![]() ![]() Today, there are aerial blockades, economic blockades, digital blockades to name a few. For France, with the wolves at the door, the army was paramount. This dichotomy was evident in the choices made, policies developed, and even in the culmination of events.Ī naval blockade is “an act of war in which one country uses ships to stop people or supplies from entering or leaving another country.” Consequently, this paper will not spend much time discussing blockades involving ground forces or economic policies, unless they are in conjunction with a naval blockade. While a good starting point, Webster’s definition for a naval blockade is incomplete. For the purpose of this paper, the definition of a blockade is “any action that is designed to monitor or control – but not necessarily prevent – the movement of ships from or to a geographical location by whatever means, of whatever object.” This broader definition fills in many gaps left open by Webster. Sometimes as allies, most often as rivals, both nations’ various allies in these conflicts ebbed and flowed, sides switching, goals fluidly changing sometimes these allies were mere proxies for the goals of either nation. As an island nation, the British were concerned with maintaining control of their own sea lanes – particularly the English Channel (or as the French know it La Manche – The Sleeve) - while restricting the activities, both military and economic, of their rivals and foes. The naval blockade developed as a consequence of this policy. To start this discussion, we must recognize that there is an important difference between Britain and France which greatly affected the naval policy and strategy of both nations. Britain had the buffer of the ocean between itself and its enemies. France, on the other hand, had no such buffer. Therefore, for Britain, the navy was much more critical to the defense of the nation. ![]() Naval Blockades in Peace and War. Kindle Location 623.)
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