Trafalgar revisited

Say it isn't so. George Will is reporting (in a recent column on something else) that for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, the British will re-enact the famous battle - but will forebear to label the ships British and French, instead calling them "red" and "blue"?

Checking must be done. I can't believe this. Surely he's joking?

Oops, no, he's not. From May 22, 2005, Yahoo News, this AFP story, Battle of Trafalgar anniversary sunk by political correctness. Not only will there be a "Red Fleet" and a "Blue Fleet", but:

Official literature for the planned event next month will also be toned down, describing the extravaganza as a re-enactment not of Trafalgar but of "an early 19th century sea battle".

The plan is for a mass of tall sailing ships gathered off the south coast near Portsmouth, Nelson's home base, to create a spectacular fake battle using pyrotechnics, lights and special effects.

A series of events are planned as part of the "Trafalgar 200" celebrations in the months leading up to the bicentenary of the battle itself, on October 21, 2005.

The pyrotechnics I can understand. A person can't use real cannon shots, presumably, and there must be big booms and smoke. I have to hope, however, that the lights and special effects stay within reason for early 19th century sea battles ;)

It sounds like at least some of the event's sponsors have been as blindsided as the rest of us:

The decision to remove all mention of nationality from the re-enactment had puzzled some of the event's commercial sponsors, The Sunday Time [sic] said.

"It seems remarkable that we are not saying this is Britain versus France in this re-enactment," one told the paper under cover of anonymity.

"Surely 200 years on, we can afford to gloat a bit. Not even the French can try and get snooty about this."

A spokeswoman for the Royal Navy, which is organising the event, said the re-enactment was only meant to be "theatre on water".

"This will not be a French-bashing opportunity," she said.

Excuse me, did I just read that the Royal Navy is organizing this? Whose Royal Navy? (Sorry. That was catty, wasn't it? I'm just sooo tired of PC squads scrubbing all sense and substance out of history.)

I'm trying to think of some other way of looking at this, but quite frankly, if I were one of those French officials they wish to not offend, I think I'd be mighty offended to be treated like a hapless child who might come unglued at the least provocation.

I know very few French quotes, but one I do know pops to mind. Qui a peur de feuilles, ne doit aller au bois (or something like that), i.e., ‘He who trembles to hear a leaf fall should stay out of the woods.’

In other words, I can't imagine that any French man worth his salt would feel honored to attend an event which has been gutted to spare him "hearing a leaf fall," so to speak. Goodness. What a tribute.

Sigh.

Well, let's be fair. Let's go look at the other side of things.

Oh, well, after a quick look around, it appears matters might not be as bad as painted. Here's a link to the Royal Navy's pages on Trafalgar200. And here's the official Trafalgar200 site. From the official site you do get:

Nelson played a vital role in securing Britain's freedom 200 years ago, both stopping the terrifying threat of invasion by Napoleon's France and establishing British naval supremacy for the next century.

[snip]

Nelson was controversial and not without his critics but his life still inspires many people across the globe. His qualities of courage, leadership, perseverance and humanity are as relevant today as they were 200 years ago.

Nelson's story unites triumph over personal adversity with victory over the enemy. He suffered many hardships during his career, including a spell of long-term unemployment. But even losing an arm and being blinded in one eye in battle did not stop him from fighting on heroically until his death in action at Trafalgar in 1805.