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PARIS - Nearly 186 years later, a scientific study has cleared Britain of the calumny that it murdered Napoleon, declaring instead that he was felled by stomach cancer.
In the latest twist in a long-running medical saga, pathologists in the United States reassessed Napoleon's clinical history, the original autopsy and other documents, and compared this evidence with data from 135 gastric cancer patients. They say they find no evidence to support the enduring myth in France that the perfidious British poisoned Napoleon on St Helena, where he died in 1821.
Instead, the US team say the official autopsy, which concluded stomach cancer was the cause of death, was right. "The [cancer] risk might have been increased by his diet, which probably included salt-preserved foods, thoroughly roasted meats and few fresh fruits and vegetables - standard fare for long military campaigns," says the study.
- AFP
