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The Battle of Trafalgar and the making of a maritime empire

Published: 21 Oct. 2025, 00:05

Roh Jung-tae

The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

The morning of Oct. 21, 1805, dawned over the waters off Cape Trafalgar, between Cádiz and the Strait of Gibraltar. There, Adm. Horatio Nelson commanded 27 ships of the British fleet as they closed in on 33 vessels of the combined French and Spanish armada under Adm. Pierre de Villeneuve. Shortly before noon, the decisive battle began.

At the time, Napoleon had gathered an army of 180,000 on the opposite shore of the English Channel — too vast for Britain to resist on land. Even a single day’s loss of naval control could have opened the way for invasion. Knowing this, Nelson led his outnumbered ships into combat despite the odds.

A portrait of Adm. Horacio Nelson by L. F. Abbott (1799). [WIKIPEDIA]

Warships of the era could not fire forward-facing guns, giving an advantage to fleets arranged in long parallel lines. Nelson broke convention. Trusting the skill of the officers who had long served with him, he advanced in two perpendicular columns to cut through the enemy line. From his flagship, HMS Victory, Nelson signaled a message that would become immortal in British naval history: “England expects that every man will do his duty.”

By around 5 p.m., the fighting was over. The allied fleet lost 14,000 men, half of them captured, and roughly 20 ships were taken. The British lost about 1,500 sailors but kept their entire fleet intact. It was an overwhelming victory, though one marked by tragedy — Nelson’s death. Struck by a sniper’s bullet, he continued to command until the outcome was certain. Around 4:30 p.m., as news of victory spread, he breathed his last words: “Thank God, I have done my duty.”

The triumph at Trafalgar crushed Napoleon’s ambition to invade Britain and secured British command of the seas for the next century. From that day forward, the Royal Navy became the foundation of the Pax Britannica, an era when Britain’s maritime power shaped global trade and politics.

The Battle of Trafalgar remains not just a tale of cannon fire and courage but a lesson in leadership — of a commander who led from the front, through storm and smoke, to ensure his men fulfilled their duty. In an age of shifting global tides and economic uncertainty, the question lingers: Where is Korea’s own ship steering today?

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.