Continental System

The Continental System (French blocus continental, English continental system) was decreed in Berlin by Napoleon on November 21, 1806 economic blockade of the British Isles, which remained in force until 1814. The " continental system " should force Britain with the means of economic warfare in the knee. In addition, these measures should protect the French economy against European and transatlantic competition.

Survey

The Continental System was Napoleon's response to a previous British naval blockade of the French coast. The occasion was the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, which resulted in Napoleon annexation plans in the United Kingdom dropped and the future confrontation moved to the continent. Napoleon wanted as completely ban trade and the import and export of Great Britain with the continent; he told him. In the areas controlled by France British goods were seized and British traders prosecuted by the police.

Towards the end of 1807 expanded the Napoleon 's continental blockade also affects the neutral shipping. More gradual tightening followed. With the decree of Trianon August 5, 1810, Napoleon was raise a fifty percent tax on all imported products, no matter where they came from.

The Napoleonic protectionism ( protecting its own economic space ) added to British trade ultimately to no decisive damage. Great Britain opened up new markets, especially in North America. On the other hand suffered the damage continental economy, especially in France and its client states. Only portions of the local economy experienced the desired recovery, such as textiles and silk trade. Although the German textile industry in France since 1801 Rhineland and partly in Saxony also benefited from the elimination of the British competition. As a result of the abrupt discontinuation of protectionism after 1813, these commercial areas, however, were henceforth subjected to a strong economic pressure to adjust, especially since they were technically against the already industrializing Britain lagging behind.

Another downside of the blockade policy was the heyday of smuggling. Napoleon therefore tried to get as all coastal areas of Western Europe under his direct or indirect rule. The Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France from March 16, 1810 the former completely Zealand with the island Schouwen, Brabant and funds had to give up on the left bank of the Waal. On 1 July 1810, the King of Holland, Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte urged to resign his crown, which then moved by the Decree of 9 July 1810, Association of the Kingdom of Holland with France to be. Since British imports continued to achieve the continent, especially on the crown colony of Helgoland, said the French Emperor that he must take the whole coast of the North Sea under his supervision. On December 13, 1810 areas at the mouths of the Ems, Weser and Elbe, together with the Hanseatic cities of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck were annexed by France. Napoleon disobeyed with the annexation of the Duchy of Oldenburg, the Duchy of Arenberg - Meppen and the Principality of Salm, the existing Act of Confederation, whose international legal provisions implicitly require the consent of the affected sovereigns.

The Continental System was a political instrument that was in many areas enforceable only by military force and flächendeckendem military use. Russia was persuaded in 1807 by Napoleon's pressure to comply with the Continental System; the ( allied with Britain ) The Kingdom is not Portugal. Napoleon undertook since 1808 several ( ultimately unsuccessful ) attempts to conquer Portugal. 1810 Napoleon authorized the French traders again a restricted and reinforced with royalties trade with Britain. In the same year, Russia withdrew from the Continental System, which Napoleon to attack Russia in 1812 prompted.

Added to this was that the continental blockade dissatisfaction in the occupied territories, especially fueled where one was dependent on the relation of British goods or colonial goods and / or on export to Great Britain: The latter was the immediate from 1810 about the metal industry and the textile production at the German - French customs border located Grand Duchy of Berg the case. The northern German port cities found themselves severely affected by the barrier due to the decline of the shipping industry and capital outflows to the UK. For example, the trading of bulk commodities such as timber and grain between Britain and Germany broke down completely. In many places, social unrest were the result. The Napoleonic rule system was thus not directly threatened, its acceptance, however, was severely damaged as a result of the Continental System in an ideological sense.