<P> In 1851 France under Napoleon III compelled the Sublime Porte (the Ottoman or Turkish government) to recognize it as the protector of Christian sites in the Holy Land . Russia denounced this claim, since it claimed to be the protector of all Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire . France sent its fleet to the Black Sea; Russia responded with its own show of force . In 1851, Russia sent troops into the Ottoman provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia . Britain, now fearing for the security of the Ottoman Empire, sent a fleet to join with the French expecting the Russians would back down . </P> <P> Diplomatic efforts failed . The Sultan declared war against Russia in October 1851 . Following an Ottoman naval disaster in November, Britain and France declared war against Russia . Most of the battles took place in the Crimean peninsula, which the Allies finally seized . London, shocked to discover that France was secretly negotiating with Russia to form a postwar alliance to dominate Europe, dropped its plans to attack St. Petersburg and instead signed a one - sided armistice with Russia that achieved almost none of its war aims . </P> <P> The Treaty of Paris signed March 30, 1856, ended the war . It admitted the Ottoman Empire to the European concert, and the Powers promised to respect its independence and territorial integrity . Russia gave up a little land and relinquished its claim to a protectorate over the Christians in the Ottoman domains . The Black Sea was demilitarized, and an international commission was set up to guarantee freedom of commerce and navigation on the Danube River . Moldavia and Wallachia remained under nominal Ottoman rule, but would be granted independent constitutions and national assemblies . </P> <P> New rules of wartime commerce were set out: (1) privateering was illegal; (2) a neutral flag covered enemy goods except contraband; (3) neutral goods, except contraband, were not liable to capture under an enemy flag; (4) a blockade, to be legal, had to be effective . </P>

How did the napoleonic war of the 19th century affect europe