The Year 1812: Difficult War Decisions
The year 1812 represented a period in British history where the country was faced with difficult war decisions to make in response to the conflicts.The Stale Alliance with France
On the one hand, there was the country's stale alliance with France. The United Kingdom was at war with Napoleon Bonaparte of France. Similarly, the United States was confronting Britain in reaction to their disrespect for American sovereignty. The British did not recognize the independence of the United States until after the War of 1812. The Napoleonic Wars, on the other hand, are inspired by a lust for dominance. Despite the United States efforts to remain neutral during the entire period of the Napoleonic wars, it was forced into the conflict because of British attempts to blockade U.S from pursuing its trade and expansionist interests. The stale relationship between France and Britain during the war of 1812 played a major role in the change of economic, military, political and diplomatic ties between America and England.Causes of the 1812 War
The war of 1812 was basically a response to external aggression by a distressed country. Prior to the war, Napoleon had assumed power after overthrowing the revolutionary government. Napoleon had sought to amend the broken relationship between France and Britain by negotiating for peace. However, he also had desired to crush the Haitian revolution that was slowly gathering storm. Napoleon sent his men to Haiti, but they were defeated making him lose Haiti however he had control over the Northern American province of Louisiana. The defeat of Haiti made Napoleon lose interest in Louisiana, and he consented to United States proposal to purchase Louisiana.Britain was not pleased with Napoleon's decision, and it declared war on France in 1803 a war that could last for a decade. As claimed in the book the war of 1812 was a, “a civil war among the fragments of the first British empire.” The conflict was mainly fueled by the British Empires attempt to control some parts of its former colonies and Canada was such part that the colonial government wanted to control. The conflict with France spilled over to the Atlantic conflict with British impressing American sailors and imposing blockades on American ships. Napoleon in response to the British actions issues the Berlin Decree.The Berlin Decree
The Berlin Decree prohibited trade of any form of trade with British, and the British government responded by imposing a blockade on the French-controlled Europe and authorized the brutish navy to seize any French ships violating the blockade. America instituted a trade embargo on Britain with the objective of weakening the economy of the country; however, the embargo was hard to impose because of the supremacy of the British. As stated in the book, “United Sates was Shaped by series of triangular relationships that not only embraced two of north American nations but also Great Britain.” The political and military sanctions on Britain on America continued with the objective of preventing America from trading for providing any support to France. The contestations are clearly evident as Stagg reports that, “the control of both Atlantic trade routes and resources of the North American continent were sharply contested by Americans, Britons, and Canadians.” The trade restrictions enraged America that was faced to respond through military action. The stale relationship between France and Europe played a supportive role in ensuring the American victory in the War.Influence of France-Britain Relationship on the War
The events in Europe played a major role in influencing the direction of the war on 1812 the French sanctions on Europe worked to divide the British concentration on the war. It seemed the British were fighting the war on two fronts, and this weakened the British forces. Due to the limited numbers in the British Army, the British resorted to unorthodox methods of fighting including supporting Indian resistance to create buffer states in the United States, however, the abdication and the defeat if Napoleon the Britain was able to devote resources and concentrate their efforts in the war.In the war of 1812, the U.S faced a mighty army that was more equipped, and this had an impact on U.S future, the U.S suffered a number of detrimental defeats in the war. As stated in the book, “the war of 1812 almost destroyed the young republic.” The defeat of Napoleon enabled Britain to bring in more troops, and American suffered a number of setbacks including the capture of Washington DC and burning of the major government building including the white house.It is the France that inspired the war through its political actions, change in diplomatic relationships and the military exploits of the Napoleonic armies that caused the war o 1812. Prior to the war Benjamin Franklin started diplomatic negotiation with Napoleon with the objective of sourcing assistance in terms of supplies, finances and troops the action made British think that America was an ally to French and hence it started imposing the trade sanctions, blockades and impressing American sailors. As reported by Stagg, “Early nineteenth century America consisted of communities and citizens struggling with the consequences if destabilization in the economy.” The exempt shows the economic strife that the country was facing that prompted its expansionist and capitalistic policies. It is America’s open policy to France that made Britain think that the new state was aiding Napoleon in its revolts. The purchase of Louisianan further intensified the tension between the countries. Napoleon also crafted to bring British and America to war so that he could gain relief in Europe where his troops were meeting defeat. Napoleon acted decisively to initiate the divide and rule policy to assist him to wage war against the British Empire.Conclusion
In conclusion, the relationship between France and Britain changed the direction of economic, diplomatic, political and military relations between the countries and America. T the defeats suffered in 1812 war forced America as a country to rethink on is position in the world and the need to develop a super strong and resilient military. America learned from the relationship between France and British that military power was the only solution that could help forge successful campaigns against foreign nations. Although America was powerless in enforcing sanctions or even embargos on Britain the stale relationship between Britain and France enabled weaken the empire might to the advantage of the fallout. After breaking one side of resistance, Britain saw no need to continue the war with America and this contributed to the signing of agreements and lifted the sanctions imposed on the country ending the war. The later agreements lead to the recognition of U.S and this is what led to the second part of the formation of a republic that could participate in global conflicts. It is clear that the war of 1812 shaped U.S in a great way and it is what made it a world superpower and the effects of the war cannot be overlooked.Bibliography
Stagg, J.C.A. The War of 1812: a conflict for a continent. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
