The Trade War Between France and the UK in History
The Continental System was announced by Napoleon on November 21, 1806, in Berlin, aiming to ban all British goods from landing on the European continent, and the measures were expanded in 1807. This was Britain's economic blockade policy, which ended in 1814. Napoleon intended to use economic warfare to make Britain submit.
After the Battle of Trafalgar, the British inflicted a devastating blow on the combined French and Spanish fleets, [2] leaving France unable to launch a cross-channel campaign. Napoleon could only refocus his ambitions on the European continent. Therefore, he chose to use economic means. To completely cut off Britain's trade in Europe, he ordered a ban on shipping bound for or coming from the British Isles.
However, Britain still had the Americas and its overseas colonies as trading partners, and although its economy was affected, it could still sustain itself. In contrast, many countries on the European continent at that time had a certain demand for British goods and also needed to sell their raw materials to Britain for money. As a result, Napoleon's economic blockade policy caused widespread dissatisfaction, leading to a surge in smuggling. Even governments of various countries secretly participated in and allowed smuggling trade. Napoleon had to go to great lengths to maintain the enforcement of the Continental System through various means of war or peace.
Russia, which had close economic ties with France, initially agreed to cooperate with the economic blockade against Britain, but the Russian government soon found that the blockade also put pressure on Russia's own economy. The nobles and landlords could not export the raw materials from their estates to Britain. Therefore, the Russian government first relaxed the economic blockade against Britain by allowing neutral ships to enter Russian ports, and later simply refused to continue cooperating with the blockade. As a result, British goods broke through the Continental System and flooded into the European continent, triggering the Russo-French War of 1812.
It was precisely France's embargo that forced Britain to turn its attention back to Asia, Africa, and the Americas, while also accelerating the pace of Britain's industrialization.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829474737498122/
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