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Continental system
(816 words)

The continental system (1806-1813; also Continental Blockade) was a trading embargo imposed by Napoleonic-occupied Western and Central Europe on (1) British manufactured goods and (2) colonial goods imported via Britain, and also included (3) a general ban on the export of continental grain to Britain. This economic blockade consisted of a blend of tariff (protective duties) and non-tariff (embargos) barriers to trade, and it acted to protect French and other continental industries. The overriding purpose of the continental s…

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Rössner, Philipp Robinson, “Continental system”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_022571>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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