With men such as you our cause would not have been lost; but the war would have been interminable; it would have been a civil war, and France would only have become unhappier still. Napoleon signing his abdication at Fontainebleau on 4 April 1814 Painting by François Bouchot (1843), Palais de Versailles. Bullet Point # 23 – Did Napoleon’s Marshals betray him at Fontainebleau, in 1814? Come, General, bring forward the flag…”Whether you are a private individual or a company, if you are a tax payer in France, you get tax benefits on donations to the Fondation Napoléon. Why was he treated so lightly?If he had been content to busy himself with improvements to the island and with writing his memoirs, Napoleon might have spent his remaining years in comfortable retirement; but he was only 45 in 1814 and, given the highly active life that he had led, it is hardly surprising that he was not so content. Her happiness was my only thought; it shall continue to be the object of my desires. On 4 and 6 April 1814, at Fontainebleau, the marshals Ney, Lefebvre, Macdonald and Moncey put pressure on Napoleon to agree to abdicate. Le 11 avril 1814, Napoléon signe le traité de Fontainebleau, conclu le 6, à Paris, entre les maréchaux Ney, Macdonald, le général Caulaincourt, ses plénipotentiaires, et les ministres d’Autriche, de Russie et de Prusse.Il est ratifié le 14 avril.. Napoléon abdique sans condition. Le 6 avril, l’Empereur abdiqua une seconde fois, renonçant définitivement au trône pour lui et sa famille. Au général Corbineau, aide-de-camp de l’Empereur, à Fontainebleau. Napoleon’s adieux to the Old Guard at Fontainebleau, 20 April, 1814

This episode is called “the betrayal of the marshals”. Find out more.By continuing to visit this site, you agree to the use of cookies for statistical purposes. I want to write down the great deeds which we have done together. My remarks are designed to form the basis for debate and, I hope, research. Treaty of Fontainebleau, April 11, 1814. He faced severe criticism, even within in France, from Chateaubriand and Mme de Staël, and would have faced more if he had not had an efficient police force and imposed strict censorship. I cannot embrace you all, I will embrace your leader, I will also embrace your flag. The result of this face-off (which was probably less violent than the legend would have us believe) was that Napoleon drew up a declaration in which he consented to abdicate.

Each “Bullet Point” will confront a question related to the First Empire. I have sacrificed all my personal interests for the good of the nation; so I am leaving. His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon on the one part, and their Majesties the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, the Emperor of all the Russias, and the King of Prussia, stipulating in their own names, as well as in that of all the allies, on the other; having named for their plenipotentiaries, viz.

The victorious Allies wanted to restrain Napoleon’s ‘ambition’, but not to crush him entirely, let alone punish him. The reasons they gave? The silence which this great scene imposed was broken only by the sobs of the soldiers.

The Battle of Paris was fought on March 30–31, 1814 between the Sixth Coalition, consisting of Russia, Austria, and Prussia, against the French Empire.After a day of fighting in the suburbs of Paris, the French surrendered on March 31, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition and forcing Emperor Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile. You have always behaved with courage and fidelity. After losing the Battle of the Nations (or Leipzig) in October 1813, Napoleon Bonaparte was deposed; but by the Treaty of Fontainebleau of April 11th 1814, he was made ruler of the island of Elba, with an administrative staff and a guard of 400 men.