Napoleon's Appeal to the British Nation, on His Treatment at Saint Helena

In Short

Published in London in 1817, this political document details the severe conditions imposed on Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on Saint Helena. Framed by eyewitness reports from his cabinet usher M. Santini and a formal memorial authored by General Count de Montholon, the text attacks the legal authority of the Allied powers to detain Napoleon as a prisoner of war. It cataloguess daily physical privations, strict diplomatic disrespect, and aggressive censorship under Governor Sir Hudson Lowe. The work survives as a vital piece of Napoleonic propaganda, appealing directly to the British public's sense of honor and constitutional liberty.

The Story

The text opens with a shocking report from M. Santini, an usher in Napoleon’s household who arrived in Portsmouth in February 1817 after departing Saint Helena. Santini describes a drastic shift in treatment. While Admiral Sir George Cockburn had initially treated the former Emperor with personal delicacy, the appointment of the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, brought state-enforced penury. Napoleon resides at Longwood, a converted East India Company farm infested with rats that destroy his linen and crawl over his feet at dinner. The roof, made of paper coated with pitch, rots and leaks constantly. Lowe drastically reduces food rations, allowing only one bottle of wine daily per adult and granting no provisions for the children of Napoleon's remaining staff. To survive, Napoleon is forced to break up his silver plate to sell for basic provisions, often relying on English officers and soldiers’ wives to buy bread, butter, and meat. Furthermore, Lowe restricts Napoleon’s movement from a two-league promenade to a half-league, cuts off clean water supplies, and dismisses household staff due to an inability to feed them.

Following Santini's account, the document presents the formal protest written by General Count de Montholon to Governor Lowe. Montholon attacks the Treaty of August 2, 1815, concluded between Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia. He argues that Napoleon surrendered voluntarily to British protection expecting the shield of English law, having abdicated for the benefit of France and his son. Because Napoleon never surrendered to the other Allied monarchs, Montholon asserts that the treaty is legally void and represents a tyrannical coalition against a single disarmed individual. He notes that Austria, Russia, and Prussia owe past political leniency and dynastic preservation to Napoleon, making their complicity an act of profound ingratitude.

Montholon condemns the British Ministry for stripping Napoleon of his title, forcing officials to address him merely as "General." He outlines Napoleon's historic legitimacy, emphasizing that Great Britain had repeatedly recognized his sovereignty through formal diplomatic treaties under the First Republic and the French Empire. The protest outlines the severe isolation imposed on Longwood: letters to family members are intercepted, read by subaltern officers, or withheld; newspapers and books sent by authors are suppressed; and all communications with local islanders are forbidden. Montholon concludes by rejecting Lowe's demand that Napoleon pay £12,000 annually for his own maintenance, pointing out that Lowe simultaneously blocks the financial correspondence necessary to raise those funds. The argument closes with a defiance of the British Ministry, declaring that Napoleon in adversity remains a more sacred figure than he ever was on the throne.

How It Unfolds

Reports of physical decay M. Santini exposes the terrible living conditions at Longwood, outlining the pitch-paper roof, rat infestations, water shortages, and drastic ration cuts enforced by Governor Sir Hudson Lowe that force Napoleon to sell his silver plate.

Rejection of the Allied treaty Count de Montholon addresses Sir Hudson Lowe, challenging the legal validity of the Treaty of August 2, 1815, and arguing that Napoleon came to England voluntarily as a private individual seeking legal protection rather than as a captive.

Denunciation of royal ingratitude The text details how the monarchs of Austria, Russia, and Prussia violate natural ties and past debts, ignoring that Napoleon repeatedly spared their crowns, preserved their capitals, and granted them generous terms after decisive military victories.

Protest against stripped titles Montholon repudiates the British decision to address Napoleon as "General," detailing the extensive history of official British diplomatic recognition of his rule as First Consul and Emperor during past peace negotiations and treaties.

