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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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War of 1812
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(1812–15) War between Britain and the USA which was an offshoot of the *Napoleonic Wars. American naval commerce suffered greatly from Napoleon's blockade of Britain and from the British response. The British regarded as hostile any vessel carrying cargo which had not paid dues at a port in Britain; moreover they began boarding American ships and press-ganging any sailors whom they suspected of being British. After the failure of lengthy negotiations, the USA declared war in June 1812.
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Hostilities took place mainly along the border with the British colony of Canada and on the eastern seaboard, where the British navy imposed an almost complete commercial blockade. The most dramatic event of the war was the burning by British troops in 1814 of the Capitol and the president's house in Washington, D.C.,in reprisal for similar American acts in Toronto. Peace terms agreed at Ghent, in Belgium, were accepted by the American senate in February 1815.
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