Order in Council is a decree issued by the British Crown when a matter of great importance confronts the nation. Orders in Council get their name from the fact that they are proclaimed with the advice of the Privy Council. In 1807, Britain issued Orders in Council in answer to Napoleon’s threat to blockade the island empire. By these orders, British ships blockaded the European coast and kept neutral trading vessels from entering ports of Napoleonic Europe. See also Continental System; Privy Council.
