Napoleon Bonaparte was imprisoned on Elba when the allies defeated him for the first time and deposed him from the throne.
Elba was actually quite a mild form of imprisonment. Napoleon was allowed a personal escort of 1,000 people, and he even had the title of Emperor of Elba and ruled over the local population of 110,000. He attentively listened to what was happening in Europe. When he saw that the French were dissatisfied with the new government, he decided to react. He set sail from Elba with his men and landed on the French Cote d’Azur, near the town of Antibes. He moved towards Paris.
As he approached, more and more Frenchmen joined him, so his small group gradually grew into a real army. The royal troops joined him. Thus, according to the anecdote, in Lyon he stepped out in front of the opposing army, ripped open his coat and said: “If any of you will shoot your Emperor, shoot him now.” Upon hearing these words, they all joined him.
He entered Paris triumphantly and reassumed the imperial power. He ruled for 100 days, until he was finally defeated at Waterloo. The Allies did not commit the same mistake again. This time he was detained in a small isolated island in the Atlantic Ocean – St. Helena – where he died.
