Orders in Council (1807) facts for kids

The Orders in Council were special rules made by the British government. These rules were created during the Napoleonic Wars, a big conflict between Great Britain and Napoleonic France. They were part of Britain's plan to fight France using trade. These orders were very important for how Britain fought the war. But they also caused problems with neutral countries, like the United States, whose trade was affected.

In Europe, these British trade rules led to more tension. They caused issues with countries like Denmark and Russia. In the Atlantic, the Orders in Council were a major reason for bad feelings between Britain and the United States. This tension eventually led to the War of 1812.

What Were the Orders in Council?

An "Order in Council" is a type of rule made by the King or Queen and their advisors, the Privy Council. It's how the British government can make official policies. This way of making rules is still used sometimes today.

When people talk about "the Orders in Council," they usually mean a group of rules from the late 1700s and early 1800s. These specific rules limited trade for neutral ships. They also helped Britain block trade to Napoleonic France and its allies. There were many such orders over the years. The most famous ones, especially for Americans, were issued on 7 January 1807, 11 November 1807, and 26 April 1809.

Why Were These Orders Made?

By 1806, Napoleon controlled most of Europe. This meant Britain was largely cut off from trading with the continent. However, Britain's navy had defeated the French and Spanish navies at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. This ended Napoleon's idea of invading Britain.

Since he couldn't invade, Napoleon decided to fight Britain using economics. He created something called the Continental System. This system aimed to hurt Britain's trade and economy.

In response to a British rule from May 1806, Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree in November 1806. This decree said that French, allied, or neutral ships could not trade with Britain. Napoleon hoped this would ruin British trade and industry. He wanted to force Britain to make peace.

Britain fought back with its own Orders in Council of 1807. These were issued on 6 January and 11 November 1807. They made the blockade even bigger. These orders said that French ships could not trade with Britain or its allies. They also told the Royal Navy to block French and allied ports. Any ship wanting to trade had to stop at an English port first. There, it would be checked for supplies that could help France. Ships that did not stop could be seized by the British.

Napoleon then responded with the Milan Decree of 1807. This decree declared that any neutral ship using British ports or paying British fees would be treated as British. This meant they could be seized by France.

What Happened Because of the Orders?

The Royal Navy was very strong. Because of this, Britain's blockade of Europe worked quite well. French trade suffered, and their early industrial growth slowed down. Britain, on the other hand, actually traded more with its colonies overseas.

Even with the blockades, some smuggling still happened. Napoleon himself sometimes made exceptions to his own rules. He needed certain supplies for his war efforts.

Enforcing these trade blockades led to military fights for both Britain and France. For example, the British attacked Copenhagen in September 1807. This was to stop Denmark from joining Napoleon's Continental System. The British policy of stopping neutral ships also played a big part in starting the War of 1812 with the United States.

Interestingly, the main rules that angered the Americans were actually canceled by Britain. This happened five days after the US declared war. But the British Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, didn't know about the war yet.

The economic warfare finally ended when Napoleon was defeated in 1815.

When Were the Orders Canceled?

Britain made a big step towards the United States in June 1812. On 16 June 1812, Lord Castlereagh, who was in charge of foreign affairs, told Parliament that the Orders in Council would be stopped.

On 23 June 1812, the same day the American Minister left the United States, a new British government officially canceled the Orders in Council.

News of the US declaring war reached London on 29 July 1812. This was 41 days after the United States Congress made the declaration. Two days later, Britain started its own counter-measures. They told British ships to only sail in groups (convoys). They also held American ships in British ports. The Orders had been canceled, but British leaders wanted to see how America would react.

News that the Orders were canceled didn't reach President James Madison until 12 August 1812. This was about 50 days later. Even then, he didn't stop the fighting. He didn't know how Britain had reacted to the war declaration.

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  The Battle of Copenhagen was largely a consequence of economic warfare.