219 years ago today…
|
|||||
|
We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people. Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house] Authors
Arts, Tech & CultureCivil LibertiesCommentary
Economics |
TrafalgarOctober 21st, 2024 |
 13 comments to TrafalgarLeave a Reply |
Who Are We?The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling. We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe. CategoriesArchivesFeed This PageLink Icons   |
|||
All content on this website (including text, photographs, audio files, and any other original works), unless otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons License. |
|||||
It is also Aberfan Day.
Don’t forget that either.
But if Nelson had lost at Trafalgar, would Napoleon have invaded Britain? And would he have won?
“Never mind maneuvers, just go straight at them.”
Hat tip to Collingwood too, who got the fleet ‘over the line’.
Aberfan was indeed grim, had not the telephone lines been stolen, but most of all, had those placing the slag there been thinking of their personal responsibility, it might never have happened.
Here’s to letting them cross your Tee, and still winning!
“Engage the enemy more closely.”
Nelson knew that victory required complete destruction of the enemy.
After that grim battle, the Royal Navy commanded the seas, more or less, for a century. It was a reason why trade flourished as much as it did; piracy and slave trading was suppressed.
Nelson was arguably the greatest Norfolk man to have ever lived.
A great victory.
I believe the Spanish dispute the battle as a British victory?
Did we really have a ship called “Pickle”? And what is “Africa” doing off to the North?
JP is right. When exactly did the concept of “proportionate response” become a thing?
Stuart, they might as well dispute the orbit of the earth around the sun.
Yes, NickM – HMS Pickle was actually the ship that brought news of the victory at Trafalgar to Britain. She was sent north with dispatches after the battle by Collingwood. She was a privately built schooner that the Navy purchased and she participated in the battle mostly as a support vessel – she helped rescue 200 French sailors from the Achille, a French ship-of-the-line that was destroyed in the battle.
Pickle was also involved in capturing several ships from other forces – an American brig (quite a feat for a schooner), a couple of French sloops and a French privateer brig. For these various feats she’s actually a very well-known ship. Pickle was captained by Lieutenants at the time, being that she was only a small support ship, yet managed an impressive number of captures. The policies of the day, rewarding officers for their daring and their initiative, seems to have been very successful in creating a legendary navy.
HMS Africa arrived late to Trafalgar and her captain did not know the battle plan, which is why she’s separated from the others – she’s sailing in to join the battle.
Further to @Alex’s comment I looked it up. Here is the wikipedia article on HMS Pickle. It is interesting to look at the photo of a replica of the ship. It is a tiny little ship that, were it me, I wouldn’t take out of site of the shore never mind into a major sea battle.
Thanks Alex. HMS Pickle! It just struck me as so many of the other vessels had high falutin’ Greek names and all.