his 102 a short introduction to the crimean war
TRANSCRIPT
A short introduction to the Crimean War
1853 - 1856
Romantic Politics
1830 - 1848
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
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
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
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.
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
Cultural Revolt: Romanticism & Politics
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
Cultural Revolt: Romanticism
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
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)
Moldavia and Walachia
Moldavia & Walachia: Modern Romania
Provinces of Ottoman Empire in 1853
Also claimed by Ukraine in 16h and 17th centuries.
Background
Crimea was a disputed region throughout the 15-20 centuries
Claimants and rulers included Kossaks (Ukraine), Poland, Russia, Ottoman Turks
Right Bank UkraineCloser ties to Europe
Left Bank UkraineCloser ties to Russia
Importance of Crimea to Russia
Strategic location on the Black Sea
Essential to Russian access to a warm water port
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?
The Crimean War: (October 1853 – February 1856)
Sevastopol
Panorama of Sevastopol Harbour: Photo by Petar Milosevic, August 2011