By defeating Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Leipzig , the monarchist nations that fought against the famous general hoped to bury once and for all the liberal promises that had fostered the arrival of this soldier to power. As defeat was not enough, the royalist forces were careful to isolate the French emperor on the island of Elba . The apparently exaggerated precaution ended up being justified when Napoleon fled the place and returned to take over France in the so-called “Hundred Days Government ”.
Attempting to regain power, Napoleon Bonaparte was once again defeated in the Battle of Waterloo . This time, concerned not to make the same mistake, the forces that defeated him decided to isolate him on the remote island of Saint Helena , located in the South Atlantic . The great concern of the time was to annul the figure of Napoleon without having to kill him. This is because death by the sword could give the former emperor the status of a martyr of liberal ideology.
After six years of isolation on Saint Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte died of a gastric complication not very well known at the time. As time passed, many even suggested that the statesman suffered from some type of cancer . However, others still debated the possibility that Napoleon died of poisoning , since his death could bury any possibility of instability to the traditional European monarchic power.
Towards the second half of the 20th century, scientists became interested in discovering how the legendary Frenchman had died. In the 1960s, a group of British scientists managed to detect the presence of arsenic in Napoleon's body by analyzing his hairs. Being a very common type of poison at the time, several people soon concluded that Napoleon's enemies plotted his death by ingestion of the toxic substance .
After some time, some researches put in doubt that the poisoning had occurred considering that several medicines of that time had the same element in their composition. In more recent times, the theory that Napoleon had been stricken with cancer ended up being proved by the clothes of the “little corporal”. Over time, the stomach tumor decreased his appetite and, consequently, caused his weight loss.
Still not satisfied with this explanation, a group of scholars at the University of Texas set about finding an explanation for the cancer that claimed Bonaparte's life. Having probably developed from an ulcer, the US researchers concluded that the cancer was a consequence of the regular intake of rations offered to French armies during the period when the Napoleonic government was bent on wars.
Generally, the food offered on the battlefields was plentiful in meat and other foods preserved with plenty of salt . In addition, the presence of any vegetable or fruit that would counterbalance such a high-calorie diet was rare. Assuming that Napoleon was subjected to this type of diet for a long time, the scientists concluded that the dietary way of life it was the great “poison” that determined the death of this historical figure.
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson related to the subject: