ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that for a wider understanding of the conflict with Russia by examining the origins of British and allied strategy from the opening of the Eastern Crisis in March 1853 to the declaration of war on 27 March 1854. The current view of the war can be summarised briefly. Russia, reacting to French pressure on Turkey, made heavy-handed demands which amounted to a marked reduction in the independence of the Sultan within his own dominions. The nature of British power in the nineteenth century ensured that the use of force in diplomacy had to begin from the naval perspective. The failure to fit out more of the numerous reserve of battleships, particularly the halffitted Advanced Ships', was conditioned by the limited nature of the British commitment, the desire to wait for the steam battleships, fear of provoking Russia and a chronic shortage of seamen.
