The Failure of the Concert of Europe
The failure of the Concert of Europe had a profound affect on the future of Europe itself. The Concert was a collection of European powerhouses, lead by Austria and Russia, held together by the promise that none of the member countries would make any action alone on the subject of the 'Eastern Question'. The Eastern Question was the question of what should be done with the Balkans, or the South Eastern area of Europe, if and when the Ottoman Empire colapsses. The Concert fell apart with the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War
. Russia, wanting a port on the land of the Ottoman Empire so she could build a navy to challenge Great Britian, attacked the Turkish provinces of Moldavia and Walachia. The Ottoman Empire quickly retailated by declaring war on Russia in October 4th, 1853. Since Russia was going for land to build a port that could threaten the navy of one of Europes biggest powers, both England and France joined on the side of the Ottoman Empire. The combined forces of all three nations proved too much, and Russias poorly planned war quickly fell through. Suffering heavy losses, Russia sued for peace and in March of 1856 signed the Treaty of Paris, allowing both Moldavia and Walachia to be placed under the guard of the European Powers. This, then, opened the way for the unification of other states in Europe, as one of the largest powerhouses was out of the way.
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