Trafalgar Day 21/10/2005 Today is significant in Britain in that it's the 200th anniversary of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson's victory and death at the Battle of Trafalgar. I am not a great one for anniversaries and regularly forget birthdays and other important dates, but Nelson is rather special in the eyes of Englishmen and deserves to be remembered at this time. Beyond his sometimes incredible achievements in naval warfare, he also presents us with deeds and qualities that resonate with our modern sensibilities. He was, perhaps, the first and most prominent British hero of our age.I am not going to give a potted history of Nelson's life (apart from anything else, that would be blog suicide). For those who are interested, there are good summaries provided by the BBC and the Royal Navy. I want to concentrate more on what makes the man so dear to British hearts.There are many heroes in British history who achieved just as much military success as Nelson; the Dukes of Marlborough and Wellington, Sir Francis Drake and even good old Monty. But I can think of only two who have the same charisma as Nelson - King Henry the Fifth and Alfred the Great. What is the secret of these few who have become heroes of legendary fame and earned the enduring love of a nation?The most obvious common denominator between the three is that they won their battles in the face of overwhelming odds. Alfred fought the Danes to a standstill after having his kingdom reduced to a tiny island in the marshes of Somerset; at Agincourt Henry beat an army of between 20,000 and 30,000 Frenchmen with a force of 5,000 archers and 900 men-at-arms. And Nelson repeatedly defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets with daring tactics and indomitable courage.Yet there have been others who have achieved as much with just as little. There is more to these three than just military prowess. As brilliant a commander as he was, Alfred hated war and used the peace to reinstate learning in his country, to rebuild what had been destroyed and to make fair and sensible laws. And the story of his burning of the cakes, whilst probably not true, does give a hint that he was a man of the people, not above menial tasks in the service of others.Henry was one of the first of the Norman kings to see himself as English first and foremost. He spoke the language (something that the Normans had not bothered to do before) and endured the same harsh conditions as his soldiers when on campaign. And they loved him for that, not only because he gave them victories. Shakespeare's portrayal of Henry at Agincourt may be a romanticized version of the truth but it reflects the way the English saw him at a time that was still close to his day. Henry was a man of the people as much as was Alfred.And what of Nelson? He, of course, was more a man of the people than either of his great predecessors. A commoner, he began his career in the navy as a cabin boy and worked his way up by sheer ability. Slight of stature and sickly, he survived the hard conditions of life at sea and somehow rose above them. He seemed impossible to kill, frail as he was. To have an arm hacked off by the surgeons of the time might have killed stronger men, but not Nelson. To lose an eye in battle should have slowed him down at least, but not Nelson. It seemed that the more of him you shot away, the more determined and courageous he became.His love affair with Lady Hamilton also earns our sneaking admiration. "Yeah," we think, "stick it to those snooty aristos!" And this demonstrates Nelson's willingness to break the rules, to go against accepted ways of thinking. In naval tactics he was an innovator, the first to cut through the line of battle orthodoxy of a hundred years. It makes perfect sense that he should have been a rebel in his private life too.So Nelson becomes a hero in so many ways. He strikes a blow for the little guy, the under-nourished weakling of the old Charles Atlas advertisements. He gives hope to the common man, pushing in amongst the ranks of the high and mighty and tweaking their noses with a few spicy adventures with one of their ladies. Along the way, he amuses us with a sense of humor too, putting his blind eye to the telescope to avoid seeing an unwanted signal, enticing a foreign fleet out of port with insolent and unexpected raids. And, of course, any Englishman loves a man who puts one over the French.His final act sets the seal on his greatness. To die at the moment of his greatest victory is the finest thing any hero can do. Not for Nelson the slow degeneration into a bristling curmudgeon, ranting against political developments beyond his time, as was the lot of Wellington. Not for him the eccentric lifestyle in a country cottage, writing self-congratulatory memoirs, as did Monty. Not even a disappearance into obscurity and an unnoticed death in some banal accident, as befell T.E. Lawrence, the famous Lawrence of Arabia.No, Nelson did it properly, leaving us no memory of declining years, no later indiscretions to dull his bright legend. We have no option but to remember him at the height of his fame and greatness. Small wonder that we set him upon a pedestal so high in the middle of a square named for his finest hour. The man just couldn't lose.So here's to Trafalgar Day and good old Lord Nelson. He gave us something to remember as the politicians drag us reluctantly into Europe.
Clive
John (Syntagma 2.0) Spot on, Clive. I did a hornpipe to celebrate today, and spliced the mainbrace with a glass of lager (no naval rum handy unfortunately).
