In short
Part 2 of a 10-part series on Horatio Nelson, framed as a “JackAss-ian” romantic hero: his early life, naval rise, repeated illnesses/injuries, and key battles that build his legend against the French and Napoleon.
Guests
Ryan Reynolds (voice sponsor for Mint Mobile ads; not a historical guest) and Horatio Gould (host/guest; named after Horatio Nelson; discusses his family connection to Nelson’s surgeon ancestor). The episode also includes references to “patrons” and other hosts, but only Horatio Gould is clearly present in the conversation.
Key claims
Nelson’s defining traits are extreme physical bravery, fearlessness, and myth-making (including possibly exaggerated stories). He is portrayed as emotionally intense, self-pitying on land, and obsessed with glory/death. His iconic injuries include loss of right-eye vision, a severe hernia, and later amputation of his right arm.
Notable examples
Arctic polar bear hunt (mythic), malaria and blisters from a manchineal tree, love/infatuation with Mary “Emma” Simpson in Quebec, marriage to Fanny Nisbet on Nevis, breaking orders at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, Tenerife assault leading to right-arm amputation, and the Royal Navy’s “ships of the line” and broadside tactics.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOThe Early Life of Horatio Nelson
1:07 to 5:00
Exploration of Nelson's ancestry, early life, and family background.
“My great, great, great, maybe great, great, great, great, great grandfather was the - Had no arms.”
Nelson's Rising Naval Career
5:02 to 8:00
Discussion about Nelson's entrance into the Royal Navy and his early experiences.
“It's just it's more there is normally a man at the end of it.”
Nelson's Character and Bravery
8:15 to 11:00
The hosts analyze Nelson's bravery, character traits, and historical significance.
“Because he's very similar to the podium in the sense that he views himself as a great act of history.”
Humor and Historical Context
11:03 to 13:00
Hosts blend humor while discussing Nelson's life and historical context.
“Who is this Nelsonian figure outside Downing Street?”
Nelson's Bravery and Jackassian Life
14:00 to 17:12
Explore Horatio Nelson's extraordinary bravery and how it mirrors a Jackassian lifestyle.
“Suckling remarked, What has poor Horace done, who is so weak he should be sent to rough it out at sea?”
Nelson's Early Career and Romantic Life
17:12 to 25:40
Learn about Nelson's early expeditions, his romantic entanglements, and health challenges.
“I'll tell you a good time to play to places, actually.”
The Role of the Royal Navy in Global Power
25:40 to 28:00
Understand the Royal Navy's significance in Britain's military and economic strength.
“Britain is alarmed by French expansion, as always.”
The British Navy's Golden Age
28:00 to 29:20
Learn about the pivotal role of the British Navy in global power dynamics.
Ships of the Line and Naval Warfare Mechanics
29:20 to 33:30
Discover the types of ships and the mechanics of naval battles during Nelson's era.
“When fat American tourists fell down the stairs.”
Tactics and Strategy in Naval Battles
33:59 to 38:11
Understand Nelson's innovative tactics that changed naval warfare forever.
“I'm Andrew Harrison, and this week, in a special miniseries from The Bunker, I ask experts and eyewitnesses how the consequences of the 9-11 attacks and the war on terror that followed still shape our world.”
Show all 15 chapters
Nelson's Injuries and Early Career
38:11 to 42:00
Explore the early life and injuries of Horatio Nelson that shaped his career.
“Whereas he's like, no, I'm better than you because I'm doing this and I've not got an eye or an arm.”
Nelson's Early Recognition and Promotions
42:00 to 43:18
Learn how Horatio Nelson gained recognition in naval circles and his early promotions.
“He has got big balls, but that's because his bum was in his balls.”
The Tenerife Expedition
43:18 to 45:15
Explore Nelson's disastrous expedition to seize treasure in Tenerife and the chaotic events that unfolded.
“if we get the ship and get all the treasure, there's like a naval rule where if you find, it's like finders keepers.”
The Amputation: A Gruesome Procedure
45:15 to 47:11
Understand the brutal realities of medical procedures at sea during Nelson's era, including his arm amputation.
“Imagine this is true crime and what Dahl was doing to one of the victims.”
Aftermath of the Injury and Rising Tensions
47:11 to 49:51
Discuss how Nelson coped with his injury and the growing fears in Britain due to Napoleon's rise.
“So Nelson, when he goes under the knife, the thing he notices is how cold it is.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless - for$15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months, $90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms.
0:39Welcome back to Finn vs. History. I'm joined by Horatio Gould. And today we're finally getting to Horatio Nelson. My namesake. The other Horatio. Yeah, one of the three. It's Horatio Kane from CSI Miami, Horatio Nelson and me. I hadn't heard of that first one. It's a big name to live up to, I'll tell you that. Which are you named after? Horatio Kane. No, I'm not named after anyone specifically. I think they actually just like the name. But I guess Nelson probably would be more in the... Also, Bibi's related to Nelson. Really? You go way, way back. Well, I, right. Go on. My great, great, great, maybe great, great, great, great, great grandfather was the - Had no arms.
1:20He had no arms. And was blind. And he's blind. Anyway. No, he was the surgeon on the HMS victory. Really? About 15 years after Trafalgar. Oh. So, yeah. It's really cool. And then it's not - When it was a tourist boat? When it was a prison, I think. A floating prison in Portsmouth, I think. But there's a portrait of him in my uncle's house. And this is how creepy it is. He looks exactly like my uncle. And I thought for the first 15 years of my life, oh, that's my uncle dressed up as like a 19th century dandy. Oh, really? Wow. And then we were like, oh, no, that's your great, great, great grandfather.
