the beginnings of ottoman-german partnership - Bilkent University

that this would lessen British ability to influence Ottoman affairs though his military
advisors reported that Prussia was sending the officers to help the Ottomans due to
fear of Russian attacks against Prussia as well as the Ottoman Empire. 10 For the
British, Russians were a threat to the European balance of power, especially when
Russia offered the Ottomans diplomatic and military support during the Egyptian
crisis in 1838-1839. Ottoman statesmen accepted the Russian offer reluctantly due to
a quite justified fear that Russia would use its military penetration to expand their
political influence in the Ottoman court as well as the Christian provinces of the
Empire.
The Crimean War (1853-1856) resulted largely from British and French
efforts to stop the expansion of Russian influence in the Ottoman Empire. With
strong British and French support, the Ottoman Army was able to push back a
Russian invasion of northeastern Turkey, though it was unable to prevent the
Russians from stirring the Armenians resident there to accept Russia as their
defender and to abandon their loyalty to the Sultan in order to achieve independence.
The Ottomans were forced to accept loans from Britain and its other allies, which
helped in the short run but ultimately led to European control of Ottoman finances
during the last half of the 19th century. In the Peace of Paris (1856), the Ottoman
Empire was accepted as a European power and its territories were guaranteed by
other European powers including Prussia. European interference to guarantee
Ottoman integrity and frustrate Russian ambitions, however, only increased Russian
grievances against the Ottoman Empire and led to new wars a quarter century later. 11
10 Oral Sander, Anka’nın Yükselişi ve Düşüşü: Osmanlı Diplomasi Tarihi Üzerine Bir Deneme,
(Ankara: İmge Yayınevi, 1993), p. 177.
11 Sander, pp. 207-227.
9