The Continental System: an Economic Interpretation

Working amidst the global economic turmoil of World War I and the blockade of his neutral homeland, Swedish economist and historian ELI FILIP HECKSCHER (1879-1952) produced this provocative and widely influential analysis of European commercial conflict from the late 17th century through the early 19th century: . What was the impact of the British blockade of France in the 1790s? . How did the national debt and credit system of Britain affect its monetary warfare? . What part did the British colonies in America and later the new United States play in the European economic conflict? . What was done with confiscated goods? . How did smuggling and corruption in the early 1800s change the balance of power? This interpretation of the centuries-long economic clash between Britain, France, and their allies, first published 1922, remains an intriguing work of history today.