Anglo-Russian War (1807–1812) in the context of Treaty of Tilsit

The Battle of Copenhagen (also known as the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 7 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The incident led to the outbreak of the Anglo-Russian War of 1807, which ended with the Treaty of Örebro in 1812. The attack on Denmark, a neutral country, was heavily criticised in Danish sources.

Britain's response to Napoleon's Continental System was to launch a naval attack on Denmark who had been breaking the blockade against Napoleon’s regime. Although neutral, Denmark continued to use their navy to trade under blockade and were under pressure to pledge its fleet to Napoleon. In September 1807, the Royal Navy bombarded Copenhagen, seizing the Danish fleet and assured use of the sea lanes in the North Sea and Baltic Sea for the British merchant fleet and reduced Napoleon’s influence in the Baltic. A consequence of the attack was that Denmark did join the Continental System and the war on the side of France, but without a fleet it had little to offer.

Two Treaties of Örebro were signed on the same day, 18 July 1812, in Örebro, Sweden. Negotiated by the British minister-plenipotentiary in Sweden, Edward Thornton, they formally ended the Anglo-Russian War (1807–1812) and the Anglo-Swedish War (1810–1812), neither of which had seen serious military action.