D'Anville's doom--a neurological vignette from historic Halifax.

After the capture of Fortress Louisbourg by the New England Irregulars, Louis XV of France commissioned Jean Baptiste Louis Frédéric de la Rochefoucauld, duc d'Anville, to command a massive offensive flotilla to retake Louisbourg, and ravage the eastern seaboard of North America south to Florida. After arriving in Chibouctou (Halifax Harbour) following thirteen weeks at sea, duc d'Anville collapsed. His doctor treated him with enemas and emetics, but he suddenly turned blue, convulsed, and died. The report of his autopsy, which included the cranium, (and which is Canada's only Royal autopsy) has been lost for two centuries. It is now analysed, showing that although he had significant intracranial pathology, he died from medical therapy.