But some common myths should be dispelled. While a crushing victory for the Royal Navy, Trafalgar was not the reason that the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte , gave up his plan to invade the British Isles. In that sense, Trafalgar only reinforced an existing strategic situation. In the short term, what followed for Britain was a period of strategic isolation from Europe.
In , Britain and the French empire engaged in economic warfare which saw British trade largely excluded from European markets. Faced with a hostile Europe and an increasingly belligerent US legislating against trade with Britain, London looked to expand British trade and influence into other areas of the world. Key here were the untapped markets of the Portuguese and Spanish empires in South America. Their approach depended on a calculated risk that British naval gunnery was vastly superior to that of the enemy, and ensured that a close-range, decisive battle would be fought.
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Having led the first column of attack from the deck of his ship, HMS Victory , and successfully taken the enemy flagship out of action, Nelson was struck by musket fire and mortally wounded.
Though his death was a great loss to the British Navy, it galvanised British spirits at a time when the threat of French domination in Europe was a matter of growing national concern. TV A new online only channel for history lovers. Sign Me Up. An unorthodox and gutsy plan Trafalgar was fought off the western mouth of the Straits of Gibraltar, where a Franco-Spanish fleet of 33 ships, commanded by Vice Admiral Pierre-Charles de Villeneuve and Admiral Don Federico Gravina, clashed with 27 ships of the line commanded by Nelson.
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