He was talking about people starting wars who were dependent on maritime access and trade.....he said the south was stupid for doing it....I pointed out that the colonies did the same. Were they stupid too?
Again Reb, go back and read the history. The colonists did far better than your ancestors did, now didn’t they?
The Colonists did not have a standing navy as such because, well because they were colonists. But they did have a navy of sorts. And they issued Letters of Marque to Privateers, who created havoc all across the Atlantic. The Privateers were wildly successful during the Revolutionary War. Interestingly, they didn't do so well during the War of 1812 and the enterprise was outlawed (with the United States as a signatory) in the Declaration of Paris.
When the rebels pretended to their secession they had no navy and not much in terms of shipping at all. Remember that they had been willingly reliant on the Northeast for most of their shipping needs. So the confeds issued Letters of Marque in defiance of international treaty and encouraged as much piracy and blockade running as possible.
They asked the Privateers to bring them badly needed weapons, armaments, firearms, ammunition, and medical suppies as they also neglected to build their own foundries, factories, and manufacturing facilities as well.. But the Privateers saw that there was more money to be made smuggling the fineries that the southern aristocrats craved. Silk and Champagne, and other luxuries from Europe that they were accustomed to having.
The confed Privateers were pretty thoroughly chewed up and a bitter disappointment to davis.
Now I suppose one could try to draw a comparison between the two instances but I don't think that the analogy works.