League of Armed Neutrality

League of Armed Neutrality

League of Armed Neutrality refers to one of two alliances of minor European naval powers (1780-1783 and 1800-1801), both intended to protect neutral shipping against the British Royal Navy's wartime policy of unlimited search of neutral shipping for French contraband. Accounts of the times also refer to these alliances simply as the Armed Neutrality.

First Armed Neutrality, 1780-83

Empress Catherine II of Russia began the first League with her declaration of Russian armed neutrality on March 8 (February 28, Old Style), 1780, during the War of American Independence. She endorsed the right of neutral countries to trade by sea with nationals of belligerent countries without hindrance, except in weapons and military supplies. Russia would not recognize blockades of whole coasts, but only of individual ports, and only if a belligerent's warship were actually present or nearby. The Russian navy dispatched three squadrons to the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and North Sea to enforce this decree.

Denmark and Sweden, accepting Russia's proposals for an alliance of neutrals, adopted the same policy towards shipping, and the three countries signed the agreement forming the League. They remained otherwise out of the war, but threatened joint retaliation for every ship of theirs searched by a belligerent. When the Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1783, Prussia, the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Ottoman Empire had all become members.

As the British Navy outnumbered all their fleets combined, the alliance as a military measure was what Catherine later called it, an "armed nullity". Diplomatically, however, it carried greater weight; France and the United States of America were quick to proclaim their adherence to the new principle of free neutral commerce. Britain -- which did not -- still had no wish to antagonize Russia, and avoided interfering with the allies' shipping. While both sides of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War tacitly understood it as an attempt to keep the Netherlands out of the League, Britain did not officially regard the alliance as hostile.

Second Armed Neutrality, 1800-1801

A brief revival of the Armed Neutrality in 1800 by Paul I of Russia during the War of the Second Coalition was less successful; the British government, not now anxious to preserve Russian goodwill, openly considered it a form of alliance with France and attacked Denmark, destroying much of its fleet in the first Battle of Copenhagen and forcing it to withdraw from the League. Paul's death led to a change of policy in Russia, and the alliance collapsed.

External links

* [http://www.neva.ru/EXPO96/book/chap5-1.html Russia's declaration of Armed Neutrality] -- from a Russian naval history


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Armed neutrality — Armed neutrality, in international politics, is the posture of a state or group of states which makes no alliance with either side in a war, but asserts that it will defend itself against resulting incursions from all parties.The phrase armed… …   Wikipedia

  • Armed Neutrality, League of —    An essentially anti British and Russian instigated alliance of Russia, Denmark, Sweden, and, at one point, Prussia, designed to protect the members’ shipping against British search and seizure. The league was initially formed during the… …   Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914

  • League of Nations — (English) Société des Nations (French) Sociedad de Naciones (Spanish) International organization …   Wikipedia

  • Swedish neutrality — refers to Sweden s policy of neutrality in armed conflicts, which has been in effect since the early 19th century. The policy originated largely as a result of Sweden s involvement in the Napoleonic Wars during which over a third of the country s …   Wikipedia

  • Catholic League (U.S.) — Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights Logo of the Catholic League Abbreviation CL Formation 1973 Type NGO Leg …   Wikipedia

  • Irish neutrality — has been a policy of the Irish Free State and its successor, Ireland, since independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1922. This article concerns the exact nature of Irish neutrality in practice.Ireland s concept of… …   Wikipedia

  • Hawaiian League — For other Committees of Safety, see Committee of Safety (disambiguation). Hawaiian League Formation 1887 Extinction 1893 (succeeded by Provisional Government) …   Wikipedia

  • Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War — Diplomacy in the Revolutionary War had an important impact on the Revolution, as the United States evolved an independent foreign policy. See also: Timeline of United States diplomatic history Contents 1 Colonial Diplomacy 2 Conciliatory… …   Wikipedia

  • Netherlands, The — officially Kingdom of The Netherlands byname Holland Country, northwestern Europe. Area: 16,033 sq mi (41,526 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 16,142,000. Capital: Amsterdam; Seat of Government: The Hague. Most of the people are Dutch. Languages:… …   Universalium

  • History of the Netherlands — This article is part of a series Early History …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”