"England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty"

It is impossible to visit London and to miss the imposing column honoring Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square.

What Lord Nelson means to England and to English history may be unknown to Americans, however.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the largest and most powerful army in Europe was that of France. 

Under Napoleon, French armies defeated the combined armies of Austria and Russia, and the armies of Prussia and the other German states.  In retaliation for British blockades of French ports, Napolean imposed a painful economic boycott of British exports throughout most of Europe.

By 1805, it was clear that Napolean had determined to invade Great Britain and that the English would have to fight Napoleon on the European continent.

Napoleon had initiated an ambitious ship-building program, but his naval officers lacked experience.

 Lord Nelson, First Admiral of the Royal Navy, was determined to strike first. 

 His daring plan, and unorthodox battle strategy is nicely told in the Wiki article.

The Battle of Trafalgar

One feature of this epochal battle became a defining point of English patriotism.

As the English Royal Navy closed in on the French and Spanish Fleet, Nelson instructed his signalman to sign the most famous battle cry in England:  "England expects that every man will do his duty". 

That classic phrase is the subject of this historic postcard, circa 1910.

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The English won a resounding triumph, denying Napoleon the opening he needed to extend the French Empire.

Nelson died of wounds received in the Battle at Trafalgar, his body was transported back to England in a cask of Brandy. 

Napoleon's plans to challenge Great Britain on the seas were scutttled, although the French began immediately to construct another navy. 

British ships watched nervously the activity at French ports for another nine years until Napoleon was decisively defeated and his armies disbanded at Waterloo.

Napoleaon was a figure of terror, larger than life to many in the British isles. Napoleon was compared to the Anti-Christ (with the same array of Bible verses "proving" this point that are raised about other bogeyman in modern times).

He was believed to have made a pact with the Devil by Catholics who were aghast at his defiance of the Pope.  Many Protestants were convinced that his devastating triumph over most of Europe must have been assisted by infernal agents.

Although Napoleon revived and consolidated the Bourbon dynasty, placing Bonaparte relatives and allies on thrones from Spain to the Italian states, he was the hier to the French Revolution and modernized the legal codes in every country in which he prevailed.  That was his great gift to Europe, as the "Napoleonic Codes" established a rational and secular legal standard across most of the continent.

(This article was edited to reflect more precisely an historical detail noted by Aniko, a learned friend now on leave from Gather.)