Convoys: The British Struggle Against Napoleonic Europe and America

The first account of Britain’s convoys during the Napoleonic Wars—showing how the protection of trade played a decisive role in victory

During the Napoleonic Wars thousands of merchant ships crisscrossed narrow seas and wide oceans, protected by Britain’s warships. These were wars of attrition and raw materials had to reach their shores continuously: timber and hemp from the Baltic, sulfur from Sicily, and saltpeter from Bengal. Britain’s fate rested on the strength of its economy—and conv...