Napoleon reached Saint Helena on 15 October 1815

Napoleon arrived at Saint Helena on 15 October 1815 aboard HMS Northumberland, after a 67-day voyage from England, beginning the South Atlantic exile that lasted until his death on the island in 1821.

The voyage set the tone for the next six years. Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, ordered to deliver the prisoner, kept a journal now held by Royal Museums Greenwich, and it records a running contest over one question: was his passenger still an emperor? Napoleon’s companions expected imperial treatment. Cockburn insisted he was in charge, writing of “General Buonaparte” that he was “still inclined to act the Sovereign occasionally but I cannot allow it”. When Napoleon paced the deck bareheaded so that the English officers would stay uncovered, as his attendants did, Cockburn put his hat on and told his officers to do the same; Napoleon went to his cabin, piqued.

The admiral was fascinated all the same, resolving to note down every particular “this extraordinary man” told him, and the pair discussed almost every campaign from the Revolution to Waterloo. Cockburn thought Napoleon played chess badly, and noticed that his opponent was “quite determined not to win the game”.

On arrival Napoleon showed no emotion on deck, though he is supposed to have told one of his entourage:

“It seems no charming place to live in. I should have done better to stay in Egypt.” — attributed to Napoleon, October 1815

He spent one night in Jamestown, then lodged at the Briars, the Balcombe family’s house, where he struck up a friendship with their daughter Betsy. On 10 December 1815 he moved to Longwood House, enlarged for a household of about twenty, and passed his days dictating memoirs, taking long baths and riding within permitted bounds. Cockburn stayed on as governor until April 1816, organising the security meant to make escape impossible. Napoleon died at Longwood on 5 May 1821.