1812年战争起因再探讨——试论英国强征美国商船海员的历史背景

On the Cause of the War of 1812——An Analysis on the Historical Background of British Conscribing the American Merchant Seamen

自《航海条例》出台后,英国始终把对于海洋的控制作为国家战略的制高点,直到美国独立之后仍然一以贯之。出于对这一信念的坚持,当18世纪末本国海员流失海外时,英国强行征用在美国商船任职的海员,以此来挽救当时航运业的颓势。美国认为这种行为侵犯了自己的主权,表示强烈不满。美英双方矛盾愈演愈烈,成为1812年战争的一大诱因。

Since the issue of the Navigation Acts,Britain has always put the control of the sea as the commanding height of the national strategy.Out of this belief,Britain conscribed seamen of American com-mercial marine to retrieve the hopeless situation when Britain lost a number of seamen abroad at the end of the 18th century.The United States believed that this behavior had infringed its sovereignty and expressed its strong protest.This conflict between the two countries became increasingly intense and became a major cause of the war of 1812.