Napoleon, In Exile on Elba, Demands His Mother Pay for Her Own Home Improvements on the Island

It is fascinating to see a man who had commanded troops across Europe struggling to deal with own mother

Napoleon’s fall from power was hastened by his staggering failure in Russia, where his Grand Armee bled itself into near oblivion. He returned to France a weakened ruler, and the other powers, alarmed at his bravado to invade Russia and emboldened by his weakness, came at him in unison, defeating him in October 1813 at Leipzig, Germany. There, a coalition consisting of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden gave Napoleon his first definitive defeat of his Empire. In 1814, this defeat was followed by an allied invasion of France, one which Napoleon could not repel. In April he was forced to signed the Treaty of Fontainebleu, which specifically named him as the sole obstacle to peace; and under the treaty’s provisions he was exiled to the island of Elba, obliged to abdicate and agree that neither he nor any of his family would hold power again. In return his family received a pension. For reasons that today are unfathomable, he was not merely a prisoner at Elba, but was given rule of the island, and allowed to take with him a personal escort of 400 armed men, a staff that included four generals and other military officers, and Grand Marshal the Comte de Bertrand, his long time chief of staff. The allies derisively now called him the “Emperor of Elba.” However, Europe had not seen the last of Napoleon, as he was free to plan and act in his small domain.

Napoleon would not remain a prisoner long; he was unable to suffer confinement and humiliation when he had stood astride an empire and been the toast and fear of a continent. In May, Napoleon arrived on Elba while his wife and son took refuge in Vienna. Saying, “I want to live from now on like a justice of the peace,” Napoleon worked hard to improve Elba, and to all observers it seemed as though he was content with a life of relative retirement. All the while, however, he was plotting his return to Europe. Visitors came from afar to see the Emperor and he received letters from around the continent, many from well wishers. He surrounded himself with men who believed in him. The atmosphere at Elba was not one of resignation, but of activity.

Maria Letizia Bonaparte, Napoleon’s mother, lived during the exile of the Emperor in Romolino on Elba Island. She had two mansions, one in Portoferraio and the other one in Marciana. The former house was known as the Casa Ventini.

Napoleon, who ran a tight operation and managing his own expenses, had to also evidently manage his own mother.

Letter signed, Longone, September 6, 1814, to Bertrand. “I see with difficulty that we are still at Maison Ventini, all the more disagreeable because it does not belong to me. It is fitting that these expense reports ordered by Madame be presented back to her so that she can pay. It is the only way to ensure she orders no more, nothing being less pressing that all these walls that have been raised and the grids that have been placed.”

It is fascinating to imagine a man who had commanded armies and conquered nations struggling to deal with own mother. We’ve never seen anything like it.