Longwood House is a mansion on the British overseas territory island of St. Helena. It was the final residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, the former Emperor of the French, during his exile on the island of Saint Helena, from 10 December 1815 until his death on 5 May 1821. Originally an East India Company farm, it was later acquired by the Government of France and now operates as a museum.
History
Longwood "was originally a farm belonging to the East India Company and was afterwards given as a country residence to the Deputy-Governor."[1] It was converted for the use of Napoleon in 1815. The British government eventually recognized its inadequacy as a home for the former emperor and his entourage and, by the time of his death, had built a new house for him nearby, which he never occupied. In February 1818, Governor Sir Hudson Lowe proposed to Lord Bathurst to move Napoleon to Rosemary Hall, a house that became available and was located in a more hospitable part of the island, sheltered from the winds and shaded, as Napoleon had preferred.[2]