But Britain had no role in the exile of Napoleon beyond that of having provided the ship in which to take him to Elba, and was only seen as his gaoler because she was universally viewed as the policeman of the seas. If anyone was to blame it was Alexander, who had, acting entirely on his own initiative, designated Elba as the place of Napoleon’s exile and allowed him to take a contingent of troops. The French blamed Alexander’s ‘sentimental’ politics for placing Napoleon on Elba, but also censured Metternich’s reluctance to chase Murat out of Naples.
