Bulgarian Crisis (1885–1888)
Native name | Българска криза |
---|---|
Date | September 18, 1885 |
Location | Eastern Rumelia |
Cause | Bulgarian victory
|
Events leading to World War I |
---|
|
The Bulgarian Crisis (Българска криза, Balgarska kriza) refers to a series of events in the
Background
The
The enlargement of the Russian
Unfortunately, the treaty solved little. It satisfied Britain and Austria-Hungary but only at the expense of Russia and the peoples of the Balkan states, which made further crises inevitable. [5]
The future of the Balkan lands was thus now perceived in Europe as a matter for the disposal of the Great Powers. Those events significantly impacted the dynastic relations between
Bulgarian unification and Serbo-Bulgarian War
On September 18, 1885, a rebellion and a coup in the
Serbia had signed a secret treaty with Austria-Hungary in 1881 and was so sure in Austria's support that it made territorial demands on its western border with Bulgaria. On being rebuffed, Serbia declared war on November 14. However, by November 28, Serbia had been defeated by Bulgaria. Further humiliation of Serbia was prevented only by Austrian intervention.
A Russophile
Effects on Great Powers
The events in the Balkans were in a way proxy events for their supporters, Russia and Austria-Hungary, and effectively dissolved (1887) the fragile alliance between Germany, Austria and Russia known as the
„4. Die drei Mächte werden sich der etwaigen Vereinigung Bulgariens und Ostrumeliens in den Gebietsgrenzen, die durch den Berliner Vertrag angewiesen sind, nicht widersetzen, wenn diese Frage sich durch die Macht der Dinge erheben sollte.“
(4. The three powers will not oppose the eventual unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia within the limits set by the Treaty of Berlin, should this eventuality occur by force of circumstances.)
When that eventually occurred, the situation was more complicated. Prince Alexander of Battenberg had been elected in 1879 as Prince of Bulgaria at the request of his uncle, Russian Tsar Alexander II. Prince Alexander found himself obliged to support the nationalist movement for re-unification despite the advice of the Russian ministers and advisers but with the apparent support of British Prime Minister Gladstone, who opposed Russia's position. Russia then withdrew its ministers and advisers from Bulgaria.
Another complication was the role of King Milan of Serbia, an ally of Austria, another opponent of Russia in the Balkans. Milan sought territorial compensation from Bulgaria. When he did not receive it, he declared war in 1885. Defeated, Serbia saw Bulgarian troops reach Belgrade before Austria intervened. The Treaty of Bucharest in March 1886 essentially restored the status quo.[7]
The Great Powers and the
The Great Powers, which were in a constant fear of war between them, continued with a series of complicated agreements and alliances, many of which were secret, as deterrents to one another's actions, largely at the behest of
See also
- Eastern Question
- History of the Balkans
- History of Bulgaria
- Bulgarian irredentism
- Principality of Bulgaria
- Decline of the Ottoman Empire
- Causes of World War I
References
- ISBN 052144229X, 780521442299
- ISBN 1557530653, 9781557530653
- ^ Mikulas Fabry. The Idea of National Self-Determination and The Recognition of New States at The Congress Of Berlin (1878). ISA Annual Convention, New Orleans, March 24-27, 2002 Archived June 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Pribram, Alfred, ed. (1921) The Secret Treaties of Austria-Hungary. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica: Congress of Berlin
- ^ Text of the Protocol of the league of Three Emperors 1881
- ISBN 3 549 07397 6, p. 619 ff.
Sources
- Crampton, R. J. A Concise History of Bulgaria Cambridge UP 1997
- Präliminarfriede von San Stefano in: Konferenzen und Verträge. Vertrags-Ploetz. Handbuch der geschichtlich bedeutsamen Zusammenkünfte und Vereinbarungen. Teil II. 1493 - 1952. Helmuth Rönnefahrt (ed.). Bielefeld: A. G. Ploetz Verlag, 1953, pp. 351f
- István Diószegi: Kálnoky, Andrássy und die bulgarische Krise 1885–1887. In: Bulgarian Historical Review 3 (1985) pp. 54–59.
- Barbara Jelavich: Russia, Britain and the Bulgarian Question 1885–1888. In: Südostforschungen 32 (1973) pp. 168–191.
- M. Ju. Zolotucbin: Bolgarskij krizis 1885-1886 gg. i krach avstro-russko-germanskogo sojuza (The Bulgarian 1885-1886 crisis and the collapse of the Austro-Russian-German alliance) In: Voprosy istorii 4 (1984), pp. 43–56.
Timeline
- League of Three Emperors1873-1887
- Reichstadt Agreement 1876
- Constantinople Conference (1876-1877)
- Budapest Convention 1877
- Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
- Treaty of San Stefano 1878
- Congress of Berlin
- Treaty of Berlin (1878)
- Dual Alliance, 1879
- Austro-Serbian Alliance of 1881
- Triple Alliance 1882
- Bulgarian unification 1885
- Serbo-Bulgarian War 1885
- Treaty of Bucharest (1886)
- 1886 Bulgarian coup d'état
- Tophane Agreement 1886
- Mediterranean Agreements 1887
- Reinsurance Treaty 1887-1890