal memory and amazing performance. An entire era is named after him, and his deeds came as a shock to most of his contemporaries. His military strategies are in textbooks, and the norms of democracy in Western countries are based on “Napoleonic Law.”

Napoleon Bonaparte on horseback

The role of this outstanding personality in the history of France is ambiguous. In Spain and Russia he was called the Antichrist, and some researchers consider Napoleon a somewhat embellished hero.

Childhood and youth

The brilliant commander, statesman, Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte was a native of Corsica. Born on August 15, 1769 in the city of Ajaccio into a poor noble family. The parents of the future emperor had eight children. Father Carlo di Buonaparte practiced law, mother Letizia, née Ramolino, raised the children. They were Corsicans by nationality. Bonaparte is the Tuscan version of the surname of the famous Corsican.

He was taught literacy and sacred history at home, at the age of six he was sent to a private school, and at the age of ten he was sent to Autun College, where the boy did not stay long. After college, Brienne continues her studies at military school. In 1784 he entered the Paris Military Academy. Upon graduation, he received the rank of lieutenant and from 1785 served in the artillery.

In his early youth, Napoleon lived in solitude and was interested in literature and military affairs. In 1788, while in Corsica, he participated in the development of defensive fortifications, worked on a report on the organization of the militia, etc. He considered literary works to be of paramount importance and hoped to become famous in this field.

He reads with interest books on history, geography, the size of state revenues of European countries, works on the philosophy of legislation, and is interested in the ideas of Abbot Raynal. He writes the history of Corsica, the stories “Conversation of Love”, “The Prophet in Disguise”, “The Earl of Essex” and keeps a diary.

The works of young Bonaparte, with the exception of one, remained in manuscripts. In these works, the author expresses negative emotions towards France, considering it the enslaver of Corsica, and love for his homeland. The recordings of the young Napoleon are political in tone and permeated with a revolutionary spirit.

Napoleon Bonaparte greeted the French Revolution with enthusiasm, and in 1792 he joined the Jacobin Club. After the victory over the British for the capture of Toulon in 1793, he was awarded the rank of brigadier general. This becomes a turning point in his biography, after which a brilliant military career begins.

In 1795, Napoleon distinguished himself during the dispersal of the royalist rebellion, after which he was appointed commander of the army. The Italian campaign undertaken in 1796-1797 under his command demonstrated the talent of the commander and glorified him throughout the continent. In 1798-1799, the Directory sent him on a long-distance military expedition to Syria and Egypt.

The expedition ended in defeat, but it was not considered a failure. He voluntarily leaves the army to fight the Russians under the command of. In 1799, General Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris. The Directory regime at this time was already at the peak of the crisis.

Domestic policy

After the coup and the proclamation of the consulate in 1802, he became consul, and in 1804 - emperor. In the same year, with the participation of Napoleon, a new Civil Code was published, based on Roman law.

The internal policy pursued by the emperor is aimed at strengthening his own power, which, in his opinion, guaranteed the preservation of the gains of the revolution. Carries out reforms in the field of law and administration. He undertook a number of reforms in the legal and administrative spheres. Some of these innovations still form the basis of the functioning of states. Napoleon ended anarchy. A law was passed to ensure the right to property. French citizens were recognized as equal in rights and opportunities.

Mayors were appointed to cities and villages, and the French Bank was created. The economy began to revive, which could not but please even the poor. Military recruitment allowed the poor to earn money. Lyceums opened throughout the country. At the same time, the police network expanded, a secret department began operating, and the press was subjected to strict censorship. Gradually there was a return to the monarchical system of government.

An important event for the French government was the agreement concluded with the Pope, thanks to which the legitimacy of Bonaparte's power was recognized in exchange for the proclamation of Catholicism as the main religion of the majority of citizens. Society was divided into two camps in relation to the emperor. Some citizens stated that Napoleon betrayed the revolution, but Bonaparte himself believed that he was a successor of its ideas.

Foreign policy

The beginning of Napoleon's reign occurred at a time when France was at war with Austria and England. The new victorious Italian campaign eliminated the threat at the French borders. The result of military action was the subjugation of almost all European countries. In territories not included in France, kingdoms subordinate to the emperor were created, the rulers of which were members of his family. Russia, Prussia and Austria form an alliance.

