Catherine issues the Declaration of Armed Neutrality, founding the League of Armed Neutrality to protect neutral maritime trade during the American Revolutionary War.
On 9 March 1780, Catherine II issued her celebrated Declaration of Armed Neutrality, a diplomatic initiative that established the League of Armed Neutrality among several European maritime powers. The declaration asserted the rights of neutral nations to trade with belligerents during wartime without interference, directly challenging British naval practices during the American Revolutionary War.
The League eventually included Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, Austria, Portugal, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, forming a coalition of neutral states committed to defending free navigation and trade rights by force if necessary. Though Russia did not go to war over these principles, the declaration significantly pressured Britain's maritime policy and indirectly aided the American colonists' cause by constraining British naval interdiction of neutral shipping.
This diplomatic maneuver showcased Catherine's skill in using Russia's growing international stature to shape global affairs without direct military engagement. It positioned Russia as a leading voice on maritime law and neutral rights, principles that would echo in later international law discussions. The Armed Neutrality initiative also enhanced Catherine's reputation as an Enlightenment-influenced monarch engaged with progressive legal and economic ideas, even as she pursued expansionist and autocratic policies domestically. It remains one of the most cited historical precedents in the development of international maritime neutrality law.