By 1812 the Napoleonic wars in Europe blazed with fury and the United States found itself caught between British and French trade embargoes which confiscated its merchant ships and threatened the commerce of the newly formed nation.
In June 1812, the United States declared war an Great Britain in retaliation for seizures of American ships.
The great Indian leader, Tecumseh, allied with the British and the Creeks, under Red Eagle, becomes increasingly hostile to United States expansion in his tribal lands.
In Mexico the war of liberation against the Spanish continues under Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, whose patriot armies now control large areas of the country.
