Emmanuel, comte de Las Cases
Encyclopedia
Emmanuel-Augustin-Dieudonné-Joseph, comte de Las Cases (21 June 1766 – 15 May 1842) was a French
atlas-maker and author, famed for an admiring book on Napoleon.
He was born at the castle of Las Cases near Revel
in Languedoc
. He was educated at the military schools of Vendôme
and Paris
; he entered the navy and took part in various engagements of the years 1781–1782. The outbreak of the Revolution
in 1789 caused him to emigrate, and he spent some years in Germany
and England
, sharing in the disastrous Quiberon
expedition (1795). He was one of the few survivors and returned to London
, where he lived in poverty until finding his vocation as a private tutor.
In 1801, in London and under the pseudonym A. Lesage, he published in English the original edition of his famous atlas, which immediately proved a great success. Returned to Paris after the Peace of Amiens (1802), and amnestied, he issued the first French edition in 1803-1804, called "Atlas historique, genealogique, chronologique et geographique de A. Lesage." Multiple editions, translations, spinoffs, several pirated, followed down to the 1850s. The atlas made Las Cases rich. It came to Napoleon's notice only when, in Las Cases's company, he went into exile on St. Helena (1815).
The Peace of Amiens (1802) made provision for an amnesty for emigres. Renouncing his hereditary title of marquis, Las Cases availed himself of this amnesty to repatriate himself.
He returned to France during the Consulate
with other royalists who rallied to the side of Napoleon
, and stated afterwards to the emperor that he was conquered by his glory. Not until 1810 did he receive much notice from Napoleon's government, which then made him a chamberlain and created him a count of the empire. After the first abdication of the emperor (April 11, 1814), Las Cases retired to England, but returned to serve Napoleon during the Hundred Days
.
The second abdication opened up for Las Cases the most noteworthy part of his career. He withdrew with the ex-emperor and a few other trusty followers to Rochefort
; and it was Las Cases who first proposed and strongly urged the emperor to throw himself on the generosity of the British nation. Las Cases made the first overtures to Captain Maitland of HMS Bellerophon
and received a guarded reply, the nature of which he afterwards misrepresented.
Las Cases and his son accompanied the ex-emperor to Saint Helena
and acted informally but very assiduously as his secretary, taking down numerous notes of his conversations which thereafter took form in the famous Mémorial de Ste Hélène. The Mémorial should be read with great caution, as the compiler did not scruple to insert his own thoughts and to color the expressions of his master. In some cases he misstated facts and even fabricated documents.
It is far less trustworthy than the record penned by Gourgaud
in his Journal. Disliked by Montholon
and Gourgaud, Las Cases seems to have sought an opportunity to leave the island when he had accumulated sufficient literary material. However that may be, he infringed the British regulations in such a way as to lead to his expulsion by the governor, Sir Hudson Lowe
(November, 1816). He was sent first to the Cape of Good Hope
and thence to Europe, but was not at first allowed by the government of Louis XVIII
to enter France. He resided at Brussels
; but, gaining permission to come to Paris after the death of Napoleon, he took up his residence there, published the Mémorial, and soon gained an enormous sum from it. In 1840 when the expedition
set sail for St. Helena to bring back Napoleon's body, he was too ill to go, but his son who had shared his captivity was able to go. He died in 1842 at Passy
and is buried in Passy Cemetery
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
atlas-maker and author, famed for an admiring book on Napoleon.
He was born at the castle of Las Cases near Revel
Revel, Haute-Garonne
Revel is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Location:Revel is situated about 35 miles east of Toulouse...
in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
. He was educated at the military schools of Vendôme
Vendôme
Vendôme is a commune in the Centre region of France.-Administration:Vendôme is the capital of the arrondissement of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It has a tribunal of first instance.-Geography:...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; he entered the navy and took part in various engagements of the years 1781–1782. The outbreak of the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
in 1789 caused him to emigrate, and he spent some years in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, sharing in the disastrous Quiberon
Quiberon
Quiberon is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon...
expedition (1795). He was one of the few survivors and returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he lived in poverty until finding his vocation as a private tutor.
