The Causes of the Crimean War: the Allies Goals - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Further, “the more immediate occasion was a dispute between Russia and France over the Palestinian Holy Places” (Encyclopedia 12428).
The British opposed the aggressive policies of Emperor Napoleon III; moreover, the British and the French were old enemies of each other. However, in the Crimean war, due to unexpected circumstances they became allies, combining forces against the Russians to protect the Turks. The Crimean War (1853-1856) resulted from the decline of the Turkish Ottoman Empire which “encouraged Russian imperialism and stoked the British nightmare of Russian interference in India” (Cavendish 55). Additionally, the continued dispute between Greek Orthodox and Latin (Catholic) Christians over the Holy Places in Palestine proved as a catalyst to a series of events that led to the war.
During the war, the newspapers particularly The Times played a predominant role in irresponsibly attempting to shape the course taken by the British nation, thereby fueling modern, middle-class misjudgments (Arnold 153). With the war getting prolonged, dissatisfaction with the war effort increased. Further, treatment of the sick and wounded reported as very deficient, the news of the unfortunate end faced by the Light Brigade at Balaclava due to the issuing of wrong orders, and the costly victory at Inkerman caused grave misgivings about the continuation of the war. The allies suffered on account of “mismanagement, bad weather, cholera, and bad luck” (Neff 171), which prolonged the war to several months of torment, instead of the quick, easy campaign it was initially expected to be.
Jerusalem is a Holy City for Christians, who belong to a variety of persuasions. The French emperor had obtained the right of representation and protection of Christians, as against the Ottoman power. The Eastern, Greek Christians correspondingly expected the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More