The Low Countries could be lost to a great power through economic and cultural absorption as well as military conquest. Repington compared German protectionism with Napoleon's Continental System and warned Dutch readers that alignment against Britain had historically brought ruin. Independent Belgium and the Netherlands preserved an opening in continental tariff barriers and denied a rival control of major ports. British influence there therefore supported peace in Europe and predominance at sea at the same time. The warning that blockade would leave grass growing in Antwerp and Amsterdam showed how maritime access and political independence were bound together.
Notable Point · 38:59-40:16
Protectionist absorption as a threat to the Low Countries
British strategists feared that German tariffs and cultural influence could absorb the Netherlands and Belgium without invasion, closing markets and weakening Britain's position at sea.