21 October 1805: the Battle of Trafalgar

On this day in 1805, Britain’s mastery of the seas was assured after the Royal Navy crushed Napoleon’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.

1850 painting of the battle of Trafalgar
The French ship Redoutable encounters HMS Victory, HMS Téméraire and HMS Thunderer
(Image credit: © Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images)

After the French Revolution, Europe saw 20-odd years of almost constant war as Napoleon and his armies went on a conquering spree around the continent. By 1805, France pretty much ruled Europe. But Britain ruled the waves.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.