In 1801, in London and under the pseudonym A. Lesage, he published in English the original edition of his famous atlas, which immediately proved a great success. Returned to Paris after the Peace of Amiens (1802), and amnestied, he issued the first French edition in 1803-1804, called "Atlas historique, genealogique, chronologique et geographique de A. Lesage." Multiple editions, translations, spinoffs, several pirated, followed down to the 1850s. The atlas made Las Cases rich. It came to Napoleon's notice only when, in Las Cases's company, he went into exile on St. Helena (1815).
The Peace of Amiens (1802) made provision for an amnesty for emigres. Renouncing his hereditary title of marquis, Las Cases availed himself of this amnesty to repatriate himself.
He returned to France during the Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
with other royalists who rallied to the side of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, and stated afterwards to the emperor that he was conquered by his glory. Not until 1810 did he receive much notice from Napoleon's government, which then made him a chamberlain and created him a count of the empire. After the first abdication of the emperor (April 11, 1814), Las Cases retired to England, but returned to serve Napoleon during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
.
The second abdication opened up for Las Cases the most noteworthy part of his career. He withdrew with the ex-emperor and a few other trusty followers to Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
; and it was Las Cases who first proposed and strongly urged the emperor to throw himself on the generosity of the British nation. Las Cases made the first overtures to Captain Maitland of HMS Bellerophon
HMS Bellerophon (1786)
The first HMS Bellerophon of the Royal Navy was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched on 6 October 1786 at Frindsbury on the River Medway, near Chatham. She was built at the shipyard of Edward Greaves to the specifications of the Arrogant, designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1758, the lead ship...
and received a guarded reply, the nature of which he afterwards misrepresented.
Las Cases and his son accompanied the ex-emperor to Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
and acted informally but very assiduously as his secretary, taking down numerous notes of his conversations which thereafter took form in the famous Mémorial de Ste Hélène. The Mémorial should be read with great caution, as the compiler did not scruple to insert his own thoughts and to color the expressions of his master. In some cases he misstated facts and even fabricated documents.
It is far less trustworthy than the record penned by Gourgaud
Gaspar, baron Gourgaud
Gaspard, Baron Gourgaud , also known simply as Gaspard Gourgaud, was a French soldier, prominent in the Napoleonic wars....
in his Journal. Disliked by Montholon
Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon
Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon was a French general during the Napoleonic Wars. Serving throughout, he subsequently chose to go into exile on the British governed island of St Helena with the ex-emperor after Napoleon's second abdication.It has been alleged that he poisoned Napoleon.-Early...
and Gourgaud, Las Cases seems to have sought an opportunity to leave the island when he had accumulated sufficient literary material. However that may be, he infringed the British regulations in such a way as to lead to his expulsion by the governor, Sir Hudson Lowe
Hudson Lowe
Sir Hudson Lowe KCB, GCMG was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who is best known for his time as Governor of St Helena where he was the "gaoler" of Napoleon Bonaparte.-Early life and career:...
(November, 1816). He was sent first to the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
and thence to Europe, but was not at first allowed by the government of Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
to enter France. He resided at Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
; but, gaining permission to come to Paris after the death of Napoleon, he took up his residence there, published the Mémorial, and soon gained an enormous sum from it. In 1840 when the expedition
Retour des cendres
The retour des cendres was the return of the mortal remains of Napoleon I of France from the island of St Helena to France and their burial in the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris in 1840, on the initiative of Adolphe Thiers and King Louis-Philippe.-Previous attempts:In a codicil to his will, written...
set sail for St. Helena to bring back Napoleon's body, he was too ill to go, but his son who had shared his captivity was able to go. He died in 1842 at Passy
Passy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
and is buried in Passy Cemetery
Passy Cemetery
The Passy Cemetery is a famous cemetery located at 2, rue du Commandant Schlœsing in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France.-History:...
.