On this day in 1806, Admiral Horatio Nelson was laid to rest in St Paul's Cathedral, after he had died the previous October at the Battle of Trafalgar. The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval battle that took place between the British Navy and the allied forces of France and Spain during the several wars collectively known as the Napoleonic Wars between 1803 and 1815.
In 1805, Napoleon controlled most of continental Europe, but Britannia, as usual for that time, controlled the waves. Nappy set up what was called the "Continental System" which forbade any European country that Nappy controlled (that is, most of them) from doing any business at all with the British. Tne British, being a "nation of shopkeepers" (as Napoleon sneeringly dismissed them) needed that trade were forced to take the war off the seas and onto land.With the Third Coalition (Austria, Portugal, Russia, Britain and assorted others) getting creamed on the Continent by Napoleon (considered to be one of the finest military minds of the age) he had the idea of an invasion of Britain. It makes a certain amount of sense: look at the allies listed above and see who the linchpin of that alliance is. Russia's a big dog, sure (and Napoleon would attempt to settle scores with them in 1812, disastrously for him) but Britain has a killer navy, a huge empire -and don't think for a minute France had forgotten how the British muscled them out of India in the 18th Century- and an army that is second only to France's and not by much. Nappy knows he needs to take Britain out, and take them out now.
By way of comparison, think about what the Japanese mindset was prior the US entry into World War II. They were running roughshod over Asia without much resistance and their only serious regional competitor was the US. At the time, all the US was doing was enacting an oil and steel embargo (remember when we use to use oil embargos on other people? Man, that was sweet) and making various diplomatic grumpy noises. But the Japanese knew that war with the US was going to come sooner or later and they might as well strike from a position of strength. Same deal with Napoleon (except that France was already at war with Britain). He knew that, at some point, Britain was going to have to be dealt with, so why not do it while their ground armies are getting shellacked on the Continent? Hell, it makes sense to me but you'll notice that, like the Pope, I have no divisions.
There are two troubles with that line of reasoning: 1) the British aren't stupid, they know what Nappy's planning and 2) the most powerful navy the world had ever seen is flying the Union Jack and sitting in the English Channel.
On October 21, 1805, Admiral Nelson was in command of his flagship, the HMS Victory and 27 other ships of the line. The Franco-Spanish fleet fielded 33 ships-of-the-line, including some of the largest ships in the world at the time. The majority of the ships were French becuase the Spanish were very much the junior partner in that alliance.
The usual way to have a naval battle in the early 19th Century was to line everybody up in parallel lines, good guys on one side, bad guys on the other, and just start blasting. This was an improvement over the old system (everybody sailing at each other in a mess and blasting until only one side was left afloat) because it allowed for better communication, defense and withdrawal if needed. The problem lay in that last part. If one side decides that its losing too much, they withdraw and the battle is a draw. Repeat until you're sick of it. Knowing that there was an invasion force on those ships, Nelson desperately wanted to wipe them out. This he did in a novel way.
Instead of forming up into a tidy scrimmage line, Nelson formed his forces into two lines and sailed them right at the enemy line, one in the center and one near one of the ends. He planned to cut the line in half, surround the halves and prevent them from withdrawing. He also hoped to cut off the enemy flagship so that they couldn't see their admiral's signals. This was going to be a risk because, although the British could close quickly, there was going to be an aggravating amount of time that they were going to be exposed to the full force of enemy guns and would not be able to respond. Nelson had an ace in the hole however: he knew that British sailors were some of the finest in the world, British gunners were the most trained and that every last man-jack of them knew that he was fighting for his homeland. Furthermore, he knew that the enemy gunners were poorly trained and would be supplemented by the ground forces, most of who knew nothing about firing cannons at ships at sea.
To make a long story short (too late), at the start of the battle, Nelson sent the famous signal to his fleet "England expects that every man wil do his duty" and the battle was joined. The battle was a resounding success, and demonstrated to the world that Britain was indeed the preeminent naval power on the globe. 
Tragically, Nelson caught a bullet from a French sharpshooter and died as the battle was ending. His last words were, "Thank God I have done my duty for God and my country."
The Apotheosis of Nelson
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