Nelson was one of the greatest. His efforts gave us the Pax Britannica for a century, and kept the seas safe for world trade. He also saw off that little creep N. (I won't use his name out of respect for my good French friends). Yes, I'll raise a glass with you, Clive. Let's never forget the Victor of Trafalgar ... though I doubt our children are taught about him in these bien pensant times. Date Added: 21/10/2005
Gone Away I knew you would remember what today is, John. And, if I had some rum, I'd happily down a glass or two in old Horatio's honour. As it is, red wine will have to do. Fortunately it's Californian, not French... ;) But do they even teach history in school these days? I thought it was one of those subjects axed as longer necessary. Date Added: 21/10/2005
Scot Clive: Enjoyed reading your well-written perspective on Nelson, and what it was about his qualities that you admired. Excellent parallel structure, by the way, with your third to last paragraph in summing up what made him especially significant to you as a "hero." Date Added: 22/10/2005
Gone Away Thank you, Scot. Actually, it's also a little experiment to see how many Americans have ever heard of him. The fact that he was a commoner would make him an excellent candidate for an American hero too, I think. ;) Date Added: 22/10/2005
Mad A toast! A toast I say - Here's to Nelson and confusion to the French! In fact confusion to all Britannica's enemies. Date Added: 22/10/2005
Gone Away Hear, hear, sir! A toast to the little Admiral! Date Added: 22/10/2005
keeefer I'll drink to that....now what else you got? Nelson was indeed a great hero and im pleased to see the UK finally celebrating a piece of its history. I think our fair nation is too modest in its acheivements most of the time. We seem almost embarassed to recognise our victories and military conquests over the years. I was never taught about Nelson in history. They were too busy teaching us about Romans, aztecs, incas and all the other nations that had created vast empires or innovative societies. Obviously there was no need to mention the minor slices of land our own empire had managed to fortuitously stumble upon or the meagre inventions that popped up when we had that industial revolution malarky. One of these days that tiny island had to produce somthing or someone of note and i for one am pleased its Nelson (even if hes not the Piquet kind) Date Added: 22/10/2005
Gone Away Wise words from Keef, as usual (and with the customary dash of humour as well). I've always wondered whether Nelson Piquet was named after Horatio, which would have been a bit odd, seeing as Piquet's Brazilian... Date Added: 22/10/2005
ME Strauss Count me in as enjoying your post, Clive, and as one American who knows Horatio Trafalgar. Scot's right about how well this essay is structured. I've actually read quite a bit about him and expected a usual crisp biography--not so. YEA! Unfortunately I don't think I do much for your field test, as I have a passport which bounces me out of the American focus group I would think. :) On the other hand I still only speak one language so maybe you CAN count me. Date Added: 22/10/2005
Gone Away Oh, I always count you, Liz! And you also bring out the fact that my commenters are entirely the wrong sample for the test - they're all well educated and of course they know about Nelson. :) Date Added: 22/10/2005
prying1 re: Quote - There are many heroes in British history who achieved just as much military success as Nelson; the Dukes of Marlborough and Wellington, Sir Francis Drake and even good old Monty. - end quote - I'm enough of a history buff to know a bit about all of these folks but I'm lost as to why a hero and what military successes Monty Python has had? Perhaps it was shown in one of the episodes I missed. p.s. Good post. I did enjoy it and thank you for it. Date Added: 22/10/2005
Gone Away Ah, good point, Paul. The Monty I refer to was not, in fact, the feller of Python fame but the British military commander of WWII, General Bernard Montgomery. We knew him by the affectionate term of Monty long before anyone had ever heard of Monty Python. ;) Thanks for the kind comments and for pointing out a possible area of confusion! Date Added: 22/10/2005
John (SYNTAGMA) Not your usual torrent of comments, Clive, but then that's to be expected from a very British post. Interestingly, most people seem to be able to distinguish between Horatio Nelson and Nelson Mandela, something the younger set probably can't.
Incidentally, since it's very quiet here, it might be a good time to say that to increase your already massive comments load a "remember me" feature might be a good idea. [Enter MAD, stage left]. Typing in all the old details is a great chore after a hard day's blogging :-) Date Added: 22/10/2005
Gone Away I know what you mean, John. Firefox remembers my details but, when I use Opera (which I do sometimes for sheer speed of loading sites), it's a pain having to enter everything letter by letter. I'll ask Mad if it can be done. Date Added: 22/10/2005
Janus To see if we have heard of Admiral Nelson? Of course I have! I love history, and while a lot of my fellow countryman that do not like to read history as much watch mindless television, I recogonize and honor the good Admiral. He is not just a hero of your nation, but a hero of mine as well, whether people give him the credit or not. If it wasn't for Wellington and Nelson the agressive emperor of France would certainly not just have targeted England and Europe...but the Americas as well. So a toast to our hero Admiral Nelson. God Save the Queen, and God Bless America Date Added: 22/10/2005
Gone Away Well said, Janus! A toast! Date Added: 22/10/2005
Anna Thank you for a blog worth reading. Date Added: 23/10/2005
Gone Away Very kind of you to say so, Anna. Thanks! :) Date Added: 23/10/2005
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