1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky listener discretion advised. With the 3 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: end of the Napoleonic Wars, the gunpowder and smoke clearing 4 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: from the battlefields of Central Europe, there came the rebirth 5 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 1: of a tradition, the Grand Tour. It was something of 6 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,840 Speaker 1: an institution, the idea that wealthy and aristocratic young men 7 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: would spend a year or so traveling the cultural centers 8 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: of the continent to learn about art and music, and 9 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: in the summer of eighteen fourteen, a young English colonel 10 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: named Montgomery Maxwell was eager to see the world. The 11 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: destinations for a young British boy were fairly well established Vienna, Venice, Florence, 12 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: but like many boys on their Grand tours in a 13 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: eighteen fourteen, Maxwell had added a slightly unusual stop to 14 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: his itinerary, a small rocky island a day's sail from 15 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: the western coast of Italy in the Mediterranean, called Elba. 16 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: Maxwell wasn't coming to Elba for the pleasant Mediterranean climate 17 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: or to investigate the moderately successful tin mining industry on 18 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: the island. No, he was there for a single tourist 19 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: attraction Napoleon Bonaparte. A few months prior, after Coalition forces 20 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 1: invaded Paris, Napoleon had been forced to surrender and abdicate 21 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: as Emperor of France, Prussia, Austria, Russia, and the United 22 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: Kingdom had all gotten together to come up with the 23 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: solution of what to do with this strange Corsican upstart 24 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: who had brought Europe to its knees. The answer they 25 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: came up with was Elba, exiled to an island that 26 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: Napoleon would be allowed to rule still as an emperor, 27 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: albeit an emperor of a much much smaller land mass. 28 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: Montgomery Maxwell sailed to Elba in the hopes of getting 29 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: to encounter, as he put it, quote, the man who 30 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,839 Speaker 1: had been the idol of my imagination for years. As 31 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: it turns out, it wasn't too difficult for any Englishman 32 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: who arrived to Porto Ferrao, the largest city and capital 33 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: of Elba. It seemed like all you needed to do 34 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: was hang out long enough, and eventually the man who 35 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: had crowned himself at Notre Dame a decade prior would 36 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: just amble by and lo and behold he did. Although 37 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,959 Speaker 1: as soon as Maxwell saw Napoleon out on a stroll 38 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: with some of his men. He couldn't help but be disappointed. 39 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: The idol of his imagination, he wrote, quote stood before 40 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: me with a round, ungraceful figure, and with a most 41 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: unpoetically perturbaned stomach. The countenance in which I expected to 42 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: behold a unison of the demon and the soldier, appeared 43 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: soft and mild. In the extreme. There was nothing striking 44 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: in it. End quote, Could it be the man who 45 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: had terrified Europe? The big bad of the British imagination was, 46 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: in the end just a man. Maxwell was disappointed. He 47 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: approached Napoleon here on Elba. Napoleon wasn't some distant gilded 48 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: figure hidden behind imperial trappings, And he introduced himself. And 49 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: in that moment, as the two men began to speak, 50 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: Maxwell understood the Emperor's power. He wrote, quote, I now 51 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: became enraptured with his lively, bewitching air, with his astonishing memory, 52 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: his information, and the fertility with which he kept up 53 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: an easy and agreeable conversation. No wonder French soldiers adore, 54 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: for he instantly proved to us all how well he 55 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: knew how to tickle the human heart. Napoleon was shockingly 56 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: personable and funny. When one of Maxwell's friends mentioned that 57 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: he was from Kent, right on the southeast coast of England, 58 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: a thin strip of water away from France, Napoleon replied, 59 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 1: we're neighbors. Napoleon had become an expert in playing the 60 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: role that people wanted him to play on Elba, something 61 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: of a genial mascot. Though he happily talked about his 62 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: former military victories, he renounced war. He was retired, he said, 63 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: and it seemed as though he were perfectly content about 64 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: all of it. He would pour you a glass of wine, 65 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: ask you about your family, and then happily chuckle about 66 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: the fact that the old Napoleon was dead and what 67 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: a run he had had. If there was one uncanny 68 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: skill that Napoleon had, it was the ability to subsume 69 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: himself into whatever narrative was the most effective at any 70 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: given moment, like a good monarch or pop star or celebrity. 71 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: He knew that his greatest power was in his symbolism, 72 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: in what others could project upon him. And here on Elba, 73 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: Napoleon had become the amiable retiree. Except that wasn't how 74 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: Napoleon wanted the story of Napoleon to end, though he 75 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: told taurists and visiting emissaries that he was more than 76 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 1: content to spend his days puttering around his little island. 77 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: Less than ten months after arriving on Elba, Napoleon decided 78 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: that his retirement was over. With a tiny fleet and 79 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: a ragtag group of loyal soldiers, Napoleon sailed from Elba 80 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: to the French coast, where he marched to Paris, and, 81 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: without firing a single bullet, reclaimed the throne he had 82 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: less than a year earlier been forced to abandon. The 83 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:05,840 Speaker 1: Elban exile is a strange interlude in Napoleon's story, dwarfed 84 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: by the drama of what would come next, his final 85 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:13,279 Speaker 1: defeat at Waterloo and then his permanent, much more restrictive 86 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: exile on Saint Helena. But those strange ten months on 87 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: Elba fascinate me. The period during which Napoleon was forced 88 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: to stop and take stock of both himself and his narrative. 