France: Napoleon's Death and French Canada
What was the cause of Napoleon's death? Napoleon died aged 52 in 1821, on St Helena in the South Atlantic, where he had been exiled after his defeat at Waterloo. Most historians accept the official explanation that he died from stomach cancer. George Sassoon writes: I have also heard that he died from arsenic poisoning, possibly because he took small doses to improve his complexion. This was said to have been confirmed by recent analysis of a sample of his hair. RH: That hair has been the subject of much discussion. The issue of National Geographic in which the article about Napoleon appeared has a feature section on poisons. It discusses the history of the use of small doses of arsenic for curative purposes.
The murder hypothesis, rejected by serious historians, is discussed in "The curious case of napoleon b" (National Geographic, May 2005), which opens with an exposition of it by Ben Weider, founder of the International Napoleonic Society and owner of a Canada-based body.building empire. He says that Napoleon was poisoned by the British and French Royalists. "Anything else is hogwash", No reputable historian uses language like that. Dr. Paul Fornes, a French forensic pathologist, says the accusation of murder by poisoning would never fly in a court of law. French historian, Jean-François Lemaire, who is also a doctor, disdains the circus surrounding the debate and says "We have left the world od science and are now in the world of entertainment.
The question remains why a businessman who owns a Canadian body-building empire would become so active in this odd cause. Napoleon is the most admired person in France, especially among nationalists, who are against "les Anglo-Saxons", a term favored by de Gaulle. French Canadians tend to imitate the French as a way of defending their identity against "les Anglo-Saxons·". Is the body-builder running a publicity campaign to please French Canadians? We disgracefully get little news about our neighbor Canada, and virtually none about French Canada. Is the body-builder a straw in the wind?
What was the cause of Napoleon's death? Napoleon died aged 52 in 1821, on St Helena in the South Atlantic, where he had been exiled after his defeat at Waterloo. Most historians accept the official explanation that he died from stomach cancer. The murder hypothesis, rejected by serious historians, is discussed in "The curious case of napoleon b" (National Geographic, May 2005), which opens with an exposition of it by Ben Weider, founder of the International Napoleonic Society and owner of a Canada-based body.building empire.
Randy Black writes: I found the following information regarding Dr. Weider and his writings: Ben Weider’s book sold more than 1 million copies and has been translated into 35 languages. He is 75, earned his Ph.D and has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and received the Order of Canada, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a Canadian citizen. He is a WWII veteran. According to his website, he has received honorary degrees from Florida State University, Baghdad University, Concordia University and the United States Sports Academy. He has met more presidents, foreign ministers and other dignitaries than has your typical secretary of state.
His paper, The Assassination of (was presented in) a lecture given at the International Military History Festival "Borodino Day," Borodino Russia - September 5-10, 1997 and at the Sandhurst Military Academy, London, England, February 18, 1998.
From Dr. Weider’s writings: In fact, he (Napoleon) died of cyanide poisoning, following chronic arsenic intoxication. You and I know that people do not die from a condition leading to cancer - one dies of cancer. The autopsy performed by Antommarchi and observed by many others, including the English doctors, showed that the stomach lining had been heavily corroded and there was a significant annular swelling of the pylorus muscle. However, not suspecting poisoning, the doctors, except for Dr. Antommarchi, who was the only pathologist present, concluded that Napoleon had died of "a condition leading to cancer."
It is interesting to note that Doctor Henry, after the autopsy, wrote a report for Sir Hudson Lowe and he noted how effeminate Napoleon appeared, because he had no body hair. He should have realized that a loss of body hair is a symptom of chronic arsenical intoxication.
Dr. F. Antommarchi, who attended the Emperor during the last twenty months of his illness, persisted in maintaining, after his return from St. Helena, that he died of chronic hepatitis contracted in the unhealthy climate of the island. Larrey, the surgeon-in-chief of the Imperial guard - the "most upright man I have ever known" as Napoleon himself said - remarked, after reading the post mortem report, that it indicated clearly that the Emperor had died of an acute liver affection. Larrey recognized that the stomach lesions were secondary and certainly not cancerous. …The case is very clear. Napoleon was murdered by the Comte de Montholon, using chronic arsenical intoxication followed by acute cyanide poisoning. As an agent of the Bourbons, he succeeded with his mission.
Sources: http://www.ifbb.com/reports/IronDiplomacy.html
http://www.napoleon-series.org/ins/c_weider.html
http://ameliefr.club.fr/E-Conference3.html