After long years of exile, Napoleon died on the island of Saint Helena on May 5, 1821. Many rumors have since circulated about the causes of his death.
- According to Napoleon’s wish, his body was opened on May 6, 1821 at 2 p.m. by François Antommarchi (experienced prosector) assisted by seven British doctors, in order to ascertain the physical cause of his illness.
- His autopsy, however, has given rise to much controversy ever since.
On May 5, it will be 200 years since Napoleon died in exile on the island of Saint Helena (South Atlantic), at the age of 51. Since then, many hypotheses have succeeded to explain his death.
medical error
In 1998, researchers from the universities of Ottawa and Yale claimed that Napoleon would have died as a result of a medical error: a British doctor would have administered a drug rich in mercury to him, causing the premature death of his patient.
poisoning with arsenic
Swiss researchers suggested in 2005 that the emperor had been poisoned with arsenic, due to the presence of the poison in his hair. “The conspiracy thesis holds that Napoleon was poisoned by the English governor of Saint Helena, Sir Hudson Lowe, and the emperor’s confidant in exile, the Comte de Montholon”, explains the RTS.
stomach cancer
In 2007, however, American pathologists claimed that Napoleon died of stomach cancer, probably due to a bacterial infection, excluding the thesis of poisoning. “The winegrowers indeed cleaned their barrels and vats with arsenic. Napoleon being a great wine lover, it is normal that we find traces of it in his hair”, continues the RTS.
According to American researchers, the presence of a prepyloric ulcer in Napoleon’s stomach indicates “chronic Helicobacter pylori gastritis, which may have conferred an increased risk of gastric cancer”. This “risk could have been aggravated by his diet, which probably included foods preserved in salt, roasted meats, and few fruits and vegetables”, analyze scientists.
Stomach cancer is currently considered Napoleon’s official cause of death. The pain caused by pathology would thus explain why the Emperor very often posed with one hand on his stomach.
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