French Revolution and Napoleonic WarsWars and battles
Battle of Trafalgar
Admiral Nelson’s British fleet crushed the combined Franco-Spanish fleet of Admiral Villeneuve off Cape Trafalgar; Nelson himself was mortally wounded in the battle.
- Date
- 21 October 1805exact date
- Place
- Atlantic off Cape Trafalgartoday: off Cape Trafalgar, Cádiz, Spain · Western and Central Europe
- Participants
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, First French Empire, Spanish Empire, Horatio Nelson
- Threads
- French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars
Villeneuve ordered the fleet to sea on 18 October 1805; the Franco-Spanish ships left Cádiz on 19–20 October. Nelson abandoned the traditional line-of-battle tactics and attacked in two columns, perpendicular to the enemy line, cutting it apart. The allies lost 22 ships, the British none.
The victory deprived Napoleon of a fleet capable of fighting, buried his plans for a landing in England and secured British command of the sea for a long time to come.
Connections
Related events
- Battle of Austerlitz20 November (2 December) 1805 · Western and Central EuropeSix weeks before Austerlitz the British destroyed the Franco-Spanish fleet: Napoleon ruled the land, Britain the sea
- Continental System21 November 1806 – 11 April 1814 · Western and Central EuropeWithout a fleet, Napoleon waged an economic war on Britain
Same participants
- Battle of the Nile1–3 August 1798 · Middle East and Egyptvia Horatio Nelson
- Battle of Assaye23 September 1803 · South Asiavia United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Coronation of Napoleon2 December 1804 · Western and Central Europevia First French Empire
- Balmis Expedition30 November 1803 – 14 August 1806 · Latin Americavia Spanish Empire
- Battle of Blaauwberg and the capture of the Cape Colony8–18 January 1806 · Africavia United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Cry of Dolores16 September 1810 · Latin Americavia Spanish Empire
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within a year of this event
Eastern Europe
- First Russian circumnavigation26 July (7 August) 1803 – 7 (19) August 1806
Balkans and Anatolia
- First Serbian Uprising14 February 1804 – 7 October 1813
Middle East and Egypt
Africa
- Battle of Blaauwberg and the capture of the Cape Colony8–18 January 1806
- Jihad of Usman dan Fodio21 February 1804 – 1808
East Asia
- Rezanov’s embassy to Japan26 September (8 October) 1804 – April 1805
- White Lotus Rebellionbetween 1794 and 1796 – 1804
North America
- Lewis and Clark Expedition14 May 1804 – 23 September 1806
Latin America
- Balmis Expedition30 November 1803 – 14 August 1806