Continental System

E9827

The Continental System was Napoleon Bonaparte’s large-scale economic blockade strategy aimed at weakening Britain by prohibiting European trade with the United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Napoleonic policy
economic blockade policy
trade embargo
affected European merchants
continental manufacturing
neutral shipping
aimedTo force Britain to negotiate peace
undermine British naval power
weaken British trade
alsoKnownAs Continental Blockade
Système continental
announcedBy Napoleon I of France
announcedIn Berlin
appliedDuring Napoleonic Wars
contributedTo Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812
Peninsular War
counteredBy British Orders in Council
British naval blockade of Europe
countryOfOrigin France
endDate 1814
enforcedBy French customs authorities
French navy
continental allies of France
geographicalScope French Empire
French client states
allies of Napoleonic France
continental Europe
hasKeyFigure Napoleon Bonaparte
historicalAssessment damaging to French allies
largely ineffective in defeating Britain
initiatedBy Napoleon Bonaparte
ledTo economic hardship in continental Europe
smuggling on a large scale
tensions between France and Russia
legalBasis Berlin Decree
Milan Decree
opposedBy Portugal
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
policyType economic warfare
protectionist trade policy
primaryTarget British economy
United Kingdom
prohibited European ports from receiving British ships
import of British goods into Europe
re-export of colonial goods carried by Britain
relatedTo economic warfare in the Napoleonic era
startDate 1806


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