A number of major blockades, including the Continental System in the Napoleonic Wars, the War of 1812, the American Civil War, and World Wars I and II, in addition to the increased use of peacetime blockades and sanctions with the hope of avoiding war, are examined in this book. The impact of technology and organizational changes on the nature of blockades and their effectiveness as military measures are discussed. Legal, economic, and political questions are explored to understand the various constraints upon belligerent behavior. The analysis draw upon the extensive amount of quantitative material available from military publications.

The book demonstrates the effectiveness of British maritime blockades, both naval blockade, which handicapped the American Navy, and commercial blockade, which restricted US overseas trade. The commercial blockade severely reduced US government income, which was heavily dependent on customs duties, forcing it to borrow, eventually without success. Actually insolvent, the US government abandoned its war aims.

Great Britain's economic blockade of Germany in World War I was one of the key elements to the victory of the Entente. Though Britain had been the leading exponent of blockades for two centuries, the World War I blockade was not effective at the outbreak of hostilities.

What is Blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are legal barriers to trade rather than physical barriers. It is also distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually directed at an entire country or region, rather than a fortress or city and the objective may not always be to conquer the area. How you will benefit (I) Insights, and validations about the following topics: Chapter 1: Blockade Chapter 2: Fourth Anglo-Dutch War Chapter 3: Continental System Chapter 4: Trent Affair Chapter 5: Swedish iron-ore industry during World War II Chapter 6: Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law Chapter 7: Milan Decree Chapter 8: Pacific blockade Chapter 9: Operation Wilfred Chapter 10: Union blockade (II) Answering the public top questions about blockade. Who this book is for Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Blockade.

Throughout history seagoing nations have nurtured their navies to protect their ocean lifelines and influence regional and world events. Blockades are one way in which a naval power has historically influenced these events. In time of war and peace, this tool of naval coercion is still an option exercised by nations to influence foreign policy crises. This study investigated the continuing utility of the naval blockade in the attainment of US foreign policy goals in the twenty-first century. It used a historical study of seven blockades to establish a common set of factors that influenced the effectiveness of sanctions enforced by a naval blockade. These blockades took place between 1861 and 1997 under varying conditions and scopes. The study identified five primary factors and eleven secondary factors that are common in the effectiveness of all the blockades. Analysis of these common factors through application in two hypothetical world crises where a blockade could be employed revealed that the naval blockade is still a viable option to aid in attaining foreign policy objectives. The naval blockade should be used sparingly and when used provided the full support of the diplomatic and economic tools of foreign policy, lest they lose their credibility.

This new collection of scholarly, readable, and up-to-date essays covers the most significant naval blockades of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Here the reader can find Napoleon’s Continental Blockade of England, the Anglo-American War of 1812, the Crimean War, the American Civil War, the first Sino-Japanese War 1894-95, the Spanish-American War, the First World War, the second Sino-Japanese War 1937-45, the Second World War in Europe and Asia, the Nationalist attempt to blockade the PRC, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the British blockade of Rhodesia, the Falklands War, the Persian Gulf interdiction program, the PRC "missile" blockade of Taiwan in 1996, and finally Australia's recent "reverse" blockade to keep illegal aliens out of the country. The authors of each chapter address the causes of the blockade in question, its long and short-term repercussions, and the course of the blockade itself. More generally, they address the state of the literature, taking advantage of new research and new methodologies to provide something of value to both the specialist and non-specialist reader. Taken as a whole, this volume presents fresh insights into issues such as what a blockade is, why countries might choose them, which navies can and cannot make use of them, what responses lead to satisfactory or unsatisfactory conclusions, and how far-reaching their consequences tend to be. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of strategic studies, military history and maritime studies in particular.