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Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson sought to bring the combined French and Spanish fleet to battle after it left Cádiz. Rather than form a parallel line, the British fleet approached in two columns designed to cut through the allied formation.
The plan exposed British ships to fire during their approach, but it created close-range fighting in which British gunnery and experience proved decisive. Nelson was mortally wounded aboard HMS Victory.
Trafalgar destroyed Napoleon's immediate ability to challenge British control at sea, although the continental war continued for another decade.
Why It Matters
The battle mattered strategically and culturally: it reinforced British maritime power and made Nelson an enduring national figure.