At first, Napoleon was perceived as the savior of his homeland. The people were proud of his achievements, and there was a national upsurge in the country. But the 20-year war tired everyone. The Continental Blockade proclaimed by Bonaparte, which led to the decline of the English economy and its light industry, forced the British to stop trade relations with European states. The crisis hit the port cities of France; the supply of colonial goods, to which Europe had already become accustomed, was stopped. Even the French court suffered from a lack of coffee, sugar, and tea.

The situation was worsened by the economic crisis of 1810. The bourgeoisie did not want to spend money on wars, since the threat of attack by other countries was a thing of the past. She understood that the goal of the emperor's foreign policy was to expand his own power and protect the interests of the dynasty.

The collapse of the empire began in 1812, when Russian troops defeated Napoleonic army. The creation of an anti-French coalition, which included Russia, Austria, Prussia and Sweden, in 1814 was the collapse of the empire. This year she defeated the French and entered Paris.

Napoleon had to abdicate the throne, but he retained the status of emperor. He was exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the exiled emperor did not stay there long.

French citizens and military personnel were unhappy with the situation and feared the return of the Bourbons and nobility. Bonaparte escapes and on March 1, 1815, moves to Paris, where he is greeted with enthusiastic exclamations from the townspeople. Hostilities resume. This period went down in history as the “Hundred Days”. The final defeat of Napoleon's army occurred on June 18, 1815 after the Battle of Waterloo.

The deposed emperor was captured by the British and sent into exile again. This time he ended up in the Atlantic Ocean on the island of St. Elena, where he lived for another 6 years. But not all Englishmen had a negative attitude towards Napoleon. In 1815, impressed by the fate of the deposed emperor, he created the “Napoleonic Cycle” of five poems, after which the poet was reproached for being unpatriotic. Among the British there was another admirer of Napoleon - Princess Charlotte, the daughter of the future George IV, on whose support the emperor at one time counted, but she died in 1817 during childbirth.

Personal life

From a young age, Napoleon Bonaparte was distinguished by his amorousness. Contrary to popular belief, Napoleon's height was above average by the standards that existed in those years - 168 cm, which could not help but attract the attention of the opposite sex. His masculine features and posture, which are visible in the reproductions presented in the form of photographs, aroused the interest of the ladies around him.

The first lover to whom the young man proposed was 16-year-old Desiree-Evgenia-Clara. But at that time his career in Paris began to develop rapidly, and Napoleon could not resist the charm of Parisian women. In the capital of France, Bonaparte preferred to have affairs with older women.

An important event in Napoleon's personal life, which took place in 1796, was his marriage to Josephine Beauharnais. Bonaparte's beloved turned out to be 6 years older than him. She was born into a plantation family on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean. From the age of 16 she was married to Viscount Alexandre de Beauharnais and gave birth to two children. Six years after marriage, she divorced her husband and at one time lived in Paris, then in her father’s house. After the revolution of 1789 she again went to France. In Paris, she was supported by her ex-husband, who by that time occupied a high political position. But in 1794 the Viscount was executed, and Josephine herself spent some time in prison.

A year later, having miraculously gained freedom, Josephine met Bonaparte, who was not yet so famous. According to some reports, at the time of their acquaintance she was in a love affair with the then ruler of France, Barras, but this did not prevent him from becoming a witness at the wedding of Bonaparte and Josephine. In addition, Barras granted the groom the position of commander of the Italian Army of the Republic.

Researchers claim that the lovers had many things in common. Both were born far from France on small islands, experienced hardships, were imprisoned, both were dreamers. After the wedding, Napoleon went to the positions of the Italian army, and Josephine remained in Paris. After the Italian campaign, Bonaparte was sent to Egypt. Josephine still did not follow her husband, but enjoyed social life in the capital of France.

Tormented by jealousy, Napoleon began to have favorites. According to researchers, Napoleon had from 20 to 50 lovers. A series of novels followed, which led to the emergence of illegitimate heirs. Two are known: Alexander Colonna-Walewski and Charles Leon. The Colonna-Walewski family has survived to this day. Alexander's mother was the daughter of a Polish aristocrat, Maria Valevskaya.

