Many pirate movies take place in this general time period, and so do many history movies
I grew up on pirate movies like “Treasure Island,” a classic story that takes place in the early eighteenth century. Most modern pirate movies seem to take place in this much-romanticized era of sailing ships and pirates. In this century, we have seen Disney’s fantasy-oriented “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which combines this eighteenth-century historical backdrop with elements of curses and magic. But there have also been more “serious” works of historical fiction, about the naval conflicts of the late eighteenth (and early nineteenth) centuries. For example, there has been the “Horatio Hornblower” franchise (with a TV series starring Ioan Gruffudd), and the Russell Crowe movie “Master and Commander.” (Pity that only one movie was made in that particular franchise, because it was a promising one.) These movies may have some fictional characters in them, along with references to real people like Lord Horatio Nelson. But they may still be “serious” historical movies anyway, in my opinion, since they dramatize the fighting at sea during the Napoleonic Wars.
The wars covered here were all part of a broader struggle between Britain and France
I’m much interested in the naval fighting of the Napoleonic Wars, in part because of the influence of these movies on me personally. But, today, I would like to look at naval fighting in the eighteenth century more generally. The Napoleonic Wars are traditionally dated to the early nineteenth century, and I promise the reader that I will also be giving some serious coverage of that conflict in this post. But, in order to understand the Napoleonic Wars themselves, one has to look at some prior conflicts in the eighteenth century. Most importantly, one has to look at the much broader struggle between Britain and France, and how they duked it out in one maritime conflict after another. Our story begins in 1754, with a frontier conflict in the distant European colonies of North America. Americans today remember it as the “French and Indian War,” but it would soon lead to the broader “Seven Years’ War,” and to many another great naval conflict for the Europeans.
North American origins of the Seven Years’ War, which would soon be fought at sea
The first shots of the “French and Indian War” were fired on land, in what is today the American state of Pennsylvania. This area was then claimed by both Britain and France. On orders from higher up in the British government, a group of British soldiers (led by George Washington) acted alongside some local Native American allies – and ambushed the French in 1754, at a place called “Jumonville Glen.” This began the conflict now remembered by Americans as the “French and Indian War.” Specifically, Americans use this term to refer to the North American theater of this larger “Seven Years’ War.” But the beginning of the “Seven Years’ War” is traditionally dated to 1756, when Britain finally declared war on France. If the war’s beginning were instead dated to 1754, it would instead be a “Nine Years’ War,” since the war went on until 1763. The war would eventually be fought on five different continents. (But I’m getting ahead of myself here.) During the Seven Years’ War, there was some fighting in North America, as the French lost their local colonies in Canada. There was also much fighting in Europe, much closer to home for both the British and the French. But the war was also fought in South America, in Africa, in India, and even in the Philippine Islands. How did these European powers create (and maintain) their overseas empires, you might be asking? In the days before air travel, the answer was simply: by having a strong navy.
Naval battle of Quiberon Bay, 1759 – Off the coast of Brittany, France
Britain wins the Seven Years’ War, and takes India in the Battle of Plassey
Many European powers were involved in this colonization, and many European powers took part in the Seven Years’ War. But the most active naval participants were the British Royal Navy and the somewhat-comparable French Navy. This would set the pattern for all of the naval conflicts to come in that era. The most decisive battle of this war came at sea in 1759, at the Battle of Quiberon Bay. This battle was in the Bay of Biscay, off of the western coast of France itself. In this battle, the British won the day. Eventually, they won the entire “Seven Years’ War” as well. This war had included the 1757 Battle of Plassey in distant India. This was the beginning of the long-lasting British rule in India. Like the other overseas colonies, it was maintained by naval power, which brought British troops there to enforce the designs of the British “East India Company” – a private corporation with political power.
Bombardment of Havana – Cuba, 1762 (part of the related Anglo-Spanish War)
But the French get their revenge on the British, in the American War of Independence
The Seven Years’ War had begun back in North America. And, in 1775, North America would again be the source of troubles for many back in Europe. Specifically, shots were fired in Massachusetts, at Lexington and Concord. This began the American War of Independence. Significantly, the Americans declared their independence from Great Britain in the following year: 1776. But, in those early years, the American rebellion was just a pinprick, which the British could laugh off. Thus, the British felt certain of easy victory over the rebels – and they had reason to be so confident. But everything changed in 1778, when France entered the war on the American side. In contrast to the American rebels, France presented some serious mortal peril to the British. To put it simply, this changed the course of the war. Most relevantly for our story, it changed the war at sea, where the British had to deal with much more than just the tiny “Continental Navy.” British ships also had to be brought back to the English Channel, to defend against a possible invasion by the French at home. Spain and the Netherlands both provided further support to the American cause. Because of this, there was a multi-year Siege of Gibraltar during the war, on the Iberian Peninsula. All of these navies combined … proved too much for the British forces to deal with. There was further fighting in Africa and India, to maintain the two sides’ respective empires. But a lot of the fighting instead took place in the Caribbean, another theatre of the great imperial “chess game.” This fighting was likewise maintained by the two sides’ navies. Earlier in the war, the French landed some troops in North America at Newport, Rhode Island. But the most iconic naval battle of the war was somewhat further south, off of the coast of Virginia. This was the Battle of the Chesapeake, where the French navy cleared the area (and, specifically, the Chesapeake Bay) of British ships. This actually prevented Lord Cornwallis from evacuating his army by sea, leading to the disastrous surrender at Yorktown – “disastrous” for them, at least. Americans understandably give the glory to their “Continental Army” in this conflict, which really did fight quite bravely therein. But their army and navy were still too small to do any significant damage to the British. This victory had instead come from the French, and from the other powers back in Europe.
