Bulgarian Crisis (1885–1888)

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Bulgarian Crisis
Bulgaria following Constantinople Conference 1877
Native name Българска криза
DateSeptember 18, 1885 (1885-09-18)
LocationEastern Rumelia
CauseBulgarian victory
  • Union between Eastern Rumelia and Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Crisis (Българска криза, Balgarska kriza) refers to a series of events in the

First World War
.

Background

The

Count Andrassy and the Russian envoy, Eugene Novikov, (Budapest Convention, 15 January, 18 March 1877). The treaties agreed that a Russian victory in war would not create any large Slavic states. Russia had also traded Austrian neutrality for Bosnia-Herzegovina.[1]
[2] [3] [4]

The enlargement of the Russian

Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. It broke up "Greater Bulgaria" into a northern Principality of Bulgaria and two southern territories under Ottoman control, Macedonia and the autonomous Eastern Rumelia. Also, Bosnia and Herzegovina
were transferred to Austria-Hungary.

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

Dual Alliance
(Zweibund) in 1879.

Bulgarian unification and Serbo-Bulgarian War

Bulgaria after Treaties of San Stefano and Berlin, 1878
Bulgaria and Rumelia 1882
Bulgaria 1888, post unification

On September 18, 1885, a rebellion and a coup in the

Knyaz (Prince) Alexander I of Bulgaria led to the Russians standing aside, withdrawing their troops from Bulgaria and advocating a conference in Constantinople. The other Great Powers in general supported Russia's unexpected position but not Greece and Serbia
.

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

coup against Alexander I in 1886 replaced him by an Austrophile, who was the Austrian Emperor's nephew and an officer in the Austrian army, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(1887–1918). Relations of the young Bulgarian state with Russia deteriorated.

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

League of Three Emperors (Dreikaiserabkommen) 1873–1878, which had been revived on June 18, 1881. The League provided for mutual aid in the event of an attack on a member and benign neutrality in the event of one of them being involved in a conflict outside the League. Its terms also provided for consultation on any proposed Balkan operations, which offered Germany the neutrality of Russia, in the event of a further war against France, and Russia the neutrality of Germany and Austria-Hungary, in the event of war against Britain or the Ottomans. The protocol was secret and was renewed in 1884. It stated in part:[6]

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

Porte finally accepted the Unification of Bulgaria in the 1886 Tophane Agreement. Russia, however, was not satisfied and Russian Tsar Alexander III
refused to recognise Prince Alexander as ruler of the newly-enlarged Bulgaria. Subsequently, a Russian-backed coup, involving a group pro-Russian officers, forced Prince Alexander to abdicate on 9 August 1886. He was then exiled to Russia. In a countercoup, Prince Alexander I returned to the Bulgarian throne, and Russia then broke off diplomatic relations with Bulgaria.

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

Mediterranean Agreements (Mittelmeerentente) in 1887 and the Reinsurance Treaty
(1887). Finally, the publication of the terms of the 1879 treaty persuaded Russia that further action was not in its interests and so it withdrew from involvement in Bulgaria, and the fear of war dissipated. Bismarck's strategy was arcane but largely successful in averting war during his time in office (1871–1890). Unfortunately, his arrangements were heavily dependent on himself and so failed to provide long-term solutions.

See also

References

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

External links