1:56And I was like, that's a glitch in the matrix. He looks exactly like my uncle. That's some disciplined breeding, isn't it? Yeah. That's like you've got a type. The same. But if you still look like your great, great, great grandfather, really has not Presbyterian stuff that is well that's Scotland for you you look like my sister brilliant let's get married let's get married and then we'll have me and you we're talking about Horatio Nelson it's part two of our epic no girls allowed ten parter on the Napoleon I tell you what I think Nelson I don't know if the ladies in the room would agree I think Nelson really and this crosses a bit of the boundaries from even male stuff really I would say so when you say it it's pretty it's just it's romantic uh it's i think there's it i don't know it feels like it doesn't get as bogged down in the sort of like nitty-gritty i think the story is a can cross gender barriers amputations yeah but i don't know i think he's listening to podcasts about naval amputations i think nelson as a figure is more attractive for women often comment saying why are you doing this he's got a fucking column yeah and i'm out there every sunday wearing a stone island badge defending it yeah yeah against anyone preemptively defending it i'm there come on then come on yeah no one's talking about knocking that down but i'm defending i'm defending it you've seen they're not knocking down because i'm there my favorite video of a true patriot a real telegraph reader uh is the um do you know that guy in a flat cap who go pushes away churchill is a racist the car that guy do you have that video because i just like that is this is one of our patrons for sure there's just something fuck i've never seen a more right-wing man just like the way that you could just tell he's dressed as a farmer just as a farmer yeah barber jacket stone island badge fuck off fuck off bollocks get rid of it horatio nelson is you know it's it's weird because i didn't learn about any of this at school i found all this out myself i did my own research for this i've done my own research yeah right and i think that's a national travesty that our children are kept away from the Napoleonic Wars.
4:01Nelson is the most exciting British individual from a storytelling perspective, probably. Until David Beckham, yeah. Who can match him? I mean, Monty, you know, we did Monty. He's the World War II equivalent, but it's nowhere near as exciting. Horatio Nelson, and also so much of our architecture, you know, is based around this period of history. and yet it's just like monumental architecture yeah yeah it's just names right and then you find out what he actually did and who he was and fuck me this is the best it gets well i guess because i was called erasure i was always interested in nelson from a young age not that one i imagine you said that a lot at school my name's erasure no not that one um but yeah i was surprised that people wouldn't know about him because that was like it's average side actually what doesn't man.
4:55Nelson's column is average size actually. Yeah. Much smaller column. Horatio Gould's column much smaller. I'll be at Horatio Gould's column. Where's that? I can't see it. It is there. It's just it's more there is normally a man at the end of it. It's a single story thing. I was a man sitting on it. Yeah. Absolutely. A man with a hat at the end of it. Absolutely. A man with no arms sitting on it.
5:19Yeah. But it doesn't. Wait. Is Nelson bouncing on that column? uh yeah um nelson's bouncing on top of that thing um uh he yeah nelson i don't know i i feel like i feel like why the fuck would you know about horatio nelson this is a good to check the stupidest country it's a good start so trafalgar square i've been there yeah what's trafalgar square named after uh the battle of trafalgar would you know who's involved in the battle for trago you wouldn't do you know that horatio is at the top of that column at the middle of Trafalgar? I didn't know that. You didn't know he was at the top? I thought there was a guy out there, but I wasn't sure if it was him.
5:55I don't know why you'd put him in. Nelson's gone. Who's that? Is that Nelson from The Simpsons? What's he doing there? What's he doing? What's that guy doing on top of there? Surely he would represent the column and then there'd just be like, maybe the person. Listen, we're getting, I'm just going to stop this here. This is not what they're tuning in for, okay? Listen, the women are banished. It's men time, okay? We need to tell the story of Nelson. and not listen to a fucking spaz behind the computer talk about a bloke on top of a column. His life is awesome. It's a perfect story. It's incredible.
6:28Yeah. It's, you know, he's a martyr, a romantic martyr. Yes, and also Monty didn't have the privilege of getting killed in World War II, so he lived to the 70s. He lived too long to then say that being gay was a French thing and a crime, right? And that's something that Nelson was saved from. Supporting apartheid and saying that Africa should be one massive country, right? Now, Nelson, thankfully, was saved from that disgrace. By a French sniper. Although, obviously, he would have said the same thing. So, Horatio Nelson is born in 1758 in Norfolk to his father, Edmund Nelson, and his mama, Catherine Suckling.
7:09Suckling on that dang. He has an uncle called Morris Suckling, which I think is probably the best name we've encountered on the pod. It's Morris Suckling. Morris Suckling. Good to meet you. Imagine having a business card saying Morris Suckling. It's quite a toast of London sort of stuff, isn't it? Morris Suckling. It's an insane name. But this is the... I thought you were dead, Morris Suckling. Not Morris Suckling again. The dastardly Morris Suckling. But it's the 18th century. You know, this is... It's a very vivid, bombastic, Brian Blessed-esque age. Fannies. There's a lot of fannies about. Horatio marries Fanny.
7:40Yeah. And you're bringing this back. Horatio and Bibi. I guess so. They're funny names. Yes. You know? they're noises they're noises honk honk honk honk honk and bloop bloop right he is born in norfolk and his mother dies when he's uh nine and i think maybe well again like you say this is where the psychoanalysis has come because his mom was yeah but uh you could say that this is why he maybe feels or rather he wants to feel things and he he very emotional he wants a big intense life Yeah. You know, he wants glory. And this is from a very young age. Because he's very similar to the podium in the sense that he views himself as a great act of history.
8:23And he feels that his life is writing his own story. Yes. But they're temperamentally quite different, I feel. Yeah, Nelson is not a sweaty school shooting himself. He's a sweaty because he's ill. He's sickly at the start, definitely. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Well, now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for$15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required.
