L'Orient exploding after being caught in crossfire from English ships.
Roger M McCoy
A long period of colonization by European countries, especially England and France, began in the late eighteenth century and continued into the mid-twentieth century. Africa was the final major uncolonized area, and in the eighteenth century it became a major target for colonists.
Colonization of Africa began by European countries setting up trading posts along the coast of Africa to allow an exchange of African goods and slaves from the interior for products from Europe. This continued through the eighteenth century. In the early nineteenth century European exploration began to move to the interior of South Africa, and soon the only unexplored areas were the Congo Basin and the African Great Lakes. These unexplored areas remained as blank spots on world maps into the middle of the nineteenth century.
In mid-nineteenth century the competition for colonies in Africa began in earnest. At that time ten percent of the continent was under European control. By the early twentieth century ninety percent of Africa was colonized. In many cases intense competition arose between European countries vying for colonies. Today colonization is viewed negatively, but until mid-twentieth century it was a sign of national strength, often rationalized by claiming to improve the lives of indigenous people in the colony. The effect, however, was that the colonized countries suffered cultural changes brought by their conquerers, often rose up to fight the intruders, and eventually demanded their freedom from colonization.
The Battle of the Nile occurred in 1798 between England and France fighting to claim Egypt. The French forces, led by Napoleon, sought to invade Egypt and create a barrier to Britain’s access to India. Napoleon’s fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral François-Paul Bruey. The British fleet was under the command of Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson, although neither man was present for the battle mentioned below that occurred near Alexandria, Egypt. The English fleet made a decisive victory over the French and went on to claim Egypt as a colony.
One tragic aspect of the battle was described in a poem, Casabianca, by Felicia Hemans in 1826…twenty-eight years after the battle. The poem with one verse shown below, describes the plight of a thirteen-year-old boy, the son of the captain of the L’Orient, and is based on true accounts of the battle.The boy stood amid the wreckage as the ship burned and would not leave his assigned duty station until his father ordered him. Since his father was already dead the order never came. (Personally, I think most boys would flee if they could.) Soon the flames of the burning ship reached the powder storage room and a massive explosion shredded the ship. The illustration above shows a few men escaping in lifeboats as the L’Orient explodes.
The boy stood on the burning deck,
Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle's wreck,
Shone round him o'er the dead.
Sources
Derived from britannica.com account of the Battle of the Nile
Derived from wikipedia.org account of the Battle of the Nile
