Victorians and war: which conflicts were fought during the Victorian era?

In 1853, Russia invaded the Danubian Principalities (modern Romania), causing the Ottoman empire (a state and caliphate that controlled much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa) under Sultan Abdulmejid I, to declare war. Britain and France, wary of Russian expansion, joined the Ottomans, taking part in an 11-month siege of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula. Thousands of soldiers died from diseases such as typhoid and dysentery and the harsh winter, as well as the brutal battles of Alma, Inkerman and Balaclava. Peace was finally achieved when Austria threatened to join against Russia – the Ottoman Empire maintained hold of its territories, and Russia was forbidden from keeping a navy on the Black Sea.

During the Crimean War's battle of Balaclava, the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade saw around 670 British cavalrymen charge headlong into Russian fire with little chance of survival – all due to a miscommunication of orders. The disastrous incident would later inspire poet Lord Tennyson and even heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

• What was the Thin Red Line, and what does it have to do with the British Empire?

The rebellion started with Indian soldiers against their commanders – though unsuccessful, it bolstered calls for independence

Since the 17th century, the East India Company had gradually been carving out territory in India, ultimately becoming the country’s leading power at the expense of existing Indian rulers. In 1857, rebellion broke out among the Company’s sepoys (Indian infantry) in Meerut – ostensibly over gun cartridges (see below) but fuelled by wider resentments about the erosion of Indian culture – which rapidly spread to Delhi and beyond. The rebellion was quashed and the East India Company was nationalised; direct rule was imposed over India, ushering in the British Raj.

The Indian Rebellion began when a rumour spread that the cartridges of the Bengal Army’s new rifle – a Pattern 1853 Enfield – had been coated in pig and cow fat. Since cartridges had to be opened by mouth, the fat coating was offensive to both Hindus and Muslims. It was the jailbreaking of 85 men of the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry – who had refused to use these cartridges – on 10 May 1857 that sparked a wider rebellion amongst the sepoys.

During the late 19th century, Britain tried to gain control of modern-day South Africa

In 1877, tensions between the Boers (descendants of Dutch, German and Huguenot settlers) and the British became strained after the British annexed the Transvaal (the British name for the Boers’ South African Republic), and erupted into war in December 1880. The fighting was short-lived, with the Boers securing victory (and partial independence) in March – although it remained under British suzerainty. Relations soured again in 1899, a result of the discovery of gold in the region. A longer, bloodier war followed, the last two years of which the Boers fought as a guerilla campaign. The British responded by rounding up Boer women and children into camps (where many died of starvation) and deployed ‘scorched earth’ tactics – Boer territory was deliberately and systematically devastated to deprive the guerrilla fighters of food and shelter. The Boers eventually conceded; the treaty that followed ended Boer independence.

At least 400,000 soldiers from Britain and the empire are believed to have been involved in the Second South African War, including up to 30,000 black Africans.

A version of this article first appeared in the October 2020 issue (86) of BBC History Revealed magazine and has since been edited for web use