9:01$15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. In 1991, two hikers in the Alps found a body melting in the ice. They assumed a fallen climber. What they'd actually found was a 5 ,000-year-old murder victim. Welcome to Buried Evidence. Join archaeologist Professor Raksha Dave and me, historian Rebecca Radiel, as we dig up some fascinating true crime through history. Launching on Friday the 4th of September, you can find Buried Evidence wherever you watch or listen to your podcasts. Subscribe at thecrimedesk.com and get episodes a week before anyone else.
9:38Do you struggle to keep up with the news every week? The Bunker has got you covered. Every Monday, we release Start Your Week, where we go over the big stories to follow in the coming days. And then on Fridays, we have our weekly wrap-up, where we give you the context and the meaning behind the biggest and the weirdest stories of recent days. Search for The Bunker wherever you get your podcasts, and subscribe so you never miss an episode. So he's prone to, quote, nervous weakness. and he's also seasick his entire life but he just fuck that plow on he conquers seasickness with the mind yeah right which is not what i mean my i went on a boat recently on a family holiday in cornwall my daughter loved it standing at the bow big cap on smiling loving it uh my son uh got got on the boat uh and then got so scared that he fell asleep like those fainting goats got so scared he fell asleep yeah yeah wow just just black just fell asleep cuddling mummy just i get incredibly seasick and i got a very stoic british uncle who i was at uh seeing cornwall uncle morris suckling it was like uncle morris suckling and he did the most british because he's seasick as well but he was like this he just went and then just went like he opened his mouth yeah loads of sick came out and then he just went as if nothing had happened yeah that's amazing but it's not throwing up it's just opening your mouth to let the sick out and then carrying on yeah he enters so he's a sickly child Nelson he is is also a very early sort of apocryphal tale uh he ignores his grandmother's warnings to cross a field containing a dangerous bull and he says fear I never saw fear so yeah sort of Theresa May sort of stuff this is yeah he is this is a long road to Theresa May only May can equal Nelson's courage and bravely and wildness we did not know how good we had it when we had May, okay?
11:27Who is this Nelsonian figure outside Downing Street? The country I love, you know. You know, they both love their country. They both love their country. They both serve their country. One of them defeated the Spanish at Trafalgar, ensuring that an age of new naval superiority. The other one tried to get us off Brexit through and didn't and had to leave, okay? They're both titanic figures. So in 1771, Nelson enters the Royal Navy aged 12 because his uncle, Captain Suckling, good old Uncle Suckling, who's not a pervert even though it's an awful name. Yeah, if you're called Captain Suckling it sounds like you're sort of an arch pervert.
12:01If you're Uncle Captain Suckling I mean I can't think of three more pedo words. Like you know how it's what three words but for pedos. You know how there's what three words for locations. If you had it for pedos one would be Captain Uncle Suckling. Uncle Captain Suckling. So yeah, so he's in the Royal Navy. He gets Nelson in 1771. Should we play 1771? This is Nelson joining the Navy, a huge moment in the history of this country. Charlie, do you want to have a go at it? Yes. After Nelson, before Belson. After Nelson, before Belson. Right, after Nelson is born, but before Belson, the concentration camp.
12:40Was that Horatio Belson? There was. Yep, we're pre-Belson. Not Boratio Belson. Allegedly, Boratio Belson. anyway so yes long before Belson Belson is just a twinkle in Hitler's great great great great great great great great grandfather's eye anyway Horatio Nelson enters the Navy 771 even though he's very very seasick but he just goes fuck it and he calls himself Horace initially to avoid sounding pompous did you ever do that? yeah Harry I remember when we first started working together on internet you were like don't introduce me as Horatio call me Horace because I was trying to trick influencers into thinking this was a real thing.
13:25And I was like, if our names are Finn, Horatio and Vittoria, they all sound made up. So it was, wasn't it Finn, Victor and Harry or something like that? Yes, yeah. Can you talk about your fake secretary? I think you've discussed that. I've talked about it many times, but I pretended to be a woman with a double-barreled surname for about six months. And got into it. I was flirting with men who are influencer agents. Thank God it's Friday. I was doing stuff like that. I never had a job. So I was just like, I don't ever get to do this. Oh, bloody Monday. Hump day. Monday hump day. You know? It was fun.
13:57It was COVID. It didn't have any work. Anyway, him and Uncle Suckling are... Suckling remarked, What has poor Horace done, who is so weak he should be sent to rough it out at sea? The first time we go into action, a cannonball may knock off his head. Well, you're wrong, suckers. Yeah? So Nelson, very early on, is on an Arctic expedition on HMS Carcass. I think the key defining attribute of Nelson is he seems to be the bravest man who's ever lived. Ever. Yeah. For physical bravery. I mean, it's a point where it feels like he has something missing in his brain. Yes. That has fear. His life weirdly is sort of like Jack.
14:37It's very Jack Arsian, I'd say. Yeah. It's like Jack Ars. I've never used it, heard that word. He lives a Jack Arsian life. He's a Jack Arsian figure. Yeah. but it's sort of like jackass if uh it wasn't a comedy yeah it's jackass if it's a drama yes so imagine them all doing that but there's no no one's laughing they maybe say huzzah yeah it's not it's it's doing all those things putting yourself as much danger as possible it's not for comic but it's not funny no it's serious well and he's british so he's not like a steve a serious serious steve would actually be dirty sanchezium because he's british right um so yes He's a Jackassian figure, Nelson.
