What is "continental system"

Continental \Con`ti*nen"tal\, a.

1. Of or pertaining to a continent.

2. Of or pertaining to the main land of Europe, in distinction from the adjacent islands, especially England; as, a continental tour; a continental coalition.
   --Macaulay.

   No former king had involved himself so frequently in the labyrinth of continental alliances.
   --Hallam.

3. (Amer. Hist.) Of or pertaining to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War; as, Continental money.

   The army before Boston was designated as the Continental army, in contradistinction to that under General Gage, which was called the ``Ministerial army.''
   --W. Irving.

   Continental Congress. See under Congress.

   Continental system (Hist.), the blockade of Great Britain ordered by Napoleon by the decree of Berlin, Nov. 21, 1806; the object being to strike a blow at the maritime and commercial supremacy of Great Britain, by cutting her off from all intercourse with the continent of Europe.

Continental system \Continental system\ (Hist.) The system of commercial blockade aiming to exclude England from commerce with the Continent instituted by the

Berlin decree, which Napoleon I. issued from Berlin Nov. 21, 1806, declaring the British Isles to be in a state of blockade, and British subjects, property, and merchandise subject to capture, and excluding British ships from all parts of Europe under French dominion. The retaliatory measures of England were followed by the

Milan decree, issued by Napoleon from Milan Dec. 17, 1807, imposing further restrictions, and declaring every ship going to or from a port of England or her colonies to be lawful prize.

The Continental System or Continental Blockade (known in French as Blocus continental) was the foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against Great Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. As a response to the naval blockade of the French coasts enacted by the British government on 16 May 1806, Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree on 21 November 1806, which brought into effect a large-scale embargo against British trade. The embargo was effective intermittently for about half the time. It ended on 11 April 1814 after Napoleon's first abdication. In terms of economic damage to Great Britain, the blockade was largely ineffective. As Napoleon realized that extensive trade was going through Spain and Russia, he invaded those two countries. His forces were tied down in Spain — in which the Spanish War of Independence was occurring simultaneously — and suffered severely in, and ultimately retreated from, Russia in 1812.

The Berlin Decree forbade the import of British goods into European countries allied with or dependent upon France, and installed the Continental System in Europe. All connections were to be cut, even the mail. British merchants smuggled in many goods and the Continental System was not a powerful weapon of economic war. There was some damage to British trade, especially in 1808 and 1811, but its control of the oceans led to replacement trade with North and South America, as well as large scale smuggling in Europe. The loss of Britain as a trading partner also hit the economies of France and its allies. Angry governments gained an incentive to ignore the Continental System, which led to the weakening of Napoleon's coalition.