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- Title
İNGİLTERE BAŞBAKANI GENÇ WILLIAM PITT VE ÖZİ KRİZİ.
- Authors
BAĞÇECİ, Yahya
- Abstract
William Pitt the Younger took office as the prime minister of the United Kingdom in 1883, when he was only 24. During his long ministry, he faced with some problems which were very important and difficult for the United Kingdom. One of those was the Ochakov crisis that took place in the spring of 1791. The developments which led to this crisis began with the Catherine the Second's taking action, after capturing Crimea, for fulfilling her ambitions regarding the Ottoman Empire. In the war that began between the Ottoman Empire and Russia in 1787, Austria took side with Russia while Sweden took side with the Ottoman Empire. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, made a treaty of alliance with Prussia and Holland for offensive and defensive purposes. The Allied Powers easily split Austria from the Russian alliance in 1790. Catherine II, however, definitely rejected the allies' efforts for a peace agreement. Pitt the Younger believed that the balance of power in the Europe was being threatened by the steadily increasing power of Russia. In 1791, Pitt's aim was to force Russia to consent with only a limited part of the territories that it captured and, in particular, leave the Fortress of Ochakov, an entrance to the Black Sea which Russia had taken in 1788. As the pressures from the allies were not sufficient to prevent Russia's ambitions, however, Pitt the Younger decided to scare the Impress by a definite threat of war. On March 27, the ambassadors of the United Kingdom in Berlin and St. Petersburg were instructed to transmit an ultimatum to Russia in the name of the three allies. Accordingly, Catherine was to return all the territories that it conquered to the Ottomans except for Crimea. In order to force Russia to consent with this ultimatum, the British navy needed to be reinforced before it was sent to the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. On March 28, Pitt presented in the House of Commons the message of the King George III regarding the need for empowering the fleet. However, he encountered an unexpected reaction in the Parliament. The opposition was not of the opinion that the “balance of Europe" would be upset by Russia's possession of Ochakov. Moreover, no consensus was obtained in the Cabinet, as well. Therefore, Pitt had to retreat and give up his plan for an intervention.
- Subjects
OCHAKIV (Ukraine); PITT, William, 1759-1806; EUROPEAN foreign relations; INTERVENTION (International law); INTERNATIONAL alliances; TURKISH history, 1683-1829; REIGN of Catherine II, Russia, 1762-1796; REIGN of George III, Great Britain, 1760-1820; EIGHTEENTH century; HISTORY
- Publication
Pursuit of History, 2014, Issue 12, p359
- ISSN
1308-5468
- Publication type
Article