15:16I like that. So supposedly, now, who knows if this is myth or not? But he definitely gets sucked into the myth. Because we have to remember... Let's pretend it isn't myth. Let's pretend it's not myth. It's the end of the 18th century. The Romantic era is dawning upon us. People love the idea of individual brilliance and heroism, like the Greek tragedies and stuff. So in an Arctic exhibition on HMS Carcass, a 15-year-old Nelson decides to go and hunt a polar bear, supposedly. when his musket misfires he thinks fuck it and attacks it with the weapon's butt to skin it for his father now supposedly there's a big famous painting of a 15 year old attacking a polar bear with the end of a rifle I'm going to go out on a limb and say I doubt whether that happened but he's the kind of person who would do something like that if anyone did do it it was Boratio Belson absolutely he Belson'd the polar bear completely but again now that tactic will come up again and again in uh smacking a polar bear in the face of the man uh no but as in his his very he's very route one tactically it's like absurdly heroics but whereas napoleon is more refined and he's playing 3d chess nelson is going uh i'm just gonna drive it through there see what see if you like that seeing as it's called mythic and they're both very aware of the classics both yes it feels like nelson's achilles this sort of like it's it's courage and will yes and nelson's more adhesius it's more like cunning and cerebral it's less pure bravery it's sort of yeah it's it's lizard brain versus thinky brain nelson is it charlie they know each other exist yes crucially not yet they don't meet though They never meet.
17:04They never meet. But he's the Napoleon of the sea. Yeah, Federer and Adal. It is a bit like Federer and Adal. But they're playing different sports. I'll tell you a good time to play to places, actually. Right. In the 1770s, I believe early in the 1770s, the Falkland Islands. Yeah, it's the 70s. Is under threat. Right. Right. And Britain, Captain Uncle Suckling, is going to sail an expedition to go and, you know, not for the first time, relieve our southern border from Hispanic interference. And I just want to make sure this is clear. Argentine doesn't even exist at this point. So just a little bit more information.
17:44Argentine is not even a country at this stage. Yeah, but the Falklands are British. So I think you'll find Las Malvinas son Inglaterras. Wankers. Anyway, right? It's not a political... This is not a political podcast. It's not a political podcast. But that semi-final did hurt quite a lot. Yes. But also, they're all fucking descended from war criminals, so who cares? Now, initially, right, the ship is going to go to the Falklands, but by the time the ship was ready, the crisis had been resolved. Okay? Yet again, the British secure the southern border. Right. Okay? So to place Nelson's life, it happens between the Falklands crisis.
18:21Right. Right. After the Arctic, he goes to India and the East Indies. this is on the HMS Seahorse he gets malaria he gets sick he picks up every illness at every point he's a fucking bud chaser this guy where did he at one point I think it's in the Caribbean he sits under some tree that's like a poisonous tree the Manchineal tree so this is during a San Juan expedition he accidentally sleeps under this tree the sap drips onto his skin giving him severe blisters and he drinks river water poisoned by the leaves and he barely survived but is nursed back to health by a local woman using a mixture of herbs and boiled snakes.
19:00So he gets ill everywhere. And then in 1778, he's promoted to commander on the HMS Badger. Badger! And now in Quebec, this is missing from a lot of the history. Do you know this? In Quebec in 1782, at age only 24, Nelson falls obsessively in love with a 16-year-old. Ooh. Ha-woo! That's my 18th century award. Huzzah! Hawoo! Let the dog see the rabbit! Mary Simpson, say her name, in Quebec. He's so horny for this 16-year-old that he basically has to be restrained from getting off the ship. Otherwise, he's going to desert it. He's just trying to get to the 16-year-old on land. So he very nearly has a meltdown, just leaves the Navy.
19:47He feels things very strongly. He's a romantic figure. In 1787, Nelson is in the Caribbean and he marries a woman called Fanny Nisbet. Right. He had survived severe tropical fevers. He got ill everywhere he went. And he also, I think in like Norfolk in 1780, he was hunting, got shot in the face by his mate with like grape shot, just wiped the blood off, went, oh, well, just carried on. So he marries this woman, Fanny, who is, is she an old chewed up widower like Josephine? No, I think she's just... She's got a son as well, right? Does she? She does have a son, yeah. So their lives are quite similar in this point.
20:33But she's like a real middle Englander, right? Yeah, she's fucking dull by all accounts. Dull as dishwater. Dull as manky dishwater. 1787, Nelson marries Fanny and Lisbeth on the Caribbean island of Nevis. At their wedding, the future King William IV is his best man and he gets wildly drunk and then makes inappropriate jokes during the ceremony and then says that he's marrying a woman too cold for his, quote, volcanic nature. Right, that's not a good start. I mean, that's what you want a best man to do, I think. When you're looking for your best man, you're looking for someone who during the ceremony is going to be like, oh, she could have made an effort.
21:05Is that what you want? Yeah, I think you want a little bit, or you want some talking points to come from the speeches. You want some stories. Yeah, because you want good speeches, but you do want some clangers, to be honest. I do think that's the perfect gamut. You need a clanger. an emotional one that brings everyone up but you do want like a disaster class oh man it's great i've seen some absolute car crashes yeah never put the best man last yes never unless it's me and i did a great job but uh uh it was also in italy i did the best job um but the i did i was at a wedding where the best man speech was last and he just went so uh funny thing about uh him Yeah, we went to Thailand and, well, yeah, he likes them with big dicks, it turns out.
