Napoleon had wanted to lure the british away from the channel, across to the caribian. Nelson believed that that's where the french were heading. Napoleon fed counter intelligence to help make them believe this. But of course, as we know, villeneuve, with frayed nerves, frustrated by contrary winds, will instead decide to head to cadiz. So for all intents and purposestha, the threat of invasion is over in august 18 o five. If they didn't want to fight, why then does napoleon order this fleet to leave cadiz? I mean, so ostensibly it is to support an expedition to the isle of sicily
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events of 21st October 1805, in which the British fleet led by Nelson destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet in the Atlantic off the coast of Spain. Nelson's death that day was deeply mourned in Britain, and his example proved influential, and the battle was to help sever ties between Spain and its American empire. In France meanwhile, even before Nelson's body was interred at St Paul's, the setback at Trafalgar was overshadowed by Napoleon's decisive victory over Russia and Austria at Austerlitz, though Napoleon's search for his lost naval strength was to shape his plans for further conquests.
The image above is from 'The Battle of Trafalgar' by JMW Turner (1824).
With
James Davey
Lecturer in Naval and Maritime History at the University of Exeter
Marianne Czisnik
Independent researcher on Nelson and editor of his letters to Lady Hamilton
And
Kenneth Johnson
Research Professor of National Security at Air University, Alabama
Producer: Simon Tillotson