History homework
vanessahong
example20history20detective20for20101.docxTommy Brown
HIS 101
Choose a topic from the list.
January 5, 2015
History Detective
Was Napoleon Murdered?
Napoleon Bonaparte was a fascinating man. As a commoner who rose to the heights of emperor and then fell again being arrested and exiled from the France he loved, conspiracy theories surround his death. Much like the conspiracy theories that build around the deaths of other famous leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, or John F. Kennedy, there are still many unanswered questions regarding Napoleon’s demise.
Napoleon ruled France from 1799 until 1815 after taking control of the government ending the French Revolution and the bloodshed. While Napoleon was quite successful during the first years of his reign, a few lost battles turned the tide against him. Finally in 1815, Napoleon was defeated by coalition forces led by the British in the infamous Battle at Waterloo. Following the battle, Napoleon was exiled. He was sent to the island of Saint Helena, which is a miniscule island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It was there that Napoleon lived out the final years of his life before dying on May 5th, 1821 at the age of 52.The young age at which Napoleon died is a main reason why conspiracies are often considered in his death. Even in the early 19th century, this was an unusually young death.
Present the facts as we know them. (See 2 on the instructions.
The known facts of Napoleon’s death show that the main cause of his death is some sort of stomach ulcer, which was probably cancerous. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the illness began to manifest its symptoms sometime in 1817, and continued to worsen and grow more serious until it took his life in 1821.
The prevailing theory is that Napoleon died of cancer, or some sort of ulcer-related illness, with no foul play involved. Our class’s Kishlansky textbook and the Encyclopedia Britannica, both considered reliable sources, list this as the probable cause.
Present at least two theories of what might have happened. (See 3 on the instructions)
The main conspiracy or alternative theory involves poisoning. While there are many theories as to how he was poisoned, the go-to conspiracy says that arsenic was used to kill Napoleon. Arsenic was used often as a poison as far back as the Middle Ages, so the people who would have wanted Napoleon dead would surely have had the resources and knowledge to perform such an assassination attempt. The conspiracy theorists that accept this idea believe that the poisoning was done by one of the members of Napoleon’s crew who lived with him in Saint Helena in the years preceding his death.
After reading numerous articles and comparing and contrasting the details between each source, both reliable and undependable, primary and secondary, my educated opinion is that Napoleon was not poisoned, but rather died of the disease or illness that was related to the stomach ulcer found during Napoleon’s autopsy. As stated previously, both our textbook and the Encyclopedia Britannica reported the same result. Each of these sources had an impact on my decision, but the final nail in the coffin of this conspiracy came in the article I cite titled “The Death of Napoleon, Cancer or Arsenic?” The study was published in an issue of the Clinical Chemistry journal in 2008, which gives the article significant credibility. In the study, the authors cite a study conducted in 2002 by the director of forensic laboratories of the Paris police. The report focused on arsenic concentrations in locks of Napoleon’s hair that have been collected over the years. While the concentration is exceedingly high based on today’s standards, the authors contribute this to the fact that arsenic was a very popular product in the 1800s, as it was used for dyes, wrappers, wallpaper, and hair powders among other things (the report also offers the fact that Napoleon used hair powder, which may be able to show why the concentrations were so high). Additionally, the normal level of arsenic taken from bodies from the 1800s is routinely higher than that of today likely due to the arsenic present in so many everyday products. The journal article ends with a suspicion that Napoleon’s hair contained such high traces of the arsenic because it was sometimes used to preserve hair samples. The hair powder explanation is also offered as a solid conclusion.
Select which theory is most likely based on evidence. Do not simply state I like this one more. Instead, explain what evidence supports your conclusion.
Overall, while it may be exciting and fun to explore conspiracy theories in the death of Napoleon Bonaparte, there is overwhelming evidence that his death was of more natural causes. The combination of reliable sources that point to a death without foul play which leads to the same conclusion. It is very unlikely that Napoleon was the victim of a murderous scheme as there would have been no benefit to such a murder except potentially cold revenge.
Bibliography
Ball, Hendrik. "Arsenic Poisoning and Napoleon's Death." The Victorian Web. Accessed January 18, 2014. http://www.victorianweb.org/history/arsenic.html.
Hindmarsh, J. T., and John Savory. "The Death of Napoleon, Cancer or Arsenic." Clinical Chemistry 58, no. 12 (2008): 2092- 93. Accessed January 15, 2015. http://www.clinchem.org/content/54/12/2092.full.pdf+html.
Kishlansky, Mark A., Patrick J. Geary, and Patricia O'Brien. Civilization in the West. 5th ed. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008.
"Napoleon I". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed January 15, 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/402943/Napoleon-I.
Weider, Ben, PhD. "The Assassination of Napoleon." The International Napoleonic Society. Accessed December 15, 2014. http://www.napoleon-eries.org/ins/weider/c_assassination_w.html.
This bibliography is completed in Chicago Style for Humanities which is the preferred style of historians.