21:51I didn't mention the bride once. It's hard for the bride to get a look at, I realise. If you go traditional, if you go groom, father of the bride and best man, it is just about... Awesome. It's just about the groom having sex with prostitutes. And it's like the bride who's special there doesn't really get a mention. She may as well be on a leash, but with a muzzle. Yeah. How did that go down? Badly. badly tears uh no but just just awkwardness and then but then you know as you're saying it gave us something to talk about on the way home yeah i was at a wedding two days ago and one of the fathers of the brides he kept walking into feedback so it sounded like a christian holand trailer and then when he stood backwards the wind would get the mic one of the fathers of the bride yeah there's two fathers that oh sorry my god a london wedding is it sorry there was a father of the groom did a speech and the father of the bride did a speech.
22:44Christ. Yeah, Berners-Britain. Anyway, people think that Nelson and Fanny actually liked each other, although it seems like his entire life will be trying to get away from how boring she is, whether that be through affairs or his own death. So they settle in Norfolk after he finishes in the West Indies and then he just is rattling around for five years, basically unemployed. Whinging. He's a big whinger as well. He moans a lot. Because he just wants action. Yeah. And I guess that's what... And he's got a lot of self-pity as well, which is something that's quite interesting to his character that you don't really see in the battles.
23:16He's very insecure and self-pitying. But he's a frustrated romantic. Yeah. And if he doesn't have anything to do, yeah, he comes across quite morose. The rest of his history said on land, he's like David Brent, kind of. Because at sea, obviously, he's this absurd hero. But I think if he has nowhere to go, these men shouldn't be picked on land in the home counties. so so who who are the men nowadays that shouldn't be on land well i guess the thai cave divers people yes yes that's really underground yeah yeah um and middleton yep again shouldn't be on uh can you who's that who's that woman there you've got up that's fanny christ yeah she doesn't look like a laugh i will say she's not um you know she's not doing white wine seltzers i don't think she's cheating on you though fanny i should know solid as a rock but you know if napoleon's got Josephine with her black stinky mouth to chow down.
24:10Fanny's not, I don't think Fanny's giving you much of a sniff. No. Fanny doesn't have to do the zigzag. Le zigzag. No, Fanny's not doing le zigzag. What's Fanny doing? Just straight and narrow. Missionary once a month. Doggy, but just in a really sad way. Can you do doggy sad is my question. Can you do breakup doggy? She doesn't do but her back's like that. I don't think... It's arch, completely arch. What, like you're stroking a cat the wrong way? So the small of her back is higher up than any part of her body. Right, right. She ain't throwing it back. No, she's not. Fanny Nisbet is not throwing the back back.
24:46No. Fanny, I'll say this now, never had her back blown out. Yes. A Dow woman. She blew her own back in to stop her getting blown out. Exactly. She looks like she works in a charity shop, which I think are the least sexy people in the country. Right. No? I don't think always. Yeah. Yeah, because you'd start having sex somewhere and the Barnardo stop and go, this is such a mess. What are we doing? How do we get here? Crisis Finstery Park has got some nice people. You're saying there's some good totty in the Crisis Finstery Park? You're saying go and check out the tale in the Crisis Finstery Park?
25:22Anyway, so, yeah, he's stuck unemployed. Apparently he's just digging holes in the garden. But again, he does not have a 10-part series on the Napoleonic Wars to listen to. So what's he doing? Yeah. Now, 1793, Britain and France are at war. Okay. Britain is alarmed by French expansion, as always. And so Nelson is back in command in charge of the HMS Agamemnon. Another Greek mythic character. So he, much like Napoleon, has a very distinct style of warfare. Now, it might be a good time to go into naval warfare. Ladies, I told you you weren't welcome here, but if you're still here, wear three pairs of pants.
26:04We're getting into naval warfare in the 18th century. Okay. So it's all about how many cannons a ship has. Yes. But we should also talk, we're going to talk about what the Royal Navy is at this point. Please. Because the Royal Navy, the kind of the beginning of the British Empire, it's all come from this kind of naval review that happened in like the late 1600s, early 1700s when we lost the naval battle to the Dutch. And we're like, we need to sort this out. And then we basically invented a naval service that ran the most efficient bureaucracy anywhere seen in the world you know in greenwich that's where it all started yeah and then basically the royal navy became arguably the healthiest place to be in the world like the it's the height of all technology the best diet biohacking so limes uh the lines is a huge thing we british people got called limeys because we discovered that you got scurvy from a captain cook i think vitamin deficiency yeah but it's basically like the Royal Navy is the height of all technology.
27:03It's Silicon Valley. It's like the center of the industrial world. Yeah. And it's good. There's nothing that can really compare to the quality of the Royal Navy, which is one interesting thing about Nelson's victories is amazing as they are. They are also the best man crew boats. Yeah. And I don't, I wonder if we would have won those battles without him. Well, interestingly, a lot of the battles were outnumbered, but we have so much better equipment. and training as you say because the Royal Navy yeah it's a bit like when Germany had that review after what the 2002 World Cup they got lost in the group stage and then they just start dominating again and they change their style of play this is what St George's Park was meant to be yes exactly the original St George's Park was a naval review in the 17th century and all we have is we're not a great land power we have fuck all on land at this point there's no point no we're fighting Scotland and Wales our whole history really it's holding a midget like that but the Navy an angry scottish yeah you're just holding gimley like that yeah just fuck off then wails like that there you go fuck off um but the net the navy as you say is the it's all of britain's national security it's empire it's wealth everything is the navy yeah and britain uh the spanish navy has subsided at this point it's still big spain and portugal are still players but they're not the powers they once were uh this is the most important a navy this next hundred years is the most important a navy has ever been and probably will ever be yes for global power yes because as soon as air power came in in world war ii and even what the four clums would not have been would reclaimed without the navy it's true but it's not that running the navy doesn't mean you run the world anymore but at this point this is the golden age of naval warfare right so you have uh several different types of ships as i say ladies your final warning okay four pairs of pants minimum uh you're gonna go through them quickly you've added another pair of pants i can't stress how devastating this is gonna be okay if your pelvic floor is weak yeah pause right do some squats yeah then start again yeah right but if you have dry perm this you could this might be the thing for you hey hey they might awaken something if you have dry vag all right just pause intimacy skip to this bit yeah right i'm going to discuss ships of the line a ship of the line right ladies is this is the sort of major ship that you judge a fleet strength by this is sort of multi-story ships that have a large number of cannons this is the most complicated most sophisticated weapon in the world this is like nuclear weapons basically I guess so or it's a maybe it's satellite technology it's so the first rate ship of the line which would be HMS Victory which my ancestors fought on.
