Question

What were the long term effects of the Crimean War?

Answer 1

Institutional problems and defects within the British military as a whole were exposed by the Crimean War and the Sepoy Mutiny in India shortly afterwards, and this led to a thorough investigation and overhaul of the British army.Known as the Cardwell Reforms and introduced beginning in 1864, this made enlistment in the British army (at all levels) more attractive as a career, and ended detrimental practices such as purchase of commissions and flogging as a punishment.

Although Russia later reneged on some of the terms of the 1856 Treaty of Paris that ended the war, the fact that warships were banned from the Black Sea and fortifications and armaments on its shores were also banned were a severe setback to Russian power and plans in the area;additionally, Russia lost territory at the mouth of the Danube and influence over areas in the Balkans. All this collectively helped to prop up the Ottoman empire, which was to survive until the end of WW1 - longer than the Russian empire of the Czars.

Another long term effect concerned Italy.Sardinia had joined the alliance against Russia during the Crimean War, hoping for French help against Austria to unify Italy at a later date. Sardinia got this help during the 1859 Second Italian War of Independence, which went a long way to expelling Austria from Italy and establishing a unified,independent Italian state.