Q What was the Crimean War, in a nutshell?
A: For Britain and France, the Crimean War lasted between 1854 and 1856, although the Russians and Turkish were officially at war from October 1853. It was a conflict that concluded a 40-year period of heightened tensions between Britain and Russia – essentially a 19thcentury Cold War.
The war was about global influence, economic power, strategic position and, ultimately, it was about the future of the declining Ottoman empire and whether the Russians could punch through out of the Black Sea into the Mediterranean and become a western European power. The British backed Ottoman Turkey because it wasn't a threat, and it was a very good economic partner.
As the name suggests, the war was fought famously in the Crimea, but the primary theatre of the conflict was in the Baltic, and the main instrument of victory was economic warfare.
Q: What caused the war?
The origins of the Crimean War go back to the 18th century, starting with the Russian invasion of the Crimea in