89 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: And of course, Napoleon realized that the story of Napoleon 90 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: required a coda, a dramatic comeback, a heroic gambit. As 91 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 1: Montgomery Maxwell had seen, Napoleon the man was merely human, 92 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: but Napoleon wasn't interested in being a man. He self 93 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: mythologized in real time, and he wanted to become a legend, 94 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 1: no matter the cost. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is 95 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: noble blood. I'm no scholar of military history, but you 96 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: don't really need to be in order to understand that 97 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia was, in short a disaster. 98 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: As he retreated, his numbers dwindled. In just three weeks, 99 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: sixty thousand of Napoleon's men died from cold, disease, hunger, 100 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: and thirst, and so the stage was set for a 101 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 1: new coalition of European powers Prussia, Austria, Sweden, Russia, Great Britain, Spain, 102 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: and Portugal to come together to rid the continent of 103 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: the Bonaparte problem. Facing an army twice his size, Napoleon 104 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: lost at the Battle of Leipzig in October of eighteen thirteen. 105 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: A few months later, the coalition forces invaded France. Napoleon, 106 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: still racing towards Paris, attempted to gather enough support to fight, 107 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: but citizens were already waving white handkerchiefs of surrender out 108 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: of their windows. They were simply done with fighting. Too 109 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: many boys had died, and Paris had no interest in 110 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: sustained warfare in its streets. Napoleon made it as far 111 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: as Fontainebleau, a chateau about seventy kilometers south of Paris, 112 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: where he got word that the city had fallen. The 113 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: provisional government, backed by the Foreign Coalition, deposed Napoleon as emperor, 114 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: and in his place they decided on the next leader 115 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:37,479 Speaker 1: of France. The revolution had toppled the monarchy and beheaded 116 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: King Louis the sixteenth, but France somehow needed to figure 117 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: out a way to wipe out the Napoleonic era to 118 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: go back to the country they had been before the 119 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: Corsican general had painted the nation with his imperial symbols. 120 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,160 Speaker 1: The coalition would ultimately determine that France would revert back 121 00:08:56,200 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: to its seventeen ninety two borders, and so why not 122 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: return as well to its eighteenth century systems of belief. 123 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: The provisional government decided to reinstate a king to invite 124 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: back to France the brother of the beheaded king, who 125 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: had been living in exile since the French Revolution, so 126 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: that he could rule, albeit as a constitutional, not absolute monarch. 127 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: He would take the title Louis the eighteenth. A few 128 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: decades prior, the French Revolution had toppled the monarchy and 129 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: beheaded King Louis the sixteenth, and the republic that had 130 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 1: replaced the monarchy had hardly been stable. Now France somehow 131 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: needed to figure out a way to wipe out the 132 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 1: Napoleonic era to go back to the country they had 133 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: been before the Corsican general had painted over the nation 134 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: with his imperial symbols. The coalition determined eventually that France 135 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: would revert back to its seventeen ninety two borders, and 136 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: so why not return as well to its eighteenth century monarchy. 137 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 1: The provisional government decided that, for a sense of national 138 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:14,240 Speaker 1: unity and cohesion, that they would reinstate a king, and 139 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: so they invited back to France the brother of the 140 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 1: beheaded Louis the sixteenth, who had been living in exile 141 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,720 Speaker 1: since the French Revolution, so that he could rule, albeit 142 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: as a constitutional not absolute monarch, under the title Louis 143 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: the eighteenth. In the early morning hours of April thirteenth, 144 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: eighteen fourteen, still at Fontainebleau, Napoleon pulled a poison lozenge 145 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: from the silk sachet he had kept around his neck 146 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: since the Moscow campaign. He swallowed it. A valet had 147 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,680 Speaker 1: heard a commotion in the other room and called a doctor, 148 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: who hastened to Napoleon's side. Fortunately, the poison, a combination 149 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 1: of opium belladonna and white helbor, had degraded in the 150 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: two years since Napoleon had had it, and after being 151 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: induced to vomit by eating ashes from the fireplace, Napoleon 152 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: was left with nothing more serious than a sharp pain 153 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: in his stomach to contend with. He had survived his 154 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: suicide attempt, which meant that now he would have to 155 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: face the ignimity of his defeat. The question remained, what 156 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: was the world going to do with Napoleon. In the 157 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: spring of eighteen fourteen, the coalition of European powers gathered 158 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:35,200 Speaker 1: together to try to figure it out. The terms would 159 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:39,720 Speaker 1: be generous. After all, Napoleon famously inspired loyalty among his 160 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,679 Speaker 1: soldiers and his followers. There was no need to make 161 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: him a martyr or induce a civil war in France. Besides, 162 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 1: he was a former emperor. As Mark Brode writes in 163 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 1: his book The Invisible Emperor, quote Europe's sovereigns still thought 164 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 