Empire Collections

Exile on Elba island Complete Scene (limited to 55 copies)

Reference : EXIL

French Emperor Napoleon was exiled to Elba after his forced abdication following the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814), and he arrived at Portoferraio on 30 May 1814. He was allowed to keep a personal guard of 600 men. He was nominally sovereign of Elba, although the nearby sea was patrolled by the French and British navies. During the months that Napoleon stayed on the island, he carried out a series of economic and social reforms to improve the quality of life. He stayed on Elba for 300 days, then escaped to France on 26 February 1815.

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On this day in 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba.

The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed by the representatives of Russia, Prussia and Austria on April 11, and by Napoleon’s representatives two days later. Napoleon attempted suicide before signing the treaty. Napoleon was allowed to retain his title of Emperor and was given sovereignty over Elba.

Elba is situated in the Tyrrhenian sea opposite Piombino from which it is separated by a canal a mere 10 miles long. This small island 14 miles long and 6 miles wide, is where Napoleon chose to retire when he abdicated for the first time. The Fontainebleau treaty granted him ownership and sovereignty of the island. The Emperor landed in the capital of his principality, Portoferraio, on 4th May, 1814, and started his journey back to France on 1st March, 1815, for an adventure that was to last 100 days.His wife Marie Louise was given the Duchies of Parma, Placentia and Guastalla. Napoleon was to receive an income of 2 million francs a year, and members of the Bonaparte family were promised pensions. These were to be paid by the French government, which would soon be in the hands of Bourbon King Louis XVIII.