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Why was Napoleon exiled to St. Helena after Waterloo?

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Napoleonic Wars *Battle of Wagram, 6 July 1809*, oil on canvas by Horace Vernet, 1836.

Following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and his subsequent abdication, Napoleon Bonaparte attempted to flee to the United States. However, his escape was blocked by a British naval squadron, leading him to surrender to the commander of the HMS Bellerophon in hopes of receiving protection from the British government.12

The Allied powers were unified in their decision that Napoleon could not return to Elba, his previous place of exile, nor did they consider allowing him to go to America. Fearing his potential to incite further conflict and seeking to ensure his permanent removal from European affairs, the British government selected the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic as his place of detention. Its extreme isolation was intended to provide greater security than any other location, and Napoleon remained there until his death in 1821.123