29:56When fat American tourists fell down the stairs. My great-great-grandfather was there to pick them up and put the sippy cup back in their mouth and send them on their way. Right. So the ship, now, if you had 100 or more guns, you were a first-rate ship of the line. Yeah. All right. Second-rate, 90 to 98 guns, blah, blah, blah. Now, then you had a frigate, which was a much more fast, maneuverable ship, which would be for scouting reconnaissance. That would still have about 20 to 30, 40 guns. Then you had brigs and cutters, which are much smaller for dispatches, maybe getting food on board, et cetera.
30:30But really, when you're talking about a fleet size, you want to know how many ships of the line they have. All right? Ladies, go to the other room, get more pants, come back. Now, we're now going to get into the mechanics of warfare. Have you changed them? Here we go. A broadside is a simultaneous attack using all the cannons on one side of a ship. So naval warfare, until Nelson, is all about turning the ship so that your cannons are all on one side, and that's when you fire at an opponent. So it's, again, similar to how Napoleon disrupts on land. It's two firing squads looking at each other. It is, and it's an agreed time, and basically it's kind of who rides the swell of the sea better so that their aim doesn't go.
31:17Yeah. And they just fire at each other, fucking loads and loads of guns. Master Commander captures this probably best in any film. Yeah, when it decides to be exciting, yes. But it does seem like one of the worst places to be. I think when you're in a naval battle, you have to remember a lot of people are dying from massive splinters. Yeah. I mean, I don't know how... Don't think annoying a splinter is. Ah, yeah. It's that, but like all over your body and the splinters are quite big. Ah. So there's people just with like a big splinter in their head like that. Should I get it out? But also when you're at the front of the cannons, the whole time I feel like, I don't know, like I'm about to get fucking, you're about to get smashed up.
31:58Like I don't know how they. Did you know this? Did you know that an officer or an admiral on the ship was not allowed to duck? Yes. Or even flinch. So someone like Nelson when he's in command and, you know, there are cannons firing everywhere, huge splinters of wood and fucking metal and masks laying down you have to just stand there like oh yes and if you go oh fuck then you're completely abandoned complete aura loss you lose your command yeah exactly it's all aura and then also he's wearing a different coloured suit to everyone else he's got all his medals he's sitting duck he's got a massive hat on he's got a massive arrow saying I'm the king get me so it's a Johnny Knoxville sort of challenge isn't it he's a Jack Arsian figure so the flagship is the biggest ship from the fleet which carries the flag and the senior commander.
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32:47This is also kind of the, it's how you communicate with the other fleet. So it's, you know, ladies, we're getting into semaphore. You're going to have to go out and buy new pants now, okay? Semaphore is where you use flags to communicate signals and even like words, sentences. I imagine at some point they put the pride flag up when they all want to have a bit of a ding dong downstairs. it right okay that's the noshing off flag okay um and then even though it's all broadsizing cannons at a certain point there'll be grappling hooks to swing onto another ship and then start fighting with swords yeah it's awesome right it's good stuff now hey it's ryan reynolds here from mint mobile now i was looking for fun ways to tell you that mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for 15 a month is back so i thought it would be fun if we made 15 bills but it turns out that's very illegal.
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35:47The objective of a naval battle was not always to sink the ships. It was merely to destroy or capture them, which would then force their fleet to surrender, which would be more important because you could then take the ships and add them to your navy. But Nelson ultimately will pursue a different tactic of annihilation. of trying to wipe the fleet out. Which hadn't really been done before. No, and that's also what Napoleon's... Naval battles of annihilation. That's also what Napoleon's doing on land, is annihilating forces rather than just sort of trying to get them to surrender. Getting a handshake from them, but it's more like, yeah.
36:20With that in mind, Nelson is an ambitious young officer, right? And he fucking hates the French. He's a real patriot, this guy. This guy... Because Napoleon uses France as a tool to leverage his own power, and Napoleon is loyal to Napoleon above all else. yes but nelson and his wife stinky slut yeah yeah let's not forget that napoleon yeah can't forget that and and his wife's black minge yeah which is her mouth oh yeah the lowest hole in her face but nelson is quite he's a bit himbo-ish in this way he's quite like i don't know he's he's not thinking deeply about things he loves he loves god and his country and action yeah you know he is a man of action.
37:01Yeah. Well, let's just do it and work it out. Yeah. So in 1793, as war breaks out, you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil. French are nothing but thieves, murderers, oppressors, and infidels. Good stuff. I would not have a Frenchman in the fleet except as a prisoner. I put no confidence in them. Forgive me, but my mother hated the French. Right. In 1793, as we said, he is in Naples and he meets a lady called Emma Hamilton who she'll return to, but he's trying to gather Neapolitan support to take on Napoleon in Toulon. It's a shame, Neapolitan being used in a military context doesn't really work, seeing as this is actually like a function of the Mediterranean front.
