British and French Wars - Nelson and the war at sea

Question 1

British and French Wars Start-Finish

Answer 1

1793-1815

Question 2

Size of the Navy

Answer 2

-The American War of Independence had revealed shortcomings in the navy
-In 1792 the British navy had 135 ships of the line, by 1802 the number had risen to over 200 ships of the line
-Number of sailors had risen from 16,000 to 135,000

Question 3

Battle of Cape St. Vincent

Answer 3

-1797
-Battle commanded by Admiral Jarvis who won it by attempting to split the improperly formed up Spanish line
-Nelson also distinguished himself by halting the Spanish Vanguard while highly outgunned, including the largest ship in the world the Santisima Trinidad

Question 4

French invasion of Egypt

Answer 4

-1798
-Threatened Britain’s connection with India and the valuable trade coming from the EIC

Question 5

Battle of The Nile/Aboukir Bay

Answer 5

-1798
-French were victualing in a bay which would be dangerous for the British to not get beached in but they had a detailed French map of the bay
-Attacked by slipping up the inside of the ships and bay on the side the French gun-ports weren’t open
-13/17 French ships were destroyed or captured
-Nelson only raised 9 signals through the course of the battle which shows he trusted the ingenuity of the Captains under him

Question 6

Spithead Mutiny

Answer 6

-1797
-Primarily about conditions and the fact that pay had not risen in 150 years
-Wages increased by Parliament as a result

Question 7

Nore Mutiny

Answer 7

-1797
-More political with the ringleaders demanding peace with France
-The mutineers were denied food and water
-When the ringleaders signaled for the ships to sail to France, all ships refused
-Most ships then deserted the mutiny

Question 8

Battle of Copenhagen

Answer 8

-1801
-Feared that Denmark could join France and threaten British naval supremacy and trade
-Danish fleet therefore destroyed

Question 9

Napoleon plans to invade Britain

Answer 9

-By 1804 they had been assembling an army at Boulogne
-The Royal Navy patrolled the Channel and blockaded French ports meaning no invasion was possible

Question 10

Spain joins France against Britain

Answer 10

-1804
-Adding their ships to the French, but French Admiral Villeneuve was neither aggressive in character nor confident of his fleet’s abilities

Question 11

Villenueve sails for the West Indies

Answer 11

-1805
-Due to Napoleon urging Villeneuve to be bolder
-Alarmed the British government as they feared French attack on the valuable sugar trade

Question 12

British response to Villeneuve sailing for the West Indies

Answer 12

-1805
-Nelson sailed in pursuit and crossed the Atlantic in 3 week, whereas as Villeneuve took 5 weeks
-The two fleets never met as Villeneuve hastily sailed back to Europe, with Nelson again following
-Due to Villeneuve’s swift return, there was now no chance at a sneak cross-Channel invasion of Britain with the British fleet away

Question 13

Battle of Trafalgar - Overview

Answer 13

-1805
-Franco-Spanish fleet emerged from port as they had been ordered by Napoleon to sail to Italy to support his campaign against the Austrians

Question 14

Battle of Trafalgar - Tactics

Answer 14

-1805
-Nelson saw this as his opportunity, the British had 27 ships of the line against the Franco-Spanish 33 ships of the line - and the British were smaler
-The British formed two columns, with one led by Admiral Nelson and the other by Vice-admiral Collingwood and pierced the Franco-Spanish line in two places

Question 15

Battle of Trafalgar - Mission Command

Answer 15

-1805
-Nelson trusted his captains and allowed them to make their own autonomous decisions
-Meant that when he was shot his fleet continued to fight on without him
-Whereas the French Observation Squadron simply held back when it was not given orders

Question 16

Superior British gunnery

Answer 16

-British crews shot once ever 1-2 minutes compared to the Franco-Spanish one every 4-5 minutes
-Gunlocks allowed gun-captains to fire at the opportune moment, rather than having to wait for a slow match to ignite like the French and Spanish did

Question 16

Carronades

Answer 16

-Was a short, light gun with a large calibre but very small charge

-Supported Nelson tactics of point-blank warfare very well
-Their effectiveness can be seen in Victory shooting it’s carronades through the rear of the Bucentaure and killing and estimates half of its 800 crew

-French did not have these by Trafalgar 1805

Question 17

Coppering

Answer 17

-Since the 1780s
-Covering a ship in copper sheets as the metal protected wood and nails from rot and corrosion, and burrowing sea creatures
-Coppering made warships faster and able to remain at sea longer

Question 18

British merchant fleet

Answer 18

-The British dominated world maritime trade, with more than 21,000 ships by 1815 compared to the hundreds of ships the French had