Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.

Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to the British aboard the HMS Bellerophon on July 15, 1815, following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and subsequent flight from Paris. With his options rapidly diminishing and Prussian forces closing in, Napoleon hoped to seek asylum in Britain, believing he might receive more favorable treatment there than if captured by the Prussians or Austrians. Boarding the Bellerophon at the port of Rochefort, he formally surrendered himself to Captain Frederick Maitland, declaring his trust in “the most generous of his enemies.” This moment marked the definitive end of his rule and a symbolic collapse of the Napoleonic era.

Despite his hopes, the British government had no intention of granting him asylum. While Napoleon remained aboard the Bellerophon anchored off the coast of England for several weeks, crowds gathered hoping for a glimpse of the once-mighty emperor. However, he was not allowed to set foot on British soil. Eventually, the British decided to exile him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, a location chosen precisely for its isolation and difficulty of escape. His surrender aboard the Bellerophon thus became both a historic act of capitulation and a poignant moment of lost grandeur, sealing his fate as a prisoner rather than a guest of Britain.