Editing Battle of the Nile (section)

===Reaction===
Nelson's first set of dispatches were captured when ''Leander'' was intercepted and defeated by ''Généreux'' in a fierce engagement off the western shore of Crete [[Action of 18 August 1798|on 18 August 1798]].<ref name="NR460"/> As a result, reports of the battle did not reach Britain until Capel arrived in ''Mutine'' on 2 October,<ref name="WLC373">[[#Reference-Clowes|Clowes, p. 373]]</ref> entering the Admiralty at 11:15 and personally delivering the news to Lord Spencer,<ref name="OW147">[[#Reference-Warner|Warner, p. 147]]</ref> who collapsed unconscious when he heard the report.<ref name="EB212"/> Although Nelson had previously been castigated in the press for failing to intercept the French fleet, rumours of the battle had begun to arrive in Britain from the continent in late September and the news Capel brought was greeted with celebrations right across the country.<ref name="SM277">[[#Reference-Maffeo|Maffeo, p. 277]]</ref> Within four days Nelson had been elevated to Baron Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe, a title with which he was privately dissatisfied, believing his actions deserved better reward.<ref name="J&R219">[[#Reference-Jordan|Jordan, p. 219]]</ref> [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]] addressed the [[Parliament of Great Britain|Houses of Parliament]] on 20 November with the words:

{{Blockquote|The unexampled series of our naval triumphs has received fresh splendour from the memorable and decisive action, in which a detachment of my fleet, under the command of Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson, attacked, and almost totally destroyed a superior force of the enemy, strengthened by every advantage of situation. By this great and brilliant victory, an enterprise, of which the injustice, perfidy, and extravagance had fixed the attention of the world, and which was peculiarly directed against some of the most valuable interests of the British empire, has, in the first instance, been turned to the confusion of its authors and the blow thus given to the power and influence of France, has afforded an opening, which, if improved by suitable exertions on the part of other powers, may lead to the general deliverance of Europe.|King George III, quoted in [[William James (naval historian)|William James]]' ''The Naval History of Great Britain During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars'', Volume 2, 1827|<ref name=WJ186>[[#Reference-James|James, p. 186]]</ref>}}

Saumarez's convoy of prizes stopped first at Malta, where Saumarez provided assistance to a  rebellion on the island among the [[Maltese people|Maltese population]].<ref name="RG67">[[#Reference-Gardiner|Gardiner, p. 67]]</ref> It then sailed to Gibraltar, arriving on 18 October to the cheers of the garrison. Saumarez wrote that, "We can never do justice to the warmth of their applause, and the praises they all bestowed on our squadron." On 23 October, following the transfer of the wounded to the military hospital and provision of basic supplies, the convoy sailed on towards [[Lisbon]], leaving ''Bellerophon'' and ''Majestic'' behind for more extensive repairs.<ref name="JM21">[[#Reference-Musteen|Musteen, p. 20]]</ref> ''Peuple Souverain'' also remained at Gibraltar: The ship was deemed too badly damaged for the Atlantic voyage to Britain and so was converted to a guardship under the name of HMS ''Guerrier''.<ref name="WLC372"/> The remaining prizes underwent basic repairs and then sailed for Britain, spending some months at the [[Tagus]] and joining with the annual merchant convoy from Portugal in June 1799 under the escort of a squadron commanded by Admiral [[Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner|Sir Alan Gardner]],<ref name=WJ265>[[#Reference-James|James, p. 265]]</ref> before eventually arriving at [[Plymouth]]. Their age and battered state meant that neither ''Conquérant'' nor ''Aquilon'' were considered fit for active service in the Royal Navy and both were subsequently hulked, although they had been bought into the service for £20,000 (the equivalent of £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|.02|1799|r=1}}|0}} million as of {{Inflation/year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}} each as HMS ''Conquerant'' and HMS ''Aboukir'' to provide a financial reward to the crews that had captured them.<ref name="WJ185">[[#Reference-James|James, p. 185]]</ref> Similar sums were also paid out for ''Guerrier'', ''Mercure'', ''Heureux'' and ''Peuple Souverain'', while the other captured ships were worth considerably more. Constructed of Adriatic [[oak]], ''Tonnant'' had been  built in 1792 and ''Franklin'' and ''Spartiate'' were less than a year old. ''Tonnant'' and ''Spartiate'', both of which later fought at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]], joined the Royal Navy under their old names while ''Franklin'', considered to be "the finest two-decked ship in the world",<ref name="WJ185"/> was renamed HMS ''Canopus''.<ref name="RG39"/> The total value of the prizes captured at the Nile and subsequently bought into the Royal Navy was estimated at just over £130,000 (the equivalent of £{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|.13|1799|r=1}}|0}} million as of {{Inflation/year|UK}}).<ref name="JM21"/>

