On 15 July 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte boarded HMS Bellerophon off Rochefort and placed himself in the hands of Captain Frederick Maitland.

Napoleon had been defeated at Waterloo on 18 June. He returned to Paris, abdicated for a second time and travelled towards the French Atlantic coast. He hoped to sail to the United States, beyond the reach of the restored French monarchy and the European powers that had defeated him.

The Royal Navy blocked that route. Bellerophon was stationed off Rochefort as part of the British effort to prevent Napoleon from escaping by sea.

Napoleon’s representatives approached Maitland and asked whether the former emperor could travel to America. Maitland refused. His orders allowed him to receive Napoleon and carry him to Britain; however, he could not promise safe passage, asylum or any particular treatment after arrival.

With few options remaining, Napoleon decided to approach the British directly. In a letter to the Prince Regent, written before he boarded Bellerophon, he said that he wished to place himself under the protection of British laws.

Early on 15 July, Napoleon left aboard the French vessel Épervier. He transferred to a boat from Bellerophon and was brought alongside the British warship. He boarded with members of his staff and was received by Maitland.

The meeting is usually described as Napoleon’s surrender. It was voluntary, but there was no agreement granting him asylum. Napoleon expected the British government to consider his appeal for protection. Maitland had offered only to take him to Britain.

Bellerophon sailed for the English coast. It reached Torbay before being ordered to Plymouth. Napoleon remained aboard while the government decided what to do with him. Boats crowded around the ship as people tried to see him.

The British government did not allow Napoleon to settle in Britain. It treated him as a state prisoner and decided to send him to St Helena, a remote British possession in the South Atlantic.

On 7 August, Napoleon was transferred from Bellerophon to HMS Northumberland. He reached St Helena in October and remained there until he died in 1821.