ABSTRACT
Napoleon invested in naval reconstruction aimed at mounting a fresh challenge on Britain's naval supremacy while also casting a covetous eye towards India. Recognising that peace was unsustainable in the face of Napoleons provocations, the Prime Minister, Henry Addington, took the initiative and declared war on France in mid-May. Nelsons funeral at St Pauls Cathedral was apotheosis at which the British nation was encouraged to immortalise a glorious military hero, preserving the ideal of service and sacrifice for the inspiration of later generations. The King of Prussia, not unnaturally, saw the newly created Confederation of the Rhine Protector Napoleon Bonaparte as a threat to his territories. Trafalgar decisively changed the nature of the Napoleonic wars. All neutral ships trading in Europe were required to put in at a British port; favourable commercial terms then encouraged them to re-export from Britain. Over one important western European coastline, the Iberian Peninsula, Napoleon lacked full control.
