The Battle of Pulau Aur | France's Trafalgar in Malay waters

Описание: The battle of Pulau Aur was a naval ruse that could easily have come from the plot of the movie 'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'. Every year, thousands of tourists converge on Pulau Tioman off Malaysia's east coast to swim, to dive, and to bask in the sun. Yet few of them realize that just a short distance away to the southeast, beyond the horizon, one of the most remarkable battles in naval history took place. In February 1804, off the nearby island of Pulau Aur, one of the most astonishing naval encounters of the Napoleonic Wars unfolded. A convoy of British East Indiamen -merchant ships heavy with treasure but without Royal Navy escort — faced down a powerful French squadron of five warships led by Admiral Charles-Alexandre Linois aboard the 74-gun Marengo.

Against all odds, Commodore Nathaniel Dance used guile, deception, and sheer audacity to convince the French they were facing a formidable British battle squadron. What followed became France’s Trafalgar in Malay waters - a battle lost not by broadsides, but by sheer bluff.

This video tells the full story of the Battle of Pulo Aura, from the stakes of Britain’s Asian trade and Napoleon’s global ambitions, to the daring ruse that saved £8 million in cargo and secured Britain’s dominance of the seas around Malaya. This set the stage for the gunboat diplomacy that Britain later employed to control the whole of the Malay Peninsula.

If you enjoy tales of sea battles, empires, and the overlooked histories of Southeast Asia, this video is for you.

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References:

Clowes, William Laird (1997) [1900]. The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume V. Chatham Publishing.

James, William (2002) [1827]. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3, 1800–1805. Conway Maritime Press.

London Gazette, No. 15726, 7 August 1804, pp. 955–956

Marryat, Frederick [183]. Newton Forster or, the Merchant Service. James Cochrane

Parkinson, C. Northcote (1954). War in the Eastern Seas, 1793–1815. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd

Rodger, N.A.M. The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649–1815. Penguin/Allen Lane, 2004



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