History of the Royal Navy efficiency, dominating the navies of all Britain's adversaries. Initially Britain did not involve itself in the French Revolution, but in 1793 France declared war, leading to the Glorious First of June battle in the following year off Brest, followed by the capture of French colonies in the Caribbean. The Dutch Republic declared war in 1795 and Spain in 1796, on the side of France. Further action came in 1797 and 1798, with the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay), which brought Admiral Horatio Nelson to the public's
Action of 18 August 1798 the battle, Captain Thomas Thompson of "Leander" abandoned the stranded "Culloden" and joined the second wave of attack against the French centre, focusing fire on the bow of the 120-gun French first rate "Orient". Within an hour, "Orient" caught fire under the combined attack of three ships and later exploded, effectively concluding the engagement in Nelson's favour. During the next two days, the lightly damaged "Leander" was employed in forcing the surrender of several grounded French vessels, and by the afternoon of 3 August Nelson was in complete control of Aboukir Bay. Only four French ships, two ships of the