Continental Blockade - How Portugal saved Great Britain || Napoleonic Wars. ( Portugal, France, UK) 

Indeed it was favourable for Wellington, we refer to that in the end. If Portugal had accepted the continental blockade and follow Napoleon´s wishes, Great Britain would never land safely on the continent, they would wave the Portuguese, Spanish and French fleet bombarding them everytime they tried any landing. This is how Portugal saved Great Britain and then Great Britain in exchanged saved Portugal for their and honouring the treaty signed in 1386 that made them allies since then. You could say that Britain could get commerce from other colonies and not actually drain out, but USA closed their harbours to Great Britain aswell leading to the 1812 between UK and US, then you might say they could get from Africa or India their supplies from the colonies but they had either to go to the Atlantic or cross the Gribaltar Strait and then the Suez canal and he would have to face Portugal, Spain and France and that would not be possible. Indeed, the Brits had a crushing naval victory in Trafalgar but that was the French fleet , its very unlikely the Brits could take on the Spanish, Portuguese and French fleets at the same time. So Portugal really saved UK from alot of unnecessary battles that had no assurance of victory.

@@Imperium-YT During the Napoleonic Wars the game at Sea was already over with the wrong slackers in command, anyway how many good ships were built in Frenchie shipyards. The situation during the War of Independence was much more severe for Britain. The Frenchie & the Spaniard king were not smart enough to develop (according the lectures of von Clausewitz) the political will to crush Britain for once & forever. In this period the allied men'o'wars doubled the number of the Brit ships of the line. The British defeat in the channel would have been inevitable. The Portuguese court in 1808 was not really that powerful. The a few Portuguese men'o'wars were always under the control of the Royal Navy. Boney had another chance to defeat the Brits at sea. But technically he was not up to date, he sent Robert Fulton away, denied to support Fulton's projects.

@@Imperium-YT most historians ive read seem to think the blackade did far more damage to france than england, i dont think portugals intervention in this way saved britain. britain had access to global markets, europe was a powderkeg and had much reduced access to trade. portugal was useful for britain to wear napoleon down and get allies on our side by breaking his aura of invincibility but save britain? not sure about that

@@raccoonboi969 Well, we all know it took the whole of Europe and many coalitions to defeat France, and Britain could only top France in naval warfare, friends and generals close to Napoleon confirm it was his intention to first cripple the British economy, then invade with a huge fleet provided by every country under Napoleon´s thumb, and Britain would never be able to fight off naval coalition from France, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Russia, Sweden and more. You said they were open to global trade, but were they really? The USA refused to make trade with Britain during this time leading to the war of 1812, also with everyone joining the blockade it would mean that Great Britain would have to cross the Atlantic and perhaps face the Portuguese, Spanish and France fleets together, in Europe, Carabbean, South America, India, Oceania and Asia. The english fleet would get destroyed piece by piece by piece, and they would have no naval defence against France and Napoleon would send his Grande Armee across the channel and take over Great Britain, as France was without doubt the best military ground force in the world at the time. But this could only work, if everyone complied. Portugal by denying the blockade besides saving Britain from dying from starvation and also from loosing their fleet trying to cross the Atlantic, also contributed for the other european countries like Austria and Russia took take up arms and fight Napoleon, because no one simply had heart to oppose him.