1: of themselves as a band of equals, cousins, as he 165 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: liked to call them, bound despite intern seen conflicts by blood, 166 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:10,079 Speaker 1: history and protocol, they alone understood the heavy task of ruling, 167 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 1: and they alone understood that a defeated emperor must be 168 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: treated with the deferent due to his title, even if 169 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: in this case the ruler in question had invented that 170 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: title for himself end quote. It was Tsar Alexander of 171 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 1: Russia who decided on Elba, a tiny island with no 172 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: real economic value, even though it was only a quick 173 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: sail over from Italy. The fact that it was an 174 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:42,439 Speaker 1: island surrounded on all sides with water provided a comforting 175 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: mental barrier to Napoleon's confinement. Plus, he would be close 176 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: enough for them to keep an eye on. And even 177 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: though the rest of the European powers might have had 178 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,840 Speaker 1: their own thoughts and opinions on how to deal with 179 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: the Napoleon problem, they also understood that time was of 180 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: the essence. The longer that Napoleon stayed in France, the 181 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: longer his followers might have to rally support around him. 182 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,080 Speaker 1: They needed him gone, and so the treaty of Fontainebleau 183 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,719 Speaker 1: set the terms. He would be Emperor of Elba, its 184 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: own principality and receive a pension from the French government 185 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: of two million francs, and permitted four hundred veterans from 186 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: his old guard, one corvette worship and a tiny fleet 187 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 1: in order to protect himself and the island from assassins 188 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: or barbary pirates. Napoleon would be going from a household 189 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:39,320 Speaker 1: staff of three thousand people to forty. Reluctantly, Napoleon signed 190 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 1: the terms of his exile, and after a final salute 191 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: to the men at Fontainebleau, he allowed himself to be 192 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:54,439 Speaker 1: escorted by coalition representatives toward his forced retirement. The representative 193 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 1: from the United Kingdom joining the escort was an English 194 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: colonel named Neil Campbell. Campbell had, to put it mildly, 195 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: a rough go getting there. He had been fighting as 196 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 1: part of the Coalition forces invading France. An Englishman fighting 197 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:15,559 Speaker 1: alongside Russian soldiers, Campbell knew French, and so he shouted 198 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: out to a group of enemies surrender, speaking in French, 199 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,120 Speaker 1: but the Russians that he was fighting alongside got confused 200 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: and assumed he was on the opposing side, and a 201 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: Russian soldier lanced him through the back. Fortunately for Campbell, 202 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 1: he also knew a little bit of Russian, just enough 203 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 1: to say anglisky polkovnik English colonel. Otherwise the Russians probably 204 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 1: would have killed him. He received medical treatment in time, 205 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: but then, truly adding insult to injury, while he was 206 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: recovering from his wounds, his luggage was stolen. Still. When 207 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: Campbell coalesced and made it to Paris, the British Foreign 208 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: Minister Castlereagh assigned him a unique task quote to attend 209 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 1: the late chief of the French government end quote on 210 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 1: his way to Elba. I like Castlereagh's phrasing there revealing 211 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: that no one was quite sure yet exactly what Napoleon's 212 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: new official title was. Campbell was also told to remain 213 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 1: on Elba until further notice. Quote if Napoleon should consider 214 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: the presence of a British officer can be of use 215 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: in protecting the island and his person against insult or attack. 216 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,880 Speaker 1: But Campbell's presence wasn't just altruistic. He was also delicately 217 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: instructed to quote use discretion as the mode of communicating 218 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: with His Majesty's government meaning that there was some spying 219 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: going on as well. But the vagueness of the diplomatic 220 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: language meant that no one seemed quite to understand what 221 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 1: exactly Campbell was supposed to be doing on Elba, including 222 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: cam Was he there to protect Napoleon, to flatter him 223 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,160 Speaker 1: with a sense of importance by granting his little island 224 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: the diplomatic recognition of the United Kingdom. Was Campbell just 225 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 1: there to spy or was he meant to be Napoleon's jailer. 226 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 1: All of that uncertainty would come later. In the early 227 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: spring of eighteen fourteen, Campbell knew exactly what his job 228 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:30,200 Speaker 1: was gets Napoleon to Elba. The problem was Napoleon was 229 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: perfectly content to take his sweet time. He was probably 230 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: biding his time, hoping that the volatile political landscape might 231 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: swerve in his favor if he waited long enough. But 232 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: eventually enough was enough, and Campbell and representatives from Austria, 233 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: Russia and Prussia all joined Napoleon down from Fontainebleau to 234 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: the French coast. The south of France was more Catholic 235 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 1: and old fashioned than Paris and more royalist. Napoleon's tariffs 236 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,760 Speaker 1: had hit Port cities, especially hard, which meant that as 237 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: they all rode through the small towns, Napoleon saw himself 238 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:16,159 Speaker 1: hanged in effigy and swinging from a tree. Angry French 239 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:21,160 Speaker 1: citizens climbed onto his carriage to try to physically attack him. 240 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: After Avignon, Napoleon chose to borrow a tattered jacket from 241 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 1: one of the Austrian soldiers and a greatcoat from one 242 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: of the Russians. He also wore a hat with a 243 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: