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For one thing, Nelson had a famous hatred for the French. Although Napoleon was technically Corsican, being the emperor of the French could hardly ingratiate him with Nelson. Nelson always claimed that his mother had taught him to hate the French and it was a lesson he carried with him his entire life. He claimed one Englishman to be the equivalent of five Frenchmen and refused to allow French emigres to serve aboard his ships, even though it was an accepted practice at the time. What's more, Bonaparte was widely hated in England and with good reason. Napoleon harbored resentment toward England for their meddling in Corsican affairs in the early stages of the revolution and then for their meddling and opposition to France. Napoleon famously called England a nation of shopkeepers. He carried this resentment into the Napoleonic wars and planned, on more than one occasion, to invade England. It's easy to see why the English hated Napoleon and vice versa, and given Nelson's upbringing and the fact that he spent his whole career fighting the French, and much of it fighting the French under Napoleon's command, it is especially easy to see why Nelson had so much contempt for Napoleon.

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13y ago

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