Expert: Joseph Logue - 5/1/2007

Question
Hi.  I am a 9th grade student preparing a report on the Battle of Trafalgar for
my English class.  The assignment requires me to contact an expert as part of
my research.  If you can answer any or all of the questions below it would be
greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance for any assistance you can
provide.  

1)  How might the French and Spanish have won the battle?


2)  Did Nelson's new strategy affect naval warfare?

3)  If the French and Spanish had won, would Napoleon have been able to
conquer Britain?

4)  How did the hatred the Spanish bore for Napoleon affect the outcome?

5)  How did the battle affect the way other nations viewed Britain?  

R.C. Duckworth, Washington State

Answer
Hello RC,

I must say first that you are probably the most polite person who has ever written to me.  Thank you for that.  Now, let's get to your questions:

1.  The French and Spanish might have won the battle in a couple of ways, none of which existed in fact.  First, the navies would have had to have been stronger than England's.  This sounds obvious, but the fact of the matter is that Spain's Navy had been seriously declining for the previous one hundred years, and France had never to that point had a strong Navy, specializing instead in infantry.

2.  I'm not familiar enough with naval strategy to discuss this very well.  This is lengthy, but worth reading:  http://home.gci.net/~stall/strat.htm

3.  I doubt that France would have conquered Britain even if they had won at Trafalgar.  First, as I said, it would have taken a massive infantry force (which France had) but how to get them across the Channel to England?  Their navy was not up to transporting such numbers.  The Channel is notoriously treacherous and can never be counted on to cooperate as part of an invasion strategy.  This may be why it is called the English Channel -- the English are its chief beneficiaries.

4.  Again, I can't be much help here:  continental politics are something I do not have a lot of knowledge about.

5.  Simply put, the nations of the world viewed Britain in a way that she deserved to be viewed:  as the world's leading naval power (when control of the seas meant everything in trade, exploration, and sovereignty).  Hence, there would be little dispute that Britain's great naval strength, accompanied by a stable political life at home, the rise of the middle class thanks to the Industrial Revolution, and a vibrant democracy, made her the greatest power in the world.

I hope this helps, RC.  Good luck to you on your report and thanks for visiting AllExperts.

Sincerely,

Joseph Logue