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Only one vessel was sunk. The rest were captured. In those days, sailors were paid by the ships captured (called prizes) and then sold at auction. Sinking them in battle was lost monies.

When ships became steel instead of wood, they no longer could be captured and sold at auction for prize money; with the exception of the Battle of Tsushima in 1905; that was the last time in history in which a battleship FLEET surrendered upon the high seas. But those were steel battleships and they were retained for use, and the others had sunk in battle.

At Trafalgar, wooden ships were captured.

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15y ago

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