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Britain Honors 1805 Battle of Trafalgar
Yahoo News ^ | 10/21/05 | EMILY BEHLMANN/AP

Posted on 10/22/2005 12:05:15 PM PDT by wagglebee

With the sun setting over this faded port city, Queen Elizabeth II lit a beacon Friday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, in which Britain's Royal Navy defeated the French and Spanish fleets and cemented its naval supremacy for the next century.

Bells tolled aboard British vessels around the world and wreaths were laid at the site of the decisive battle just off Cape Trafalgar in southwestern Spain. In the nearby port of Cadiz, descendants of sailors who fought in the battle joined military leaders to pay homage to the 7,000 who died in the fighting.

While the events were not officially a celebration, many in Britain enjoyed reliving a moment of martial triumph — when, under Adm. Horatio Nelson, Britannia ruled the waves.

"Trafalgar was vitally important for this country. Otherwise we would all be speaking French now," said Christina O'Farrell, 61, a retiree from this town on England's south coast, still the home port of the Royal Navy.

The victory by an outnumbered British fleet on Oct. 21, 1805, lifted the threat of invasion by the armies of Napoleon — who ruled both France and Spain — and helped ensure Britain's place as the world's dominant naval power. It also confirmed Nelson's place as the country's greatest naval hero.

Killed in the battle, his state funeral was the largest ever in Britain, with a 1 1/2-mile-long procession following his coffin in London. His statue atop a column in London's Trafalgar Square remains one of the city's most famous landmarks.

Friday's events capped a year of commemorations of the battle. In Portsmouth, the queen lit the beacon beside Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory — the first in a chain of 1,000 lights to blaze across the country.

She then dined in the Great Cabin of the vessel. The menu included smoked salmon tartar with caviar cream and roast beef from Norfolk, Nelson's home county.

"The defeat of the combined French and Spanish fleets lifted the very real threat of an invasion of Britain and it was greeted by the nation with huge relief," she said in a toast to Nelson.

The queen praised Nelson as "a superb tactician and a fearless and determined commander."

Earlier, Nelson's battle-day signal to his fleet — "England expects that every man will do his duty" — was hoisted aboard his former ship. Officers laid wreaths on the deck where Nelson was injured and on the spot where he died hours later.

In Cadiz, a solitary bell tolled as representatives of the three navies involved read out the names of the 60 ships that blasted one another with cannon and musket fire. Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono led a religious service at a naval base, where descendants of the fleet commanders laid wreaths as choral music was played.

"It was very moving," said Count Andre de Villeneuve, a fifth generation descendant of the French admiral who commanded the Franco-Spanish fleet that sailed from Cadiz into Cape Trafalgar on that fateful day.

"It shows we don't forget the horror and sacrifice of that battle."

On Sunday, Prince Charles; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; and other royals were to attend a remembrance service for Nelson at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where Nelson is buried.

"The commemorations have been very moving for all of us and have been a demonstration of the solidarity of seafarers," British Ambassador Stephen Wright said.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: battleoftrafalgar; britishnavy; france; hmsvictory; horationelson; napoleon; trafalgar; trafalgaranniversary
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To: wagglebee

Anyone interested in the British Navy of the 18th and 19th century should read the Patrick O'Brien series which begins with Master and Commander. I'm on my third time through, this time in audio form.


21 posted on 10/22/2005 6:23:18 PM PDT by Mercat (God loves us where He finds us.)
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To: yankeedame
on the be-ribboned garters of daring young ladies

LOL. And why not!

22 posted on 10/22/2005 8:31:02 PM PDT by GVnana
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To: Winniesboy

That's what I was thinking - Portsmouth looks much better now than it did 10 years ago. So "faded" perhaps isn't the right word - perhaps "reviving" is.

Regards, Ivan


23 posted on 10/23/2005 12:20:17 AM PDT by MadIvan (You underestimate the power of the Dark Side - http://www.sithorder.com/)
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To: MadIvan
"...in a pause he leant over with such a smile and said, "Never mind manoeuvers, always go at them." I shall never forget it: never mind manoeuvers - always go at 'em. And at that same dinner he was telling us how someone had offered him a boat-cloak on a cold night and he had said no, he was quite warm - his zeal for his King and country kept him warm. It sounds absurd, as I tell it, does it not? And was it another man, any other man, you would cry out "oh, what pitiful stuff" and dismiss it as mere enthusiasm; but with him you feel your bosom glow..." Jack Aubrey, Master and Commander, Chapter Three.
24 posted on 10/23/2005 12:34:35 AM PDT by Alkhin (Let all the earth keep silence.)
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To: snugs

ping


25 posted on 10/23/2005 12:40:01 AM PDT by GretchenM (Hooked on porn and hating it? Visit http://www.theophostic.com .)
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To: GretchenM; MadIvan
Thanks Gretchen, I visited Portsmouth about 8 years ago and I must say it looked better than I was lead to believe it would. From what I understand and could see at the time more renovations were being undertaken but I suppose if someone was visiting it for the first time they might say faded. Especially if they are remembering from school days and illustrations the great navy days in Portsmouth.
26 posted on 10/23/2005 3:22:25 AM PDT by snugs (An English Cheney Chick - BIG TIME)
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To: gaijin
I'm pretty sure that they took down Nelson's statue, and replaced it (temporarily, I believe) with a smaller statue of either a homeless person, or some nameless indian.

That's completely untrue. Where did you get the information from? Nelson has never been removed from his column, nor shall he be.

27 posted on 10/24/2005 12:18:10 PM PDT by Da_Shrimp
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To: Da_Shrimp
Yes, I'm sorry. It appears it's probably untrue. I heard this story from Michael Savage, the radio talk show host.

I should have checked it out.

28 posted on 10/24/2005 12:56:11 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: gaijin
There was a statue of a homeless person put on one of the empty plinths in Trafalgar Square, though, which is what he my have been talking about.

That particular plinth had been empty since the square was constructed and there were always arguments about what should go there. Finally, the powers-that-be decided to put various works of art on there on a regularly-changing basis.

29 posted on 10/24/2005 1:03:43 PM PDT by Da_Shrimp
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To: wagglebee
There is a nice article in the October National geographic abou Trafalgar HERE.

I also had the opportunity recently to re-visit Lord Nelson's flagship the HMS Victory, which is in drydock in Portsmouth England. I had visited it once in 1984 when I was in the Navy.

30 posted on 10/24/2005 1:10:11 PM PDT by P8riot (When they come for your guns, give them the bullets first.)
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To: Mercat
Anyone interested in the British Navy of the 18th and 19th century should read the Patrick O'Brien series which begins with Master and Commander. I'm on my third time through, this time in audio form.

I must agree.

I am making my way through them for the first time, and am currently reading book 5, "Desolation Island." They are superb. I don't think I have ever read better prose. Ever.

31 posted on 10/24/2005 1:17:00 PM PDT by Skooz ("Political Correctness is the handmaiden of terrorism" - Michelle Malkin)
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