Nelson's pursuit and Villeneuve's choices

Nelson tried to lure Villeneuve out of Toulon, but his frigates lost contact just as the maneuver began to work. A Spanish merchant then warned Villeneuve of the British position, sending the French admiral toward Cartagena, Cadiz, and the West Indies instead of Nelson's trap. Conflicting reports drew Nelson south from Barbados even though the one report pointing north might have brought him into contact with the allied fleet. Villeneuve, meanwhile, abandoned his Caribbean orders after hearing that Nelson had arrived and sailed for Europe one day before Nelson reached Antigua. The chase is a compact case study in how merchants, scouts, delayed reports, and an admiral's assumptions could redirect fleets across an ocean.