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BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
OCTOBER 21, 1805
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print version
provided by National Geographic
The naval Battle of Trafalgar was part of the
Franco-British War of 1803,
which in turn was a chapter in the
Napoleonic Wars.
WHO FOUGHT?
The British fought the combined forces of
the French and the Spanish.
Admiral
Horatio Nelson and
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood led the British who fought with 27 ships. Admiral
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve led the
record list of long names and 33 ships, 18 of which were French and
15 Spanish.
THE OUTCOME
The British won but lost their hero Nelson.
The French and Spanish lost 19 ships.
The British lost none.
Casualties: 6,953 for the French and
Spanish 4,408 of which deaths, and 1,690 for the British 430 of
which deaths.
The French and Spanish fleets were
destroyed, thus Napoleon had to kiss his dream of invading the
British Isles good-bye. The British were top dogs at the seas of the
world again.
Battle
of Trafalgar - October 21, 1805
Click map to enlarge
BACKGROUND
Napoleon was eager to invade Britain but his fleet was unable to do
anything because the British blocked all major European ports and
kept the French ships nicely trapped at harbor. However, some ships
managed to escape in 1805 from Toulon and Cadiz. It took the British
some six months to track them down but they finally managed to do so
west of Cape Trafalgar, near Gibraltar.
BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
TRIVIA
At least one woman fought at Trafalgar for the British. Her name was
Jane Townshend. She was aboard the HMS Defiance and
survived the whole ordeal.
The crew aboard Nelson's flagship, the
HMS Victory, consisted of 820 men who represented 19 different
nationalities. Captain of the vessel was Thomas Hardy.
The British fleet consisted of 33 ships.
Twenty-seven of these ships were men-of-war.
The French and Spanish fleet was equipped with approx. 30,000 men.
Collingwood was aboard the HMS Royal Sovereign.
Check this info sheet on the Battle of
Trafalgar (en Espaņol)
La batalla de Trafalgar
Click to enlarge
And here is the North Atlantic map for naval wars 1803 - 1805
1803-1805
North Atlantic Naval Wars
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