Rule of 1756
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The Rule of 1756 was a policy of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that was promulgated during the Seven Years' War. It ruled that Britain would not trade with neutral nations who were also trading with the enemy. The rationale behind this rule was that the neutral nation was aiding the enemy.
The rule was one of the causes of the War of 1812. British warships had captured American seamen — both civilians and U.S. Navy sailors — to serve in the Royal Navy (a process known as impressment). Although America repeatedly asserted its neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars, Britain applied its Rule of 1756 and deemed American to be siding with France and thus a belligerent.