Josephine could not have children, so in 1810 Napoleon divorced her. Initially, Bonaparte planned to become related to the Romanov imperial family. He asked Anna Pavlovna's hand in marriage from her brother. But the Russian emperor did not want to become related to a ruler of non-royal blood. In many ways, these disagreements influenced the cooling of relations between France and Russia. Napoleon marries the daughter of the Emperor of Austria, Marie-Louise, who gave birth to an heir in 1811. This marriage was not approved by the French public.

Ironically, it was Josephine’s grandson, and not Napoleon’s, who later became the French emperor. Her descendants reign in Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Luxembourg. There are no descendants of Napoleon left, since his son had no children, and he himself died young.

After being deported to the island of Elba, Bonaparte expected to see his legal wife next to him, but Marie-Louise went to her father’s domain. Maria Valevskaya arrived to Bonaparte with her son. Returning to France, Napoleon dreamed of seeing only Marie Louise, but the emperor never received an answer to all the letters sent to Austria.

Death

After the defeat at Waterloo, Bonaparte whiled away his time on the island of St. Elena. The last years of his life were filled with suffering from an incurable disease. On May 5, 1821, Napoleon I Bonaparte died, he was 52 years old.

According to one version, the cause of death was oncology, according to another - arsenic poisoning. Researchers who support the version of stomach cancer appeal to the results of the autopsy, as well as to the heredity of Bonaparte, whose father died of stomach cancer. Other historians mention that Napoleon gained weight before his death. And this became an indirect sign of arsenic poisoning, since cancer patients lose weight. In addition, traces of high concentrations of arsenic were later found in the emperor’s hair.

According to Napoleon's will, his remains were transported to France in 1840, where they were reburied in the Parisian Invalides on the territory of the cathedral. Around the tomb of the former French emperor are sculptures made by Jean-Jacques Pradier.

Memory

The memory of the exploits of Napoleon Bonaparte is captured in art. Among them are opuses by Hector Berlioz, literary works,. In cinema, his image is captured in films of different eras, starting with silent films. A genus of trees growing on the African continent is named after the commander, as well as a culinary masterpiece - a layer cake with cream. Napoleon's letters were published in France under Napoleon III and were sorted into quotations.

Quotes

History is only a version of events that happened in our interpretation.

The depths of baseness to which a person can fall are immeasurable.

There are two levers that can move people - fear and self-interest.

Revolution is a conviction backed by bayonets.

It is more likely to meet a good ruler who came to power through inheritance than through elections.

“We all look at Napoleons,” Pushkin wrote at one time, correctly noticing the influence Napoleon Bonaparte had on the minds of some of his ambitious contemporaries. Indeed, there are few personalities in history who would have made such a dizzying rise - from an unknown lieutenant to an emperor with a claim to world domination.

It doesn’t matter that at the end of his life he had to renounce all his achievements, including the crown, nevertheless, today it is almost impossible to find a person who has not heard anything about Bonaparte. Thousands of tourists coming to Paris go to the Les Invalides - the place where Napoleon's grave is located.

Little Corsican

In August 1769, a son, Napoleone, was born into the noble Corsican family Buonaparte. Of course, the Corsican aristocracy is not at all the same as the French one. According to one British historian, the parents of the future emperor were, in fact, small landowners; the only thing they had in common with the nobility was the presence of a family coat of arms.

The years of Napoleon's life in Corsica left a big imprint on his character. He was always very devoted to his mother and family in general. When Bonaparte became emperor, he tried to find a suitable throne for his many relatives: brothers, nephews, stepsons.

Napoleon mastered the French language under the guidance of the monk Recco, and already at the age of 9 he read the children's works of Voltaire, Plutarch, Rousseau, and Cicero. Using all the connections available to him, Napoleon's father enrolled his son in a military school near Paris in 1779. Here he learned to fencing perfectly, not giving in to his offenders - the scions of aristocratic families who mocked the poor Corsican.