bourgon white rosette to complete the ruse. He rode ahead 244 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:41,399 Speaker 1: of the entourage pretending to be a courier. The disguise 245 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:46,120 Speaker 1: was so convincing, apparently, that when Napoleon stopped at an inn, 246 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,840 Speaker 1: the innkeeper asked if he had come across the scoundrel 247 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 1: Bonaparte on the ride down. Napoleon shook his head, and 248 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: the innkeeper continued, I hope he drowns on the way 249 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: to Elba. Napoleon left the inn without eating. Finally, the 250 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: group made it down to the coast unharmed. There in 251 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: the harbor was the small French ship, the Inconstant, that 252 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: Napoleon was supposed to take to Elba. The Inconstant would 253 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:19,359 Speaker 1: also remain with him there as his defensive navy. The 254 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: ship was admittedly run down and worse for wear, and 255 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: Napoleon declared that it would be beneath his dignity to 256 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: sail on it. Instead, he said he wanted to sail 257 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 1: on the British ship the Undaunted, that was going to 258 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 1: escort the Inconstant to Elba. Campbell said that was fine, 259 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 1: and then likely still stalling for time, Napoleon made another 260 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,920 Speaker 1: demand as an emperor, he would only board the ship 261 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: if he got a twenty one gun salute. Campbell called 262 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: his bluff and gave him the twenty one gun salute, 263 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: and so Napoleon had no other choice but to step 264 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,960 Speaker 1: off French soil for what was posed to be the 265 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: last time ever a master of messaging. Before Napoleon arrived 266 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,919 Speaker 1: on Elba, he had the island's biggest city plastered with 267 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,200 Speaker 1: his official greeting, claiming that he had decided to come 268 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 1: to Elba for his sojourn because of its kind people 269 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: and mild climate. Before he disembarked, Napoleon had a new 270 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:24,680 Speaker 1: flag designed for his island, white with a red stripe 271 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: and three golden bees. Bees had been his emblem when 272 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:33,159 Speaker 1: he had been Emperor of France and ever the overachiever. 273 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:38,439 Speaker 1: Even before Napoleon had officially disembarked, he snuck onto the 274 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: island on a small rowboat to scope it out. When 275 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:47,080 Speaker 1: he did finally make his official landing, Napoleon was presented 276 00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 1: with a key to the city. In the crowd, he 277 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: recognized a face a soldier who had once fought for him, 278 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:57,520 Speaker 1: and Napoleon called him out. That famous Bonaparte charm and 279 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:02,000 Speaker 1: memory at work. The new Emperor of Elba was given 280 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 1: temporary rooms on the top floor of the city's town hall, 281 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: which was a former bakery that was still known as 282 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: the Biscoturia. Napoleon wasted no time in trying to whip 283 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,199 Speaker 1: the island into imperial shape, waking up early to scope 284 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 1: out sites for not only his permanent residence but also 285 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: a country house. As Campbell wrote, quote, I have never 286 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: seen a man in any situation of life with so 287 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: much personal activity and restless perseverance. He appears to take 288 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: so much pleasure in perpetual movement and in seeing those 289 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:42,679 Speaker 1: who accompany him sink under fatigue, as has been the 290 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: case on several occasions. I do not think it is 291 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,320 Speaker 1: possible for him to sit down to study on any 292 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: pursuits of retirement, as proclaimed by him to be his intention, 293 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: so long as his state of health permits corporeal exercise. 294 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,520 Speaker 1: Napoleon was not going to be the type of retiree 295 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:06,960 Speaker 1: to take up painting or tai chi. His days were 296 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:10,400 Speaker 1: long and grueling, and he had no shortage of ideas 297 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: for improvements that he wanted to make on Elba, from 298 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 1: widening streets to planting trees, to resuming taxes and reorganizing 299 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:23,840 Speaker 1: the tin mines, and his addiction to conquest continued. Napoleon 300 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: had Elba conquer an island even smaller than Elba, which 301 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: was basically just an uninhabited rock called Pianosa, seemingly just because, 302 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:39,320 Speaker 1: as Talleyrand once famously equipped, what a pity, the man 303 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:45,919 Speaker 1: wasn't lazy, and work began quickly on the palace Napoleon wanted, 304 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 1: overlooking Porto Ferrao with rooms for Napoleon and optimistically also 305 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 1: rooms for his wife, Mary Louise, whom Napoleon still hoped 306 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,639 Speaker 1: would join him in exile. One evening, Elbin were shocked 307 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 1: and delighted to see Mary Louise and the son she 308 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: shared with Napoleon coming onto the beach secretly by rowboat 309 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: their empress. People could not stop talking about her mysterious arrival. 310 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,159 Speaker 1: Who had been the man rowing her, was at her 311 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: step son, Prince Eugene, and who had been the other 312 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 1: lady on the boat? What had she been wearing? Was 313 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 1: she wearing dazzling jewels? A local mayor attempted to pay respects, 314 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 1: and when people heard that Napoleon and his wife were 315 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 1: spending time in the little hermitage he used as his 316 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 1: country retreat, the people hiked up to try to get 317 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: a glimpse of their empress, Except there was one problem. 