The Embargo Act of 1807 was a response to the actions of both powers, blocking most foreign trade, but ultimately hurt the US far more than Britain or France. Hundreds of American ships were seized by France and Britain as the Royal Navy blockaded much of Europe and Napoleon prohibited trade with Britain. American merchants were caught up in the lengthy commercial struggle between the British and French during the Napoleonic Wars.

It was not only the seizure of American sailors but of American commercial vessels docked in Europe that led to war.

When James Madison, Secretary of State at the time, insisted the British cease the practice of impressment, the British Foreign Secretary dismissed the demands as ‘too extravagant to require any serious refutation.’ American ships were routinely stopped by British vessels and searched for suspected British deserters. From 1803-1812 as many as 9,000 sailors were forced into service with the British navy, about 75% from America. The first and probably most prominent reason was the impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy. First, let’s look at how the US and Britain ended up at war less than 30 years after the American Revolution. As we will soon learn, this meant the war’s most significant battle took place after the war was supposed to have ended. The treaty reached Britain for approval four days later but would take much longer to reach the US. The War of 1812 began when the United States declared war on Jand ended with the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814. Today, we’re going to look at the origins, key events and personnel, and the aftermath of the conflict between the United States and Great Britain.

Hi, and welcome to this video on the War of 1812.

British navy war of 1812