The Eastern Question

The Independent Movement

Of the Balkan People
 History Background of Balkan
 The Turks (who were Muslims) built
up a huge Empire after the 14th
Century
 They ruled Armenia, Asia Minor, the

Balkan Peninsula, Crimea, and North

Africa
 History Background of Balkan
 At the end of 18th century, the Ottoman
Empire was declining
 In the early 19th century, the Balkan people
(Mainly Orthodox), began to struggle for their
independence
 As the location was so important, European
Powers intervened in the Balkan affairs and
made the situation more complicated.
 The Eastern Question
 The weakness of Ottoman Empire
Eastern Question
 The national movement of Balkan

people
 The ambition of the Powers

 The complicated race factors

 The Powers’ Interest
Russia
 Russia was a landlocked country. Her
coastline was on the Artic Ocean and was
ice-bound for most part of the year
 Russia always looked for an opportunity for
controlling the Balkan or Asia minor, which
meant that the controlling of an exit to the
Mediterranean Sea
 The Powers’ Interest
 Russia was influential in Balkan, because
Most of the Balkan people were Slav by race
and believed in Orthodox
 There were close relationship between Balkan
and Russia provided them with pretext to
intervene in the Balkan affairs
 The Powers’ Interest
2. Britain
 To protect her commercial interest and to

maintain her naval superiority in the

Mediterranean, Britain intervention was
obvious during the 19th century
 Her traditional policy was to bolster up the

Ottoman Empire to stop Russia’s ambition

 The Powers’ Interest
Austria
 After the Austro-Prussian War and being

expelled by Prussia from the Germanic world,

Austrian expansion in the Balkans became
more obvious
 As Russia’s expansion in the area crashed with

Austrian interest, she opposed Russian attempt

to dominate the Balkan
 The Powers’ Interest
France
 Although French interests were less significant

in the Balkans, she still favoured a policy to

stop Russian expansion there as the location of
the Balkan was so important
 Her policy in most of the cases coincided with

that of Britain, but sometimes were against

Britain, depending on situation.
 The War of Greek independence,
1821-29
 The Greeks were ruled by the Turks (the
Ottoman Empire) since 15th century.
 Since the religion and the culture of the Greeks
were different from their Turkish ruler, the
Greek sought independent in the early 19th
century.
 In 1821, the Greeks in Romania revolted
against the Turks
 The War of Greek independence,
1821-29
 The Greek were supported by Russia and
Britain
 Russia wanted to help Greece because they
shared the same religion with the Greeks
 Britain sympathized with the Greeks ,
Moreover, she did not want Russia to be so
influential in the Balkans, she decided to join
Russia to intervene
 The War of Greek independence,
1821-29
 In 1827, the Turks were defeated by the joint
army of Britain, Russia and France. The
Turks agreed to give the Greek autonomy
 In 1828, the Turks once again defeated by
Russia. The Treaty of Adrianople (1829) was
signed and gave Greece full independence
 The Powers’ struggle during 1830-
40’s
 In the War of Greek Independence the Turks
had sought help from Mehemet Ali of Egypt
and promised him to have Syria , Crete and
Morea as rewards.
 After the independence of the Greeks,
Mehemet Ali felt dissatisfied because the
Turks refused to give him what the Turks had
promised
 Ali even moved his army to Constantinople
 The Powers’ struggle during 1830-
40’s
 The Sultan then called for help. Russian troop
then helped to defend Constantinople
 Britain and France advised the Sultan to cede
Syria and Palestine to Mehemet Ali to stop the
war as well as to stop the ambitious Russia
 In 1833, Treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, was signed
by Russia and the Ottoman Empire
 The Powers’ struggle during 1830-
40’s
 By the treaty, Russia promised to send troops
to help the Ottoman Empire
 In a secret clause was agreed that the Ottoman
Empire would close the Dardanelles to the
warships of all nations at Russia’s request
 When this secret clause was disclosed, Britain
, France and Austria went against it
 The Powers’ struggle during 1830-
40’s
 War between Mehemet Ali and the Sultan
broke out in 1839
 France supported Ali because she wanted
established her influence in Egypt
 Britain helped the Ottoman Empire to ensure
her interest in the East Mediterranean
 The Powers’ struggle during 1830-
40’s
 The Allied fleet of Britain and the Ottoman
Empire defeated Ali’s fleet and stop French
intervention
 The Straits Convention was concluded
 The most important clause was that the
Ottoman Empire closed the Dardanelles to the
warships of all nations
 In this treaty, Russia was excluded from the
Mediterranean during wartime and Britain
became the protector of the Ottoman Empire
 The Crimean War 1854-56
Causes of the war

