Blockades
Blockades.A blockade in its most common form—the naval blockade—is intended to prevent the passage of ships in and out of an enemy's harbors. It can be defensive, focusing on the enemy's warships; offensive, focusing on his commercial and military supply ships; or it can be both. A blockade can restrain just traffic flying the enemy's flag, or it can halt neutral shipping as well. It can halt the passage of only specified items, or it can halt all. It can last for only a few weeks, or for years. The idea of blockade is the antithesis of the idea of freedom of the seas.
By the time of the French and Indian War (1754–63), the blockade had become one of Britain's major instruments of war. But when the American Revolutionary War began (1775), the Royal Navy was too weak to blockade distant colonial ports. The entry of France and Spain into the war worsened the British position....
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