 The governments of the treaty participants, perhaps in following Britain's lead, proclaimed their neutrality and accepted the blockade without recognizing the sovereignty of the Davis government except as a "de facto" belligerent, the same as the United States, while continuing to recognize the Lincoln government as the "legal" American government.Nevertheless, the status of "belligerent" gave the seceding states invaluable practical rights almost equal to being recognized as a nation.Recognized belligerents had certain rights such as securing foreign loans, purchasing foreign arms and the use of neutral ports as harbors of refuge and repair for warships.