Crimean War

1. A short introduction to the
Crimean War
1853 - 1856

2. Romantic Politics
1830 - 1848

3. Background: The Congress of Vienna
 Organized in 1814
 Conference of Ambassadors (meeting informally between 1814 and June 1815)
 England
 Prussia
 Austria
 Russia
 Goals
 Organize a peace to bring stability to Europe (and ensure the maintenance of their own power)
 Contain but not punish France
 Who was left out?
 Ottoman Empire
 France
 Forced back to borders of 1792
 Loss of Netherlands

4. Background: The Congress of Vienna
 Organized in 1814
 Conference of Ambassadors (meeting informally between 1814 and June 1815)
 England
 Prussia
 Austria
 Russia
 Goals
 Organize a peace to bring stability to Europe (and ensure the maintenance of their own power)
 Contain but not punish France
 Who was left out?
 Ottoman Empire
 France
 Forced back to borders of 1792
 Loss of Netherlands

5. Balance of Power
 Resize the ―Great Powers‖ so they could balance each other off and remain at peace.
 Argument: if no one kingdom was more powerful than all the others, there would be peace.
 Any kingdom that moved to grab more territory would be opposed by the rest.
 Maintain the power of monarchs and aristocrats against liberals and nationalists.
 System of Balance of Power created by Congress of Vienna lasted until outbreak of WWI in 1914
 Leaders:
 Klemens Wenzel Furst von Metternich- Austria
 Viscount Castlereigh-England
 Tsar Alexander I-Russia
 Frederick Willhelm I –Prussia
 Maurice de Tallyrand-France
 Conservatives: maintain the status quo politically against liberalism and nationalism

6. Territorial Borders Set by Congress of
Vienna 1815
In central Europe, Germany and Italy remained
lose confederations of smaller principalities. The
Austrian Empire contained ethnic territories and
diverse cultures and languages. The Hapsburg
Dynasty was ruled by the Hapsburg emperor and
various ethnic princes. The biggest threats to
Hapsburg power were Nationalist movements in
these smaller territories which clamored for
independence.
The Ottoman and Russian empires also
contained many diverse ethnic territories where
nationalist independence movements might
erupt.
All of the great powers hoped to repress
nationalist movements for territorial
independence while at the same time
containing any other Great Power that moved to
gain additional territory and power.

7. The Holy Alliance
 Russia, Austrian Empire and Prussia
 Signed 26 September 1815
 Alexander I primary architect
 Purpose
 Coalition of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christians
 Protect Divine Right of Kings
 Promote Christian values
 Opposed
 Britain
 Ottomans
 Papal States in Italy
 Romantic propaganda designed to portray Ottoman Empire as a dangerous enemy against which peoples in
Russia, Austria and Prussia had to remain united: the Muslim Ottoman rulers repressed Christian minorities in the
Ottoman Empire.
 Anti-Muslim sentiment was also used to repress Muslim minorities in the Russian and Austrian Empires
 Caucasus Mountains: Chechnya, Dagestan
 Balkan Peninsula: Bosnia, Herzegovina

8.  Romantic politics: liberty, history, and nation
 The Romantic uniqueness of cultures
 Johann von Herder (1744–1803)
 Civilization arises out of the Volk (common people), not elites
 The Volkgeist—spirit or genius of the people
 Brothers Grimm
 Collected German folktales
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rVy3RBJmNo

9.  Romantic politics: liberty, history, and nation
 Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
 Dealt sympathetically with the experience of the common people
 Les Miserables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOlKBX7BzpI
 François de Chateaubriand (1768–1848)
 Religious experiences of the national past are woven into the present
 What is a ―Christian Nation‖ or ―Christian Kingdom‖?
 Against what is the Christianity of the nation opposed?
 Jews, Muslims, Socialists, Orthodox vs. Roman Catholic; Protestant vs. Roman Catholic;
 Accent on religious emotion, feeling, and subjectivity
 ―Christianity is under attack and must be preserved‖
 God blesses the ―Christian‖ kingdom or nation

10. The Decline of Ottoman Power and
International Relations
The Crimean War (1853-1856)
 Russia invaded Ottoman territories of Moldavia and Walachia (Romania) to protect Russian Orthodox
Christians from Catholics (Issue: who would be supreme Christian authority in Ottoman Empire provinces of
Moldavia and Walachia?).
 France, Britain, Ottoman Empire, Sardinia opposed Russia
 Austria remained neutral but garrisoned its troops which helped Britain, France and Ottomans
 Russia gained upper hand by sinking Ottoman fleet at Sinope
Photo of Ottoman Era postcard of Sinope
by Tsolag K. Dildilian (2010)

11. Moldavia and Walachia
 Moldavia & Walachia: Modern
Romania
 Provinces of Ottoman Empire in 1853
 Also claimed by Ukraine in 16h and
17th centuries.

12. Background
 Crimea was a disputed region throughout the 15-20 centuries
 Claimants and rulers included Kossaks (Ukraine), Poland, Russia, Ottoman Turks
Right Bank Ukraine
Closer ties to Europe
Left Bank Ukraine
Closer ties to Russia

13. Importance of Crimea to Russia
 Strategic location on the Black Sea
 Essential to Russian access to a warm water port

14. Russia and Sevastopol
 Russia held Sevastopol (where its fleet was harbored) for one year
 Russia temporarily lost Sevastopol and had to scuttle most of its fleet there.
 Treaty of Paris (March 31, 1856)
 Russia returned Moldavia and Wallachia to Ottomans
 Control of Sevastopol and Balaclava returned to Russia
 Tsar and Sultan agree not to create naval or military arsenals along Black Sea Coast
 Treaty of Paris ended in 1871 with French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and Britain could not
enforce the treaty alone.
 Russia established military bases in Black Sea
 Impact of history on modern Russo- Ukraine conflict?

15. The Crimean War: (October 1853 – February 1856)

16. Sevastopol
Panorama of Sevastopol Harbour: Photo by Petar Milosevic, August 2011