Feb 12 2025 32 mins 2
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A peace that leads to War?
We look at the clash of realities from philosophical to practical questions of empire between France and Britain.
From the beginning, key British decision makers like George 3 and Pitt the Younger, saw the peace as an experiment. It wasn't likely to work, so much against it. However, the war had run on too long. The people were demanding peace, the mob both demanded peace and associated the decline in wheat prices with the naval armistice of the previous year.
But what kind of peace was it? What did the two sides give up, and what did they get in return?
These questions illustrate a major flaw in this peace and Napoleon's many peaces generally. Britain got so little from the peace that it was only lightly attached to it.
Napoleon was unwilling to allow trade between Britain and France. He feared to expose key constituents to British competition, which most expected to penetrate deeply into French markets for textiles, ores, metal and metalware. In short, without being able to name it, Napoleon feared the miracle.
