The battle of Waterloo, Napoleon lost because of a volcanic eruption

The Battle of Waterloo – the last major battle of the French Emperor Napoleon I – left an indelible mark on the history and minds of the people. Five cities in Great Britain, one large station, and also 32 localities in North America are named in his honor. The Battle of Waterloo is reflected in art: artists, writers and cinematographers have repeatedly addressed this topic, finding in it inspiration for their works. It is no secret that Napoleon was very bad weather. Not so long ago, historians discovered what caused the two-month rain showers and did not allow the French army to get reinforcements in time. The blame for all scientists believe volcanic dust.

Let’s fast forward in 1815. In April of that year, on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, an enormous power eruption of the volcano Tambor occurred. Until our days, the eruption of Tambor is considered the largest in human history. It claimed 70 thousand lives, led to climatic anomalies (in one of our posts we wrote about the “year without summer”, which was the result of the cataclysm), catastrophic crop failure. Volcanic ash hit the upper atmosphere – the ionosphere, where the formation of clouds. Electrified volcanic dust caused heavy rains that hit Europe. As a result, the elements were blurred roads and disrupted transport links. It was this fact that did not allow Napoleon’s allies to come to the rescue in time and led to the crushing defeat of the French emperor.

The latest research staff of the London Imperial College confirmed the theory of historians. Computer simulations have shown that during eruptions equal in strength to the eruption of Tambory 1815, ash particles no less than 0.2 microns in size can rise to an altitude of 100 km due to the action of electrostatic forces and reach the ionosphere. For this reason, ash can influence climate on a global scale. Well, perhaps both Fortune and Nature have their favorites. And no matter how much a person hopes for his strength and invulnerability, these two young ladies are able to decide the course of history, making their own adjustments to it.