ABSTRACT
The war at sea during the post-Trafalgar period of the Napoleonic War has generally been neglected by historians. Several partial explanations of the relatively inefficient application of Napoleon's anti-British commercial decrees in northern Europe have been given. Protection against enemy action at sea was the business of the navy. In 1808, and in the five succeeding years, a British squadron was sent to the Baltic. One of its principal duties there was the defence of British trade. The significance attached by the Admiralty to this aspect of the fleet's operations arose out of the importance of the Baltic trade to British security and economic progress. The Baltic region was still the principal source of naval stores. After the outbreak of war with France in 1793, the Baltic trade took on an added importance. During the war years, British exports to the Baltic increased, and by 1804 their value was ten times that of the pre-war years.
