the United States and ports in France or
Europe.

3. But could not trade directly between a French West India island and
France, or a Spanish West India island and Spain, or a Dutch colony
and Holland.

To evade this last restriction, by combining the voyages allowed in
numbers 1 and 2, was easy. A merchant had but to load his ship at New
York or Philadelphia, go to some port in the French West Indies, take on
a new cargo and bring it to Savannah, enter it at the customhouse and
pay the import duties. This voyage was covered by number 1. He could
then, without disturbing his cargo in the least, clear his vessel for
France, and get back from the collector of customs all the duty he had
paid except three per cent. He was now exporting goods from the United
States and was protected by number 2. This was called "the broken
voyage," and by using it thousands of shipowners were enabled to carry
goods back and forth between France and her colonies, by merely stopping
a few hours at an American port to clear for Europe. So universal was
this practice that in 1804 the customs revenue rose from $16,000,000 to
$20,000,000.

In May, 1805, however, the British High Court of Admiralty decided that
goods which started from the French colonies in American ships and were
on their way to France could be captured even if they had been landed
and reshipped in the United States. The moment that decision was made,
the old trouble began again. British frigates were stationed off the
ports of New York and Hampton Roads, and vessels coming in and going out
were stopped, searched, and their sailors impressed. Before 1805 ended,
116 of our ships had been seized and 1000 of our sailors impressed.

%251. Orders in Council, 1806.%--In 1806 matters grew worse. Napoleon
was master of Europe, and in order to injure Great Britain he cut off
her trade with the continent. For this she retaliated by issuing, in
May, 1806, an Order in Council, which declared the whole coast of
Europe, from Brest to the mouth of the river Elbe, to be blockaded. This
was a mere "paper blockade"; that is, no fleets were off the coast to
keep neutrals from running into the blockaded ports. Yet American
vessels were captured at sea because they were going to those ports.

%252. The Berlin Decree.%--Napoleon waited to retaliate till
November, 1806, when he issued the Berlin Decree,[1] declaring the
British Islands to be blockaded.

[Footnote 1: So called because he was at