A truly bizarre war

A truly bizarre war

• A truly bizarre war

• Russia versus the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and France

• British policy: Lord Palmerston

• Prevent Russian expansion in the Near East
• Use the Ottoman Empire to do it

• Stratford Canning, British ambassador in Constantinople

1690 Ottomans granted the French Catholic Church the right to have jurisdiction over some holy places

• 1690 Ottomans granted the French Catholic Church the right to have jurisdiction over some holy places

• By the 19th century the vast majority of pilgrims were Russian Orthodox

• Russians got more and more concessions for Orthodox clergy

Louis Napoleon (elected president of France 1848, then Emperor Napoleon III in 1852)

• Louis Napoleon (elected president of France 1848, then Emperor Napoleon III in 1852)

• Tsar Nicholas I

• 1853 Russian demanded more concessions at the holy places

• Canning advised the Turks to reject them

• July 1853 Russians occupied Romania

1853 Conference in Vienna to work out a solution

• 1853 Conference in Vienna to work out a solution

• October 3, 1853 Turkish ultimatum to Russia

• November 30, 1853 Battle (?) of Sinope in the Black Sea

• Napoleon III called on the British to “sweep the Russian flag from the Black Sea”

• March 1854 Britain and France declared war on Russia

Baltic Sea?

• Baltic Sea?

• Black Sea, particularly Romania

• Summer 1854 Allied landings at Varna
• June 3, 1854 Vienna issued an ultimatum to Russians to evacuate Romania
• Russians not there anymore
• Austrian army entered Romania

If Sebastopol remained in Russian hands, London was doomed

• If Sebastopol remained in Russian hands, London was doomed

• September 14, 1854 Allies landed in the Crimea

• September 1855 Sebastopol fell to the Allies

March 1, 1855 Nicholas died and Alexander II became Tsar

• March 1, 1855 Nicholas died and Alexander II became Tsar

• December 1855 Austrian ultimatum to the Russians

• Free passage of Danube mouth and new agreement for the Straits
• Protectorate of all Christians
• Neutral Black Sea
• Part of Bessarabia back to Turkey

European (not Russian) guarantees for Christians in Ottoman Empire

• European (not Russian) guarantees for Christians in Ottoman Empire

• Neutral passage of Straits, Black Sea, and Danube for all shipping

• Danube placed under the control of an international commission (still exists)

• Status of Moldavia and Walachia to be determined by an international conference

• Ottoman Empire admitted to “Concert of Europe”