Mounting Fears and Attempts at Peace

Well before Napoleon's forces threatened to cross the English Channel, many among the English were alarmed by the revolutionary "savagery" of their ancient enemy, France, and fearful that it would spill over into neighboring states.

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England's youngest Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, continued to stress the threat posed by the activities of Napoleon Bonaparte and France even while engaging in diplomatic efforts.

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The English public continued to monitor the statements on both sides of the Channel including this tract that suggests that England is the aggressor.

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Once called the "Definitive Treaty of Peace," the Treaty of Amiens between France and Great Britian had fallen apart by 1803. English political advocates quickly suggested that the same "zeal and spirit" that championed peace should now revert to the military actions of Parliament.

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Despite official efforts to broker and maintain the terms of the Treaty of Amiens, English pamphlets carried on a popular debate about the potential French threat.

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Satirical illustrations were an active part of public debate about the ongoing peace negotiations between Great Britain and the French Republic.

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As tensions between the two countries escalated, an English translation of the Napoleon's English conquest Proclamations was printed. Ordre No. 39 reads: "London is before you! that Peru of the Old World is your prey."

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Between 1798 and 1805, the French flotilla steadily increased along Channel ports from
twenty-seven seaworthy gunboats to nearly 2,000 vessels, all potentially poised to invade England. During this same period, Napoleon rose in leadership from General to First Consul in 1799 and to Emperor in 1804. Despite Napoleon’s move toward a more authoritarian and centralized republican government in France, his foreign relations initiatives remained unpredictable. Peace proposals were made by Napoleon as early as 1799, but the disruption of English trade routes by French conquests in Egypt led Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and his foreign secretary, Lord Grenville, to distrust the offer. By March 1802, France and Britain signed the Treaty of Amiens but the tentative Peace of Amiens would be short lived. Among other disputes, the British refused to evacuate Malta and Napoleon continued to annex new territories in Europe. The disagreements culminated in a declaration of war by Britain in May 1803.