37:43Neapolitan is an ice cream or a pizza. So it does sound... Well, that's why it wouldn't have helped. With modern Italy, it doesn't really work in a military sense. No. The Neapolitan front. Oh, we're going to get the fucking Bolognese in. What do you mean? What do you mean you've allied with the Bolognese? no the bolognian the bolognian army yeah the bolognian now the fuck is it all about he's got like fucking ragu that's not gonna help we're gonna pour ragu on them and we've got the vong glade what are you all about idiots um right so uh in 1797 yeah we get to his first sort of hero making um story now in 1796 spain had allied with france right which was a real doo-doo he is sailing from Gibraltar to report intelligence on the Spanish warships he then is told to blockade a larger Spanish fleet that's just off the coast of what would be Portugal I think is Capes and Vincent in 1794 at the siege of Calvi in Corsica debris from a ship blast scratches his face and it causes the permanent loss of vision in his right eye so this is the first of his iconic injuries would it be yes yeah he's like a paralympian and he loves an injury oh he wants nothing more it's a huge part of the branding of him it's a real like i guess it's quite disability forward very yes interestingly um well why this is like this is not all disabilities are visible is not what they're saying all disabilities should be visible is more the the edge of the time and they're heroic yeah you know but now there's kind of a like oh no don't don't make me a superhero.
39:24You know, I'm just normal. Right. Do you know what I mean? Boise. Whereas he's like, no, I'm better than you because I'm doing this and I've not got an eye or an arm. Yes. Yeah. I can do this with my eyes closed because they're forced closed because I'm blind. Because I'm blind. I can't see. I have to do it with my eyes closed. David Blunkett could be home secretary with his eyes closed. Yeah. Yeah. He had to be. But he refuses to wear an eye patch because he thinks that's ridiculous. And also his eye's not actually shredded or anything. It's just a bit milky. Milky eye. Milky eye. so then we get to the battle of capes and vincent now this is just off the coast of portugal uh and he is ordered where's ronaldo born that's madeira madeira so it's in those that neck of the woods madeira is a bit is closer to africa anyway um at the battle of capes and vincent nelson breaks orders yeah right which is a recurring theme he's told to stay in a line right to blockade the Spanish fleet and he goes fuck this and he breaks out and basically picks off a couple of ships himself.
40:27He boards the San Nicolas shouting Westminster Abbey or glorious victory. What does that mean? It means he's going to be buried at Westminster Abbey or and at this point he's not because it's just a whatever. But he does seem to have almost suicidal ideation. He's so obsessed with his own death. With glory. Glorious death. Every battle he's like I hope I fucking die in this one. Yeah. And every time he survives, he's like, well, we've got to get another one. Next one. Let's start another one. Yeah. In 1797, another shard of wood causes a severe scrotal hernia. Scrotal hernia. Where his bowel slides into his groin.
41:04Right. And they have to treat it by manually shoving his intestines back up. So what this is... And taping heavy lead weights to his groin. So basically the bowel goes into his scrotum. I actually didn't know about this one. Yeah. This one is less... He doesn't use this in the paintings. I don't think... If you look at the back of Nelson's column, I don't think you see his bum in his balls. How does that work, Charlie? Can you find out what a bowel hernia is when it goes into your scrotum? I think you poo out of your balls. No, no, that's not what's happening. No, I think it's intestines go into your balls, so you have massive balls.
41:38That's so confident. I think it's right, yeah. A bowel scrotum, and yeah, an inquininal hernia where the loop of the intestine drops down from the abdomen through and opening the groin muscles and enters the scrotum. I think I'd kill myself if I... Really? That's what I mean. Nelson just thinks, fuck it. Brilliant. Fuck it. So he must be just in pain the whole time. It's big balls, I guess. He's got big balls though. He has got big balls, but that's because his bum was in his balls. Fucking hell, he's got balls. No, no, no, you don't understand. His bum is in his balls.
42:14Anyway, Nelson gets a knighthood. He says a knight of Bath. I don't know what that is. Is that not just a knighthood? Anyway, he's then promoted to rear admiral. Oy, oy. I mean, all the ranks are very careful. Go on. Royal rear admiral Horatio is here. Now, it's fascinating because if he had not won this battle, then he would have basically just been court-martialed. But because he does win it, I mean, he completely breaks rank. Yeah. So he's starting to get a name for himself in naval circles. and then we get to possibly the funniest of his expeditions. When he goes to Tenerife. He's basically awful on land.
42:51So in 1797... In the same way Napoleon is awful on sea. Napoleon has no idea how sea works. Yes. In 1797, he has this idea, off his own accord, to basically intercept one of the Spanish treasure fleets from the New World when they're docking at Tenerife because I think they've blockaded Spain so they have to go to the Canary Islands. And so he basically is like, right, if we nick it, it's not El Dorado, if we nick it, if we get the ship and get all the treasure, there's like a naval rule where if you find, it's like finders keepers. Like if you get it, you get a percentage of it. So they would be millionaires overnight, right?
43:30So he basically attempts a night assault to seize Tenerife. When did you last go to Tenerife? I went to May. Yeah. You've been to Tenerife. Big water park, right? The best in the world, 12 years in a row. what? it's one best water park he's not been 12 years I went with somebody who had the logo on her body tattooed tattooed yeah and it's wicked it's unbelievable Cyan Park yeah shout out and this is before that though yes this is well this is where they got the idea from Nelson you think you can do a ride where you try and attempt to seize the Spanish treasure fleet sure anyway so this is a bad idea because Tenerife is just a sort of rock and it's full of just drunk people from fucking Margate yep busting fags and watching big tellies on a strip.
