Causes of the War of 1812
The real origins of the War of 1812 were in the conflict that raged in Europe for two decades after Napoleon Bonaparte. These Napoleonic Wars caused Great Britain to adopt measures that greatly aggravated the United States. On 21 Nov 1806 Napoleon ordered a blockade (the Berlin Decree) of shipping aimed at crippling British trade. He ordered all European ports under his control closed to British ships. He further decreed that neutral and French ships would be seized if they visited a British port before entering a continental port (the so-called Continental System).