Time.news – Napoleon Bonaparte may have been killed by his extreme obsession with cologne. This is the hypothesis launched by the scientist Parvez Haris, of the De Montfort University of Leicester, according to which the hero of the French Revolution and the twice Emperor of France was poisoned by the essential oils contained in his beloved perfume.
Napoleon died on May 5, 1821 on the island of Sant’Elena, where he had been in exile for six years after his surrender. Officially the cause of his death was indicated in stomach cancer, but over time various theories have accumulated, including poisoning. There are even those who have even suggested that the remains of the former emperor in his tomb in Paris are actually those of an impostor and that Napoleon instead fled to America.
Now, Haris adds a new and interesting theory, linked to what would have been a habit or even an obsession of Napoleon, and that is the “perfume”. In fact, it seems that the former emperor has consumed several bottles of cologne every day for years. Previous studies in the United States have shown that essential oils can act as “endocrine disruptors” which act on hormones, leading to developmental disorders and tumors. According to Haris, prolonged overexposure to these oils could largely explain Napoleon’s decline in health in his later years and even his fatal stomach cancer. The scientist is so convinced of his theory that he has declared that he can face “any court in the world” with his new evidence.
For Haris, what the investigators have not considered is “the huge volumes of cologne” used by the illustrious exile. “Napoleon was a great promoter of the colonies, which went into commercial production for the first time in 1792. At that time it was only for the powerful and the very rich and he could afford it,” says the researcher.
The scholar claims that “although Napoleon disliked doctors and avoided their medications, he was convinced of the health benefits of Eau de Cologne and is said to have said that this was ‘a protection against many diseases.’ So for at least 20 years he washed our body, poured it on our heads and, in some cases, literally licked it“. The researcher does not fail to mention that Napoleon also wore his beloved colony during his military campaigns.” Records show that he consumed two or three bottles a day when, even now, people can use one a year! ” precise.
Furthermore, it is said that Napoleon’s perfumer, Gervais Chardin, was ordered to deliver 50 bottles of cologne every month. It is no coincidence that a quarterly invoice from 1806 reads a supply of 162 bottles for the sum of 423 francs. Eau de Cologne is thought to have reminded the then French emperor of his homeland, Corsica. It seems that one of the main ingredients of the fragrance was rosemary, which grew among the cliffs of the Mediterranean island.
“For Napoleon, the Eau de Cologne was a double-edged sword”, says Haris: on the one hand, the alcohol contained in the perfume would help him protect himself from deadly viruses and bacteria during his campaigns in different parts of Europe. , as well as in Asia (Syria) and Africa (Egypt), but on the other hand “in the end it killed him”. And “there is no doubt, in my opinion, that the Eau de Cologne was the main poison, although co-exposure to other chemicals, including arsenic, must have contributed to his poor health and ultimately to his death from gastric cancer, ”Haris specifies.
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