French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's motto during his reign was "France above all"; so he wanted France to be the most powerful country, even stronger than Great Britain. He believed that to achieve his intentions he had to mutilate English commerce, a country he called "a nation of traders." He believed that their wealth was fictitious, dispersed and dependent on foreign trade; thus, the continental system would lead to the destruction of their economic stability and credibility, thereby causing their collapse. He believes that “for France, the result will be a dream” since British financial power will be transferred to it. Despite his expectations, the continental system was useless. Its failure resulted from the continent's discontent with the order, the inability of the French emperor to control Europe and enforce the structure, and above all, a poor assessment of the effects that the blockade economic would have on the continent and Great Britain. 1805, British naval supremacy is established in Europe. It became clear that France could not defeat Britain in a direct confrontation. Since his first strategy of direct attack was too risky, Napoleon's second option was economic war. As the historian Sloane wrote: "To destroy British commerce is to strike England in the heart", thus Bonaparte launched the "coastal system" which blocked Britain from the Continental Europe. He will then establish France as the capital of this empire, a capital led by nationalists who will propagate his ideologies. In 1803, Napoleon said, speaking of English ministers: “How could a nation of forty million inhabitants agree to let another nation settle? below the law for that? ...... middle of paper ...... 14, no. 3 (1954): 254-261. Coffin, Victor. “Censorship and literature under Napoleon I”. The American Historical Review. Flight. 22, no. 2 (1917): 288-308. Gershoy, Leo. French Revolution and Napoleon. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1964. Hechscher, Eli F. The Continental System: An Economic Interpretation. Toronto: The Clarendon Press, 1918. Palmer, Alan. Alexander I: Tsar of War and Peace. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.Rose, JH “Napoleon and English Commerce”. The English Historical Review. Flight. 8, no. 32 (1893): 704-725. Ruppenthal, Roland. “Denmark and the Continental System.” The Journal of Modern History. Flight. 15, no. 1 (1943): 7-23. Sloane, William M. “Napoleon's Continental System.” Political Science Quarterly. Flight. 13, no. 2 (1898): 213-231.Snyder Louis L. Fifty major documents of the nineteenth century. New York: Van Nostrand, 1955.