UK Position on Black Sea Ownership during the Crimean War

Abstract

Introduction. The position of Great Britain on the ownership of the Black Sea during the Crimean War (1853—1856) is being considered. The purpose of the study is to determine the position of Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom on the ownership of the Black Sea during the Crimean War. The tasks of the study involve an analysis of this country’s motives which sent its military forces to the territorial maritime belt of Russia in the middle of the 19th century.
Materials and methods. On the basis of historical-comparative and historical-genetic methods of research, the position of Great Britain on the Black Sea belonging, the deployment peculiarities of British military forces in Crimea, party disagreements of members of parliament and the Admiralty regarding Britain’s participation in the war are analyzed.
Results. It was established that at the meetings of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the conviction of members of the government and deputies that Britain became the owner of the Black Sea during this period was repeatedly announced. It is concluded that in the middle of the 19th century the Crimean War, becoming a continuation of the inter-party struggle for power in parliament, was aimed at expanding Britain’s colonial ambitions in the Black Sea.
Discussion and conclusion. Back in the middle of the 19th century Great Britain provoked hostilities in the Crimea, doing everything to weaken Russia. However, the war weakened all the powers participating in it, including Britain. Anti-Russian and militaristic sentiments became part of the political struggle of the government and parliamentary fractions, as well as part of the formation of a centuries-old mentality of the government and parliamentary circles of Great Britain.
The study is of relevant political importance for the modern understanding of the militaristic foreign policy of Great Britain and the origins of state Russophobia.