Lecture 25: 1805 Trafalgar—Nelson Thwarts Napoleon
x England’s greatest enemy during this time was France, which had
just undergone the chaos of the French Revolution and had fallen
under the rule of an ambitious military genius, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Through a series of astonishing and swift campaigns, Napoleon
extended his dominion over much of Europe, from Spain to the
borders of Russia. The instrument of his success was his Grand
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more than 700,000 men.x By 1804, Napoleon’s army stood poised along the French coast, and
he had thousands of barges constructed to ferry his troops across
the English Channel. What stood in his way were the warships of
the English navy.x Against this menace, the English strategy was to preserve control
of the seas by not allowing the French navy to leave its harbors.
Outside of every major French harbor, a squadron of English
ships kept up a constant blockade, maintained even during storms,
placing an enormous strain on the ships and their crews.The Opponents
x Many of the ships and men that sustained this vigil against the
French and fought in the war at sea have become legendary, but none
more so than Horatio Nelson. He was born in 1758 to a prosperous
family and was sent to sea at the age of 12 as a midshipman.x Nelson rose through the ranks to lieutenant and eventually captain
and fought in a number of battles, in which he established a
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was also one who led from the front, a practice that took a physical
toll: In one battle, he lost an eye, and in another, his right arm was
shattered by a musket ball and had to be amputated. The loss did
not impair the success of his career, however.x By 1798, Napoleon had conquered most of Europe and decided to
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and transports to carry his army and personally took charge, sailing