No wonder no one bothers to learn history.

The British are celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar with a re-enactment of the battle which doesn't mention the British fleet, the French/Spanish fleet...or Trafalgar.

Organisers of a re-enactment to mark the bicentenary of the battle next month have decided it should be between “a Red Fleet and a Blue Fleet” not British and French/Spanish forces.

Otherwise they fear visiting dignitaries, particularly the French, would be embarrassed at seeing their side routed.

Even the official literature has been toned down. It describes the re-enactment not as the battle of Trafalgar but simply as “an early 19th-century sea battle”.

I suppose it would be bad form to mention Napoleon, too. Maybe the Napoleonic Wars were all about the British aggressing against the poor guy. They will "feature" Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, but perhaps they'll gloss over his relationship with Emma Hamilton. Maybe he is acceptable because he was handicapped/differently abled/had special needs/maimed:

Nelson lost the sight in his right eye during the Siege of Calvi in 1794, and his right arm was amputated after it was shattered by gunfire during the battle of Santa Cruz at the island of Tenerife in 1797....Nelson's most famous victory was also his undoing: at Trafalgar he was mortally wounded on the deck of his ship HMS Victory.

Apparently the Queen will be attending. I suppose that over the years she has developed a keen sense of farce.

I wonder how they'll celebrate the 200th anniversary of the liberation of Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen.

Anyway, Andrew Porter has the story in the Sunday Times of London.

Thanks to The Corner on National Review Online for the lead.