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464 General History of Europe allies was to be regarded as a prisoner of war and his property as a lawful prize. All trade in English goods was forbidden. A year later England established a similar paper blockade of the ports of the French Empire and its allies, but permitted the ships of neutral powers to proceed, provided that they touched at an English port, secured a license from the English govern- ment, and paid a heavy export duty. Napoleon promptly de- clared all ships that submitted to these humiliating regulations to be lawful prizes of French privateers. 818. The Plight of the United States. The ships of the United States were at this time the most numerous and important of the neutral vessels carrying on the world's trade, and a very hard time they had between the restrictions of Great Britain and the decrees issued by Napoleon. An American newspaper calcu- lated that if an American ship consented to meet England's regu- lations and pay all the charges she imposed for licenses and dues, the amount to be paid for a single voyage, let us say from Baltimore to Holland and back, would amount to thirty thousand dollars a large sum in those days. Exasperated by the situation, Congress, at the suggestion of President Jefferson, passed an embargo act (December, 1807), which forbade vessels to leave port. It was hoped that this would prevent the further loss of American ships and would at the same time so interfere with the supplies of England and France that it would bring them to terms. But the only result was the destruc- tion of the previously flourishing business of the Atlantic coast towns, especially in New England. Early in 1809 Congress de- cided to permit trade once more with European nations, except England and France ; but conditions remained very bad, and the United States finally drifted into war with Great Britain in 1812. 819. Question of the Freedom of the Seas. It is very inter- esting to compare the situation of the United States during the Napoleonic wars with that in which she was placed when Germany and England resorted to similar blockades during the World War. In both cases the United States was drawn into the con- flict. America can never be indifferent to European struggles