The Tide Turns against Napoleon 499kets for their goods. The banning of British imports did lead to the develop
ment of some important innovations in France (for example, the Jacquard
loom for silk weaving and the planting of the sugar beet to compensate for
the loss of sugar from the West Indies). But Frances relative lack of available
coal and iron ore, its lack of capital accumulation and investment, and the
overwhelming allocation of the nation’s material and human resources to
war prevented French merchants from taking up the slack left by the
absence of British goods in continental markets.
In response to Napoleon’s Continental System, the British government’s
“Orders in Council” of November and December 1807 demanded that trad
ing ships under all flags purchase a license in a British port. This decision
placed Britain at loggerheads with the United States, one of France’s princi
pal trading partners. Napoleon retaliated with the Milan Decrees, threaten
ing to seize any ship that had traded with Britain or that had even accepted a
search by British authorities. Yet, in 1809, British imports could still be read
ily found on the continent. The French, suffering a sharp decline in customs
revenue, began tolerating violations of the Continental System, even selling
special licenses and placing hefty taxes on the importation of British goods
to bring in more revenue. The blockade came completely apart in the midst
of an economic depression that began in 1811.
Napoleon counted on Britain’s deepening crisis with the U.S. govern
ment, which opposed the boarding and searching of its vessels by British