Editing Industrial Revolution (section)

=== The Crimean War ===
The Crimean War is one of those wars that tends to be forgotten about by non-history buffs, but its effects on the world were out of all proportion to its relatively short duration (October 1853-February 1856). This was the war that gave us [[Wikipedia:Florence Nightingale|Florence Nightingale]], [[Wikipedia:Charge of the Light Brigade|the Charge of the Light Brigade]], the [[Wikipedia:Victoria Cross|Victoria Cross]], and the [[Wikipedia:Government reforms of Alexander II of Russia|Great Reforms of Tsar Alexander II]]. It was also one of the first conflicts to see widespread use of high-explosive shells, telegraphs, railways, and photography; in some senses it can therefore be considered the first modern war. 

The war was ostensibly started over the treatment of Christians in the Ottoman Empire, but in reality it was all about the balance of power in Europe. The Ottoman Empire was in the middle of its long collapse, and Russia was taking the opportunity to flex its muscles in Central Europe. Britain wasn't thrilled by the prospect of Turkey being conquered by Russia, and Napoleon III needed a show of strength abroad to strengthen his position at home. When the Ottomans asked for changes to the agreement on their treatment of Orthodox Christians, Russia threw a fit and declared war. The British, French, and eventually the Italians sided with the Ottomans. At first, the fighting was bloody and inconclusive, with the Russians mauling the Ottomans at the Battle of Sinop and laying siege to Kars but being stopped at Silistra. The British and French promptly sent ships and troops through the Dardanelles into the Black Sea and invaded the Crimea. This is where the Battle of Balaclava and the Siege of Sevastopol took place. Balaclava became famous for the [[Wikipedia:The Thin Red Line (Battle of Balaclava)|"Thin Red Line"]] of the 93rd Highlanders and the [[Wikipedia:Charge of the Light Brigade|Charge of the Light Brigade]]. The Siege was a badly managed, yearlong slog that killed thousands of troops on both sides and wound up killing the British army commander, Lord Raglan, who'd been catching hell in the press since Balaclava and was even more depressed that the Russians were holding out for so long. Ultimately the mounting casualty figures and apparent pointlessness of the whole thing led Britain and France to call for peace negotiations, the outcome of which saw Russia and Turkey handing back the territories they'd captured and Russia losing the right to base ships in the Black Sea. Russia's defeat was seen as a national humiliation and led directly to the Great Reforms of Alexander II. Among other things, he abolished serfdom in the Empire, modernized the military, relaxed press censorship, and reformed the justice and educational systems. Most of these reforms were rolled back by reactionary conservatives after Alexander was assassinated in 1881, which led to increasing unrest in the country's radical underground and may have ultimately contributed to the Russian Revolution in 1917. On the flipside, the British got the lasting cultural legacy of the Light Brigade and Florence Nightingale. Horrified by the reports of wounded British soldiers being treated in atrocious conditions, Florence rolled up her sleeves, went to the Crimea with some of her friends, and effectively invented the modern nursing profession while also pushing for reforms in sanitation that greatly reduced death rates in the field hospitals and would later be implemented throughout India and Britain.

Also led to the birth of the Red Cross and the first Geneva Convention.