JFK+50: Volume 5, No. 1744
NAPOLEON ARRIVED AT ST. HELENA TWO CENTURIES AGOSaint Helena (JFK+50) Two centuries ago today, October 15, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte* arrived here in Saint Helena** to begin a period of exile which ended with his death five and a half years later.
Having been Emperor of France from 1804 to 1814, Napoleon regained power during the period known as the Hundred Days (March to June 1815). Defeated at the Battle of Waterloo at the hands of Coalition forces, the French emperor was forced to go into exile on the remote British island as Louis XVIII was restored to the French throne.
Napoleon was fifty-one years old at the time of his death. The Emperor's remains were interred in Paris.
*Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was born in Corsica. NB graduated from the Cole Militaire in 1785 & was commissioned a 2nd Lt.
**Saint Helena is located 1162 miles from the west coast of Africa. The remote island was discovered by the Portuguese and then used as a stopover for ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa.
Between 1791 & 1833, it was the site of conservation & reforestation experiments. The island remains Great Britain's 2nd oldest remaining Overseas Territory.
Napoleon on Saint Helena