Battle of the Chesapeake, 1781 – near Yorktown, Virginia (United States of America)
The French Revolution ignites wars in Europe, and the French continue to kick butt
Europeans had been drawn into a world war by a revolution in distant America. Now, they would be drawn into another world war by a revolution somewhat closer to home. In 1789, a French mob stormed the Bastille. This began the French Revolution in earnest. Thousands were executed by the guillotine, including King Louis the Sixteenth and his wife Marie Antoinette. Other European powers feared that the mob violence would soon spread to France’s neighbors on the Continent, or even to the British Isles. Thus, other European powers (including, most critically, the British) then declared war on France. Thus, the “French Revolutionary Wars” began in earnest in 1792. The war involved a French expedition to Egypt and Syria, maintained by the French navy. This involved a “Corsican upstart” named Napoleon Bonaparte, a young soldier who dreamed of further glory (and a more exalted station), although he was still unknown at this time. Of course, the war also involved some massive fighting on the continent of Europe. And, perhaps partially because of this, both the British and the French were concerned about cross-Channel invasions by the other. But, most relevantly for our story, the war also involved some fighting in the Caribbean, the Atlantic, and even the distant Indian Ocean. Again, the French were having the upper hand, at least temporarily. Napoleon Bonaparte soon came to power, presaging the wars that bear his name. Even at this early stage, European powers were already switching back and forth between the two sides. This significantly altered the balance of power, both on land and at sea. The British may have had the greater navy, but they were fighting more than just the French navy on the high seas, and the French still had the greater army on land. There was a temporary peace between the two sides in 1802, which was almost more like a truce than a peace treaty. That is, no one really expected this interlude to last for all that long.
First Battle of Algeciras – Near to Gibraltar, 1801
But when the Napoleonic Wars begin, the British take the day on land and at sea
The British felt that the French were breaking their end of the postwar Treaty of Amiens. Thus, the wars did indeed resume when Britain again declared war on France in 1803. This began the actual “Napoleonic Wars” themselves. This is the conflict dramatized in movies like “Horatio Hornblower” and “Master and Commander.” On land, the Napoleonic Wars involved conflicts in Europe, the Caucasus, North America, South America (including French Guiana), the West Indies, Southern Africa, the East Indies, and the Middle East. The most distant theatres of the war, again, had to be supported by the two sides’ respective navies. But there were conflicts out on the high seas as well. Specifically, there was fighting in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and even South America’s “Río de la Plata.” But the most decisive naval battle may have been a bit closer to home, off of the coast of Spain. Specifically, a British fleet led by Lord Horatio Nelson beat the combined Spanish and French fleet at Trafalgar. This was a cape in the Atlantic, northwest of the Strait of Gibraltar. Lord Nelson himself was killed in this battle. Thus, he is remembered as one of the “heroes” of the Royal Navy (and deservedly so). The French still had a stronger army, but this army was mostly destroyed when Napoleon then invaded Russia in 1812. Soon after, the death blow came to the French on land in 1815. Specifically, it came at Waterloo, in what is today Belgium. From the British point of view, there had also been a relatively minor war with the Americans: the American “War of 1812,” which actually ended in 1815. As in the American War of Independence, the Americans were a relatively minor threat to the British, and would never have survived without their crucial alliance with the French. During the later American Civil War, the British almost had still another war with the Americans, after an infamous maritime incident in 1861. (More about that here.) But, later on, each nation would become the very most important ally of the other – an ironic thing, given their early antagonistic history. The Americans would then rise to become a great world power – arguably the greatest of its time. (But that’s a subject for another post.)
Naval battle of Trafalgar, 1805
These naval conflicts live on in the popular imagination today, and for good reason
Thus, the Napoleonic Wars were the culmination of major naval developments from the mid-eighteenth century, if not earlier. The most famous naval fighting of the early nineteenth century had its roots in various eighteenth-century conflicts – arguably beginning with the Seven Years’ War in 1754. It is well that so many movies have taken place in this general era (with or without pirates), because it’s an interesting time. I wouldn’t have wanted to serve on an eighteenth-century (or nineteenth-century) sailing ship, since life at sea can be somewhat demanding – not to mention a little isolated. In the days before electronic communications, it was challenging to maintain contact with the family back at home. Life on a ship was its own little world, with minimal awareness of things invisible to the telescopes of those on board the ship. And, of course, when the fighting began, their floating-makeshift-home could be raked by cannon fire, and even sent sinking to the bottom of the ocean – hidden from everything but the later generations of underwater archeologists. It’s no wonder that it was such a rugged life, which makes for the stuff of high drama. But these massive naval conflicts left their mark on the modern world – particularly for Europe and its former colonies, in places like India and North America. We can still feel the effects of this period today, in both good and bad ways. And these naval conflicts still live on in the popular imagination today, in the films and literature composed during (and since) the great naval conflicts themselves.
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