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European HistoryLecture 6

The Russo-Turkish War. Moroccan Crisis. Bosnian Crisis. The Italo-Turkish war. The First and Second Balkan Wars. The Sarajevo crisis.

In 1877 Russia and Serbia came to the aid of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria in their revolutions against the Turkish domination.

The Russian army attacked through Bulgaria, and they managed to take Adrianople in January 1878.

In March 1878 Russia concluded with the Treaty of San Stefano with Turkey.

Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro were freed from the Ottoman domination, Bosnia and Herzegovina became autonomous.

Bulgaria became autonomous under Russian protection.

Treaty of San Stefano (March 3, 1878): peace settlement imposed on the Ottoman government by Russia.

1. It recognized independent Bulgarian principality, which included most of Macedonia.

2. Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania were recognized as independent nations.

3. The boundaries of Serbia and Montenegro were extended to make them contiguous.

4. Romania was compelled to cede southern Bessarabia to Russia, getting in exchange the Dobrudja from Turkey.

5. Bosnia-Hercegovina was to be autonomous.6. Parts of Asiatic Turkey were ceded to Russia, and

the Ottoman sultan guaranteed for the security of his Christian subjects.

The Austria-Hungary, disliked encouragement of Slav nationalism.

The British, feared the new Bulgarian state as a Russians’ ally.

The treaty was modified by the terms of the Treaty of Berlin (June 13-July 13, 1878)

The San Stefano treaty was revised in order to satisfy the interests of Great Britain and Austria-Hungary.

1.It was denied to Russia to extend its naval power.

2.The Ottoman Empire was allowed to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The congress left Russia humiliated by reducing the gains that it had made under the San Stefano treaty.

The congress didn’t consider the aspirations of the Balkans or any future crises in the Balkans.

Colonian status of Morocco. France was interested in taking over

Morocco as a colony. In order to take permission of taking

Morocco as a protectorate, it reached agreements with Britain and Spain.

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany visited Tangier, Morocco, on March 31, 1905, and made a speech to support the Moroccan independence.

The French were so dissatisfied by his visit, that many people in the French government began to rally for war.

On January 3, 1906, France started moving troops towards the German border. A few days later, representatives from thirteen nations convened in Spain, to resolve the conflict.

Only Austria-Hungary supported Germany. The aim of the German government was to break

up the Entente Cordiale between England and France.

Kaiser Wilhelm also wanted to humiliate France by revealing that France could not stand up politically or diplomatically in the face of a German challenge.

The French Foreign Minister Theophile Delcasse was forced to resign.

Delcasse's resignation was considered as a diplomatic triumph for the Germans.

The Algeciras Conference took place. Things went wrong for Germans in

Algecira Conference. Russia, France, Britain, Italy, Austria-

Hungary, Germany, and the United States sent their representatives.

A test-vote took place revealing that all countries present sympathized with France except Germany and Austria-Hungary.

An international agreement was signed in Algeciras: France retained control over Moroccan political and financial affairs.

Moroccan independence was confirmed, but France was given control over the Moroccan financial system.

France became the ruling power in Morocco. Germany humbled herself and gave in to the

powers of Europe.

The Bosnian Crisis was the result of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary in October of 1908.

The Russians wanted the control of Constantinople.

Russia’s Foreign minister Alexander Izvolsky, made a deal with the foreign minister of Austria, Aehrenthal.

The Russia would give Bosnia to Austria in exchange for their silence and support in Russia’s obtaining of Constantinople.

In addition, Bulgaria would get its independence from Turkey, and the Austrians would give Serbia land to keep quiet.

Unfortunately, Aehrenthal announced the annexation of Bosnia before Izvolsky could notify Serbia.

Serbia, was outraged and demanded Russia intervene and support their demands for Austria to cede Serbia part of Bosnia.

Austria, supported by German allies, demanded the Serbs to back down.

Britain and France didn’t support Russia. However, the annexation was not to be because

England and France blocked Austria with the threat of war.

Political humiliation and defeat for Russia.

Known as the "Sick Man of Europe," the Ottoman Empire was supposed to be ruler of the Muslim and Arab-speaking North African provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenacia (now both known as Libya).

Egypt was also under the Turkish rule, but it had been occupied and controlled by the British for decades.

As a result, the Turkish didn’t have a land connection to their Libyan territories. 

Italy was late in making colonies for the purposes of profit, glory and power.

First, it secured the neutrality of the other "Great Powers" of Europe.

Then, on September 28, 1911 Italy presented to the Ottoman government an ultimatum demanding to be allowed to occupy Tripolitania and Cyrenacia.

The reason for demanding this, was that Italy was trying to protect the Italian citizens that were living there from the alleged threats of Muslim extremists.

The Ottomans denied, but they were open to negotiations.

After anticipating a rejection of their demands, Italy declared war in September 29, 1911.

The Balkan Wars were some of the most notable eruptions of ethnic nationalism and expansionism in nineteenth-century Eastern Europe.

It was the first concerted effort by the Balkan people to emulate the Italian and German examples and establish large nationalist states.

The Great powers of Europe soon intervened.

They helped shape the resolution and settlement of the Balkan wars.

When lesser European states went to war among themselves, as in the two Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 the Great powers showed their determination to work together to keep such wars localized, in the nineteenth-century diplomatic tradition of the Concert of Europe.

In October 1912, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria developed an alliance known as Balkan League and declared a war against the Ottoman Empire.

Their aim was to free the other European land of the Empire that they asserted.

First, Montenegro declared the war on Turkey in Oct. 8, 1912, and the other countries, members of the league followed.

The Balkan League proved to be victorious.

The Turkish army was defeated in Thrace by the Bulgarians and by the Serbs in Macedonia.

The Greeks occupied Thessaloniki and advanced on Ioánnina.

The Balkans’ success continued when Ioánnina fell to the Greeks and Edirne to the Bulgarians.

A peace treaty was signed in London in May 30, 1913:

the Ottoman Empire lost almost all of its remaining European territory, including Macedonia and Albania.

The Albanian independence was insisted upon by the European powers, and Macedonia was to be divided among the Balkan allies.

The Second Balkan War began when Serbia, Greece, and Romania dispute with Bulgaria over the division of their joint conquests in Macedonia.

In June 1, 1913, Serbia and Greece formed an alliance against Bulgaria.

The Bulgarians were defeated, and a peace treaty was signed in Aug. 10, 1913.

Under the terms of the treaty, Greece and Serbia divided up most of Macedonia between themselves, leaving Bulgaria with only a small part of the territory.

Greece gained southern Macedonia and Crete.

Serbia gained Kossovo and extended into northern and central Macedonia.

Albania became an independent state under a German prince.

Bulgaria, frustrated in Macedonia, looked to Austria for support.

Assassination of the heir of the Austrian throne Archduke Franz Ferdinard by a young Serb activist Gavrilo Princip.

Gavrilo Princip was member of a secret terrorist organization, called the Black Hand.

Their aim was to unite all South Slavic people around the kingdom of Serbia.

A war with Serbia was inevitable.

Gombrich, E., H. A little history of the world.2nd edition, 2008. Hall, C.,R, 2000. The Balkan wars 1912-13: Prelude to the

first World War. Paxton, O.,R., 1997. Europe in the Twentieth Century. Ferraro, Vincent;  Bosnia Crisis; Mount Holyoke College

Prepared for the National Board for Historical Service     Trenches on the Web - Timeline 1996-2000 Mike

Iavarone, All Rights Reserved     "Bosnia Crisis" Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia  1993-

1997: 2. Microsoft Corporation. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corporation. 1997

 

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