History of the economic sanctions From the ancient times until the world war I

Athenian economic sanctions (432 B.C.)
Athens prohibited the merchants of the city-state Megara (the ally of Sparta) to enter its markets and harbors
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC)

The results of the Peloponnesian War
Athens was defeated
The Athenian alliance was ruined

The main cause for sanctions during the age of empires was the desire of governments to save money in its own treasuries
Against China
Some countries prohibited import of silk clothes from Ancient China
The main goal was to weaken Chinese economy

But still economic sanctions were rare until the 20th century, the conflicts were usually solved by means of wars
The Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)
Despite the ongoing war, 391 Turkish merchant vessels came into the harbors of the Black Sea in Russia

The Continental System (Blockade) of Napoleon Bonaparte
16 May 1806, Berlin Decree
… forbade the import of British goods into European countries allied with or dependent upon France, and installed the Continental System in Europe. All connections were to be cut, even the mail.
results
There was some damage to Britain's trade, especially in 1808 and 1811, but its control of the oceans helped mitigate the effects.
The loss of Britain as a trading partner also hit the economies of France and its allies.
Angry governments gained an incentive to ignore the Continental System, which led to the weakening of Napoleon's coalition

Trade sanctions were imposed very often by different countries (Great Britain particularly) for affecting other governments.
In 1888 the population of Britain accounted for only 2% of the world population, but share of this country in the overall world trade of manufactured goods was about 54% (absolute record in history).
American analyst John Smith said that one of the reasons of the World War I and the World War II was wide usage of the trade sanctions
For example, Britain and France entered the war against Germany in 1914, explaining it as a “necessity to protect the national trade interests against the German expansion”
Conclusions