Getting into War | 1812 Virtual Exhibition

British policies that supported the war against Napoleon and the defence of Canada contributed to the outbreak of a second war with the United States.

The Royal Navy and an economic blockade enforced by British warships formed two of Britain’s most powerful weapons in the struggle against Napoleon. As the demand for skilled sailors increased, the Royal Navy ignored American sovereignty and citizenship by stopping American ships at sea and forcibly recruiting anyone considered to be a British subject. At the same time, British commercial regulations dictated the conditions under which Americans would be allowed to trade with Europe. Reacting to what Americans perceived as a long series of British provocations, the United States declared war on 18 June 1812.

Britain’s War with France

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries

Painted by Jacques-Louis David, 1812
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The Need for Sailors

The Ship Castor and Other Vessels in a Choppy Sea

Painting by Thomas Luny, 1802
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich,
United Kingdom, BHC 3251

Contacts with Native Americans

Deputation of Indians from the Mississippi Tribes to the Governor General of British North America, Sir George Prevost

Painting by Rudolph von Steiger, 1814
Library and Archives Canada, 1989-264-1