]Thousands see Trafalgar 'battle'



Thousands see Trafalgar 'battle' Thousands of spectators braved wet weather to watch a Battle of Trafalgar re-enactment off Portsmouth - the climax of bicentenary celebrations. Fusillades of gunfire, blasts from cannons and fireworks helped mark the 1805 victory over France and Spain. Earlier the Queen conducted a massive international fleet review. She and Prince Philip sailed from Portsmouth on HMS Endurance to conduct the review of 167 naval, merchant and tall ships from 36 countries.



Historic flagship Spectators were also treated to a series of sail-pasts and air displays by the Red Arrows and vintage aircraft. The evening's mock Napoleonic battle began when an actor playing the part of Nelson sailed from shore in a small cutter to board the tall ship the Grand Turk, a replica 19th century frigate. The ship played the part of Nelson's historic flagship Victory during the battle. After the re-enactment, a massive fireworks display, one of the most spectacular ever staged in the UK, was mounted over the ships.



MAJOR RECENT FLEET REVIEWS May 1944 - before D-Day (unpublicised) June 1953 - the Queen's coronation May 1969 - the 20th anniversary of Nato June 1977 - the Queen's Silver Jubilee On board 2005's 'Victory' The fleet was then illuminated as a commentary on the famous victory boomed out over the Solent. In the afternoon, it took about two hours for Endurance to sail up and down the lines of anchored vessels, which the Queen inspected from a specially constructed viewing platform. As the Queen passed each vessel, she was saluted by its crew.



The vessels, including ships from the US, France, Spain, India, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa, lined up at the Spithead mooring in the Solent with between 25,000 and 30,000 sailors on board. They had been arriving in the Solent for days, along with thousands of spectator yachts. The Queen said in a written message that the presence of such a large international fleet was a tribute to Admiral Lord Nelson - who died in the battle on 21 October 1805 - and the special bond between sailors. "Admiral Lord Nelson's supreme qualities of seamanship, leadership with humanity, and courage in the face of danger are shared among our maritime community today. He could wish for no greater legacy," she said. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were joined on the Endurance, a polar survey ship, by Defence Secretary John Reid and the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Alan West.

The royal couple had lunch on the ship, and received a 21-gun salute from frigate HMS Chatham at the start of the review. SEND US YOUR PICTURES Rob Webb sent us this photo.



You can send pictures and video of the Trafalgar commemorations to: yourpics@bbc.co.uk More on sending pictures Your pictures: Trafalgar 200 Spectators' yachts and patrol ships carrying armed police, as part of a £1.7m security operation, sailed alongside Endurance. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall watched the review from on board survey ship HMS Scott with other Royals travelling aboard various ships. The Duke of York was on HMS Enterprise, and the Princess Royal on RFA Sir Bedivere. The Duchess of Gloucester watched from HMS Gloucester, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent from RFA Fort George. The event follows a long tradition of reviews of the fleet at the Spithead mooring, dating back to medieval times.

The last was in 1977 to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee. After a series of further spectacles including the display by the Red Arrow, the Queen attended a reception on board HMS Invincible. The mock Battle of Trafalgar was held between a blue and a red team, rather than Britain versus France. The decision upset some who regarded it as unnecessary political correctness.

It is one of 17 historic ships from five countries involved in the spectacle, aimed at illustrating how sea battles were fought in the era of Nelson and Napoleon.

Ok so here's my point....isn't it interesting how often either in the media or on Blacknet we're told to get over the past, to let go of the past or to forget the past and move on...when it comes to THE biggest atrocity of humankind SLAVERY..

Yet I've just given two examples of how BRITAIN will be celebrating a war VICTORY, that occured TWO HUNDRED (200)years ago..

more in your face hypocracy...if its important that BRITISH people REMEMBER their HISTORY...why is it that we are always advised, pushed and brow beaten into forgeting OURSTORY?

Gosh @ Kunjufu!

I was busy scratching my head wondering what you were up to!! niceone.gif



Some say *whisper quietly* that Nelson and the Royal Navy at the time were fighting for domination of the slave trade on the high seas...

That came AFTER Nelson's time surely... When Admiral Nelson was fighting in the Napoleonic wars, The British had not outlawed slavery and were the biggest slavers. Their military might was then used to squeeze competion from France, Portugal and Spain.

The aboltion came a few yearslater and the Navys enforcing came much later than that too (twenty or thirty years later). During Nelson's time the trade was thriving and Britain was very much a part of it.

@Kunjufuclp)clp)

This reminds me when i was talking to my cousin who told me that i think and remember the past TOO much. She was going on about what happened with slavery and colonialism is in the past and we need to catch up with the past. If the amnesiac coconut had bothered to listen i would have gone on to explain that there is NO future for a human race without them facing up to their past and history.....alas she never listened........

Can you believe that it was easier for this woman to believe that we Africans NEVER had any civilisations, no universities before the whites came etc.........when i tried to correct her, she attacked me for thinking i know too much.....its funny whenever you try and educate an African about our history they always attack you so you can just shut up and think maybe its you with the problem.

The whites celebrate their history because they know the VALUE that lies in making their people feel superior than every one else, most of our people actually think its a sin to even acknowledge Kemet's glory because of how evil Egyptians are portrayed in the Bible! I kid you not, my cousin whom am talking about is a Born Again Christian, and she really had a hard time believing anything i said about Kemet civilisations!

Great topic Kunjufu,

Now if I talked to the Dipset, and I underline DIP ok Bush and his cabinet about slavery and the treatment of black people I am sure that I would get the same response on how we should move on, yet these *******s will celebrate civil war battles and WW2 battles in heartbeat, build monuments for them and cry at them every anniversary.

Yet let us try to bring up the issue of slavery and we hear about them not wanting to be punished for what their ancestors did, yet still want to call the old south their heritage and wave the confederate flag. The English east and the English west are the same man. The accent is just different.

No suprise for me...

history is made by those who create definitions not the defined...

and they do want us to remember, just the sanatised version where we are culpable victims...

architects of our own downfall...

good topic indeed

afterall you must know where you been to know where you going

how can africans talk in an informed manner about what has happened to us (our condition) ifthey do not study africanhistory (from an african perspective)?

how can we talk about slavery, colonialism and so-called independence if we have not taken time to read and discuss those events?

instead you will find many africans saying we need to move on, andnot talk aboutour past, our history.

reactionaries is the term for such individuals

the polite term