Blockade

Common card · No. 239375

A blockade is the use of military force to prevent food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, entering or leaving a country or region. Unlike sanctions or an embargo, which are legal barriers to trade, a blockade is physical. Blockades are distinct from sieges in that a blockade is usually directed at an entire country or region, rather than a fortress or city, and the objective of a blockade is not necessarily to conquer the area. A blockade is directed at interdicting the movement of shipping and goods, and is therefore distinguished from a siege, which aims at the reduction of a defended place. A blockading power can seek to cut off all maritime transport from and to the blockaded country, although stopping all land transport to and from an area may also be considered a blockade. Blockades restrict the trading rights of neutral parties, who must submit for inspection for contraband, which the blockading power may define narrowly or broadly, sometimes including...

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