On April 29, 1814 Napoleon landed on the island of Elba, surrounded with a
personal army of 1200 men. The allies, Russia, Prussia, England and Austria,
had forced him into exile after a number of very costly defeats; he was deprived
of all his titles, but could keep the title of “Emperor of Elba”. History tells us that
each morning he took long walks in the sun, reviewed his army each midday
and discussed world matters with newly appointed advisors, following the same
pattern everyday, to the great surprise of Campbell, the British officer who was
to keep an eye on him. All this made everyone believe he was settled there for
good. Napoleon once said: Elba is beautiful, but a bit small. Elba was definitely
a source of inspiration; indeed, the early morning, March 6, 1815, Metternich,
the chancellor of Austria was woken up by one of his aides with the stunning
news that Napoleon had left Elba with his 1200 men and was marching to
Paris with little resistance; A few days later he took up his throne again in
the Tuileries. In spite of his insatiable hunger for battles and expansion, he is
remembered as an important statesman. He was a pioneer in setting up much
of the legal, administrative and political machinery in large parts of continental
Europe.