March 30 - Treaty of Paris Signed

This Day in History: 30 March 2020

 

30 March 1856

 

164 years ago, today, the Treaty of Paris was signed, between Russia on one side, and France, Great Britain, Sardinia-Piedmont, and Turkey on the other, which ended the Crimean War. The treaty gave special attention to the problem that the western Europe powers had fought over, and that was the protection of Ottoman Turkey from Russia. By signing the agreement, the independence and territorial integrity was guaranteed of Turkey, and Russia was obliged to surrender Bessarabia to Moldavia. Along with Walachia, the two were reorganised as autonomous states, and these two areas were later joined to form Romania. The Black Sea was also neutralised, meaning that its waters were closed to all warships, and the Danube was opened to the shipping of all nations.

 

In 1870, Russia refused to acknowledge the demilitarisation of the Black Sea, and so began to rebuild its naval fleet there, and the Allies were unable to stop them. A clause in the Treaty also required Russia to abandon religious excuses to interfere in the Turkish Empire, but again, Russia failed to honour this clause. In 1876, the Turks managed to crush a Bulgarian rising using the Bashi-Bazooks, and following this, Russia acted as a protector of the Slavs and Christians, and so invaded Turkey.

 

Want to find out more about the Treaty of Paris, and its outcomes? Click here for more information.