French Military and Civil Deployment in Ottoman Istanbul During the Crimean War (1853–1856) Saltuk Duran Istanbul Technical University, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey Abstract Based mainly on original French archival sources, this paper discusses the conduct and extent of French military and civil activities in Ottoman Istanbul during the Crimean War. Using both quali- tative and quantitative indicators, the paper shows how the necessities generated by the war, pro- moted an unprecedented growth in the French military and civil presence in Istanbul. Through this approach, the paper explains to what degree the war created new market opportunities for vari- ous French products and services, a favourable environment for the establishment of French hos- pitals, and also occasions for cultural encounters between the French and the Ottomans in Istanbul. Keywords French, Ottoman, Istanbul, Crimean War, military, civil Introduction French economy and industry developed considerably in the course of the 19 th century. Under the July Monarchy of 1830–1848, French manufacturers and entrepreneurs founded new factories and firms, and industrial growth continued to increase following the establishment of the Second Empire in 1852. Napoleon III encouraged the develop- ment of new economic structures and activities such as corporations, factories, and banks, which contributed to wealth accumulation and created new classes of investors in various fields, especially transportation and communication. Organised in 1842, the French railway networks developed with spectacular speed during the Second Empire, their extent increasing from 558 km in 1851 to 16,994 km in 1869. Capitalists such as the Corresponding author: Saltuk Duran, Istanbul Technical University, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey. Email: duransa@itu.edu.tr Original Article War in History 1–20 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/09683445221077740 journals.sagepub.com/home/wih