>On 25 Dec 2010, at 19:04, Geoffrey Heard wrote:
>
>>It was the last Feudal family dispute -- the sovereigns of all the 
>>principal nations when the war started were cousins. Of course, 
>>underlying that was the treasure generated by power over less 
>>developed lands that could be sucked dry.
>>
>
>This should clinch you the Us and Them Chair of modern history at 
>Mel Gibson University.
>
>You are overlooking the role of jingoism among the masses. Italy 
>went to war in 1915 largely as the result of popular demand, not 
>least from (the until then socialist) Benito Mussolini.
>
>T
>
>seen in the Economist:
>
>
>>In the spring of 1854, as the Crimean fighting began in earnest, an 
>>Anglican cleric declared that Russian Orthodoxy was as "impure, 
>>demoralising, and intolerant as popery itself". What could be more 
>>natural, then, than to team up with Islam and popery to cleanse 
>>that terrible impurity? A French newspaper, meanwhile, gave warning 
>>that the Russians represented a special menace to all Catholics 
>>because "they hope to convert us to their heresy".

Lovely stuff, T, but my explanation was shorter!  :D

Not forgetting that the C of E clergy were catspaws (and often 
younger brothers of) the aristocracy.

And let's not forget that other Crimean war in 1919 -- Australian 
troops, sick of the bloodshed, climbed on to ships expecting to go 
home ... but found themselves in the Crimea fighting for the White 
Russians. Gawd.

Cheers, geoff