Nelson negotiated directly with Crown Prince Frederick for an armistice that suspended armed neutrality and gave Britain access to Copenhagen. When a Danish aside in French suggested that hostilities might resume, Nelson's warning that he could bombard that night forced the stakes into the open. During those talks Denmark learned that Paul I had been assassinated, a development that made the league's continuation far less compelling. The final 1801 settlement therefore followed both battlefield pressure and a sudden shift in the coalition's political centre.
Chapter · 2:10:13-2:13:06
Armistice, Paul I's death, and the league's collapse
The battle opened negotiations, but Paul I's assassination removed the political foundation of the League of Armed Neutrality.