The '''Battle of Trafalgar''' was a naval battle fought during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] on October 21, 1805 off the coast of southwestern Spain. It involved the [[Royal Navy]] under the command of Viscount Admiral Lord [[Horatio Nelson]] against the combined forces of [[France]] and [[Spain]]. The destruction of the Franco-Spanish fleet gave Britain uncontested dominion over the world’s oceans for over 100 years, and it was because the British won the battle that they and not the French eventually came to rule an empire that included [[India]], [[Canada]], [[Hong Kong]], and [[Singapore]], and preside over a world economy in which [[London]] was the financial heart of [[Europe]]. The battle also immortalised the memory of Nelson who was shot and died of his wounds at the moment of his greatest victory. | The '''Battle of Trafalgar''' was a naval battle fought during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] on October 21, 1805 off the coast of southwestern Spain. It involved the [[Royal Navy]] under the command of Viscount Admiral Lord [[Horatio Nelson]] against the combined forces of [[France]] and [[Spain]]. The destruction of the Franco-Spanish fleet gave Britain uncontested dominion over the world’s oceans for over 100 years, and it was because the British won the battle that they and not the French eventually came to rule an empire that included [[India]], [[Canada]], [[Hong Kong]], and [[Singapore]], and preside over a world economy in which [[London]] was the financial heart of [[Europe]]. The battle also immortalised the memory of Nelson who was shot and died of his wounds at the moment of his greatest victory. |