Day of the Battle of Trafalgar (21/10)

Trafalgar Day — is a celebration of the victory of the Royal Navy under the command of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758—1805) over the combined fleets of France and Spain in the Battle of Trafalgar —, the largest naval battle of the 19th century during the Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815).

On October 21, 1805, 47-year-old Nelson's fleet gave a decisive rebuff to the French-Spanish fleet, preventing a French invasion of Britain. Lord Nelson himself died in the battle.

In honor of the victory at Trafalgar, William IV Square in the very center of London was renamed Trafalgar. By 1843, a 46-meter-high granite column with a five-meter Nelson figure above was built there.

The formation of the Naval League in 1894 greatly stimulated the movement to protect the recognition of Nelson's merits and legacy, and in this regard, on October 21, 1896, the first grand celebration was held in Trafalgar Square in honor of the victory in the Battle of Trafalgar. Then, in the late 19th and early 20th century, the event was widely celebrated with parades, dinner parties and other ceremonial events throughout much of the British Empire and in the British Commonwealth navies.

Public celebration of the Day began to decline after the end of the First World War in 1918. Mass losses in people and equipment, indignation and riots radically changed public opinion about the war as the source of glorious victories. Society began to view the war in darker tones — began to look at it as a tragedy. However, the Day of the Battle of Trafalgar still remains a significant public holiday every year.

Today, the Day's celebrations include mainly the Navy Parade, a procession from London's Mall to Trafalgar Square, where wreaths are laid at the foot of Nelson's Column after a short ceremony.

Every year, usually on the Friday or Saturday closest to October 21, the celebration of victory in the Battle of Trafalgar also takes place in Australia, in the city of Trafalgar (Victoria). Events include the annual Battle of Trafalgar Festival and a large ball.

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