Trafalgar in History

Following the events and activity surrounding the bicentenary of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson, this volume acts both as a summary of what we have learned and a collection of some of the best scholarship on the battle itself and its context and legacy. It moves away from the figure of Nelson and brings new research from a range of disciplinary perspectives to bear on one of the most significant naval actions in the age of sail. Europe at War features contributions by top scholars and historians, each chapter a fascinating explanation or insight into some of the key issues of the Napoleonic Wars. They include examinations by Simon Burrows, Francois Crouzet and Martin Daunton of the question of resources, and the fiscal, economic and information structures in Britain and France that permitted naval warfare on this massive scale to be waged; Roger Knight and N. A. M. Rodger look at the battle itself and aspects of early nineteenth-century military thinking; Geoffrey Quilley and Mark Philp examine the production of art and music in the immediate aftermath of the battle; Marianne Czisnik explores the complex national and international pressures on staging the 1905 commemorations of the Battle of Trafalgar and finally Andrew Lambert and Paul Kennedy assess the legacies of the Battle of Trafalgar within historical and professional military contexts and the broader strategic and political significance of war at sea. This book will be indispensible to students and scholars of the Napoleonic Wars as well as to anyone interested in the history of Nelson and Trafalgar.