III.

The War Crisis

By the early 1850s, however, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia believed he saw another opportunity to further Russian influence by intervention in Turkish affairs. He felt confident of support from Austria in return for the aid Russia had given the Habsburg dynasty during the revolutions of 1848 to 1850. He also believed, mistakenly, that the British government of George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th earl of Aberdeen, would collaborate in a partition of the Balkan territories controlled by the Turks.

The immediate cause for Russian intervention was a dispute between Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians over control of the holy places in Palestine, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. In December 1852 the Ottoman sultan, responding to French pressure, decided in favour of the Roman Catholics. Nicholas, the protector of Orthodoxy, quickly dispatched a mission to Constantinople (now İstanbul, Turkey), aiming at a new settlement in favour of the Orthodox Christians and a treaty guaranteeing their rights within the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, in discussions with the British ambassador to Russia, Nicholas raised the possibility of a partition of the Balkans and a “temporary” Russian occupation of Constantinople and the straits.

The British ambassador to Constantinople, Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, helped arrange an amicable settlement over the Palestinian holy places, but persuaded the Turks to reject the other Russian demands as presenting a threat to their sovereignty. Russia responded on July 1, 1853, by occupying the Turkish principalities of Moldavia and Walachia (now Romania). The European powers attempted to arrange a compromise, but this proved futile. On October 4, confident of British and French support, the Ottoman Empire declared war against Russia.