[[File:Battle of the Nile Medal Gold.png|thumb|right|Battle of the Nile Medal in Gold. Normally worn from a wide blue ribbon. Grades: 4, awarded by rank. Gold: awarded to Nelson and his captains. Silver: awarded to lieutenants and warrant officers. Copper-Gilt: awarded to petty officers. Bronzed copper: awarded to ratings, marines, etc.]]
Additional awards were presented to the British fleet: Nelson was awarded £2,000 (£{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|2000|1798|r=-4}}|0}} as of {{Inflation/year|UK}}) a year for life by the [[Parliament of Great Britain]] and £1,000 per annum by the [[Parliament of Ireland]],<ref name="WJ187"/> although the latter was inadvertently discontinued after the [[Act of Union 1800|Act of Union]] dissolved the Irish Parliament.<ref name="OW146">[[#Reference-Warner|Warner, p. 146]]</ref> Both parliaments gave unanimous votes of thanks, each captain who served in the battle was presented with a specially minted gold medal and the first lieutenant of every ship engaged in the battle was promoted to commander.<ref name="WLC373"/> Troubridge and his men, initially excluded, received equal shares in the awards after Nelson personally interceded for the crew of the stranded ''Culloden, ''even though they did not directly participate in the engagement.<ref name="WJ187"/> The [[Honourable East India Company]] presented Nelson with £10,000 (£{{Formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|10000|1798|r=-4}}|0}} as of {{Inflation/year|UK}}) in recognition of the benefit his action had on their holdings and the cities of [[London]], [[Liverpool]] and other municipal and corporate bodies made similar awards.<ref name="WJ187">[[#Reference-James|James, p. 187]]</ref> Nelson's own captains presented him with a sword and a portrait as "proof of their esteem." Nelson publicly encouraged this close bond with his officers and on 29 September 1798 described them as "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers", echoing [[William Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]''. From this grew the notion of the [[Nelsonic Band of Brothers]], a cadre of high-quality naval officers that served with Nelson for the remainder of his life.<ref name="ODNBBoB">{{cite ODNB |last=Lambert |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Lambert |title=Nelson's Band of Brothers (act. 1798) |year=2007 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/96379 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/96379 |access-date=21 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112230227/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/96379 |archive-date=12 November 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nearly five decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the [[Naval General Service Medal (1847)|Naval General Service Medal]], awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847.<ref name="LG4">{{London Gazette|issue=20939|pages=236–245|date=26 January 1849}}</ref>

[[File:Nelson crocodiles.jpg|thumb|''The Gallant Nellson bringing home two Uncommon fierce French Crocadiles from the Nile as a Present to the King'', [[James Gillray]], 1798, [[National Maritime Museum]]. The crocodiles represent Fox and Sheridan.|alt=An engraved print showing a man in a distinctive naval uniform dragging two crocodiles with human heads. To the right of the image a man in a peasant's smock cheers approvingly.]]
[[File:Victors of the Nile (with 15 cameo portraits of naval officers) (proof) RMG PY5670.jpg|thumb|right|'Victors of the Nile', a celebratory engraving published five years after the Battle of the Nile, depicting Nelson and his 14 captains.]]
Other rewards were bestowed by foreign states, particularly the [[Ottoman Emperor]] [[Selim III]], who made Nelson the first Knight Commander of the newly created [[Order of the Crescent]], and presented him with a [[chelengk]], a diamond studded rose, a sable fur and numerous other valuable presents. Tsar [[Paul I of Russia]] sent, among other rewards, a gold box studded with diamonds, and similar gifts in silver arrived from other European rulers.<ref name="RG40">[[#Reference-Gardiner|Gardiner, p. 40]]</ref> On his return to Naples, Nelson was greeted with a triumphal procession led by [[Ferdinand IV of Naples|King Ferdinand IV]] and Sir William Hamilton and was introduced for only the third time to Sir William's wife [[Emma, Lady Hamilton]], who fainted violently at the meeting,<ref name="RLA40">[[#Reference-Adkins|Adkins, p. 40]]</ref> and apparently took several weeks to recover from her injuries.<ref name="EB212">[[#Reference-Bradford|Bradford, p. 212]]</ref> Lauded as a hero by the Neapolitan court, Nelson was later to dabble in Neapolitan politics and become the Duke of Bronté, actions for which he was criticised by his superiors and his reputation suffered.<ref name="RG41">[[#Reference-Gardiner|Gardiner, p. 41]]</ref> British general [[John Moore (British Army officer)|John Moore]], who met Nelson in Naples at this time, described him as "covered with stars, medals and ribbons, more like a Prince of Opera than the Conqueror of the Nile."<ref name="PP135">[[#Reference-Padfield|Padfield, p. 135]]</ref>

