50 bottles of wine, four ducks, a roasting pig and 32 Chinese staff: Exiled Napoleon’s daily necessities

Fifty bottles of wine, four ducks, and a roasting pig: the daily feast of food and drink provided to French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on Saint Helena has been revealed in a document auctioned in Britain.

The list also details the inhabitants of Napoleon’s household on the island, Longwood, including loyal aide General Henri Gatien Bertrand and his family, and numerous staff including “32 Chinese”.

Each day, the entourage were delivered 23kg of beef and veal, 23kg of mutton or pork, 31kg of bread, 42 eggs and 15 bottles of milk, two turkeys, two geese, 12 pigeons and nine fowl, in addition to the pig and ducks.

And to accompany the vast quantities of wine, also on the list were malt liquor, rum and cognac.

“This fascinating document gives a detailed insight into the quality and quantity of wine, spirits and food that were enjoyed by Napoleon and his retinue during his exile on St Helena,” explained auction house Woolley and Wallis.

It sold for GBP976 (US$1,487) at auction on Wednesday in the southern city of Salisbury, England.