Where Is The Line 'Oceans Are Now Battlefields' From? Memes About The Naval Film Quote Explained

The early aughts movie Master and Commander saw Russel Croew playing Jack Aubrey, a captain in the British Royal Navy, as he fights off an imminent overseas invasion from Napolean's French forces. The swashbuckling film was Fox executive Tom Rothman's passion project and was partly filmed on real boats on the open seas.

But while the film may have been only a moderate hit commercially, it was nominated for 10 Oscars and even won some. But the film had been relegated to the fringes of popular culture for 20 years, with nary an attempt to grant it the "cult classic" status many well-made movies only achieve long after their release. That is, until the pandemic seemingly reignited interest in the film, eventually leading to a person getting the film's opening statement tattooed on his back.

Here's the origin of the quote "Napoleon is master of Europe, only the British fleet stands before him, oceans are now battlefields," and a recap of the path it took to become enshrined in meme history.

Where Does The Quote 'Oceans Are Not Battlefields' Come From?

The film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was released on November 14th, 2003. The movie was about the Napoleonic wars and featured Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, a captain in the Royal Navy, and Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin, the ship's surgeon.

Despite the film's critical success, it wasn't until December 2020 that people began making jokes and memes about Master and Commander. On September 21st, X user @stephensajdak wrote, "First time watching this one… are you guys aware that oceans are now battlefields?" while X user @notabigjerk tweeted a similar image to make an "if you play this song on New Year's Eve" joke.

April – 1805
Napoleon is master of Europe
Only the British fleet stands before him
Oceans are now battlefields

How Is The Phrase 'Oceans Are Now Battlefields' Used In Memes?

Interest in the film Master and Commander continued to grow in the early 2020s, with X user @growing_daniel joking about how "a low key kind of guy is a Master and Commander guy. They’re probably in your life and you don’t know it but if that movie comes up they light up."

In late January 2023, X user @JamColley posted an image of Russel Crowe alongside the phrase "which means the oceans are now battlefields."

But, arguably, the phrase wasn't a bonafide meme until Instagram tattoo artist nickcolella posted an image of his client. His tattoo spells out the entire opening text from the film, in the same serif font and kerning, plastered across the upper back of a hopefully happy customer.

What Are Some More 'Oceans Are Battlefields' Memes?

For the full history of "Oceans are now battlefields," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.