Principality of Bulgaria

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Principality of Bulgaria Княжество България Knyazhestvo Bălgariya
1878–1908
Flag State coat of arms (1878–1927)
Anthem: "Maritsa Rushes" Шуми Марица (Bulgarian) Shumi Maritsa  (transliteration) Royal anthem "God Save the Tsar!"[1] Боже, Царя храни! (Bulgarian) Bozhe, Tsarya khrani!  (transliteration)
Principality of Bulgaria (dark green) and Eastern Rumelia (light green), united in 1885, formally as a personal union.   Principality of Bulgaria   Eastern Rumelia
Status	Alexander I
• 1887–1908	Ferdinand I
Regents
• 1886–1887	Stefan Stambolov
• 1886–1887	Sava Mutkurov
• 1886–1887	Petko Karavelov
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
• 1879 (first)	Todor Burmov
• 1908 (last)	Aleksandar Malinov
Legislature	None ( National Assembly (from 1878)
History
• Treaty of San Stefano	3 March 1878
• Treaty of Berlin	13 July 1878
• Constitution	28 April 1878
• Unification	6 September 1885
• Independence	5 October 1908
Currency	Bulgarian lev
Preceded by Succeeded by Danube Vilayet Eastern Rumelia Kingdom of Bulgaria
Today part of	Bulgaria Serbia

The Principality of Bulgaria (

in 1878.

After the

within the Ottoman Empire.

In practice, Bulgaria's status as an Ottoman vassal was a legal fiction, and Bulgaria only acknowledged the authority of the Sublime Porte in a formal way. It had its own Constitution, flag and anthem, and conducted its own foreign policy. From 1880, it had its own currency as well. In 1885, a bloodless revolution resulted in Eastern Rumelia being de facto annexed by Bulgaria, which the Ottoman Empire accepted with the Tophane Agreement. On 5 October 1908, Bulgaria declared its independence as the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

Background

In 1396 the

of 1877 to 1878.

Treaty of Berlin

The Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, proposed a Bulgarian state, which comprised the geographical regions of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia. Based on that date Bulgarians celebrate Bulgaria's national day each year.

Fearing the establishment of a large Russian client state on the Balkans, the other great powers, however, were not willing to agree to the treaty. As a result, the Treaty of Berlin (1878), under the supervision of Otto von Bismarck of Germany and Benjamin Disraeli of United Kingdom, revised the earlier treaty, and scaled back the proposed Bulgarian state.

A widely autonomous Principality of Bulgaria was created, between the Danube and the

]

19th century

The Bulgarians adopted an advanced democratic constitution, and power soon passed to the Liberal Party led by Stefan Stambolov. Prince Alexander had conservative leanings, and at first opposed Stambolov's policies, but by 1885 he had become sufficiently sympathetic to his new country to change his mind, and supported the Liberals. He also supported the Unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, which was brought about by a coup in Plovdiv in September 1885. The Powers did not intervene because of the power struggles between them. Shortly after, Serbia declared war on Bulgaria in the hope of grabbing territory while the Bulgarians were distracted. The Bulgarians defeated them at Slivnitsa, pushed the Serbian army into Serbia and succeeded in reconquering the territory seized by the Berlin Treaty Bulgarian populated towns of Pirot and Vranya, but they were given back to Serbia with the Treaty of Bucharest in 1886.

These events made Alexander very popular in Bulgaria, but Russia was increasingly dissatisfied at the liberal tendencies under his reign. In August 1886 they fomented a coup, in the course of which Alexander was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Russia. Stambolov, however, acted quickly and the participants in the coup were forced to flee the country. Stambolov tried to reinstate Alexander, but strong Russian opposition forced the prince to abdicate again. In July 1887 the Bulgarians elected Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as their new Prince. Ferdinand was the "Austrian candidate" and the Russians refused to recognise him. Ferdinand initially worked with Stambolov, but by 1894 their relationship worsened. Stambolov resigned and was assassinated in July 1895. Ferdinand then decided to restore relations with Russia, which meant returning to a conservative policy.^{[citation needed]}

20th century

There was a substantial Bulgarian population still living under Ottoman rule, particularly in Macedonia. To complicate matters, Serbia and Greece too made claims over parts of Macedonia, while Serbia, as a Slavic nation, also considered Macedonians as belonging to Serbian nation. Thus began a five-sided struggle for control of these areas which lasted until World War I. In 1903 there was a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia and war seemed likely. In 1908 Ferdinand used the struggles between the Great Powers to declare Bulgaria a fully independent kingdom, with himself as Tsar, which he did on 5 October (though celebrated on 22 September, as Bulgaria remained officially on the Julian calendar until 1916) in the Holy Forty Martyrs Church, Veliko Tarnovo.

Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising

The main external political problem confronting Bulgaria throughout the period up to World War I was the fate of Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. At the end of 19th century the

was founded and began the preparation of an armed uprising in the regions still occupied by the Ottoman Turks. Relying in part on nationwide support on the part of the Principality of Bulgaria, IMARO got down to organizing a network of committees in Macedonia and Thrace. In August 1903 a mass armed uprising, known in history as the Ilinden-Preobrajenie, broke out in Macedonia and Thrace. Its aim was to liberate those regions, or at least to draw the attention of the Great Powers and make them advocate for the improvement of the living conditions for the population through legal and economic reforms. After three months of fierce battles the Ottoman army crushed the uprising using much cruelty against the civilian population.

List of Princes of Bulgaria

Portrait	Name	Birth	Death	From	Until	Notes
	Alexander I	5 April 1857	23 October 1893	29 April 1878	7 September 1886	Abdicated
	Ferdinand I	26 February 1861	10 September 1948	29 April 1887	5 October 1908	Became King of Bulgaria in 1908

Gallery

• 
  Administrative subdivisions of Bulgaria in 1907
• 
  Administrative subdivisions of Eastern Rumelia in 1907
• 
  Bulgarian unification of 1885
• 
  The 1886 Bulgarian coup d'état
• 
  Portrait of Prince Alexander
• 
  Territory of the Bulgarian Exarchate from 1870 to 1913

See also

• History of Bulgaria (1878–1946)

References

External links

• Rulers of Bulgaria at World Statesmen

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