A Question Presenting a Host of Difficulties: Sir Henry Bulwer, Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe and the Danubian Principalities, 1856-1858

Abstract

This article uses Sir Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer's time as British commissioner to investigate the internal condition of the Danubian Principalities between 1856 and 1858 as a prism through which to view Britain's handling of Anglo-French relations and of the 'Eastern Question'. It will explore the assumptions underpinning Whig policy towards France and the Ottoman empire in the immediate post-Crimean period, and examine the balance of power in British decision-making at London and Constantinople. Analysis of Bulwer's role illuminates British policy by placing his mission in a clearer context than has been the case hitherto.