Initially - doubts about the viability of the Confederacy. They wanted to back a winner.
Ethical position over slavery - although the war was not originally about slavery, the Lancashire cotton workers said they would sacrifice their jobs, rather than support the Confederacy.
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation made it impossible for free nations abroad to support the South without looking pro-slavery themselves.
Especially good diplomatic work by Lincoln's envoy in London - C.F. Adams (of the Presidential family).
The French and the English did not support the Confederacy during the Civil War. Instead, the countries decided to support the Union.
They fought for the Confederacy throughout the war.
They were losing and needed help from a strong nation. They were losing and needed help from a strong nation.
The South was a manufacturing center for both countries.Their need for cotton would make them allies with the South. THIS ONEThe tariffs on Southern goods were lower than the North's. -NOT THIS ONE-
Because the South was so sure that Britain couldn't get by without their cotton that they would be bound to support the Confederacy.
Supporting the Confederacy would have led to outright war with the United States. It would have also caused labor issues, since the industrial workers sympathized with the slaves and were openly opposed to slavery, and some threatened to leave their jobs rather than support the slave holding Confederacy.
England and France.
English textile mills depended on Southern cotton. England later began growing cotton in Egypt.
They supported the confederacy.
It was the two leading European superpowers at the time...England and France.
Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederacy.
The French and the English did not support the Confederacy during the Civil War. Instead, the countries decided to support the Union.
Scallywags
No he was the Commander in Chief of the Union.
The only thing I can imagine is they were trying to get England to come into the war on their side. They may well have done it until Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which would have put England on the side of slavery. The English people would not have stood for that. They wanted the aid of Great Britain and they believed England would support them because the South sold most of their cotton to England. But, England found cotton in the middle east and did not suffer from the loss of Southern cotton. Then, the Confederacy wanted to keep England neutral but the Emancipation prevented that because England had already outlawed slavery.
They fought for the confederacy
They fought for the confederacy