The Continental System's Enforcement

The Spanish war originated in Napoleon's determination to enforce the Continental System, but it quickly revealed the system's fundamental weaknesses. The economic warfare designed to strangle British trade required political control over European populations that French military power could not provide. Spanish resistance demonstrated that economic policies imposed by force could generate political opposition that exceeded the benefits of commercial restrictions.

The irony was that Spanish resistance actually aided British commerce by creating new markets for British goods. Wellington's army required constant supplies that British merchants eagerly provided, while Spanish guerrillas needed weapons and equipment that British manufacturers produced. The war that began as an attempt to exclude British trade from European markets became a major stimulus to British economic activity.

The financial cost of the Spanish war drained French resources that were needed elsewhere. The 300,000 troops committed to Spain represented a permanent drain on French manpower that could not be easily replaced. The economic disruption caused by guerrilla warfare made Spanish territories a burden rather than an asset to the French Empire.