Scorched-earth defense
The scorched-earth defense is a form of risk arbitrage and anti-takeover strategy.
Scorched earth
During the 1810 (third) Napoleonic invasion of Portugal, the Portuguese population retreated towards Lisbon, ordered to destroy all the food supplies the French might capture, forage and shelter in a wide belt across the country. (Although effective food-preserving techniques had recently been invented, they were still not fit for military use because a suitably rugged container had not yet been invented.) The command was obeyed as a result of French plundering and general ill-treatment of civilians in the previous invasions, the poor, angered people would rather destroy anything that had to be left behind rather than leaving it to the French.