What was the Battle of Trafalgar about?

Answer 1

In part it was about "Empire" in that it was a sea battle about sea power.

Also it was all part of Napoleon Bonapartes planned Invasion of England 1803-05 which was called off due to not only the Royal Navy but the British anti invasion force on the Southern English coast opposing them. The Battle of Trafalgar was a large part of this and after defeating a larger French and Spanish navys at Trafalgar this confirmed British supremacy in the world at sea all the way through till 1918.

Answer 2

Napoleon Bonaparte was ready to invade Britain from France but the only way to move his army into Britain was across the English Channel and to do that he needed ships.
Most of his ships were stopped from getting there by the Royal Navy, but a fleet did manage to get to sea from Toulon in the south of France.
After sailing to the Caribbean to decoy the pursuing Royal Navy, the French fleet sailed back to Europe to pick up more ships.
Detected by British ships while in Cadiz, Spain, which was an ally at the time, the French/Spanish fleet sailed north towards France but was intercepted and mostly destroyed.

Answer 3

Keep the French/Spanish fleet bottled up in their harbor. If they came out, destroy them; actually in those days of wooden ships and cloth sails...destruction was rare; unless there was a fire. Wooden sailing ships were considered PRIZES, after capture they were sold with the winnings spread amongst the crews. Therefore, in reality, the combined French/Spanish fleet was NOT destroyed, but rather, they were captured. Only one ship was destroyed at Trafalgar...and that was due to fire.

Answer 4

The combined French/Spanish Fleet tried to break from harbor into the open sea.

Answer 5

The British navy's intent was to keep the French/Spanish fleet bottled up in harbor. When they attempted to leave the harbor, the British navy engaged them.