haughty than
at this moment. Her king had turned the ministry of "All the Talents"
out of doors; for after Fox's death the combination lost all dignity
and power. The Duke of Portland was now prime minister. He was a blind
but energetic conservative, his Toryism, unlike that of Pitt in his
enlightened days, being of the sort which lay close to his sovereign's
heart. England's monopoly of European commerce seemed assured: Sweden,
Denmark, and the Hanse towns were the only important seafaring powers
of Europe that retained a nominal neutrality, and it was only a
question of time when they must accept terms either from France or
from her. With every other European nation embroiled in the Napoleonic
wars and deeply concerned for its own territorial integrity, the
United States of America was her only real maritime rival, and she had
bullied us into a temporary acquiescence in her interpretation of
international law.[10]

[Footnote 10: The importance of American commerce at that
time has not usually had due recognition; statement of its
value see Mahan: The Influence of Sea Power upon the French
Revolution and Empire, Vol. II, pp. 231-2.]

When colonies were first recognized as essential to the prosperity of
European nations, the rule was universally observed that only the
mother country could trade with her own. In 1756 France endeavored to
break this rule by permitting neutral ships to engage in traffic
between herself and her West Indian possessions. England at once laid
down the "rule of 1756," that neutrals should not exercise in time of
war privileges of traffic which they were not permitted to enjoy in
time of peace; and this principle she was able to maintain more or
less completely until 1793, when France declared war on her, and again
invited neutral commerce to French colonial harbors. England, having
regained her supremacy of the seas, reasserted in 1793 the rule of
1756, but nevertheless so modified it the following year that she
permitted neutral traders to break, in their own or in her harbors,
their voyages from or to colonial ports. In 1796 France notified all
neutrals that she would treat them just as they permitted Great
Britain to treat them, and in 1798 shut all her harbors to any vessel
which had even touched at a British port. This state of affairs
continued until the peace of Amiens. When war was renewed in 1803
between England and France the former again asserted