The decree proclaimed that "the British Isles are declared to be in a state of blockade", and forbade all correspondence or commerce with Great Britain.[3] All British subjects found in French territory or that of France's allies were to be arrested as prisoners of war, and all British goods or merchandise seized. Any vessel found contravening the decree and landing in a continental port from a British or British-colonial port was to be treated as if it were British property and therefore liable to confiscation along with all its cargo.[4]