The British elite tended to support the Confederacy, but ordinary people tended to support the Union.
Top British officials debated offering to mediate in the first 18 months, which the Confederacy wanted but the United States strongly rejected. Despite the high unemployment, some Manchester cotton workers refused out of principle to process any cotton from America, leading to direct praise from President Lincoln, whose statue in Manchester bears a plaque which quotes his appreciation for the textile workers in 'helping abolish slavery'. In Manchester, the massive reduction of available American cotton caused an economic disaster referred to as the Lancashire Cotton Famine. Private British blockade runners sent munitions and luxuries to Confederate ports in return for cotton and tobacco. Over 90 percent of Confederate trade with Britain ended, causing a severe shortage of cotton by 1862.
It legally recognised the belligerent status of the Confederate States of America (CSA) but never recognised it as a nation and neither signed a treaty with it nor ever exchanged ambassadors.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland remained officially neutral throughout the American Civil War (1861–1865). Overview of the role of the United Kingdom during the American Civil War
