Essential Facts
Background
- Britain and France were at war with each other during the Napoleonic Wars.
- They were using blockades and trade embargoes to disrupt each other’s trade with foreign nations, such as the United States.
- Britain used Orders in Council, while Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor, used the Continental System.
- The U.S. used economic sanctions to try to protect its trading rights.
Napoleon Expands the Continental System
- The Fontainebleau Decree was issued by Napoleon on October 18, 1810.
- It expanded the Continental System and added penalties for smuggling.
- The worst offenders faced up to ten years of imprisonment.
- Branding was also a punishment for the most serious offenders.
Significance
The Fontainebleau Decree is important to American History because it increased tensions between the United States, Great Britain, and France and restricted American trade. The tensions contributed to the outbreak of the War of 1812.
Fontainebleau Decree APUSH
The Fontainebleau Decree is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:
Unit 4: 1800–1848
- Topic 4.4 — America on the World Stage
American Pageant Notes
- Chapter 11 — Triumphs and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic (1800–1812)
- Chapter 12 — The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of Nationalism (1812–1824)
American History Central
- Foreign Affairs in the New Nation
- War of 1812 — Causes of the War, Maritime Disputes
