Nelson Survives

[Readman]

Ok, so Nelson died during Trafalgar but WI he Didn't would what influences would he have? Thanks.

[Falastur]

Not a huge amount. By 1805, after Trafalgar, France's navy was essentially eliminated as a serious threat. Had it taken the Danish navy in 1807 it might have recovered somewhat, but the British had a plentiful opportunity to snuff out that chance by doing the OTL thing and destroying it in harbour anyway. Nelson had scandalised British society with his public affair with the Ambassador to Naples' wife, and he had become an outcast in society. He was beloved by sailors in the RN, but when he took shore leave in 1803 he came under so petulant attack by the people of England that he was forced to stay in the home of another man marked out for sexual indecency, as he had no home and everyone he turned to refused to allow him to stay. He was already eyeing up retirement. Chances are he'd stay in the navy, possibly past the Battle of Copenhagen 1807, and then retire before the end of the Napoleonic Wars, using his service and his pension to bully the Admiralty into buying him a house where he could retire and essentially forever stay out of the public eye. Chances are that even if he lived another 20 years, the history books would never hear from him again. By all accounts he just wanted to find somewhere where he could escape from the world with Emma and his newborn child Horatia.

[Grey Wolf]

You forget that he was also an active politician

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

[Andrew Hudson]

Nelson would not be the national hero he became. On returning home his private life would come under closer scrutiny and he would be increasingly criticised for that. He was also a sttrong opponent of Wilberforce and would have been labelled as a reactionary. He would however still be remembered as a great Admiral but not venerated. Some of his contemporaries such as Collingwood achieved as much in Collingwoods case by avoiding conflict in many cases.

Nelson was a self publicist and was invented the term "the Nelson touch". However like a lot of people who died relatively young such as John F Kennedy he became canonised

[Falastur]

Originally Posted by Grey Wolf

You forget that he was also an active politician

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

Could you elaborate? I know he spoke in Parliament a couple of times, but I really have never heard of him being an "active politician".

[Grey Wolf]

Originally Posted by Falastur

Could you elaborate? I know he spoke in Parliament a couple of times, but I really have never heard of him being an "active politician".

Its only memory I'm afraid. I think from the period during the Peace of Amiens. But I'd need to look it all up again

Best Regards
Grey Wolf