318 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 1: It was a woman and the son she shared with 319 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 1: Napoleon who had arrived on the island, But it wasn't 320 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: his wife. It was Napoleon's Polish mistress, Marie Walashka, and 321 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:58,879 Speaker 1: their son Alexander. Once Napoleon got word that people thought 322 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:03,119 Speaker 1: that she was the Empress, Napoleon sent Marie away after 323 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,200 Speaker 1: only two evenings. Back when he was Emperor of France, 324 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:12,200 Speaker 1: Napoleon had divorced his much more famous first wife, Josephine, 325 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,880 Speaker 1: though he still loved her, because she hadn't provided him 326 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:19,400 Speaker 1: a male heir, and so to that end he had 327 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 1: married the eighteen year old Marie Louise, daughter of the 328 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: Austrian Emperor Francis. Francis had reluctantly married his daughter to 329 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,320 Speaker 1: a non blood royal because he had been the Emperor 330 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:36,959 Speaker 1: of France. Now four years later, his daughter was locked 331 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 1: in a political alliance that was completely useless. When Napoleon 332 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: surrendered back at Fontainebleau, Marie Louise had gone with their 333 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 1: infant son back to Vienna to be with her family 334 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,640 Speaker 1: for safekeeping, and though she wrote loving letters to her 335 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 1: exiled husband during those first few weeks, Marie Louise almost 336 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,879 Speaker 1: certainly never received the sweet lets Napoleon was sending back. 337 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 1: Though Marie Louise's feelings for Napoleon, a man only two 338 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 1: years younger than her father, were fairly negative when the 339 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: marriage was first arranged, whether out of wifely duty or 340 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 1: genuine affection, it seemed that something like love had grown 341 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,360 Speaker 1: over the years, and though her Austrian family had made 342 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: it very clear that they had no intention of sending 343 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: her to Elba to be with her groom, there was 344 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 1: a part of Marie Louise that thought she really should. 345 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:36,480 Speaker 1: When Marie Louise made plans to travel to a spa 346 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,639 Speaker 1: town in the south of France for a vacation, where 347 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 1: ostensibly it might be easy to take a boat ride 348 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:47,320 Speaker 1: to Elba. The Austrian Foreign Minister sent along as her 349 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,679 Speaker 1: escort a general named Adam von Kniperg, who was given 350 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 1: a simple task to quote turn the Duchess away from 351 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 1: all ideas of a journey to Elba, a journey which 352 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: would greatly upset the paternal feelings of his Majesty, who 353 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: cherishes the most tender wishes for the well being of 354 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,320 Speaker 1: his well loved daughter. He must not fail, therefore, to try, 355 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:16,080 Speaker 1: by any means whatsoever, to dissuade her from such a project. 356 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 1: It was no accident that von Kniberg was incredibly handsome, 357 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,320 Speaker 1: and though he can't be certain what his methods of 358 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:28,359 Speaker 1: persuasion were, in the end, Marie Louise did not travel 359 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,440 Speaker 1: to Elba, and later, after Napoleon's death, he would become 360 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: her lover, and so the rooms on Elba that had 361 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,439 Speaker 1: initially been designed for the empress gradually began to be 362 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:47,320 Speaker 1: talked about as the rooms for Napoleon's sister, who did come. Josephine, 363 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:50,880 Speaker 1: Napoleon believed was the wife who would have joined him 364 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,159 Speaker 1: on Elba, and he was devastated that spring when he 365 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 1: got word that Josephine died back in France before her 366 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,600 Speaker 1: fifty first birthday. She had been ill, but the more 367 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 1: tabloid version of her demise was that she had taken 368 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 1: a scandalous walk with Czar Alexander the First and had 369 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,359 Speaker 1: worn just a thin muslin wrap that didn't protect her 370 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 1: from the cold. Napoleon's final letter to Josephine, which he 371 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: had sent a few months earlier, had ended with the 372 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: lines quote goodbye, my friend. Let me know you're well. 373 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: They say you're fattening up like a good Norman farm wife. Napoleon. 374 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: The Treaty of Paris, actually signed the day after Josephine's death, 375 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:44,119 Speaker 1: officially ended the war and restored Paris to its seventeen 376 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 1: ninety two borders. Napoleon was settled on Elba, with a 377 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 1: garrison of guards and the feeble but passable ship the 378 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:58,440 Speaker 1: Inconstant for his protection. Technically, Campbell's job should have been done. 379 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: Napoleon had early treated him like a friend or diplomat. 380 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,320 Speaker 1: Now that Napoleon was settled into his Mannor home with 381 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: his sister and mother and guards, he didn't really see 382 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:13,400 Speaker 1: a need to hang out with Campbell, and so Campbell 383 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:18,160 Speaker 1: was stuck on Elbaw like a vestigial limb unsure exactly 384 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 1: what it was that he was supposed to be doing. 385 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: With no other British diplomats posted nearby, no friends, no 386 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 1: one to talk to, and the Foreign Office seemed to 387 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:33,280 Speaker 1: be ghosting him. He sent letters requesting a formal extension 388 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:37,600 Speaker 1: to his stay with no reply. Eventually, the Foreign Minister 389 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 1: sent a note telling Campbell to basically keep on keeping 390 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 1: on and also stop bothering him. He informed Campbell that 391 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,240 Speaker 1: he the Foreign Minister, was going to the Peace conference 392 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,200 Speaker 1: in Vienna, but don't bother to update your address book, 393 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: keep sending your dispatches to London unless something really important 394 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,360 Speaker 1: comes up. To Campbell, it didn't really seem like anything 395 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:03,159 Speaker 1: important to at all was happening, though. Napoleon was busy 396 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 1: with seemingly endless half finished ideas for improvements on Elba 397 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: and new properties he wanted to develop for himself. He 398 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:16,200 Speaker 1: was living in what Campbell called quote perfect bourgeois simplicity, 399 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:20,360 Speaker 1: spending his evenings playing dominoes or cards with his family 400 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:24,680 Speaker 1: and playing piano before bed. In a scene that strikes 401 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: me as almost adorably domestic. Napoleon was playing cards with 402 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: his mother when she called him out. Napoleon, you're cheating, 403 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 1: she said, mother, You're rich, he retorted. But peaceful as 404 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: that scene is, the political situation back in France was 405 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: a little less stable than the European powers probably wanted. 