The Anglo-Turkish War of 1807–1809 was a part of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, was fought between the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Ultimatum

In the summer of 1806, during the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition () was a European conflict lasting from 1805 to 1806 and was the first conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. During the war, First French Empire, France and French client republic, its client states under Napoleon I an ...

(of Great Britain,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

), Napoleon's ambassador General Count Sebastiani managed to convince the Porte (the central government of the Ottoman Empire) to cancel all special privileges granted to Russia in 1805 and to open the Ottoman straits (the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

) exclusively to French warships. In return,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

promised to help the Sultan suppress the rebellion in Serbia and to recover lost territories. When the Russian army marched into

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

in 1806, the Ottomans declared war on Russia.

Dardanelles operation

In September 1806, the British government pressured Sultan

Selim III Selim III (; ; was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, he was eventually deposed and imprisoned by the Janissaries, who placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV (). A group of a ...

to expel Sebastiani, declare war on France, cede the Danubian Principalities to Russia, and surrender the Ottoman fleet, together with the forts on the Dardanelles, to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. After Selim's rejection of the ultimatum, a British squadron under Vice Admiral John Thomas Duckworth entered the Dardanelles on 19 February 1807 and destroyed an Ottoman naval force in the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

, and anchored opposite

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. With French assistance the Ottomans erected powerful batteries and strengthened their fortifications. The British warships were cannonaded suffering the loss of two ships. Duckworth made the decision to withdraw to the Mediterranean on 3 March 1807.

Alexandria expedition of 1807

On 16 March 1807, 6,000 British troops embarked for

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in Ottoman Egypt, which they captured in August. Governor

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

mounted effective counter-attacks and a lack of supplies forced the British to withdraw. The Ottoman Empire had little military support from France due to the war with Russia; Napoleon failed to secure Russia's compliance with the armistice agreement of 1807 with Britain, which was now at war with both France and Russia.

Aftermath

January 5 Events Pre-1600 * 1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France. 1601–1900 * 1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French ...

, 1809, the

Treaty of the Dardanelles The Treaty of the Dardanelles (also known as the Dardanelles Treaty of Peace, Commerce, and Secret Alliance, the Treaty of Çanak, the Treaty of Chanak or ) was concluded between the Ottoman Empire and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ...

was concluded on board a British ship , ending the war. The war resulted in either an Ottoman victory or ended indecisively.

Notes

External links

Ottoman Empire
at the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Anglo-Ottoman War (1807-09) Conflicts in 1807 Conflicts in 1808 Conflicts in 1809 Ottoman 1807 Wars involving the Ottoman Empire Napoleonic Wars 19th-century military history of the United Kingdom 1800s in the Ottoman Empire 1807 in Egypt 1800s in the British Empire Ottoman Empire–United Kingdom relations Military history of the Mediterranean