Rumours of a battle first appeared in the French press as early as 7 August, although credible reports did not arrive until 26 August, and even these claimed that Nelson was dead and Bonaparte a British prisoner.<ref name="IG56">[[#Reference-Germani|Germani, p. 56]]</ref> When the news became certain, the French press insisted that the defeat was the result both of an overwhelmingly large British force and unspecified "traitors."<ref name="IG61"/> Among the anti-government journals in France, the defeat was blamed on the incompetence of the French Directory and on supposed lingering Royalist sentiments in the Navy.<ref name="IG63">[[#Reference-Germani|Germani, p. 63]]</ref> Villeneuve came under scathing attack on his return to France for his failure to support Brueys during the battle. In his defence, he pleaded that the wind had been against him and that Brueys had not issued orders for him to counterattack the British fleet.<ref name="NM275">[[#Reference-Mostert|Mostert, p. 275]]</ref> Writing many years later, Bonaparte commented that if the French Navy had adopted the same tactical principles as the British:

{{Blockquote|Admiral Villeneuve would not have thought himself blameless at Aboukir, for remaining inactive with five or six ships, that is to say, with half the squadron, for twenty four hours, whilst the enemy was overpowering the other wing.|Napoleon Bonaparte, ''Mémoires'', Volume 1, 1823. Quoted in translation in Noel Mostert's ''The Line Upon a Wind'', 2007<ref name="NM706">[[#Reference-Mostert|Mostert, p. 706]]</ref>}}

By contrast, the British press were jubilant; many newspapers sought to portray the battle as a victory for Britain over anarchy, and the success was used to attack the supposedly pro-republican [[Whig (British political party)|Whig]] politicians [[Charles James Fox]] and [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]].<ref name="IG67">[[#Reference-Germani|Germani, p. 67]]</ref>

In the United States, the outcome of the battle led President [[John Adams]] to pursue diplomacy with France to end the [[Quasi-War]], as the French naval defeat rendered the prospect of an invasion of the United States less likely.<ref>Herring, George C. (2008). ''From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 88. {{ISBN|978-0-19-972343-0}}. {{OCLC|299054528}}.</ref>

There has been extensive historiographical debate over the comparative strengths of the fleets, although they were ostensibly evenly matched in size, each containing 13 ships of the line.<ref name="JC108">[[#Reference-Cole|Cole, p. 108]]</ref> However, the loss of ''Culloden'', the relative sizes of ''Orient'' and ''Leander'' and the participation in the action by two of the French frigates and several smaller vessels, as well as the theoretical strength of the French position,<ref name="OW72"/> leads most historians to the conclusion that the French were marginally more powerful.<ref name="RLA23"/> This is accentuated by the [[weight of broadside]] of several of the French ships: ''Spartiate'', ''Franklin'', ''Orient'', ''Tonnant'' and ''Guillaume Tell'' were each significantly larger than any individual British ship in the battle.<ref name="WLC370"/> However inadequate deployment, reduced crews, and the failure of the rear division under Villeneuve to meaningfully participate, all contributed to the French defeat.<ref name="WJ179">[[#Reference-James|James, p. 179]]</ref>