Why did Peter the Great wage war against the Ottoman Empire?

1 Answer
aielliot
Nov 2, 2017

They were natural competitors and Russia really wanted an ice free, ocean access port to trade out of.

Explanation:

Russia, is a very large country with no way out. Russia was expanding during Peter the Greats time. It had serious difficulty having a year round (ice free), ocean access port to conduct international trade from.

The Ottoman Empire blocked Russian access to the Mediterranean from ports on the Black Sea. They could apply tariffs or block trade altogether.

The Baltic was one few ways out but was controlled by the Swedes. Peter established St Petersburg to deal with this problem. He also fought wars with the Swedes.

The Pacific was another possibility but it needed a railroad (not yet invented) to access it.

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Map credit: Julia Wainwright. http://splendidculture.wikispaces.com/Russia

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