Abc-Clio - Continental System
From ABC-CLIO (original source)
Continental System
One of Europe's most storied leaders, Napoleon I is remembered for his dramatic victories as the leader of France, conquering large swathes of Europe until his ultimate downfall following the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Despite his military prowess, Napoleon was never able to conquer the United Kingdom, his archrival to the north. As Europe's most successful economic power and the nation with the most powerful navy in the world, Britain relied on its trade with foreign nations to fuel its own economy. In an effort to undermine his rival, Napoleon initiated the Continental System, a wide-ranging system of tariffs and embargoes against Britain. The Continental System ultimately had a far more negative impact on France, however, much to the chagrin of its illustrious emperor.
Origins of the Continental System
Hostilities between France and Britain had boiled for many centuries, but the French Revolution, with its antimonarchical republican values and extreme violence, initiated a new low in relations between those two nations. Fearful of republican ideology spreading to its shores, Britain was staunchly opposed to the French Revolution from its inception, and as the French Army began its conquest of Europe, the island nation sought allies in its struggle against France.
By 1799, Napoleon had used the support of the military to overthrow the French Directory and effectively take full control of the nation; the French coup d'état of 1799 established the French Consulate as the new government of France, with Napoleon assuming the ultimate executive position of first consul. Meanwhile, French armies successfully conquered the Papal States, Sardinia-Piedmont, and Switzerland, and even occupied Ottoman Egypt for three years. Such conservative forces on the European continent as Austria and Russia shared Britain's fears and quaked at the thought of French invasion. They knew that the French would not only bring
Continental System
One of Europe's most storied leaders, Napoleon I is remembered for his dramatic victories as the leader of France, conquering large swathes of Europe until his ultimate downfall following the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Despite his military prowess, Napoleon was never able to conquer the United Kingdom, his archrival to the north. As Europe's most successful economic power and the nation with the most powerful navy in the world, Britain relied on its trade with foreign nations to fuel its own economy. In an effort to undermine his rival, Napoleon initiated the Continental System, a wide-ranging system of tariffs and embargoes against Britain. The Continental System ultimately had a far more negative impact on France, however, much to the chagrin of its illustrious emperor.
Origins of the Continental System
Hostilities between France and Britain had boiled for many centuries, but the French Revolution, with its antimonarchical republican values and extreme violence, initiated a new low in relations between those two nations. Fearful of republican ideology spreading to its shores, Britain was staunchly opposed to the French Revolution from its inception, and as the French Army began its conquest of Europe, the island nation sought allies in its struggle against France.
By 1799, Napoleon had used the support of the military to overthrow the French Directory and effectively take full control of the nation; the French coup d'état of 1799 established the French Consulate as the new government of France, with Napoleon assuming the ultimate executive position of first consul. Meanwhile, French armies successfully conquered the Papal States, Sardinia-Piedmont, and Switzerland, and even occupied Ottoman Egypt for three years. Such conservative forces on the European continent as Austria and Russia shared Britain's fears and quaked at the thought of French invasion. They knew that the French would not only bring