44:14But he, so he goes, right, we're going to seize the actual Canary Islands because the boats are poor. There's no, he hasn't really got a plan because he doesn't really do plans. So he boards the beach and then they like march up a hill and then they get to the hill and they realize that the hill is pointless. It's not where they thought they were. So they march back down and then people spot them and start just shooting at them. And he gets hit by a musket ball that shatters his right arm. and he is right-handed. Yeah. We must always remember he was right-handed. The worse it is, the better he feels.
44:45His humerus was fractured in multiple places. Right. He lost his funny bones. He lost his sense of humerus. So he's taken on board the HMS Theseus. He refuses to be helped on board going, let me alone. I've got my legs and one arm. Right. This guy's a fucking bloke. Yeah. It's the Monty Python. Yeah. It is but a scratch. Yeah. Let's get into how his arm is amputated on board a ship at night. All right? Ladies. No, actually, ladies, this is for you. You'll love this. You're sick fucks. So, amputations were always happening. Imagine this is true crime and what Dahl was doing to one of the victims.
45:25Yeah. So, amputations were always happening on ships at this time. And we're going to get into the details. It's pretty gnarly stuff. So, a surgeon would get a screw tourniquet and clamp it. There was anesthetic though. They just had a swig of rum. Yeah, there was rum. Yeah. Yeah. So Nelson refused to have any rum. Right. He was like, no, no, no, just cut it off. Yeah. Because he was like, I'm in bad enough health at the minute. I don't want to. I don't want to fucking, I don't want to hang over tomorrow as well as this. You cut my arm off. I don't want to think, oh, fucking hell. What did I do last night?
45:56Fuck me. So a screw tourniquet, which I guess is like a vice, is clamped around the arm to crush the tissue and stop the blood flow. Then a long, cold knife is used to slice through the skin and muscle down to the bone. Then the surgeon, if you can call him that, swaps... He's a butcher. He pulls the muscle back with a linen cloth and gets his bone sore out. Then cuts through the bone. Arteries are tied shut with silk thread. That's nice. And then the skin flaps are folded over the exposed bone and stitched. and then the whole thing is soaked in vinegar which must really sting. Right. Is that antibacterial basically?
46:41I guess so. Yeah. Right. They had surgeons had attendants that were called Lobbly Boys. What? Lobbly Boys. Loblolly. Lobbly Boys. Loblolly. Loblolly Boys. Why are they called that? Loblolly Boys. The first person tried to say lovely and they got it wrong. Loblolly Boys. Look at those Loblolly Boys. Something's underwater. Loblolly Boys are named after Loblolly which is a thick bubbling porridge or gruel traditionally fed to sick sailors to help them recover. Oh, that sounds delicious. Oh, a lovely bowl of lo-lo-lo-lo. Right, anyway. So Nelson, when he goes under the knife, the thing he notices is how cold it is.
47:19So he then institutes a practice where they'd have to heat up the knife on board. So he cuts his left arm off. He's now, he's in agony for like five months because they don't, they leave a bit of string in or one of the threads doesn't heal properly. Oh, yeah. That's it. What is it? The surgeon accidentally ties a major nerve into the silk ligature along with the artery. Because the nerves are where you're going to get... The pain's all going to be. Yeah. So basically, every time he, like, moves... Ah! Fuck! Ah! So every movement of his stump sent shocks through his body until the thread eventually rotted.
47:56Christ. But within half an hour, he's back on board giving orders, soaked in his own blood. It's amazing. He's a fucking hero. Yeah. but he was obviously right-handed, so it meant that every wank he had from then on was a strange one. Oh, interesting. Very interesting. Wow, I wonder how good he got at it before he died. Well, it's also, think of poor Fanny. I mean, how's he meant to go, how's he meant to, you know, go around the back at all? Yes. You know? Put my fingers in my mouth. Well, I can give you a minute. Yes, yeah. One at a time. He can't one man band his wife. Sure, sure, sure. anyway he doesn't really care tis butter flesh wound and so he's back on the dock orders and very quickly the injury becomes you know he's the one-armed he's the one-armed captain but but nelson nelson has uh failed to board tenerife uh but as 1798 approaches there is a new mission for the heroic one-armed one-eyed bandit that is nelson because this is when it's hard to get across just how scared Britain was at this point because Napoleon's on the rise.
49:04Britain is not, doesn't have control of the seas fully at this point. No. And also, uh, our position in the Mediterranean is very spurious basically. Yes. So we feel, it feels like we feel vulnerable at the moment. Yes. And so Napoleon is, is not yet the ruler of France, but he's a rising general and talk is getting back of this, this whiz kid, this smelly autistic whiz kid with his stinking inky wife. Yeah. And into that maelstrom, Nelson will go looking for Napoleon's fleet. Yeah. In our next episode, the boys will go to Egypt. Yeah. And we will deal with the first titanic clash between our two protagonists.
49:45I mean, yeah. Oh, yeah. This is history 101. If this isn't history, then you can fuck off. I don't know what is. Yeah. That's already on the Patreon, where for three pounds a month, you get instant access to series. The first five parts of this epic Napoleonic Wars series are already there. But until then, goodbye! Goodbye!
50:19Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for$15 a month is back. so I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills but it turns out that's very illegal so there goes my big idea for the commercial give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch upfront payment of$45 for 3 months $90 for 6 months or$180 for 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy see terms
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You must hate the french like you hate the devil.
The Napoleonic Wars (Part Two)
The show for people who like history but don't care
what actually happened.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Who’s That Up There?
05:45 - They’re Noises
09:05 - Captain Suckling
12:09 - Jackass But Drama
16:54 - Dull As Dishwater
20:54 - Solid As A Rock
26:16 - A Ship of The Line
31:05 - He’s A Man Of Action
35:31 - He’s Got Big Balls
39:54 - Such A Bloke
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