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50 free Battle of Trafalgar trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Battle of Trafalgar is the sea fight that made Horatio Nelson immortal and ended any French hope of invading Britain. On 21 October 1805, outnumbered 27 ships to 33, Nelson drove two columns straight into the Franco-Spanish line off Cape Trafalgar, shattered it, and captured or destroyed 18 enemy ships without losing one. He was shot from the mizzentop of Redoutable and died three hours later, having just been told the day was won. These 50 questions cover the campaign before it: Napoleon's plan to clear the Channel, Villeneuve's dash to the Caribbean and back, Calder off Finisterre, the blockade of Cádiz. Then the battle itself: the Nelson Chequer paint, the signal that nearly read 'confides', Collingwood in Royal Sovereign, the 130-gun Santísima Trinidad, the raking of Bucentaure, Temeraire's carronade, and Nelson's last words. And the aftermath: the storm that sank the prizes, Cape Ortegal, the barrel of brandy, Villeneuve's strange death, Austerlitz, and the columns and pillars raised from Glasgow to Dublin. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a short explanation, so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a pub quiz history round.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On what date was the Battle of Trafalgar fought?
21 October 1805
It came the day after Napoleon's land victory at Ulm, and he hid the news for over a month.
Q 02Which two navies made up the combined fleet facing the Royal Navy?
French and Spanish
Spain contributed 15 ships of the line and France 18.
Q 03Which war was Trafalgar part of?
War of the Third Coalition
The coalition collapsed a few months later anyway after Austerlitz.
Q 04Who commanded the combined Franco-Spanish fleet?
Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
He was captured with his flagship and later attended Nelson's funeral while on parole.
Q 05From which Spanish port did the combined fleet sail three days before the battle?
Cádiz
Only eleven allied ships made it back there, and just five were seaworthy.
Q 06How many ships of the line did Nelson have at Trafalgar?
27
The allies fielded 33, including the largest warship afloat.
Q 07Which Spanish ship was the largest warship in either fleet?
Santísima Trinidad
The 130-gun giant surrendered after three hours and was later scuttled by the British.
Q 08How many guns did the largest ship in either fleet carry?
130
Nelson's biggest ships were 100-gun first-rates.
Q 09In how many columns did Nelson attack the allied line?
Two
The aim was to cut the enemy line into three and force a close-quarters melee.
Q 10How many allied ships were captured or destroyed, per the article's summary?
18
The British lost none, though a storm afterwards wrecked many of the prizes.
Q 11What was Nelson's flagship?
HMS Victory
She was one of three 100-gun first-rates in his fleet and led the windward column.
Q 12Who killed Nelson?
A French musketeer
The ball entered his left shoulder, passed through his spine and lodged below his right scapula.
Q 13What was the French flagship at Trafalgar?
Bucentaure
A treble-shotted raking broadside from Victory knocked her out of action almost at once.
Q 14Which Spanish admiral led the survivors away and died of his wounds six months later?
Q 21Which inconclusive July 1805 battle saw Calder capture two Spanish ships?
Cape Finisterre
Calder was later recalled to face a court-martial for his lack of aggression there.
Q 22Who captained Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar?
Thomas Masterman Hardy
Keats had been meant to be Nelson's second but his ship was stuck in the dockyard.
Q 23Roughly how many crewmen and marines did Nelson command at Trafalgar?
17,000
The combined fleet had nearly 30,000 men and 2,568 guns.
Q 24Who led the second, leeward British column?
Federico Gravina
He handed command to Commodore Cosmao two days after the battle.
Q 15Nelson's famous signal read "England expects that every man will" what?
do his duty
He had wanted "confides", but "expects" was in the signal book and saved spelling it out.
Q 16Which word did Nelson originally want in the signal instead of "expects"?
Confides
Signal officer Pasco pointed out that "expects" was in the vocabulary and "confides" would have to be spelt.
Q 17Which Royal Navy officer suggested the word swap in the famous signal?
Pasco
The signal was shown on the mizzen mast only and needed 12 lifts.
Q 18Where were the main French fleets based in 1805?
Brest and Toulon
Napoleon wanted them to join forces in the Caribbean and return to clear the Channel.
Q 19Villeneuve had been reluctant to face the Royal Navy since which 1798 defeat?
Battle of the Nile
Nelson had won that one too, destroying the French fleet at Aboukir Bay.
Q 20Where did Napoleon want his allied fleets to rendezvous before returning to Europe?
The Caribbean
Nelson chased them across the Atlantic and missed them in the West Indies by days.
Cuthbert Collingwood
His ship broke the line first and fired a devastating double-shotted broadside into Santa Ana.
Q 25What was Collingwood's flagship?
Royal Sovereign
Freshly cleaned below the waterline, she outran the rest of the fleet into action.
Q 26What distinctive paint scheme did Nelson order for his ships?
Yellow and black
The pattern became known as the Nelson Chequer.
Q 27Nelson told his captains no one could do very wrong if he did what?
Placed his ship alongside the enemy
He wanted circumstances to dictate execution, with the enemy rear cut off and overwhelmed.
Q 28Which news prompted Villeneuve to sail on 18 October despite light winds?
A replacement admiral had reached Madrid
François Rosily was coming to take command, and Villeneuve wanted to sail before he arrived.
Q 29Which British frigate kept watch on the allied fleet overnight before the battle?
HMS Euryalus
Captain Blackwood's squadron of frigates had been shadowing the harbour for weeks.
Q 30At what time did Nelson send the "England expects" signal?
11:45
He followed it with one more signal, for close action.