Exposure of total isolation The document outlines the extreme administrative censorship imposed on Longwood, detailing how personal letters from family, international newspapers, sent books, and normal contact with islanders are systematically blocked by British authorities.

Defiance in adversity Responding to financial demands from the Ministry, Montholon refuses to negotiate expenses while correspondence remains blocked, concluding with a declaration that Napoleon’s calm endurance of persecution renders him grander than he was at the height of his empire.

The People

• Napoleon Bonaparte (Emperor of the French)

Seeking peaceful retirement under British or American law following his abdication, he finds himself trapped in high-humidity confinement on a tropical rock. Refusing to concede his imperial title or accept degrading restrictions, he opposes his captors with dignified serenity, even as physical illness, rot, and severe privation shorten his life.

• General Count de Montholon

Serving as Napoleon's loyal mouthpiece and secretary, he seeks to defend the Emperor's legal rights and honor against British administrative overreach. Facing constant financial demands and petty restrictions from the island governor, he forcefully articulates the regime's legal hypocrisy directly to the military authorities.

• Sir Hudson Lowe (Governor of Saint Helena)

Charged with keeping Napoleon securely contained, he enforces strict instructions from the British Ministry through administrative hostility. He drastically abridges Napoleon’s freedom of movement, cuts food and water supplies, opens personal mail, and demands financial contributions while denying the means to obtain funds.

• M. Santini (Cabinet Usher)

A devoted member of Napoleon's immediate household, he witnesses the daily indignities at Longwood firsthand, from shooting pigeons for breakfast to breaking silver plate for market sale. Escaping the island aboard the Orontis, he brings the true physical realities of Napoleon’s captivity to the British public in London.

In Its Own Voice

"In this wretched asylum he still remains. His sleeping chamber is scarcely large enough to contain a bed and a few chairs. The roof of this hovel consists of paper, coated with pitch, which is beginning to rot..."

— M. Santini describing Napoleon's living conditions at Longwood.

"The Emperor Napoleon protests against the contents of that Treaty. He is not the prisoner of England... he repaired voluntarily and freely to England, with the view of living there, as a private individual, under the protection of the British laws."

— Count de Montholon outlining the core legal challenge against the Allied coalition.

"Are your Ministers, then, ignorant that the spectacle of a great man in captivity and adversity is a most sublime spectacle?"

— Count de Montholon reflecting on Napoleon's historic posture in exile.

What It's Really About

Beneath its detailed complaints regarding rations, rats, and uncollected mail, the text is a fundamental battle over political legitimacy and executive power. It pits the doctrine of popular sovereignty against the divine right of absolute monarchies. Napoleon’s defense relies on the argument that he was elevated by the French constitution and recognized as a legitimate head of state through international treaties. By reducing his title to "General" and denying him basic legal processes, the Allied powers try to erase his reign and reframe a political leader as a common military captive. The work also explores the boundaries of hospitality and national honor, contrasting the ideal of Great Britain as a haven of constitutional liberty with the petty cruelty practiced by its administrative agents on an isolated island outpost.

Why Read It Today

This concise political document offers an immediate, unfiltered look into one of history's most famous detentions. Free from the retrospective polish of later memoirs, the text catches the Napoleonic drama in real time, full of tactical anger, sharp legal rhetoric, and raw physical detail. Readers interested in military history, political philosophy, and diplomatic maneuverings will appreciate the speed and precision with which Montholon turns a petty dispute over household expenses into a grand statement on European liberty.

The reading experience is remarkably direct. Because it was published as a cheap two-penny pamphlet meant for rapid distribution in 1817 London, it moves with urgency and clarity. Modern readers must navigate early nineteenth-century diplomatic terminology, lengthy sentence structures, and monetary references, but the core human struggle remains transparent. The image of the former ruler of Europe watching rats crawl across his dining table while his officers break up silver forks to buy pork soup leaves a vivid mark. It stands as a masterclass in political framing and public propaganda.