ABSTRACT
On July 22 Canning heard directly from Tilsit of the intended maritime league against Great Britain, and was informed that Napoleon regarded the accession of Denmark as essential. Under the Treaty of Tilsit the Continental System, was inaugurated. Every admirer of Napoleon must sympathise with his mortification. Judged by the standards of modern historical scholarship, naval history between Trafalgar and Waterloo is a trackless desert. In defining the scope of the proposed School of Naval History it was never the idea that it should be concerned only with the operations of the Royal Navy. For Napoleon his dream was undoubtedly a real possibility. His chief hopes of restoring his navy lay in the North Sea. His sagacious grip of realities turned his mind to the north. The resources of Scandinavia and Northern Germany were essential to his purpose.
