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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

Critically examine: “The Continental Blockade was a misconceived idea of economically defeating Great Britain.”

  • UPSC 2015
  • Origins of Modern Politics

Napoleon's Continental System, launched to strangle Britain's trade after Trafalgar closed the naval option, rested on an economic logic that looked plausible on paper but proved unworkable once tested against reality.

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of the History Optional PYQ Master Pack.

What the full answer covers

  • The Original Premise and Its Machinery
  • Why the Idea Was Structurally Misconceived
  • The Self-Inflicted Costs on the Continent and on France
  • A Partial Defence: Was It Entirely Without Effect?

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