Continental blockade: creation, consequences, end –

continental blockade was an act drawn up by the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte aimed at harming the economy of England. Countries dominated by France were prohibited from trading English products, and their ports could not receive ships coming from England. However, not all countries joined the blockade, like Portugal and Russia.

The Portuguese maintained commercial relations with England, and Napoleon ordered his troops to invade Portugal. This caused the royal family to move to Brazil. The Continental Blockade ended in 1813, at the end of the Napoleonic Era.

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Summary on Continental Blockade

• The Continental Blockade was created in 1806 by the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who intended to isolate England from European trade, harming its economy.

• Some countries have not joined the blockade. They were:

• By not breaking commercial relations with the British, in 1808, the Portuguese royal family decided to move to Brazil, fleeing the Napoleonic troops.

• The end of the Continental Blockade occurred in 1813, with the end of Napoleonic France’s dominance over Europe.

How was the creation of the Continental Blockade?

Napoleon Bonaparte came to power in France in 1804. Upon becoming emperor, he clashed with other European countries, expanding France’s dominance over much of the continent. The emperor secured his influence by making various alliances and appointing friends and family to command the dominated countries. In the context of the expansion of French rule, the Napoleon’s main enemy was England.

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In the early 19th century, the British dominated Europe’s economy. The pioneering spirit of industrialization guaranteed England full control of European trade. In addition, the English navy was strong and guaranteed national protection against enemy attacks.

Since coming to power in France, Napoleon had focused his efforts on destroying the British so that France could establish itself as the leading European power. Not being able to attack it by sea, the French emperor had to exercise his dominion over European countries to reach England through the economy.

On November 21, 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte signed the decree that created the Continental Blockade. Through this act, the countries of Europe under French rule were forbidden to maintain commercial relations with England and to receive English ships in its ports. Napoleon believed that the blockade would ruin the English economy and ensure France’s economic development as well as her complete dominance over Europe.

Despite the Napoleonic order, some countries did not join the blockade. They were:

• Portugal;

• Austria;

• Russia.

It is important to highlight that O failure to comply with the order would cause the invasion of the dissident by French troops. This happened to Portugal in 1808, which forced the royal family to flee to their colony in America.

Continental blockade and the transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil

Portugal maintained a close commercial relationship with England during the blockade. The Portuguese kingdom was commanded by the Prince Regent Dom João VI at the time. When he received the decree regarding the Continental Blockade, the prince did not adhere to what was ordered. As a consequence, Napoleon ordered French troops to invade the Portuguese kingdom.

Spain, Portugal’s neighbor, facilitated the passage of French troops. In 1808, Dom João VI and the Portuguese royal family embarked for Brazil, transferring his Court to South America. For the first time, the seat of a European kingdom was allocated in a colony. The transfer of the royal family to Brazil was protected by English ships.

A Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil it was advantageous for England. Brazil was a consumer market to be explored, and Dom João VI’s trip to the colony would be a opportunity to expand the English market in America. In this way, England could oppose the advance of the United States, its former colonists, on the American continent.

Landing in Rio de Janeiro, capital of the colony, Dom João VI signed a decree ordering the opening of Brazilian ports to friendly nations. In this way, the Colonial Pact, that is, the exclusive Portuguese domain over the Brazilian economy, was broken. The opening of ports made it possible for new European products to enter the Brazilian market.

England was the main beneficiary of this act by Dom João VI. Less taxes were charged on English products that entered Brazilian soil, which made them very profitable for their exporters.

→ Video lesson on the arrival of the royal family in Brazil

End of the Continental Blockade

You Russians also broke the Continental Blockade, in 1812. As with Portugal, Napoleon Bonaparte ordered his troops to invade Russia. The combat between the two enemies was exhausting, and the freezing climate of the region contributed to this wear and tear. French troops defeated the Russians in the Battle of Moscow, but the Russian winter and the difficulty in obtaining food and other supplies meant that France was defeated.

A Defeat in the war against Russia was decisive for the end of the Napoleonic Era. The French Emperor was exiled to the island of Elba in 1814, ending his rule over Europe, which ended the Continental Blockade. In this way, European countries resumed trading with England.

See too: Congress of Vienna — geopolitical organization of Europe after the defeat of Napoleon

What were the consequences of the Continental Blockade?

Despite the Continental Blockade being directly linked to the actions of European countries, its consequences reached the American continent. By invading Spain and Portugal, the Napoleonic troops dethroned monarchies absolutists, which controlled the Latin American colonies. The settlers took advantage of the power vacuum in the Iberian Peninsula to articulate their respective independence processes.

The Portuguese royal family came to Brazil in 1808 because of non-compliance with the blockade and the invasion of French troops. The presence of Dom João VI in national territory directly contributed to the Grito do Ipiranga and the peaceful occurrence of the process of independence of Brazil constitute the Empire of Brazil.

Solved Exercises on Continental Blockade

question 1

(IFSC 2015) In 1806, the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte announced the Continental Blockade of England, establishing that no European country could trade with the British. The king of Portugal, pressured by the liberal wave of the French Revolution and supported by England, fled to the Portuguese colony in America to wait for the situation to normalize.

Regarding the presence of the Portuguese royal family in Brazil, it is CORRECT to state that:

A) The Farroupilha Revolution, which took place in southern Brazil, had as its main objective to expel the Portuguese Court and proclaim the independence of the American colony.

B) Salvador was elevated to the status of capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal and Algarves, becoming the largest political, economic and cultural center of the colony.

C) The presence of the Portuguese Court in Brazil, exercising an absolutist and conservative government, contributed to delaying the Independence of Brazil, since the administrative and economic improvements left the Brazilian liberal elite satisfied.

D) Arriving in Brazil, D. João VI immediately tried to fulfill his promise to the British and decreed the opening of the ports, in 1808, for friendly nations to trade directly with the colony.

E) In 1821, the French were expelled from Portugal and D. João VI was called to assume the Portuguese throne, but he preferred to stay in Brazil. This fact became known as Dia do Fico.

Resolution:

Alternative D

The arrival of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil was supported by England. Because of this, Dom João VI signed a decree opening Brazilian ports to friendly nations, which benefited the trade of English products.

question 2

(Unesp 2011) Article 5 — Trade in English goods is prohibited, and any goods belonging to England or coming from its factories and colonies are declared good prey

(…) Article 7 — No vessel coming directly from England or the English colonies, or having been there since the publication of this decree, shall be received at any port.

Article 8 – Any vessel which, by means of a declaration, contravenes the above provision, shall be seized, and the ship and her cargo shall be confiscated as if they were English property.

Excerpt from the Continental Blockade, Napoleon Bonaparte. Quoted by Kátia M. de Queirós Mattoso. Texts and documents for the study of contemporary history (1789–1963), 1977.

These articles of the Continental Blockade, decreed by the Emperor of France in 1806, allow us to notice the French disposition of

A) stimulate the autonomy of the English colonies in America, which would come to depend more on their internal trade.

B) prevent England from negotiating with France new legislation for trade in Europe and colonial areas.

C) provoke the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil, through the military occupation of the Iberian Peninsula.

D) expand the action of English corsairs in the north of the Atlantic Ocean and expand French hegemony in European seas.

E) economically weaken England, then in the process of industrialization, limiting its trade with the rest of Europe.

Resolution:

Alternative E

As he could not defeat England in combat, Napoleon decided to attack it with economic sanctions through the Continental Blockade, which prohibited European countries from trading English products.

By Carlos Cesar Higa
History teacher