Much is made on these threads of British recognition of Confederates as "belligerents" in the Civil War.
It resulted in important secret support for Confederates in the forms of weapons & ships built & sold.
But vastly more important was the British recognition of the Union blockade, especially at a time when it was virtually unenforced.
The blockade ended cotton exports to Europe, a major blow to the Confederate cause.
As we have learned from London Times correspondent William H. Russell's writing, there is a wide assumption in the south that the end of cotton exports will quickly cause Great Britain to come to her senses and recognize and support the new Confederacy. As a determined neutral, Russell doesn't attempt to change minds, but he notes in his diary that the assumption is unrealistic.