On February 26, 1815, Napoléon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba. The French emperor had been exiled there after his forced abdication following the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814. He arrived at Portoferraio on May 30, 1814, and was allowed to keep a personal guard of 600 men. Napoléon was nominally sovereign of Elba, although the nearby sea was patrolled by the French and … Continue reading Napoléon Makes His Prison Break