Brigadier General

When the revolution began in France, Napoleon was on vacation on his native island. By this time he had completed his military education and served with the rank of junior lieutenant in a small provincial garrison. The future emperor accepted the revolution as the end of absolutism unconditionally. Nevertheless, Napoleon, who loved order, was against an uncontrollable popular revolt.

During the years of revolutionary chaos in Corsica, the liberation movement resumed. Because Napoleon opposed the fight against France, he was imprisoned. Having escaped from a Corsican prison, Bonaparte entered the army that was besieging Toulon. Here, in December 1793, he had the opportunity to become famous thanks to his personal heroism during the storming of the fortress.

Well, after in the fall of 1795, on behalf of the Directory, he suppressed the royalist rebellion in just 4 hours, all of France learned about General Bonaparte, and his brilliant career became a role model. Napoleon's army idolized him. In addition to unparalleled personal courage, he bribed the soldiers with a caring attitude, so they were ready to give their lives for him without hesitation.

In imitation of an idol

Napoleon's tomb in Paris, or rather his sarcophagus, is located in the center of the hall, along the perimeter of which there are 12 sculptures of Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory. This number corresponds to the number of battles won by the great commander, including Borodino.

Napoleon's idol all his life was Alexander the Great, who in a short time created a huge empire. Bonaparte himself had similar plans. After the victorious Italian campaign, not only France, but the whole of Europe started talking about him. At this time, a romantic image of Napoleon emerged, which inspired many of his contemporaries.

The next military expedition, this time to Egypt, was not so triumphant. At a time when the French army was facing real defeat, news arrived of a political crisis in Paris. Napoleon faced the prospect of gaining the power that he so persistently sought.

Having abandoned the army in Egypt, he secretly went to France, where he was soon proclaimed first consul, and 5 years later, in December 1804, Bonaparte staged his own magnificent coronation at Notre Dame Cathedral.

Lord of the world

The tombs of many French monarchs are located in the Abbey of Saint-Denis. But for Napoleon, the last refuge was the State Home for Invalids, once created for sick war veterans.

Most likely, being at the zenith of his glory, the emperor dreamed of a completely different burial place. After all, at the beginning of the 19th century. the French army under his command was considered practically invincible. Napoleon redrew the political map of Europe at his own discretion and created new kingdoms.

The years 1805-1810 marked the peak of his power. The French court becomes one of the most brilliant in Europe, and the emperor himself marries a princess from the Habsburg family. Despite the conspiracies and coalitions created against him, Napoleon continued to believe in his lucky star even after fleeing Russia.

Last chance

In 1813, the Battle of Leipzig took place, which Napoleon lost. Moreover, he had to sign a renunciation and go into exile on the island of Elba. Here he seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, but in reality Bonaparte was preparing a campaign to France in order to regain lost power.

His plan was partly successful. Napoleon's small army in the spring of 1815 was greeted with delight by the French. He arrived in Paris and reoccupied. However, the restoration was short-lived. Napoleon was now surrounded mostly by traitors, which he himself did not notice.

The culmination of the Hundred Days of his reign was the battle, or rather the complete defeat of the French army near the village of Waterloo (Belgium). Napoleon, who surrendered to the British, was again sent into exile, this time to the island of St. Helena, lost in the middle of the ocean.

On the edge of the empire

At the beginning of the 19th century, Great Britain was a powerful colonial empire. Among her overseas possessions was the small rocky island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic. It was separated from the nearest (African) coast by two thousand kilometers. It was here that the deposed monarch ended his days, and Napoleon’s empty grave is also located here.

Low, the governor of the island, frightened by rumors of an impending squadron of associates of the exiled emperor, constantly asked the English government to send additional cannons to strengthen the coastline.

Another precautionary measure he chose was the regime of exceptional severity in which the prisoner was to be kept. True, the former emperor was not imprisoned; he could move relatively freely around the island, which was only 19 km long.

The last years of Napoleon's life, spent in St. Helena, were the most hopeless. We know about them from books written by General Laskas after the death of Bonaparte. He was one of the few who voluntarily went into exile with the former emperor.

