The cotton diplomacy was a huge mistake by the South. The cotton was one of the most important products in the South, and it was also a product on which the British and the French heavily relied on. The Confederacy tried to force the British and the French to ally with them in the Civil War by putting an embargo on the cotton. This didn't had any effect as wanted though, but it backfired. The British and the French found new sources for getting cotton, while the South turned out to put an embargo on itself, as it blocked its own product which badly affected its economy too.
