5 thoughts on “England expects”

    • I don’t think they were so touchy in those days! Plus you’re forgetting the Irish, most of the other nations of Europe and a wide variety of people of colour: the Royal Navy in those does was an employer committed to diversity (unless you were female of course, though some slipped through the net). Or in other words they were desperate for manpower, even native born Americans were welcome, though most of those were escaped slaves.

      Of course, this was not exactly what Nelson wanted to signal but “expects” was easier than spelling out “confides” in flags and I suspect that “England” was easier than any possible alternative.

    • It was, of course, the mass desertion of all the mortally offended Welsh, Scottish, and Irish sailors under Nelson’s command that caused him to lose the Battle of Trafalgar, leading in due course to the invasion of Britain by the French and the complete conquest of Europe by Napoleon.

      Yes indeed, it’s a good thing they were so touchy in those days.

      (And that, my poppets, is how we apply the Historical Method to prevent the humans from ever gaining any actual knowledge of history.)

      (signed)
      H. Smiggy McStudge

  1. PG, Thank you for this continuing nautical interlude. “Roll the old chariot along” reminded me of the happy times I passed as a fourth-class citizen (aka boatbum, aka live-aboard). Thursday nights, we walked up the pier to the bar where a quartet sang sea shanties. On other nights, shanties came from the jukebox.

    As a tangential bonus, I discovered Stan Rogers. Aye, ye died too young. The tragedy of his death moves me to write a little ditty I shall call ‘Air Canada’ (sung to the tune of ‘O Canada’). You can bet it won’t be kind.

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