The Battle of Trafalgar, (French: le bataille de Trafalgar, Spanish: la batalla de Trafalgar) fought on 21 October 1805, was the most significant naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars and the pivotal naval battle of the 19th century. A Royal Navy fleet of 27 ships of the line under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson destroyed a combined French and Spanish fleet consisting of 33 ships of the line west of Cape Trafalgar in southwest Spain. The Franco-Spanish lost 22 ships, the British none.