21 de Outubro de 1805

Battle of Trafalgar - a British fleet led by Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain under Admiral Villeneuve. It signalled the virtual end of French maritime power and left Britain navally unchallenged until the twentieth century.

The Battle of Trafalgar, fought on 21 October 1805, is part of the War of the Third Coalition assembled by Britain against France. It was the most significant naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars and the pivotal naval battle of the 19th century. A Royal Navy fleet of 27 ships of the line destroyed an allied French and Spanish fleet of 33 ships of the line west of Cape Trafalgar in south-west Spain. The allies lost 22 ships; the British none. The British commander Admiral Lord Nelson died late in the battle, by which time his victory had ensured his place as Britain's greatest military hero.

The British victory put an end to Napoleon's plans to invade Britain across the English Channel. Once the threat of invasion was removed, British troops could be used to fight on the European continent, which was a major factor in Napoleon's ultimate fall. After the battle, the Royal Navy remained unchallenged as the world's foremost naval power until the rise of Imperial Germany prior to the First World War, 100 years later.

2005 sees the 200th anniversary of the battle, marked by Trafalgar 200 celebrations

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