sat 16/11/2024

The Untold Battle of Trafalgar, Channel 4 | reviews, news & interviews

The Untold Battle of Trafalgar, Channel 4

The Untold Battle of Trafalgar, Channel 4

And the story of foreign sailors in Nelson's navy remains untold in a disappointing documentary

'The Untold Battle of Trafalgar': that fateful day re-enacted in Jeremy Hardy's documentary

If you happen to be in Trafalgar Square in London any time soon, you should take a close look at the friezes that adorn the ground portion of Nelson’s Column. For there you will find, most unexpectedly, that one of the sailors depicted is a black man, one of 1,400 non-British seamen among the 18,000 who took part in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October, 1805.

If you happen to be in Trafalgar Square in London any time soon, you should take a close look at the friezes that adorn the ground portion of Nelson’s Column. For there you will find, most unexpectedly, that one of the sailors depicted is a black man, one of 1,400 non-British seamen among the 18,000 who took part in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October, 1805.

Share this article

Comments

Found the programme lacked balance " Foreigners" did not include the largest group which were the Irish Using term "British" does not include Irish Ireland was occupied country just like Jamaica and India it was not British Irish were not even mentioned which is why I say not a balanced picture left me understanding that on the ship in the programme were 26" foreigners" and the rest were English Using average below more than 100 sailors on Bellephoron ship likely to have been Irish See evidence for my comments below (does not include the many who signed on or were press ganged in England) But while Nelson was indeed English, according to the Ayshford Trafalgar Roll, just over half the able seamen at Trafalgar were English (53 per cent) followed by the Irish (21 per cent).

I enjoyed the programme and would like to use aspects of it in a talk I have to give later this yrar. However I failed to take note of some of the the sources they quoted in the making of this programme. One I noted was "Nelsons Navy" but I failed to note the author - I think his surname began with an L If anyone has any info on any of the sources, plus producer etc I would be very grateful to hear from you. Many thanks, Alan Grose

who was the swede on bellerophon former white slave trafalgar battler jumped ship in brazil what a story

Agree entirely with Mr McFadden's comment. The lack of balance in the documentary was incredible, a missed opportunity to tell the untold story of the Battle of Trafalgar. A large chunk of heroic Irish history has been ignored or rewritten to advance a crumbling British imperial ideal. And there is no excuse for this.

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters