Emmanuel, comte de Las Cases
Emmanuel-Augustin-Dieudonné-Joseph, comte de Las Cases was born on the 21st of June 1766 at the castle of Las Cases near Revel in Languedoc. He received his education at the military schools of Vendôme and Paris before entering the navy. The young officer participated in various engagements during the years 1781, 1782. The outbreak of the Revolution in 1789 caused him to go into exile immediately. He spent several years in Germany and England while participating in the disastrous Quiberon expedition of 1795. He became one of the few survivors who returned to London where he lived in poverty for some time.
In 1801, in London and under the pseudonym A. Lesage, he published the original edition of his famous atlas in English. This publication immediately proved a great success among buyers. Returning to Paris after the Peace of Amiens in 1802, he issued the first French edition in 1803, 1804 called Atlas historique, genealogique, chronologique et geographique de A. Lesage. Multiple editions, translations, spin-offs, and several pirated versions followed down to the 1850s. The atlas made Las Cases rich enough to change his entire life trajectory. It came to Napoleon's notice only when Las Cases went into exile on St Helena with the emperor in 1815.
The Peace of Amiens in 1802 made provision for an amnesty for émigrés like himself. Renouncing his hereditary title of marquis, Las Cases availed himself of this amnesty to repatriate himself back to France. He returned during the Consulate with other royalists who rallied to the side of Napoleon. He stated afterwards to the emperor that he was conquered by his glory. Not until 1810 did he receive much notice from Napoleon's government. That same year the government made him a chamberlain and created him a count of the empire. After the first abdication of the emperor on the 11th of April 1814, Las Cases retired to England before returning 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. 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 that reply he afterwards misrepresented in his accounts. Las Cases and his son accompanied the ex-emperor to Saint Helena where they lived together.
He then acted informally but very assiduously as secretary taking down numerous notes of conversations. These notes thereafter took form in the famous Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène. The Mémorial should today be read with great caution because the compiler did not hesitate to insert his own thoughts. He also colored the expressions of his master throughout the text. In some cases he misstated facts and even fabricated documents entirely. Pages corrected in the hand of Napoleon are now held in the Wisbech & Fenland Museum in Wisbech, England. It is far less trustworthy than the record penned by Gaspard Gourgaud in his Journal.
Disliked by Montholon and Gourgaud, Las Cases sought an opportunity to leave the island when he had accumulated sufficient literary material. He infringed the British regulations in such a way as to lead to his expulsion by the governor Sir Hudson Lowe in November 1816. He was sent first to the Cape of Good Hope and thence to Europe without permission from Louis XVIII's government to enter France initially. He resided in Brussels until gaining permission to come to Paris after the death of Napoleon. He published the Mémorial and soon made a fortune from it. In 1840 when the expedition set sail for St Helena to bring back Napoleon's remains he was too ill to go but his son who had shared his captivity was able to travel. Las Cases died on the 15th of May 1842 at age 75 in Passy where he is buried in Passy Cemetery.
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Common questions
When was Emmanuel comte de Las Cases born and where did he receive his early education?
Emmanuel comte de Las Cases was born on the 21st of June 1766 at the castle of Las Cases near Revel in Languedoc. He received his education at the military schools of Vendôme and Paris before entering the navy.
What famous work did Emmanuel comte de Las Cases publish under a pseudonym in London during 1801?
Emmanuel comte de Las Cases published the original edition of his famous atlas in English under the pseudonym A. Lesage in 1801. This publication immediately proved a great success among buyers and later made him rich enough to change his entire life trajectory.
Why did Emmanuel comte de Las Cases accompany Napoleon to Saint Helena after the second abdication in 1815?
Emmanuel comte de Las Cases accompanied Napoleon to Saint Helena because he first proposed and strongly urged the emperor to throw himself on the generosity of the British nation. He then acted as secretary taking down numerous notes that formed the basis of the Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène.
How did Emmanuel comte de Las Cases die and when did this event occur according to historical records?
Emmanuel comte de Las Cases died on the 15th of May 1842 at age 75 in Passy where he is buried in Passy Cemetery. His death occurred shortly after his son traveled to St Helena to retrieve Napoleon's remains in 1840 while Las Cases was too ill to go.