War is declared on France, following the increasing precariousness of the peace that had been in place informally since 1801 and formally since March 1802, and the British sense that Napoleon was using the peace as a means of strengthening his position so as to make further attacks on Britain. In declaring war Britain was entirely on its own and faced the full might of Napoleon’s armed forces encamped on the other side of the channel until the autumn of 1805.

See The Times, 25 May 1803.