Not long ago, as a result of a chemical analysis of Bonaparte's preserved hair, it was established that he was poisoned with arsenic. Napoleon died in early May 1821. According to the official certificate, the cause of death was stomach cancer.

Where is Napoleon buried?

On the island of St. Helena there is still a modest tombstone surrounded by an iron fence - the burial place of a man who once decided the destinies of the European continent. Soon after Bonaparte's death, the French began to demand that the ashes of their emperor be transported to France for a dignified burial.

The British government eventually agreed, and in October 1840, Napoleon's grave on the island of St. Helena was opened. The emperor's remains were transported to France in two coffins, one lead and one ebony. Finally, on December 15, with a huge crowd of people, Napoleon’s sarcophagus was delivered to the Invalides.

For five days, the French came to the Church of St. Louis to venerate the ashes of the late emperor. The majestic tomb for him was completed only in 1861. Here the sarcophagus with the remains of Bonaparte is still located today.

Instead of a conclusion

Napoleon, whose life and death is the subject of numerous studies even today, remains one of the most discussed historical characters. The attitude towards it is sometimes diametrically opposite.

Nevertheless, no one will deny the enormous role that Bonaparte played in European history at the beginning of the 19th century. For this reason, Napoleon's grave in the Parisian Invalides is included in the list of excursions introducing tourists to the capital of France.

There are many speculations regarding Napoleon's death. He may have been poisoned by arsenic or fumes emanating from his favorite wallpaper. For more than a quarter of a century, historians have been arguing whether the crowned Corsican fell victim to a conspiracy led by the British commodore, governor of St. Helena, Hudson Lowe. About whom the Duke of Wellington, under whose command Lowe served, aptly said: “He understands nothing of either business or people and, like any person of his kind, is suspicious and envious.” And once even the definition of “cretin” came from his lips, expressed to the recently appointed governor.

Finally, an international team of researchers has put an end to this centuries-old mystery.

Scientists from Switzerland, the USA and Canada believe that the French emperor, who died on May 5, 1821 on the island of St. Helena, suffered from progressive stomach cancer with damage to the lymph nodes in the so-called TNM stage (tumor or tumor that metastasizes - ed.) .

A statement from the University of Basel emphasizes that even today’s medicine does not undertake to save patients who are diagnosed with stomach cancer at this stage. The results of the study, published in the latest issue of the specialized publication Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, also shed light on two more controversial issues.

From the memoirs of people close to Napoleon, it is known that throughout the six years of exile, the emperor’s health slowly deteriorated. Bonaparte's entourage saw the cause of the illness in the bad climate of the small island (13 km wide and 19 km long); they accused the English government of deliberately dooming the emperor to slow agony. Until his death, Napoleon constantly gained weight. Obesity is one of the symptoms of arsenic poisoning, while a cancer patient loses weight sharply. Volunteer researcher and dental surgeon in Forshuwoud back in the 50s. last century counted no less than 22 of the 30 signs of arsenic poisoning symptoms.

The autopsy of the 51-year-old Napoleon was performed by the Corsican pathologist Francesco Antomarchi, who observed his patient during the last 18 months of his life. In the presence of English doctors, the 30-year-old doctor opened the chest cavity so that everyone present could see the vital organs. The heart was placed in a silver vessel with alcohol, which, according to Napoleon's will, was to be sent to Marie-Louise, but the governor ordered it to be placed in a coffin. Then the stomach, which was supposed to be the source of the disease, was removed.

Doctors could not reach a consensus and publish a general conclusion about the cause of Napoleon’s death. As a result, 4 different documents appeared, which further inspired rumors. Each of the bulletins states the presence of a stomach ulcer near the pylorus, i.e. opening connecting the stomach to the intestines. Antomarchi directly wrote about “cancerous ulceration,” while his English colleagues wrote about “partial hardening of tissue ready to degenerate into a cancerous tumor.”

Researchers have now concluded that Napoleon died from an inherited disease (his father died of stomach or pyloric cancer), which is caused by a chronic bacterial infection. Thus, scientists finally rejected the version of poisoning expressed in recent years, which was confirmed both in the symptoms of the disease and in the results of the autopsy.

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