Napoleon's Exile to Elba (1814): An Emperor's Small Kingdom

Napoleon’s exile to Elba lasted from May 1814 to February 1815. After his first abdication the victorious Allies did not imprison the fallen emperor but made him sovereign ruler of a small island off the coast of Tuscany. For about ten months Napoleon governed Elba with characteristic energy, until he escaped to France and began the final chapter of his career.

Background: the fall of 1814

After his defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, Napoleon fought a brilliant but hopeless defensive campaign in France. On 31 March 1814 the armies of the Sixth Coalition entered Paris. The French Senate, guided by Talleyrand, declared Napoleon deposed on 2 and 3 April.

At Fontainebleau, Napoleon still hoped to march on Paris, but on 4 April his senior marshals, including Ney, refused to go on. He first offered to abdicate in favour of his young son, but the Allies insisted on unconditional abdication, which he signed on 6 April 1814.

The Treaty of Fontainebleau

The terms of his exile were set by the Treaty of Fontainebleau of 11 April 1814, agreed between Napoleon’s representatives and Austria, Russia and Prussia; Britain acceded to parts of it but did not sign it as a principal. Napoleon kept the title of Emperor and received sovereignty over Elba for life. France was to pay him an annual income of two million francs, and his wife Marie Louise received the Italian duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla. He was allowed a guard of several hundred volunteers.

On the night of 12–13 April Napoleon took poison he had carried since the Russian campaign, but it had lost much of its strength and he survived. On 20 April, in the courtyard of the palace of Fontainebleau, he took an emotional farewell of the soldiers of his Old Guard. The courtyard is still known as the Cour des Adieux.

The journey to Elba

Napoleon travelled south accompanied by commissioners of the Allied powers, including the British officer Colonel Sir Neil Campbell. In royalist Provence he met hostile crowds and at times disguised himself for his safety. At Fréjus he boarded the British frigate HMS Undaunted, which reached Portoferraio, Elba’s main town, on 3 May 1814; he landed formally the next day.

Ruling a small island

Elba covers about 224 square kilometres and had a population of roughly 11,000–12,000. Napoleon adopted a new flag, white with a red diagonal band bearing three golden bees, and set to work as if running a small state. He reorganised the administration, built and improved roads, encouraged agriculture and vineyards, took an interest in the island’s iron mines, which were its main source of revenue, and improved sanitation in Portoferraio.

He lived in the Palazzina dei Mulini, a modest residence overlooking the sea in Portoferraio, and used the Villa San Martino in the countryside as a summer retreat. He also maintained a miniature court, a small army of about 1,000 men, including members of his Guard, and a tiny navy.

Family, visitors and worries

His mother, Letizia, and his sister Pauline joined him, bringing some warmth to the small court. His former mistress Maria Walewska paid a short, discreet visit with their son Alexandre in September 1814. Marie Louise and their son, the young King of Rome, remained in Austria and never came; the Austrian court kept them apart from him.

Napoleon’s position grew more uncomfortable as the months passed. The restored government of Louis XVIII did not pay the income promised at Fontainebleau, and his funds ran low. He also heard rumours that delegates at the Congress of Vienna were discussing moving him to a more distant island, and reports from France told of growing discontent with the Bourbon regime, especially in the army.

The escape

Napoleon planned his departure in secret. On 26 February 1815, while Campbell was away on the Italian mainland, he embarked about 1,000 men on the brig Inconstant and several smaller ships and slipped out of Portoferraio. The flotilla avoided French and British patrols and landed at Golfe-Juan, near Antibes, on 1 March 1815. Within three weeks Napoleon was back in Paris, beginning the Hundred Days.

Legacy

Elba has kept the memory of its imperial ruler. The Palazzina dei Mulini and the Villa San Martino are museums, and Napoleon remains an important part of the island’s identity and tourism. The exile is remembered as a strange interlude, a modest kingdom for a man who had ruled much of Europe, and as a lesson for the Allies: after Waterloo they sent him to a much more remote island, Saint Helena.

Timeline

• 1814, 31 March: Coalition armies enter Paris.
• 1814, 6 April: Napoleon abdicates unconditionally at Fontainebleau.
• 1814, 11 April: The Treaty of Fontainebleau grants him sovereignty over Elba.
• 1814, 12–13 April: Napoleon survives a suicide attempt by poison.
• 1814, 20 April: Farewell to the Old Guard at Fontainebleau.
• 1814, 3–4 May: Napoleon arrives at Portoferraio and takes possession of Elba.
• 1815, 26 February: Napoleon leaves Elba with about 1,000 men.
• 1815, 1 March: He lands at Golfe-Juan in southern France.

Why it matters

The Elba exile showed the limits of the 1814 settlement. By giving Napoleon a throne close to France and Italy, the Allies left him the freedom to return, leading to the Hundred Days, the Battle of Waterloo and a far harsher exile on Saint Helena.