The Continental System without sea control

Napoleon answered the British blockade by ordering states under his influence to stop trading with Britain. The policy assumed that political control of much of Europe could substitute for command of the sea. Britain, however, retained a large fleet and could support smuggling along coasts that French authority could not seal. Brittany, and probably Normandy, are offered as examples of regions where smuggling undermined Napoleonic control. British traders were also free to seek markets outside Europe. An economic cordon required ships, local compliance, and control over alternative markets that Napoleon did not possess.