Napoleon did not die of poisoning by Zuzana Zelenakova

Napoleon was a small man, but certainly a great personality in the course of history. He held many titles, Emperor of the French and King of Italy among others. He won many victories before failing in Russia in 1812, which subsequently led to his imprisonment at Elba. After his final revolt at Waterloo he was exiled by British to the island of Saint Helena where he died in 1821. The cause of Napoleon's death has been discussed many times. Official report said he died of stomach cancer like his father, but arsenic poisoning theory has became increasingly popular in recent decades. According to this theory Napoleon was poisoned by British to prevent his possible return to power. However, Italian scientists proved that conclusion as wrong. They studied Napoleon's hair samples from different periods of his life and found out that the hair did contain high level of arsenic, but already in a very young age. Also the hair of his wife, son and other contemporaries contained the poisonous chemical element. The reason for that can be found in glues and dyes commonly used by people of the period. "The environment in which people lived in the early 1800s evidently caused the intake of quantities of arsenic that today we would consider dangerous," the scientists said. So in the case of Napoleon's death it was not the matter of poisoning but of constant contamination by arsenic throughout his whole life. There is no indication of increased level of the poison in his last years.

by Zuzana Zelenakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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