The Battle of Trafalfar – English Supremacy, But Not the End of the War

Trafalgar - William Turner
The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory, oil on canvas painting by JMW Turner, c. 1806, Tate Britain

The Napoleonic Wars was a miserable twelve years of almost constant fighting between England and France, which ended in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, when Napoleon was defeated a second time.

The Napoleonic Wars as a whole are ranked in the top twenty highest casualties of all wars throughout history.   In part because of the casualties, both Trafalgar and Waterloo are considered major battles in world history, having considerable influence over politics, economics and even the way the European map was distributed.

Which is somewhat ironic, as Romanceland just loves their Regency Romances, which overlaps the Napoleonic wars (depending on which authority you’re consulting, the Regency era encompasses all the wars, and more, too.)  Regency Romances are not nearly as grim as the wars themselves.

The battle of Trafalgar was a naval battle, and the English beat the French in no uncertain terms — Britain didn’t loose a single ship, while the French lost nearly all theirs.  Trafalgar took place in 1803, two hundred and ten years ago, today.

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