Continental System of Napoleon
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The Continental System was an attempt of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte to economically damage Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. Through the Continental blockade, he had planned to destroy the democracy, trade, and economy of Britain. When the British and its allies stopped trade ships from exporting to France, the Continental System of Napoleon was initiated as an attempt to revive and reshape the French economy and its export market.
Continental System Definition and History
The Berlin Decree of November 1806 and the Decree of Milan in December 1807 ordered all French allies and countries who wanted to be considered neutral, to stop all trade with the British. This trade embargo was given the name ‘Continental Blockade’ because of Napoleon’s objective to cut Britain off from the entire continent of mainland Europe. This trade embargo was countered by Britain with the Orders in Council which led to the War of 1812 with the USA. After these declarations both Britain and France kept trying to block each other.
The Continental System was declared by Napoleon at a time when a third of British exports were going to Europe. He believed that Britain was on the brink of a collapse and a damaged trade would cause drastic effects like draining its bullion, causing inflation, crippling the economy, and leading to both a revolution as well as a political collapse. Napoleon's Continental System was designed to put an end to British subsidies going to his enemies.
Why Did the Continental System Fail?
The system was not a success because for it to work, it needed to be applied for a longer duration over the continent. Due to the fluctuating wars, the system was truly effective in mid-1807-08, and mid-1810-12. During the gap years, British goods flooded out of the country.
The British exports stayed competitive because South America was also opened to Britain as it had helped Spain and Portugal. In 1810-12 although Britain suffered depression, it didn’t affect the war effort. Napoleon licensed limited sales to Britain hoping to ease the gluts in French production and sent grain to Britain during their worst harvest war years. Thus, the Continental System failed to cripple Britain.
Napoleon had hoped that the ‘Continental System’ will prove beneficial to France as it would limit where countries could export and import to. He believed that this would turn France into a rich production hub and would make the rest of Europe dependent on others economically. However, this system helped a few regions but also damaged some regions like Italy where the silk manufacturing industry was almost finished as all silk was sent to France for production. Most of the ports and their hinterlands in Italy also suffered damage.
The system has been recorded in history as one of Napoleon’s first great judgment errors. He alienated several regions of his conquered territory through the system. France and other allies of Napoleon who depended on trade with Britain were economically damaged for only a meager production increase in some areas of France. With its dominant navy, Britain was far more effective in blockading France and thwarted its attempts to cripple the country.
With time, Napoleon’s blockade enforcement efforts led to more war, one of the prominent ones being the attempt to stop Portugal from trading with Britain. This caused the French invasion, the Peninsular War, the catastrophic Continental System French revolution, and the French attack on Russia. The system could have been successful in harming Britain if it was fully and properly implemented. Since there were lacunas in its implementation, it caused more harm to Napoleon himself than to his enemy, Britain.
Was the Continental System Successful?
No, it was not successful as it was not implemented properly by Napoleon. The Continental System of Napoleon caused more harm to him than he had intended to cause to Britain. He wanted to weaken Britain’s economy through trade curbs between Britain and French allied states. However, this strategy proved ineffective and this is why the system is also considered one of Napoleon’s great miscalculations.
Continental System Facts and After-Effects
One of the reasons behind the failure of the system was that the trade embargo was effective intermittently only for about half the time and it failed to cause any economic damage to Great Britain. In fact, it encouraged British merchants to indulge in smuggling with continental Europe and to look out for new markets. The custom enforcers of Napoleon were exclusively land-based and could not stop British smugglers, most of whom were working with Napoleon’s chosen rulers of Westphalia, Spain, and other German states.
The effects of the system on the British trade were a mix of good and bad. A prominent Continental System significance was that although British exports to the Continent fell between 25% to 55% in comparison to pre-1806 levels, their trade with the rest of the world increased sharply. This more than made up for their trade deficit. The British counter-attack on the system was their threat to sink any ship that chose to be allied with France or did not come to a British port. This double threat proved difficult for nations like the United States who were neutral. The system formally ended in 1814, after the first abdication of Napoleon.
FAQs on The Continental System
1. What exactly was the Continental System initiated by Napoleon?
The Continental System was a large-scale economic blockade of Great Britain, implemented by Napoleon Bonaparte starting in 1806. Its primary goal was to cripple the British economy by cutting it off from trade with the rest of Europe. Napoleon forbade his allies and all neutral nations from trading with Britain, aiming to cause social and economic collapse that would force Britain to seek peace on his terms.
2. What were the key decrees that established the Continental System?
The system was formally established through two main decrees:
- The Berlin Decree (1806): This initiated the blockade by forbidding the import of British goods into any European country allied with or dependent on France.
- The Milan Decree (1807): This strengthened the system by authorising French warships and privateers to capture any neutral ship that had traded with Britain or submitted to a British naval search.
3. What was the primary objective of the Continental System?
The main objective was to wage economic warfare against Great Britain. After his navy was defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar, Napoleon could not invade Britain directly. Instead, he aimed to destroy its economy, which was heavily reliant on exports to Europe. By cutting off this trade, he hoped to cause mass unemployment, inflation, and political instability in Britain, forcing it out of the Napoleonic Wars.
4. How did Great Britain retaliate against the Continental System?
Great Britain retaliated with its own powerful counter-blockade through a series of laws known as the Orders in Council. These orders required all neutral ships to stop at a British port and pay duties before they could trade with France or its allies. This effectively put neutral nations in an impossible position, as complying with one side meant being seized by the other, severely disrupting global trade.
5. Why is the Continental System considered a major factor in Napoleon's downfall?
The Continental System is considered a key strategic error that contributed significantly to Napoleon's downfall for several reasons:
- Overstretching the Empire: Enforcing the system required constant military action and control over a vast coastline, which drained French resources.
- Provoking Conflicts: It led to costly wars, most notably the Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal, and was a primary reason for the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 after the Tsar withdrew from the system.
- Fueling Nationalism: The economic hardship it caused in allied and conquered territories turned local populations against French rule, strengthening nationalist movements. This is a key theme discussed in The Rise of Nationalism in Europe.
6. What were the consequences of the Continental System for the rest of Europe?
For European nations, the consequences were severe and mostly negative. Port cities that relied on trade with Britain, like those in Holland and Italy, faced economic ruin. While some industries in France saw a temporary benefit from reduced competition, the lack of British goods and colonial products like sugar and coffee led to widespread smuggling, shortages, and popular resentment against French control.
7. How did the Continental System lead directly to the Peninsular War?
The Peninsular War began as a direct result of Napoleon's efforts to enforce the Continental System. Portugal, a long-standing ally of Britain, refused to stop trading with them. To force compliance, Napoleon sent his army through Spain to invade Portugal in 1807. He then deposed the Spanish king in 1808, which triggered a massive and prolonged popular uprising across Spain, starting the brutal Peninsular War that drained France of troops and money for years.
8. Did any part of the European economy benefit from the Continental System?
While largely a failure, the system did create a few unintended economic benefits for continental Europe. With British goods blocked, certain domestic industries were protected from competition and grew. For example, the sugar beet industry was developed to replace cane sugar from British colonies, and some textile and iron industries in France and Belgium expanded. However, these small gains were overshadowed by the immense economic disruption and political fallout.
9. How did the Continental System affect countries outside of Europe, like the United States?
The Continental System and Britain's counter-blockade had a major impact on the United States. As a neutral trading nation, American ships were seized by both the French for trading with Britain and the British for trading with France. The British policy of impressing American sailors into the Royal Navy, combined with these trade disruptions, created immense tension and was a primary cause of the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain.
