Opposition to the War of 1812 in Britain

Part of the larger maritime war with France, the Orders were intended to cut off French trade with the rest of world.

The policy affected American traders, who claimed they should be able to trade with both nations, since they belonged to a neutral country in the struggle against Napoleon.

Some publications, such as the Glasgow Journal, accused Parliament of keeping the orders in place so that they could make money from selling exemptions to the rule.

The nation had become the most militarised in the world, with 20% of all males ending up in the military, leading Britain to have a substantially higher rate of mobilisation than even its rival, France.

[8][9] Given all of this, many in Britain were angered about the start of another war, which some, like William Cobbett of the Weekly Register, argued was just another method of profit for corporations.

[10] The last major point of opposition against the War of 1812 came when the British burned the White House, along with other public buildings in Washington, D.C, in August 1814, in retaliation for the American destruction of Port Dover.

Many argued that America deserved to be treated with the same wartime respect that the European powers received, as burning down a capital of foreign city was not done in Europe.