200th anniversary of Spain's "Great Disaster"

Victory at TrafalgarToday marks 200 years since the Royal Navy defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar, Cádiz. While I'm no British imperialist, I do think that this is an anniversary worth marking, because of the changes it effected.

There seems little doubt these days that Spain's defeat brought about the Great Disaster, a short era which saw the once all-powerful Spanish crown lose most of its possessions and colonies overseas. But this wasn't simply a matter of England having a better navy. Trafalgar marks the clash of two different types of imperialism: the militarism of continental Europe and the new economic ideals of England. The fact that modern economics drove change after Trafalgar is so important, it's almost impossible to quantify.

Besides which: we really kicked their arses, and being English we're not normally allowed to celebrate these sorts of things. So let us have one day of it, ok?

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October 21, 2005 | Filed Under General 

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