... that Napoleon III raised the issue of the Holy Places to provoke a war with Russia. Rather, it was a means of promoting Anglo-French accord by generating a diplomatic crisis in a region where Britain had long feared Russian intentions at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. A demonstration of Anglo-French naval solidarity as a warning to Russia, even with the latter occupying the Danubian principalities, did not necessarily mean war. Indeed, the Vienna Note (July 1853) seemed to offer a peaceful resolution to the conflict. However, Turkey's declaration of war on Russia (October 1853) and Russia's sinking of the Turkish fleet at Sinope, a legitimate act of war, hardened public opinion in the west so that war against Russia was precipitated. At least Britain was her ally in the conflict. If the war was a squalid affair, it did culminate in a Congress at Paris (1856) which seemed to ...

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