In 1783 Russia annexed the Crimean Khanate. In the same year, Russia established its protectorate over Eastern Georgia according to the Treaty of Georgievsk. In 1787, Empress Catherine II made a triumphant trip across the Crimea, accompanied by representatives of foreign courts and her ally, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. These events and the friction caused by mutual complaints of infringements of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, which had closed the previous war, stirred up public opinion in Istanbul, and the British ambassador lent his support to the war party.