The term pacific blockade refers to coercion during nominal peacetime rather than to operations in the Pacific Ocean. The intervention associated with Greek independence and the battle of Navarino provides one example, with an Anglo-French-Russian fleet confronting Ottoman-Egyptian forces. Britain later blockaded New Granada to compel the release of an imprisoned consul. Both cases show how naval access can give a maritime power leverage short of a broader war. Even an island remains difficult to isolate when a powerful neutral or ally insists on maintaining contact.
Notable Point · 31:51-33:38
Pacific blockades as coercion short of declared war
Pacific blockades apply naval pressure during nominal peacetime, using control of sea access to compel a political decision without beginning a general declared war.