Crimean War Flashcards
(5 cards)
Background to the Crimean war?
Tsar Nicholas spent heavily on the Russian army and hoped to take territory from the Ottoman Empire. In October 1853 Russian troops invaded ottoman territory, ottomans fought back but the Russian army was huge and Britain and France feared it would fall losing a valuable ally so in June 1854 they sent in troops to help the ottomans.
In September that year British, French and Turks attacked Russian territory in Crimea and had multiple victories in Sevastopol and balaclava proving the Russian army despite its great size was not as great a threat as feared as they were poorly equipped and trained.
In March 1856 The new tsar Alexander II asked for peace and the treaty of Paris was signed.
Attitudes and responses to the Crimean war?
As the war was on a small scale there was no need for recruitment and Britain relied on its navy, small but effective army and allies and as the country was very economically strong there were no new taxes so the war had little to no effect on civilian life.
The British public in general were behind the war as people understood the political reasoning for supporting the ottomans especially as the tsar was a autocrat firmly against the democracy that Britain prided itself for.
How did Britain change during the Crimean war?
1: more urban,
More people lived in towns and cities than in the country.
2: more literate,
More people could read and were becoming more knowledgeable.
3: More questioning,
People were challenging traditional sources of authority like landowners and even the church.
4: more democratic,
The great reform act of 1832 kicked off a movement were more people started to campaign for the right to vote.
5: more connected,
People could travel easier with the new railway systems.
6: role of the media,
Increased newspapers and war reporting changed how people viewed war.
7: relationship between people and government,
The government realised how important the public opinion was for fighting a war and in society general.
How did the increase of newspapers and war reporting change the outlook on the war?
There was a staggering growth in the newspaper industry in Britain. At the start of the French wars there were 76 newspapers and they were heavily taxed and censored by the government.
In 1836 they reduced the tax and by 1851 there were 563 newspapers and journals published in Britain and they were cheaper and more informative.
The increase in newspaper readership directly affected the attitudes to war as in the French wars they were banned from reporting from the front line and they took a long time to reach Britain but now they were detailed and timely.
One influential reporter was Russell of the times who often praised the courage of the British troops but when he saw problems he wrote them and following his reports the editor accused army commander Lord raglan and other leaders of incompetence. The government chose not to censor the newspapers as it would appear that they were trying to hide what was happening in Crimea.
Unexpected heroes of the Crimean war?
1: the troops,
In previous wars reports had tended to praise leaders whereas the ordinary soldier emerged as the hero in the Crimean war as they fought heroically despite horrendous conditions and incompetent leaders.
The charge of the light brigade showed both sides of this as the earl of cardigan misunderstood an order and led 650 cavalrymen into an attack against almost the whole Russian army and over half were captured wounded or killed. The public was also horrified of the reports of the conditions they lived in as more soldiers died of disease than anything else and soldiers where seen as hero’s and memorials began to built.
2: the nurses
A) Florence nightingale,
Nightingale was a wealthy woman so her decision to become a nurse was surprising. When nightingale heard the reports she was horrified and in 1854 she and 38 other female volunteers set out for crimea. Female nurses were initially discriminated against but she had influential support and managed to raise £30,000 to help the soldiers which enable her to buy much needed equipment. She also greatly increased hygiene requirements with a royal comission on the health of the army.
B) Mary Seacole,
The daughter of a Scot and a Jamaican mary applied to work as a nurse in Crimea but she was turned down, despite this she went anyway and set up a makeshift hospital in balaclava whilst she didn’t have the wealth or support of nightingale her efforts were probably more impressive as she faced so much racial prejudice along the way.