Conflicts over the Balkans

 Since Russia had obvious ambition in the
Balkan, the western powers distrusted
Russia friend with the Ottoman Empire
 For example, Nicholas I had proposed to
partition the Ottoman Empire in 1844
and 1853
 Britain had no response to the proposal
since she understood that Russia would
became too influential in the area
 The Crimean War 1854-56
Causes of the war
The Czar’s demand to protect Orthodox Christian in
the Balkans
 A quarrel over the right to protect the centres of
pilgrimage round Jerusalem became the immediate
cause of war
 France had long ceased to carry out the ancient
treaty that she had to protect the Holy Place, Russia
fulfilled the function voluntarily
 As Napoleon III wanted to reclaim her right, Russia
rejected it
 The Crimean War 1854-56
Causes of the war
 As the Czar in 1853 demanded that she wanted
to protect all Orthodox Christians in the
Ottoman Empire, Britain and France feared
that the Czar would make use of this privilege
to interfere the Empire
 Britain and France advised the Sultan to reject
Russia’s demand
 The Crimean War 1854-56
Causes of the war

 Russia troops invaded Moldavia and

Wallachia in July 1853
 Britain and French Fleets sailed up to
Dardanelles to support The Ottoman Empire
 The War then broke out when Russian navy
attacked a Turkish squadron
 The Treaty of Paris
 After the fall of Sebastopal , the new Czar
Alexander II accepted the cease fire and
concluded the Treaty of Paris in 1856
 By the treaty, the Black sea was neutralized
 The River of Danube was internationalized
 Russia would not be the protector of Orthodox
Christian anymore, and the Sultan promised to
treat the Christians and Muslim equally
 Turkey was recognized as a European Power
 The Treaty of Paris-- Significance
 Reforms in military nursing and other military affairs
after the war
 Anti-government movement and demands for reforms

was found in Russia

 Russia soon repudiated the Black Sea clause in 1870

as the reward for Russian neutrality in the Franco-

Prussian War
 Moldavia and Wallachia later became the Kingdom

of Rumania
The relationships between European Powers Changed
 The Treaty of Paris-- Significance
 The relationships between European Powers
Changed :
2. Piedmont gained prestige and foreign
friendship from the war.
3. Austria was neutral in the Crimean /war, she
lost support form both sides
 The Congress of Berlin 1878
 People in Balkan began to revolt from the
early 19th century with Russian support.
2. Greece gained her independence in 1829
3. Serbia gained her independence in 1830
4. Moldavia and Wallachia became
independent after the Crimean War
5. Montenegro enjoyed virtual independence
but remained under Turkish rule
 The Congress of Berlin 1878
 In 1875, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where most
inhabited by Serbia, rose against their Turkish ruler
 Some Bulgarians revolted against the Turks too
 Although the British opinion were sympathetic with
the Balkan people, the British government still
favoured a policy of upholding the Ottoman Empire
to check Russia
 Britain and other European Powers refrained from
intervening
 The Congress of Berlin 1878
 Russia saw to it and declared war on the Ottoman
Empire with the other Balkan States
 The allied army won the war and concluded the
Treaty of San Stefano in 1878
 By the Treaty most states in the Balkan gained
independence and Russian influence became very
great in the area
 Britain and other European Powers were alarmed,
they asked for a revision of the Treaty
 A Congress was held in Berlin and successfully
revised the treaty