Prior to the War of 1812, the British navy engaged in impressment, which meant that they forced American sailors serve on British ships.
Explanation:
Impressment refers to the forcible recruitment of seafarers for war and merchant ships. This type of deprivation of liberty was also used at times for supplementing the army.
The British Royal Navy used impressment as a means for compulsory recruitment from the Elizabethan Age, and since 1563 this was legally legitimized. Even after American independence, Americans continued to be forced into the Navy as Britain continued to consider all Americans born British as its citizens. In the course of the coalition wars, around 9,000 Americans were forcibly recruited into the British fleet. This approach was one reason for the outbreak of the War of 1812.
