Book excerpt: The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on October 21, 1805, off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast, between the combined fleets of Spain and France and the Royal Navy. The last great sea action of the period, it established British naval supremacy and ended the threat of French invasion. The Trafalgar Companion not only chronicles the campaign and the battle itself in unprecedented detail, but it also charts Admiral Lord Nelson’s life and career as well as his death at the height of the battle. Providing a wealth of background details on contemporary naval life, seamanship, gunnery, tactics, and much else, the narrative is supplemented by informative sidebars, 200 color illustrations, and stage-by-stage battle diagrams.