The British Empire was founded on the Royal Navy and Nelson’s triumph at Trafalgar sealed British naval supremacy. The importance of Trafalgar was that it brought naval and global domination for 136 years.
Naval supremacy transformed Britain into ‘The policeman of the world’. An early example was the abolition of the slave trade,
“The Royal Navy, which then controlled the world’s seas, established the West Africa Squadron in 1808 to patrol the coast of West Africa, and between 1808 and 1860 they seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard.”1
In 1871 Britain transitioned to steam powered ships and established coaling stations around the world.2 This enhanced British supremacy. Other nations didn’t have the security of coal supplies and their ships couldn’t compete across the world’s oceans. They had to concede British supremacy.
The 18893 two-fleet law demanded that the Royal Navy was equal to the next two largest fleets combined. This lasted until the 1930s. During the first world war Germany’s fleet was defeated at the battle of Jutland, 1916, ending Germany’s naval challenge. The Royal Navy’s blockade of Germany cut off food and industrial supplies causing widespread hunger and problems in their factories. This weakened their ability to resist the Allied armies.
The beginning of the end of British supremacy was the Japanese destruction of Russia’s Pacific and Baltic fleets in 1905 at the battle of Tsushima.4 For the first time Britain had to recognise that their ability to control every ocean had ended. Tsushima was the precursor of Britain’s declining power. It was a pivotal moment in global history.
Notes
1 Slave Trade Act 1807 – Wikipedia
2 Coaling Stations – Defence of British Ports
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