Napoleonic Wars War of 1808–1814, assisted by Spanish guerrilla ('little war') tactics. Anglo-Portuguese forces under Arthur Wellesley supported the Spanish, which campaigned successfully against the French armies, eventually driving them from Spain and allowing Britain to invade southern France. By 1815, the British Army played the central role in the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. Beyond minor naval actions against British imperial interests, the Napoleonic Wars were much less global in scope than preceding conflicts such as the Seven Years' War, which historians term a "world war". In response to the naval blockade of the French coasts enacted by the British
Napoleonic Wars Confederation of the Rhine, the Duchy of Warsaw and the Kingdom of Italy. Territories allied with the French included: and Napoleon's former enemies, Sweden, Prussia and Austria. The Napoleonic Wars were the direct cause of wars in the Americas and elsewhere. The War of 1812 coincided with the War of the Sixth Coalition. Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, while Europeans often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. The United States declared war on Britain because of British interference with American merchant ships and forced enlistment