406 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,480 Speaker 1: The new King Louis the eighteenth wasn't making a dazzling 407 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: first impression. He traveled through London on his way back 408 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: to Paris, and here's the Lord Byron cameo. Lord Byron 409 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: commented on the scene, writing quote at this present, writing, 410 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: Louis the Goudi is wheeling in triumph into Piccadilly. In 411 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:14,520 Speaker 1: all the pomp and rabblement of royalty and the new king. 412 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: Louis made perhaps one very early pr error when he 413 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:24,440 Speaker 1: signed the document agreeing to the Constitution and by cameral legislature, 414 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 1: he dated it the nineteenth year of his reign. The 415 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: implication was, of course, that he had been king that 416 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 1: entire time, albeit in exile. Complicated as Napoleon was as 417 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: a figure, there was a significant amount of civic pride 418 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: that he had inspired among the French people. His military victories, 419 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:51,440 Speaker 1: his conquests. The pomp and symbolism Napoleon wielded so well 420 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:55,800 Speaker 1: had had an effect, and effectively erasing all of that 421 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:59,360 Speaker 1: had the effect of embarrassment and a bit of shame, 422 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: especially considering that the restored Bourbon dynasty had obviously been 423 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: installed by foreign troops. There was a growing sense of dissatisfaction, 424 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: especially among veterans who had fought for Napoleon. As broad 425 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,280 Speaker 1: points out, there was an irony that soldiers, the men 426 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:22,360 Speaker 1: who would have sacrificed the most for Napoleon and his 427 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:27,480 Speaker 1: endless wars, remained the most loyal to him. Napoleon got 428 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:31,240 Speaker 1: the sense that a comeback might be possible. He was 429 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: also hearing rumors that the European powers were planning on 430 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: sending him further afield to a more distant exile on 431 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 1: Saint Helena off the coast of Africa, which would make 432 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 1: any escape impossible. And with the end of the War 433 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 1: of eighteen twelve, Europeans would no longer need to have 434 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: ships around America, which meant that more ships would be 435 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:57,720 Speaker 1: patrolling the Mediterranean. All of that meant Napoleon understood that 436 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: if he wanted to pull off an escape, he would 437 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 1: need to do it quickly. The English officer Campbell, feeling 438 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,120 Speaker 1: as though he were the one in exile, began to 439 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: spend more and more time off the island proper and 440 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:15,800 Speaker 1: on the Tuscan coast. He justified his sojourns with the 441 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:20,120 Speaker 1: nineteenth century equivalent of someone saying they're taking a mental 442 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: health day, writing that it would quote believe my mind, 443 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:28,080 Speaker 1: and prove a very acceptable release from the sultry confinement 444 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:31,640 Speaker 1: of Elba. Of course, it didn't hurt that Campbell had 445 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: also met an Italian noble woman named Contessa Miniacci, whose 446 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: origins and background were mysterious enough that she's invited speculation 447 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: that she was secretly a spy, either on Napoleon's behalf 448 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: or someone else's. If she was, she was incredibly subtle 449 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 1: about it, but she and Campbell did become lovers. Campbell 450 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:59,320 Speaker 1: wrote to his superiors about the possibility of Napoleon absconding, 451 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,960 Speaker 1: but he hedged his bets quote, I think he is capable 452 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,320 Speaker 1: of crossing over to Piombino with his troops, or of 453 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,320 Speaker 1: any other eccentricity. But if his residence in Elba and 454 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:13,800 Speaker 1: his income are secured to him, I think you will 455 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:18,720 Speaker 1: pass the rest of his life there in relative tranquility. Unfortunately, 456 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:23,800 Speaker 1: Napoleon's income was not secure. Napoleon wasn't receiving the stipend 457 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,600 Speaker 1: that he was promised in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which 458 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 1: was supposed to be paid by the French Bourbons. Apparently 459 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 1: they decided funding the man they saw as their enemy 460 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 1: was an expense they could put on the back burner, 461 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: And though later in his writings Napoleon would assure the 462 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:44,040 Speaker 1: reader that taxes and the elbin mining industry would have 463 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 1: paid for his expenses, the reality was funds were insecure 464 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:53,959 Speaker 1: and rapidly diminishing. When his ship, the Inconstant, needed repairs, 465 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:58,040 Speaker 1: Napoleon took the opportunity to use that as cover to 466 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 1: outfit it for his invasion of France. After nine months 467 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:07,239 Speaker 1: and twenty one days, Napoleon was done with retirement and 468 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:14,600 Speaker 1: he was going to reconquer the nation he loved. On 469 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:19,880 Speaker 1: February twenty sixth, eighteen fifteen, a small fleet comprised of 470 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:24,080 Speaker 1: the Inconstant, four transports and two Feluccas set sail for 471 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 1: the south of France. There were a few reasons Napoleon 472 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 1: chose to land directly in France first, and perhaps most importantly, 473 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: it would cause confusion and delay because the European powers 474 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:40,160 Speaker 1: assumed that any escape attempt Napoleon might make would be 475 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 