Crimean War Essay
The Crimean War and the Death of the Concert of Europe
by Maria Fogel, IB Diploma, Class of 1996
The outbreak of the Crimean War in 1853 signified the downfall of the Concert of Europe because it was the first major armed conflict in Europe after the settlement at the Congress of Vienna. This expansionist thrust at the Ottoman Empire by Russia was contrary to the very purpose of the Concert, and ultimately it upset the balance of power which had been preserved from the Congress of Vienna until the Treaty of Paris in 1856, the result of the war.
Numerous factors led to the outbreak of battle in the Crimea. The revolutions of 1848 created a new spirit called "realpolitik" that differed greatly from the aims of the Concert of Europe. After this turbulent period had subsided, Europeans were strongly nationalistic and ready to use force to push their national interests. This nationalism naturally increased the competition between the great powers and augmented their fear of Russian expansion, particularly at the Straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles of the ever-weakening Ottoman Empire. Finally the Turks declared war on Russia, and Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia joined in to protect the Ottoman Empire.
This was clearly not the first violence that had erupted since the Congress of Vienna, but the reason it is regarded as the dissolution of the ideals of the Concert is the fact that the great powers were fighting against each other for national interests. They had failed to compromise to keep the peace, one of Metternich's major goals for Europe. Although in 1827 France, Britain, and Russia went to war with the Turks to help the Greeks win their independence, in this instance the members of the Concert cooperated with one another to achieve a single goal, even though it did not preserve the status quo or protect conservative governments. At this point the great powers were unified in their aims and were still working together.
Additionally, the causes of the Crimean War were contrary to the doctrine of the Concert of Europe because Russia sought to take advantage of the rapidly decaying Ottoman Empire. Originally devised by Metternich as a solution to the Eastern Question, the Concert of Europe was intended to prevent any one nation from gaining control of the Ottoman Empire, thus destroying the balance of power. France, Britain and Sardinia went to war against Russia in order to preserve the balance of power, but in doing so they enlarged the conflict between the Russians and the Turks, sacrificing the goal of peace.
The terms of the Treaty of Paris were detrimental to the goals of the Concert of Europe because they permanently altered the balance of power. As a form of punishment to the Russians, the treaty banned battleships in the Black Sea and the straits, which left Russia with an undefended southern border. Because the balance of power no longer offered Russia a more or less equal position and in fact afforded it a disadvantage, Russia was no longer motivated to uphold what was left of the balance and participate in the Concert of Europe, which was quickly coming unraveled.
In conclusion, the Crimean War was the main cause of the disintegration of the Concert of Europe because war broke out between the great powers, as was not the case with the earlier armed suppressions of revolutions and the Russo-Turkish War. The original spirit with which the Concert had been created was reversed when Russia attempted to exploit the Ottoman Empire. Another goal of the Concert of Europe, to preserve the balance of power, was dissolved by the Treaty of Paris, which was unfavorable to the Russians, leaving them with no incentive to continue to cooperate.