Discussion Questions for 30 March

1. Like the Anglo-French Seven Years War, many have argued that the Crimean War was largely accidental or inadvertent. Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? Why, or why not? How would you test this argument? What evidence would you look for? What evidence would support/disconfirm this argument?



2. The lectures and readings have pointed to a variety of factors that led to the Crimean War. Based on your own assessment of the historical record, which explanation(s) do you find the most convincing and why? Are there any factors that have been overlooked, or under-emphasized?



3. Could the Crimean War have been prevented? If so, how? Stated differently, what is the single most important lesson that we should learn from the Crimean War to avoid future wars?

"The Quarrel of the Monks"
Menshikov and the "Menshikov demands"
Treaty of Kutchuk Kainardji
Besika Bay
The Bosphorus/Bosporus
Moldavia and Walachia
"Sinope Massacre"
Palmerston
Napoleon III
Tsar Nicholas I
The Ottoman Empire
The Dardenelles
Constantinople
Sebastopol