1: through Italy. His brother in law was King of Naples, 476 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,840 Speaker 1: and it seemed logical that Napoleon would take the short 477 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:50,560 Speaker 1: boat ride rendezvous with him to bolster his troops, and 478 00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: then march on land through Italy back to France, adding 479 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:58,320 Speaker 1: troops along the way. But France was also a symbolic 480 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:03,880 Speaker 1: landing point for Napoleon. Napoleon wouldn't be invading with his army. 481 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:09,560 Speaker 1: This was to be a glorious homecoming. Later, Campbell would 482 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:14,640 Speaker 1: be blamed for allowing Napoleon to escape, especially considering before 483 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:18,920 Speaker 1: and during the actual departure he was off in Tuscany, 484 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:22,920 Speaker 1: but he justified himself later in his writing with every 485 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:27,520 Speaker 1: possible rationale. Quote, no part of Napoleon's plan for quitting 486 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:31,080 Speaker 1: Elba could have increased my general suspicions, even if I 487 00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:34,040 Speaker 1: had been there from the sixteenth to the twenty sixth, 488 00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:37,640 Speaker 1: nor could have authorized me to report to the British 489 00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:41,600 Speaker 1: government any fact which could be considered as certain proof. 490 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 1: He adds, quote, there's no criminality in the act previous 491 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:50,440 Speaker 1: to his embarkation of the troops and actual departure. Campbell 492 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:53,560 Speaker 1: finishes with the conclusion that it's actually a good thing 493 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 1: that he and his ship weren't in the harbor at 494 00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:59,640 Speaker 1: the time, because then Napoleon could have captured his ship 495 00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:04,080 Speaker 1: and and added it to his invading fleet. From Napoleon's 496 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:07,480 Speaker 1: landing on the southern coast of France, it was an 497 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:13,360 Speaker 1: almost comically easy and heroic march up to Paris. Later, 498 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,320 Speaker 1: Napoleon would say that the march was the happiest time 499 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:21,120 Speaker 1: in his life. To me, it reads as a perfect 500 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 1: moment of Napoleon's self mythologizing manifesting in real time. Napoleon 501 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,719 Speaker 1: was a master of his own story, and what could 502 00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:33,960 Speaker 1: make a man like that happier than living through its 503 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:38,600 Speaker 1: dramatic climax, a come from behind victory in which he 504 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,520 Speaker 1: escapes exile from under the noses of the European powers 505 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:47,200 Speaker 1: in order to reclaim his nation. The most dramatic and 506 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:52,520 Speaker 1: famous incident on Napoleon's march came outside Laffry, where a 507 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:56,160 Speaker 1: troop of eight hundred French infantrymen, who had sworn an 508 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,960 Speaker 1: oath to protect the Bourbon government, stood brandishing their weapons 509 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:06,840 Speaker 1: and blocking Napoleon's way. Napoleon didn't attack. Instead, he ordered 510 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:11,680 Speaker 1: his musicians to play the patriotic song Marcias, and he 511 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:15,720 Speaker 1: walked in front of the enemy soldiers alone. He thrust 512 00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:20,439 Speaker 1: open his jacket an open target and shouted, soldiers, I'm 513 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:24,920 Speaker 1: your emperor. Do you not recognize me? With his chest exposed, 514 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:28,719 Speaker 1: he called, if any of you will shoot his emperor, here, 515 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:34,680 Speaker 1: I am Among the eight hundred infantrymen, someone shouted fire, 516 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,800 Speaker 1: but no one did, and then someone shouted something else, 517 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:44,839 Speaker 1: long live the Emperor. The shout became joyful cheers as 518 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:51,080 Speaker 1: the men embraced their exiled leader. Rather than stopping Napoleon's invasion, 519 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:57,720 Speaker 1: the royal infantrymen joined him. Word reached Paris of Napoleon's 520 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:03,040 Speaker 1: incoming invasion, but the mood was strangely unbothered and relaxed. 521 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:07,759 Speaker 1: No one actually considered that Napoleon might succeed in reclaiming 522 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:11,879 Speaker 1: the government, and it was partly how strange and how 523 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:15,839 Speaker 1: shocking the whole thing was that gave Napoleon the advantage. 524 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:22,480 Speaker 1: The audacity of Napoleon's escape stupefied his opponents into numb surrender. 525 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:26,920 Speaker 1: Before Napoleon even made it to Paris, King Louis the 526 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:31,600 Speaker 1: eighteenth had fled, and when Napoleon reclaimed his palace, the 527 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:35,200 Speaker 1: carpets that the Bourbon king had installed were pealed back 528 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:39,920 Speaker 1: to reveal that Napoleon's symbols, the Imperial Bees, were still 529 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:45,200 Speaker 1: there beneath. Napoleon's escape from Elba had happened so quickly 530 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:49,560 Speaker 1: after his exile began that the Congress of Vienna, where 531 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,160 Speaker 1: world leaders were meeting to try to figure out what 532 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,640 Speaker 1: to do in the power vacuum of post Napoleonic Europe, 533 00:37:56,080 --> 00:38:00,239 Speaker 1: was still meeting when Napoleon landed back in France. Early 534 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:04,080 Speaker 1: Napoleon recognized that all of those leaders in one geographical 535 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:08,080 Speaker 1: location would allow them to plan their countermove against him 536 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:12,720 Speaker 1: far more efficiently than they otherwise could have via exchanging letters. 537 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 1: But the advantages to Napoleon acting quickly had outweighed that. 538 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:21,600 Speaker 1: A week before Napoleon reached Paris, the Congress of Vienna 539 00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:25,320 Speaker 1: officially declared that he was an outlaw, breaking the terms 540 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:28,799 Speaker 1: of his surrender in exile, and Austria, Prussia, Russia, and 541 00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:32,560 Speaker 1: the UK all committed men to bring him down again, 542 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,560 Speaker 1: this time for good. Despite her loving letters at the 543 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:41,439 Speaker 1: start of Napoleon's exile, when his wife Marie Louise got 544 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:44,799 Speaker 1: word of his reclamation, she said that you would rather 545 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,319 Speaker 1: join a convent than join her husband. They would never 546 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:54,080 Speaker 1: see each other again. Napoleon's second act, cinematic as it was, 547 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:59,239 Speaker 1: was also brief. One hundred days audacity would allow him 548 00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:02,400 Speaker 1: to grab power, but it wasn't enough to hold it, 549 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:07,279 Speaker 1: and when the European forces finally defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, 550 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:11,320 Speaker 1: this time they wouldn't be making the same mistake twice. 