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Battle of Chesapeake Capes 1781

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by peter henderson (U14321927) on Monday, 1st February 2010

  Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ2 prog Empire of the Seas, Jan 29th
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  As I expected from the jingoistic tone of this prog.
  ....you glossed over the major defeat of British navy at BATTLE OF CHESAPEAKE CAPES 1781 by De Grasse/French Navy.....didn't even mention it by name !
  It was as important as Trafalgar, at least the Americans must think so . They have a monument to it.
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  We British have an unhealthy obsession with some victories...like Trafalagar, which distorts our view of history .
  Agincourt 1415 is another....but who won the 100 Years War ? Battles of Formigny 1451 and Castillon 1453 ...we don't celebrate them !!
  
  Peter Henderson
  Southampton, UK

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by WarsawPact (U1831709) on Monday, 1st February 2010

  The purpose of the programme is to demonstrate how the Navy contributed towards the creation and expansion of the British Empire. By definition, it's going to tend to concentrate on victories.
  
  The inclination to celebrate victories and ignore defeats is hardly a solely British trait. Yes. London has a Waterloo Station, but Paris has one named after Austerlitz. The US has any number of locations named after the American Revolution, but few named after Vietnam.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by Mutatis_Mutandis (U8620894) on Tuesday, 2nd February 2010

  The series has at least one major merit, and that is that it points out the enormous role the Navy and its requirements for materials, food and manpower had on the economic development of England... A useful reminder for those who thought that England emerged as an early industrial power purely as a result of private enterprise.
  
  However, its historical accuracy does suffer from a desire to focus on the dramatic. And unfortunately Snow's boundless enthusiasm for the subject is not accompanied by the wit of a Schama or a Jones.
  

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