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Continental System
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Continental System

European history
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Quick Facts
Date:
November 21, 1806 - c. 1814
Major Events:
Milan Decree
Key People:
Napoleon I
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Continental System, in the Napoleonic wars, the blockade designed by Napoleon to paralyze Great Britain through the destruction of British commerce. The decrees of Berlin (November 21, 1806) and Milan (December 17, 1807) proclaimed a blockade: neutrals and French allies were not to trade with the British.

The Continental System hurt English industries and helped spur the Luddite protest movement against unemployment in England. Although it stimulated manufacturing in some parts of France, the system damaged regions dependent on overseas commerce. Because the British had an overwhelming superiority at sea, though, enforcing the system proved disastrous for Napoleon. His efforts to halt evasions of his blockade stretched French forces too thin, and ultimately provoked his calamitous invasion of Russia in 1812.

England responded to the Continental System with Orders in Council that subjected France and all countries in alliance with Napoleon to a counterblockade. These orders were one of the main causes of the Anglo-American War of 1812.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.