551 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 1: Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena, far too remote and 552 00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:19,320 Speaker 1: under far too much guard to even entertain the notion 553 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:24,520 Speaker 1: of anything but full retirement. Napoleon died there, likely of 554 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:29,360 Speaker 1: stomach cancer, not too long after. If you're wondering what 555 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:33,080 Speaker 1: happened to poor Campbell, the lone English officer who, in 556 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:37,040 Speaker 1: the minds of the British public, had one job. After 557 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:41,319 Speaker 1: Napoleon's flotilla sailed off, he scrambled trying to figure out 558 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:45,000 Speaker 1: where Napoleon was off to, which he incorrectly assumed would 559 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:49,319 Speaker 1: be Italy. All of Campbell's efforts came too late. He 560 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:54,400 Speaker 1: did not stop Napoleon, and once again adding insult to injury. 561 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:58,759 Speaker 1: As Campbell was traveling along the Lagreen coast, he was 562 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:03,640 Speaker 1: accosted by high wayman and had all of his possessions robbed. 563 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:08,000 Speaker 1: It was a fitting and terrible bookend to his miserable 564 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:20,920 Speaker 1: Alba assignment. That's the story of Napoleon's exile to Elba. 565 00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:24,640 Speaker 1: But keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear 566 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:29,040 Speaker 1: a little bit about two different outlaws who became entangled 567 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:46,480 Speaker 1: with Napoleon's history. An American professor of history named John 568 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:50,359 Speaker 1: William Rooney was working in the French National Archive when 569 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:55,240 Speaker 1: he decided to take home a very unique souvenir. Rooney 570 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:59,000 Speaker 1: walked out of the archives with a woven paper treaty 571 00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:02,400 Speaker 1: more than one one hundred and fifty years old, sealed 572 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:05,400 Speaker 1: with a red wax and tied with a green cord. 573 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:09,640 Speaker 1: Rooney had stolen the last remaining French copy of the 574 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:13,759 Speaker 1: Treaty of Fontainebleau, the document with which Napoleon accepted the 575 00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:17,400 Speaker 1: surrender of his role as Emperor of France and his 576 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:21,520 Speaker 1: new life as Emperor of Elba. It wasn't until nineteen 577 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:25,719 Speaker 1: ninety six that a National Archive employee was looking through 578 00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:30,359 Speaker 1: a Sotheby's catalog when he noticed something peculiar, a long 579 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:34,840 Speaker 1: missing treaty up for auction. With the investigation under way, 580 00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:38,960 Speaker 1: it was discovered that dozens of other important French documents 581 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:43,960 Speaker 1: were missing, including thirty letters, conveniently with the National Archives 582 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:48,200 Speaker 1: stamp sliced off. Most of the letters were concerning Louis 583 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:52,120 Speaker 1: the eighteenth and the Restoration Government, which were found by 584 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:55,279 Speaker 1: the FBI in a search of Rooney's home in two 585 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:59,840 Speaker 1: thousand and one. The documents and the Treaty of Fontainebleaue 586 00:41:59,880 --> 00:42:03,480 Speaker 1: were return to France, but with no extradition agreement, the 587 00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:08,280 Speaker 1: punishment was light. Rooney, seventy one years old, was charged 588 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:12,760 Speaker 1: with customs violations and find one thousand dollars. His friend 589 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:16,080 Speaker 1: Marshall Pierce, a novelist, had been the one to actually 590 00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:19,000 Speaker 1: put the documents up for sale on Sotheby's, and he 591 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:23,680 Speaker 1: was fined ten thousand dollars. Though France attempted to prosecute 592 00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:27,040 Speaker 1: Rooney in two thousand and five, the statute of limitations 593 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:30,160 Speaker 1: on the robbery had expired and America was not going 594 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:33,440 Speaker 1: to extradite a citizen. As far as I can tell, 595 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:37,400 Speaker 1: Rooney if he is still alive, never returned to France 596 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:41,600 Speaker 1: to stand trial. Rooney maintained that he bought the items 597 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:44,000 Speaker 1: and did not know they were stolen, though in an 598 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:47,040 Speaker 1: interview he said, if you were to stand in front 599 00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:50,200 Speaker 1: of the Pyramids of Egypt, you might pick up a 600 00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:54,280 Speaker 1: chip too. I have to say there is something about 601 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:58,160 Speaker 1: the bald audacity with which Rooney and Pierce attempted to 602 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:04,520 Speaker 1: pull off their robbery that frankly Napoleonic. During Napoleon's conquests 603 00:43:04,520 --> 00:43:08,839 Speaker 1: of Egypt and Italy, he stole countless works of art, 604 00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:14,440 Speaker 1: sculptures by Michelangelo, the Venus de Medici, sculpture paintings by Vasari, Varone, 605 00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:18,000 Speaker 1: Sei Giojo and Moore. Some were returned to Italy after 606 00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:21,400 Speaker 1: Napoleon fell from power, but some are still in the Louver. 607 00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:26,759 Speaker 1: An audacious act of international thievery of items related to 608 00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:45,840 Speaker 1: Napoleon might even be considered an homage. Noble Blood is 609 00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:49,839 Speaker 1: a production of iHeart Radio and Grimm and Mild from 610 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:54,080 Speaker 1: Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danish Forts, 611 00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:59,919 Speaker 1: with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Court, 612 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:04,600 Speaker 1: Zany Sender, Julia Milani, and Armand Cassam The show is 613 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:09,360 Speaker 1: edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and rima Il Kaali, 614 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:14,760 Speaker 1: with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Mankey, 615 00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:19,840 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 616 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:24,760 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 617 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:30,680 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.