The Napoleonic Continental System: Local, European, and Global Experiences and Consequences
The Napoleonic Continental System: Local, European, and Global
Experiences and Consequences
Location: Amsterdam, NL, International Institute of Social History
Date: May 19-21, 2011
Since 2004, several exciting interdisciplinary conferences on the
Napoleonic Empire have re-conceptualized the Napoleonic era as a
period of intense political, military, social, and economic
transformation on the local and European level. This conference will
highlight the role of the Continental System in the Empire and beyond.
Though relatively neglected compared to other aspects of the
Napoleonic Wars and Empire, the Continental System has been
interpreted as either “defensive” or “offensive” in nature. Scholars
continue to debate its short and long-term consequences for economic
development in Europe and North America. Regarded as both an economic
and military structure, many scholars note that it became increasingly
coercive after 1810. Some scholars argue the System discredited and
delegitimized Napoleon’s Empire, whereas others view it as a crude
prototype for the European Union. To what degree do these
interpretations continue to shape scholarship on the Continental
System? Within a diverse Europe, can the Continental System be viewed
as a homogenous structure? This conference treats the Continental
System within a long chronological framework that includes its origins
in mercantilism and economic warfare prior to Napoleon’s Berlin
Decrees in 1806 as well as its short and long-term significance in
political, social-economic and commercial development. This conference
is also interested in both the local and global -the micro and the
macro- significance of the Continental System from shifts in commerce
in individual port cities like Amsterdam to new developments in
colonial commerce in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Beyond the
military and economic consequences of the Continental System,
increased poverty and wealth developed alongside new social structures
as merchants migrated to avoid the system, and sailors, labourers,
fishermen, and other ordinary folk sought alternative forms of
livelihood. Proposals are invited on any aspect of interdisciplinary
research relating to the Continental System, including the following
themes:
• New historiographical interpretations of the Continental System and
its role in the Napoleonic Empire
• Uniqueness of the Napoleonic Blockade as an instrument of war and
the structural consequences in economic warfare
• Role and consequences of naval warfare, including the North American
War of 1812
• Social consequences: increase in poverty, population migration, protest,
• Alternatives to the System: black market trade, smuggling, and
imperial corruption
• Experiences of port cities, economic regions, commercial networks,
and global trade
• Political consequences of the Continental System on a local and
European level
• Regional differences in the application and consequences of the System
• The role of the Continental System in the Trans-Atlantic World
• The global implications of the Continental System: extent of the
global network, intensity of global interconnectedness, and impact of
global interconnectedness.
• Damage and economic reconstruction following the Continental System
Proposals are invited for individual papers and panel sessions. The
Conference will be held May 19-21, 2011 at the International Institute
of Social History in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Applicants should
submit a 500 word proposal and a brief cv (in Word or PDF) by May 15,
2010. Participants whose papers have been accepted will be notified by
July 15, 2010. We need a final version of your paper by April 1, 2011
for precirculation and comment that relates the papers to the session
theme.
The International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam expects to
be able to offer participants hotel accommodation and meals during the
conference. We expect those supported by scholarly institutions to
take care of their own travel expenses.
The organizers aim to publish a selection of papers in 2012. All
participants and contributors will be informed by September 1, 2011.
Further information can be obtained from: Organizer Dr. Johan Joor,
International Institute of Social History, P.O. Box 2169, 1000 CD
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, jjo@iisg.nl and Co-Organizer Dr. Katherine
B. Aaslestad, Associate Professor, Department of History of West
Virginia University, 220 Woodburn Hall, PO 6303, Morgantown, West
Virginia, 26506-6303 USA, Katherine.Aaslestad@mail.wvu.edu
Johan Joor
International Institute of Social History
P.O. Box 2169
1000 CD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Email: jjo@iisg.nl
Visit the website at http://www.iisg.nl
Experiences and Consequences
Location: Amsterdam, NL, International Institute of Social History
Date: May 19-21, 2011
Since 2004, several exciting interdisciplinary conferences on the
Napoleonic Empire have re-conceptualized the Napoleonic era as a
period of intense political, military, social, and economic
transformation on the local and European level. This conference will
highlight the role of the Continental System in the Empire and beyond.
Though relatively neglected compared to other aspects of the
Napoleonic Wars and Empire, the Continental System has been
interpreted as either “defensive” or “offensive” in nature. Scholars
continue to debate its short and long-term consequences for economic
development in Europe and North America. Regarded as both an economic
and military structure, many scholars note that it became increasingly
coercive after 1810. Some scholars argue the System discredited and
delegitimized Napoleon’s Empire, whereas others view it as a crude
prototype for the European Union. To what degree do these
interpretations continue to shape scholarship on the Continental
System? Within a diverse Europe, can the Continental System be viewed
as a homogenous structure? This conference treats the Continental
System within a long chronological framework that includes its origins
in mercantilism and economic warfare prior to Napoleon’s Berlin
Decrees in 1806 as well as its short and long-term significance in
political, social-economic and commercial development. This conference
is also interested in both the local and global -the micro and the
macro- significance of the Continental System from shifts in commerce
in individual port cities like Amsterdam to new developments in
colonial commerce in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Beyond the
military and economic consequences of the Continental System,
increased poverty and wealth developed alongside new social structures
as merchants migrated to avoid the system, and sailors, labourers,
fishermen, and other ordinary folk sought alternative forms of
livelihood. Proposals are invited on any aspect of interdisciplinary
research relating to the Continental System, including the following
themes:
• New historiographical interpretations of the Continental System and
its role in the Napoleonic Empire
• Uniqueness of the Napoleonic Blockade as an instrument of war and
the structural consequences in economic warfare
• Role and consequences of naval warfare, including the North American
War of 1812
• Social consequences: increase in poverty, population migration, protest,
• Alternatives to the System: black market trade, smuggling, and
imperial corruption
• Experiences of port cities, economic regions, commercial networks,
and global trade
• Political consequences of the Continental System on a local and
European level
• Regional differences in the application and consequences of the System
• The role of the Continental System in the Trans-Atlantic World
• The global implications of the Continental System: extent of the
global network, intensity of global interconnectedness, and impact of
global interconnectedness.
• Damage and economic reconstruction following the Continental System
Proposals are invited for individual papers and panel sessions. The
Conference will be held May 19-21, 2011 at the International Institute
of Social History in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Applicants should
submit a 500 word proposal and a brief cv (in Word or PDF) by May 15,
2010. Participants whose papers have been accepted will be notified by
July 15, 2010. We need a final version of your paper by April 1, 2011
for precirculation and comment that relates the papers to the session
theme.
The International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam expects to
be able to offer participants hotel accommodation and meals during the
conference. We expect those supported by scholarly institutions to
take care of their own travel expenses.
The organizers aim to publish a selection of papers in 2012. All
participants and contributors will be informed by September 1, 2011.
Further information can be obtained from: Organizer Dr. Johan Joor,
International Institute of Social History, P.O. Box 2169, 1000 CD
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, jjo@iisg.nl and Co-Organizer Dr. Katherine
B. Aaslestad, Associate Professor, Department of History of West
Virginia University, 220 Woodburn Hall, PO 6303, Morgantown, West
Virginia, 26506-6303 USA, Katherine.Aaslestad@mail.wvu.edu
Johan Joor
International Institute of Social History
P.O. Box 2169
1000 CD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Email: jjo@iisg.nl
Visit the website at http://www.iisg.nl