Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 136 Public Opinion in Britain and France

Since the Tsar had said so, they had no room for argument. The government continued to issue orders: conscript 20 soldiers and issue 4000 million rubles in national debt.

At this point, Nicholas I lowered his demands, saying that if the problem couldn't be resolved within a year, then he would have General Winter teach them a lesson. He believed that if Napoleon hadn't defeated Russia, neither could Britain, France, the Ottomans, and Persia.

Although the British government believed that the army was not their strong suit, it was still prepared to conscript a large number of troops to the Ottoman Empire because public opinion at home could no longer be suppressed.

With the rise of railways, Britain saw the emergence of national newspapers in the 1840s and 1850s, and public opinion became a powerful force in British politics, arguably surpassing the influence of Parliament and the Cabinet in some respects. The Times, long closely associated with the Conservative Party, increasingly viewed itself as a force no less powerful than any national institution—a so-called fourth force.

Interior Minister Viscount Palmerston understood that to win public support, he needed to cultivate relationships with the press and communicate his ideas to the public in simple and clear language. Publicizing war with Russia was one of his methods for gaining public support.

His words resonated with the British because they represented the national characteristics and ideals of Britain as imagined by the British: Protestant, freedom-loving, energetic, adventurous, confident, and bold. They were willing to fight for the weak, proud to be British, and disdainful of foreigners, especially Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

He associated Catholics and Orthodox Christians with the worst decadence and ugliness on the European continent. The British public loved his rhetoric on foreign intervention based on liberal ideals because that was how they viewed Britain: Britain was the greatest country in the world, and the government's job was to bring the British way of life to those unfortunate foreigners.

He grew increasingly popular, and in the public eye, his ideals became synonymous with defending "British values," to the point that anyone who tried to prevent Britain from entering the war was vilified and attacked by newspapers waving the banner of patriotism. Even the Queen's husband, Prince Albert, was accused of being either German or Russian, and many seemed unable to distinguish between the two.

Some newspapers even called for Prince Albert's execution: "Rather than hesitate in the face of battle, let the blood of sinners be spilled on the gallows of the Tower of London!" Queen Victoria was furious and threatened to abdicate. The Earl of Aberdeen and Russell, representing the Queen, negotiated with the editors of the major newspapers, only to find that the offensive would not subside immediately, because these articles were published with the editors' consent, some even written by the editors themselves, simply to sell more copies of the newspapers.

In the minds of the British public, the war with Russia involved "British principles": defending individual liberty, civilization, and free trade. Defending the Ottomans represented British virtues: upholding justice for the weak and helpless, and resisting tyrants and bullies. However, for Anglicans, a major obstacle was that supporting the Ottomans meant joining forces with infidels against Russian Christians.

However, evangelical Christians had little problem supporting the Ottomans against the Orthodox Church, believing that Tanzimat's reforms represented Ottoman liberalism and religious tolerance. Some church leaders even claimed that the Ottomans had contributed to the spread of Protestantism in the Near East. In France, the press also actively influenced Napoleon III's foreign policy. The greatest pressure came from local Catholic newspapers. Since the Holy Land dispute began, these newspapers had been calling for war with Russia, and these calls intensified after the Sinop incident. Some newspapers published editorials stating that "if France and Britain cannot stop the Russian threat to the Ottomans, these two countries will one day be enslaved by Russia like the Ottomans."

A propaganda campaign was launched to argue that Russia must expand its territory to acquire more resources precisely because it is too backward.

At this event, someone said: "Political and religious lies are precisely what Russia represents. It is inherently barbaric, yet it tries to imitate our civilization, which makes us suspicious. Its tyranny terrifies us. Its violent rule may suit a people whose savagery is innate, almost like a mad beast, but it certainly doesn't suit civilized people. Nicholas's policies provoked outrage in all civilized European countries because his policies involved burning, killing, and looting. They were nothing more than a large group of bandits."

This was exactly what Napoleon wanted to hear. In the French Parliament at the end of March, he told both houses: "In preventing Russia from permanently expanding to Constantinople, France's interests even surpass those of Britain's, because occupying Constantinople means dominating the Mediterranean. Gentlemen, I think none of you would say that only Britain's interests in the Mediterranean are of paramount importance?"
Why did we send troops to Constantinople? We went there to defend the Sultan's cause alongside Britain, and to protect the rights of Christians. We went there to defend the freedom of the seas and to defend our rightful influence in the Mediterranean.

However, at the outset of the war, Britain and France held differing views. They convened a series of meetings in Paris to discuss war objectives and strategies. France proposed extending the war beyond the two duchies along the Danube to Crimea. If Austria and Prussia could be persuaded to join the alliance, France favored large-scale battles in the two duchies and southern Russia, with Austrian and Prussian forces coordinating operations in Poland. However, the British distrusted the Austrians, considering them too weak towards Russia, and were unwilling to ally with them, lest Austria hinder Britain's efforts to curb Russia's expansionist ambitions.

There were also disagreements within the British cabinet regarding war objectives and strategy. Aberdeen insisted on a limited war aimed at restoring Ottoman sovereignty; however, Palmerston and the war faction suggested a bolder approach, taking the opportunity to weaken Russia's influence in the Near East and ultimately defeat it. Finally, a compromise was reached, agreeing to the naval battle plan drafted by First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir James Graham.

His plan was to launch a swift attack on Sevastopol, destroy the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and occupy Crimea. If successful, he would then launch an offensive from the Baltic Sea the following spring, bringing his troops to the gates of St. Petersburg.

At this time, the whole of Britain was engulfed in war fever, and the idea of ​​keeping the war to a limited scale had long been forgotten. His war objectives continued to escalate, not only because of the media's belligerent chauvinism, but also because many people believed that the potential costs of war were enormous, and therefore grand goals were necessary to "be worthy of Britain's glory and greatness."

(End of this chapter)