The Turkish –Russian War 1806 -1812 and the British Interest in Southeastern Europe
Zidaru Marian, Stefan Georgescu, and Carastoian Marilena
In the first half of the twentieth century, to confirm its regional primacy, Great Britain served in effect as Europe's imperial coordinator in the Ottoman succession.During the Russian-Turkish conflict between 1806-1812 the British interest was specific and peculiar. The British policy to the Turks was first to prevent and then to end the war between the Turkey and Russia as a means of strengthening Russian army fighting France in Europe In 1812 British diplomacy was involve in peace negotiations between Turkey and Russia. At 27 march 1812, in his instructions to Sir Robert Liston, His Majesty’s Ambassador and Plenipotentiary Extraordinary to the Sublime Ottoman Porte,that his first mission was to maintain the good relation of amity and commerce between His Majesty and the Sublime Ottoman Porte. The second object of his mission was to assist and accelerate by every means in his power, pacifications between the Turks and the Russians. Castlereagh considered that, „continuation of the struggle between those Powers being equally dangerous to the prosperity, if not the existence of both”. During Britain's monopoly of commerce under successively renewed royal charters (1581 - 1825), the Levant Company had cultivated trade with the Ottoman Empire's eastern Mediterranean territories from Greece to Egypt. Once the industrial revolution had taken hold in Britain late in the eighteenth century, the Levant Company faced no serious competition from Western European rivals. Given the long head start before the industrial revolution crossed the English Channel, Britain captured and held first place in the external Ottoman trade until World War I.This paper represents the result of our research in the United Kingdom National Archives and follows the development of the British-Turks and British-Russian diplomatic and economic bargaining during the period 1806-1812.